Meeting #6

Girvan Grille
8700 Edinbrook Crossing, Brooklyn Park, MN
Member pick: Beth
Attendees: Beth, Terri, Jenny and our 1st ever guest, Katie, who was an honorary DDC member for the evening.

Restaurant Description: Contemporary, dimly lit golf pub with a scenic view, overlooking the championship golf course Edinburgh USA!

The meal: For an appetizer, we had the buffalo roll-ups with spicy chicken and crispy wontons on a bed of lettuce, with bleu cheese dressing on the side. For dinner, Beth had the reuben with french fries, a Summit Pale Ale and lemonade. Jenny had the Buffalo Burger with cheddar cheese and fries, and a Corona Light. Terri had the Diablo Chicken wrap that came with crispy chicken salsa, corn, cheese, dragon sauce and fries. She also had a glass of the Luccio pinot grigio. And Katie had the Spice & Smoke Burger with fresh mozzarella and fries, and an iced tea. For dessert, we shared the Seven Layer Chocolate Sin cake and the bread pudding.

Rating:
Taste: 3.75
Creativity: 3.25
Atmosphere: 3.5

Memorable moments: SPECIAL GUEST KATIE! And her response to the experience, "Definitely lived up to it's hype." The other memorable moment came when Jenny said to our waitress, all sassy, "Well you didn't suggest that, did you?", when the waitress told us--after we had eaten the cake--that she likes ice cream on it.

Meeting #5

POP!

2859 Johnson Street NE

Minneapolis, MN 55418

Member pick: TJ

Attendees: Beth, Jenny and Terri

Restaurant description: Bright colors, low light. A wonderful ambiance with pop art on the walls throughout the establishment.

The meal: We had pop fritters for an appetizer (shrimp with black bean fritters and chipotle sour cream and guacamole). Beth enjoyed an asado pulled pork sandwich with citrius bbq sauce and pop fritas and drank a furious beer (6.2 alcohol by volume). Jenny has the chicken sandwich that had jalapeno mayonnaise, guacamole and pepper jack cheese, with pop fritas and an O'Douls Amber (.5 alcohol by volume :) Terri ate the portabella mushroom sandwich (TFDF), with black bean hummus, roasted pepper and mixed greens. TJ also drank WoopWoop chardonnay (x2 but only charged for one!). For dessert, Beth had a root beer float with a root beer chaser and peppermint tea, Terri devoured a chocolate sundae, and Jenny had the butterscotch sundae with peanut brittle.

Memorable moment of the evening: We had a very animated waiter (lots of hand gesturing), a tea kettle top drop incident, and Terri leaving her napkin on top of a candle...it melted.

Meeting #4

Buona Sera! Winebar

11949 W. River Road
Champlin, MN 55316

Member pick: Beth
Attendees: Beth, Jenny and Terri

Restaurant description: Warm, intimate and cozy. A real family feel, as the owner and his daughters work in the restaurant.

The meal: We all had brushetta for an appetizer (TDF). Beth had grilled chicken breast with vegetables and french fries, and a glass of chardonnay. Jenny ate chicken capriese with capers, mushrooms and peppers. She drank an O'Douls Amber. Terri enjoyed the chicken marsala (TFDF) with vegetables and penne. We all had caesar salad with bread and a garlic shmear. For dessert we split tirimisu (TFDF).

Restaurant rating:
Taste: 4.75
Creativity of dish: 3.5
Atmosphere: 4.5

Memorable moment(s) of the evening: Jenny licking TJ's credit card right as it was being handed to our server because it had a little tirimisu on it (TJ had dropped it). We also met the restaurant owner and executive chef Raffaele, who made Beth and TJ a Peachcello. Raffaele also autographed our DDC journal, writing "Grazie piacere della conoscenza." No idea what that means, but we're pretty sure he said, "You are three hot mamas, come back anytime!"

Meeting #3

Kafe 421
421 14th Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Member pick: Jenny
Attendees: Jenny, Beth and TJ

Restaurant description: Quaint, quiet and classy! A lovely cafe in Dinkytown Minneapolis.

The meal: Beth had tomato basil soup (TDF), a cheeseburger and fries, and South African white wine. Jenny and TJ shared a Greek salad. Jenny had a chicken pesto sandwich (TDF) and fries. Terri enjoyed a portabella sandwich, fries and South African white wine.

Restaurant rating:
Taste: 4.5
Creativity of dish: 3.75
Atmosphere: 4.5

Memorable moment(s) of the evening: Flashback!! Annie's Parlour malts!! We called Emily and Amy and sang Happy Birthday to Amy, as well as singing her THE SONG! And quote of the night: "You guys have to go in there, I could sit in there for hours!" -Jenny, upon returning from the restroom.

Meeting #2

Gardens de Salonica
19 Fifth Street NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Member pick: TJ
Attendees: Beth, Jenny and TJ

Restaurant description: Newly remodeled building (circa 1920) with a modern, albeit retro look and feel. Located in Northeast Mpls. This restaurant is Greek/Mediterranean and serves mainly organic, natural food.

The meal: We started with a bruschetta appetizer. Jenny had Greek lasagna with beef, cheese and noodles. She also enjoyed a salad with feta cheese and authentic Greek dressing. Beth and Terri shared a fish dish, that came with noodles and a Greek salad. Terri sipped on white wine. For dessert, Beth had bachlava and an espresso shot (Greek style!), Jen ate organic Greek ice cream, and TJ had chocolate cake.

Restaurant rating:
Taste: 3.75
Creativity of dish: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Memorable moment of the evening: Our hot waiter (approximate age: 25 years old...a little young, but whatever) remarked "Find a babysitter!" to us under his breath, as the couple next to us had a young, screaming child.

The DDC is born....

JP American Bistro
2937 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Member pick: BETH
Attendees: Beth and TJ

Restaurant description: Renovated warehouse that provides an elegent, yet cozy environment. Located just off of Lake Street in Uptown Minneapolis.

The meal: We started with an appetizer, which was a flaky pastry drizzled with honey and mango salsa. Delicious! For the main course, Beth had the flatbread margherita pizza and a glass of white wine. Terri had a tuna burger with sweet potato french fries and white wine.

Restaurant rating:
Taste: 3.5
Creativity of dish: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Memorable moment of the evening: First, while eating the appetizer, "The chef really took a risk with this one, and it paid off!" -TJ. Secondly, during this dinner the idea of the DDC was born!

Welcome to the DDC!

Yes, at long last the blog has arrived. I know many of you have heard of the wonderful dining club known as the DDC. Now we hope to share with you our dining experiences and reviews from around the twin cities area and beyond.

So how did this all begin? As you know Terri has joined us back in the Minneapolis area for a year long appointment while finishing her doctorate. After a dinner with her in a new joint, we decided to make this a social club with our good friend Jennifer Forrest. We laid out a plan for the club and came up with the name, Discovery Dining Club, or DDC for short.

Each month we choose a new location where none of us have been. We go for dinner and review the restaurant for atmosphere, taste of the food, and creativity of the dishes. It is a highly scientific rating scale of 1 for poor to 5 for great. We also have one moment from each meal that stands out above the rest that we will share with all of you.

Each month we will be adding the latest location for all of you to review. We have already visited a number of places that we will be adding in the next couple weeks for you to review.

If you have a place you want us to check out, drop us a comment. Want more details about a place we’ve been, let us know. We are here to help you experience some hidden treasures in dining. And eat some great food in the process. We also offer a guest seat at each meal so if you would like to join us, please let us know and we will discuss your attendance with the board of directors.

Check back soon….

Founding members and board of directors- Terri, Jenny and Beth