Warning, citizens of Buzzland! The end of the world (as we know it) is at hand!

Just wanted to make people aware of a horrible experience we just had at Chatterbox on Cleveland Ave., in St. Paul.

The story: We had to hire the 17 yr old daughter of one of our friends, to be a nanny-for-the-day, so she could drive my 13 year old daughter to and from local camps all day. The day included the need to stop somewhere for lunch, and they chose for some strange reason, the Chatterbox. They decided macaroni and cheese would be a safe bet, and told the server their choice of entree, all the while pointing to the kids' menu. The server told them they were not young enough (12 or under), therefore she would order them each an adult portion. The server did NOT tell them that the difference in price was a change of $4 for kids menu, to $11 for the adult entree. They barely ate 1/3 of the entree each were served, and then received the bill for about $25 (one lemonade was ordered along with the food). The girls gave $27 and some change, and left with large take-home leftover boxes, which sat in the hot car while the camps were attended during the day (i.e. food spoiled).

The analysis: $25 for two orders of mac-n-cheese. WOW. No, the girls were not astute enough nor experienced enough to negotiate a way to get smaller sized portions for non-adult (adults are 18 and over the last time I looked), for a smaller entree cost. No, the server did not suggest that they split an adult entree. Chatterbox could've even charged the girls a plate splitting fee, and I would've been ok with that! And No, the girls did not think about the fact that even if they HAD leftovers, the food would not be edible after 4 hours in a hot car.  Read more...

Ok,

Trying to figure out where to spend my online time finding out what is going on in town. What people are saying, where they are eating, what art is worth going to see, what bands make a difference, what opinions rule the day, what wine tastes best, who slipped up, what they said, where the heat is, when is it going to heat up. You know the drill. Should I spend my time here? If not, then where?

For those of you who claim to like authentic Thai food, and have learned from prior experience that there really isn't any of it in the Twin Cities, I have happy news to report.

Bangkok Thai Deli, 315 University Ave in St Paul, is a gem. It's all about the food, and nothing at all about conventional western restaurant experience. The place is filled with plastic tables, vinyl red-and-white checked table cloths and metal folding chairs. Holy church basement furniture Batman!

The owners are Thai, the wife is the head chef and a veteran of more than 30 years of restaurant work. The woman can cook and offers great food at prices about 30% less than other less authentic places around town. The menu is a little hard to parse because their English descriptions don't always match what you may be accustomed to reading in Thai restaurants. Don't fret. Just ask for what you're looking for and you'll get the best version you've ever had.

My wife is Thai, we live in Bangkok about three months a year, and this is the only place in town we'll go for Thai food. BTD doesn't compromise, and its food tastes exactly like the same dish does in Bangkok.

Cheers.

You absolutely have to give this place a try! Sen Yai Sen Lek opened its doors on September 15th. This Thai food is fabulous! Your taste buds will have a treat! The food is truly traditional Thai. The head chef, Joe Hatch-Surisook, has been teaching wonderful cooking classes in uptown for years. Talk to the servers, as they are really knowledgeable about the cuisine. Co-owners, Joe and his wife, Holly, have a very strong social and environmental sustainability attitude. They are strongly connected in the neighborhood on the North side. The atmosphere is really fun and sophisticated with a dash of color. It has a great neighborhood feel and it will soon be difficult to get an empty table, I'm sure! You can find them just south of Central and Lowry! Don't forget the Green Tea Ice Cream!!!

Black Sheep Coffee Cafe, of South Saint Paul, has launched their new roaster and is celebrating by donating part of their whole-bean proceeds to local charity Neighbors, Inc and international charity Coffee Kids.

If your only experience with coffee has been at Starbucks, Dunn Brothers, or Caribou, and you've never watched a barista pour latte art, you owe it to yourself to check this place out!

Each drink is handcrafted -no automatic, or semi-automatic machines- with beans roasted fresh on site. Not to mention the full line of made-from-scratch bakery, soups, salads, and sandwiches served all day, everyday.

It's great locally owned cafe that cares as much about the community as they do about the food and coffee they serve. Help the little guy give back, and enjoy some fabulous coffee while doing so.

www.blacksheepcoffeecafe.com
705 Southview Boulevard
South Saint Paul, MN 55075

(Article printed in the Minnesota Restaurateur, Winter 2008)

Today's readily available mobile phone technology gives more advertising opportunities to restaurant owners. With more than 530% growth of cell phone users in the United States in the last 10 years, having one is no longer a luxury. Everyone from children to the elderly are carrying a cell phone wherever they go. As of December 2006, more than 18.5 billion text messages are sent every month - and that number has grown by 250% each year for the last two years. Every cell phone is equipped with this cheap and easy to use technology.

Until now, the most popular way to attract customers was publishing a coupon in a direct mailer or newspaper, and hoping that of the thousands that potentially see it, some will actually use it. With the help of text messaging, restaurants can send sudden and unexpected deals to shoppers who have specified that they are in the area right now and are ready to spend. In order to receive these deals, shoppers only need to provide basic anonymous demographic information to create a free account. Once an account is created, shoppers can log in anytime to begin receiving deals from restaurants in a particular geographic location throughout the day.

Once a match is made in the system, the information gets sent to shoppers' cell phones as text messages and are received in less then a minute. The best feature about this new service is that shoppers are in control of how many deals they receive and the company guarantees not to sell or spam shoppers' cell phones numbers.

"Unlike paper coupons, these messages are guaranteed to be read by a shopper that is ready to dine right now," says Julian Reytel, founder of Sudden Deals, one such text messaging company. Having chosen the best deal, the shopper visits the restaurant and shows their phone screen to the server to receive the discount.   Read more...

In celebration of the launch of the first Punch Neapolitan Pizza contest, the Northeast Minneapolis restaurant, located at 210 Hennepin Ave. East, will host a Punch Photo Night. Customers will receive half priced pizza and are encouraged to take photos at the restaurant to enter in the Capture Our Fire Photo Contest.

Photo entries must be submitted online at www.Flickr.com. Grand prize winners in each category will be awarded a $500 dining card to Punch Pizza. Runners-up in each category will receive a $250 dining card to Punch Pizza. Contest details are available at ILovePunchPizza.com.

Attention all Punch Pizza lovers, photographers, bloggers and anyone who can use a digital camera or camera phone. Punch Neapolitan Pizza, the Twin Cities authentic Neapolitan pizza restaurant, has launched the Capture Our Fire Photo Contest. This contest encourages customers and all to submit a photo of their favorite Punch pizza or Punch Pizza moment - whether artistic, silly or candid - for the opportunity to win a grand prize and have the winning photographs showcased on the Punch Pizza blog, new Web site and in the restaurants.

Photo entries will be judged on creativity, clarity, content, composition and appeal. Grand prize winners in each category listed below will be awarded a $500 dining card to Punch Pizza. Runners-up in each category will receive a $250 dining card to Punch Pizza. Get details at ILovePunchPizza.com.