Not Our Typical Friday Night

Let me start by saying that last Friday night was a good night.  I saw Michelle Obama’s motorcade and my first sharpshooter.  Ben met the First Lady and I met an awesome bartender at La Belle Vie who told me that I can swap my caramels for a cocktail anytime (clearly I met the better person).  And maybe most importantly, we ate like we were preparing for a cold, long winter at The Butcher & the Boar.

If you know Ben, you would know that he is not easily swayed by celebrities or politicians or really anyone that “pats themselves” on the back.  So, when he shook Michelle Obama’s hand on Friday night at the Gen44 event and extolled that “I will never wash this hand again,” it meant a lot.


While Ben was at the event, I was enjoying a cocktail at La Belle Vie which may be the most beautiful bar in the city.  They described the drink as a "sparkling concord grape gin punch with explosive flavors."  I don't know if I would have used the word "explosive" to explain the added absinthe and balsamic but it was definitely tasty.  

And then there was the food.  Perhaps it was because we thought the world was ending as it was in the upper 70s on March 16th or we were confused that winter was around the corner so we needed to build up a fat reserve...but in either case, the food was too delicious to turn down once we sat at the bar of The Butcher & the Boar.  

Our dinner included the:
  1. Pickled Heart Marcella: The hearts come from the StoneBridge beef farm in Long Prairie. I believe that the dish is a family recipe named after the owner's grandmother. This dish is not for the faint of heart (no pun intended) but definitely worth a try. 
  2. Wild Boar Hot Link: The sausage was great but did not taste as unique as I would have liked. Next time I want to try the walleye-wild rice sausage. 
  3. Fulton Beer-Battered Fries: Thank goodness there were only ten of these because I could have--and would have--eaten 50 myself. 
  4. Lobster Grilled Cheese: I do not use this phrase often but this was honestly one of the most amazingly delicious things I have ever eaten in my life.
Pickled Heart Marcella
Wild Boar Hot Link & Fulton Beer-Battered Fries
Lobster Grilled Cheese
Food aside, you must like this restaurant simply because they have one of the best logos ever:

Late Night Feast

I am not usually a fan of restaurants that claim to be fantastic, get rave reviews, but do not take reservations and are always booked...solid.  Hey, I want to try to the food, too!  But, and this is a big but, Ben and I finally made it to Tilia last night and it was wonderful and worth every piece of praise.  [Sidenote: We had a slight mishap with another new/re-opened restaurant this year that also claimed to be phenomenal but turned out to be an utter disaster...I will exclude its name as I need to give it one more chance.]  Back to Tilia: we heard that you can get in later in the evening so we went to a movie and then headed to the restaurant at 930.  It as amazing to see that the entire place was packed, the bar + all of the tables (kudos to them).  Luckily, Ben and I were seated immediately and, not surprisingly at all, we ordered a lot of food and ate it all in mere minutes.

Our feast included the:
  1. Butternut Squash Soup: Hands down, the best squash soup I have ever had...although a close second goes to Birchwood.
  2. Potted Meat: The meat of choice was duck breast and is served like paté covered with its own fat.  Any concern that you may have of eating this goes out the window once you spread it on grilled toast and devour.
  3. Mussels España: Although not as good as the mussels that we had on our honeymoon in Spain, these were delicious.
  4. Scallops: These were good but I would not order them again.
  5. Brussels Sprouts: One word, mmmmmmm.  Covered in ham and walnuts.
  6. And, if we hadn't eaten enough: Toffee Date Cake smothered in caramel.


I am ranking Tilia up there with 112 and Alma...which I believe to be the highest of praise.