it was a long, hard week this last week. the election aside, work was hectic and difficult. it's great to be the lead until somebody goes on vacation, then i get to do thier job, as i am literally everyone's back-up. but all things pass, and i eventually made it to the start of this three day weekend. when courtney finally got home around seven, i learned that her week made mine look like fun!
we decided that the best thing to do was to not cook for ourselves, but instead to go out to eat! i guess, not really such a big deal, but we went looking for someplace a little more upscale than we usually go to, with the one condition being that the restaurant could not be part of a chain.
we got picked up by our friend, maya, and were off to eden prairie, mn. we ate a place called "woody's grille" in the shady oak center. the food was very good. entrees were in the $12 to $16 range, with wine at $4 to $6 a glass. woody's fare is american/ethnic, with the ethnic translating into mediterranean. i enjoyed thier chicken marsala, which was superb. the chicken was tender and moist and the mushroom sauce was rich, but not reeking of alcohol like some other places i've been. my girlfriend had a shrimp pesto pasta dish with loads of fresh veggies, especially asparagus. maya had the beef medallions, which was something that i had been considering myself. woody's real specialty is the different flavors of mashed potatoes that come with thier entrees. with the chicken marsala, i had roasted garlic mashed potatoes and maya had roasted pepper mashed potatoes with her beef medallions. i was the only one that could finish my entree, but we opted for dessert anyways. courtney and i split a carmel apple crumble, while maya had the fruit tart. both were made with fresh fruit and quite delicious, being priced around the $5 mark.
the meal aside, woody's grille had a great atmoshphere. we were seated in a booth overlooking the open kitchen. there was lots of talking, but nothing so loud that we couldn't hold a conversation. our waitress, maggie, was excellent. she gave us great service without imposing.
just so you have some idea about where i'm coming from with this, i worked as a soup chef for 4 and a half years at a cafe, so there! :P i guess that i've seen so much bad service that i really appreciate it when everything comes together as part of a night out on the town.
