The Nook

Her perspective: C-

After seeing a special on this place on the Food Network, we decided to head out and see if it's as good as Matt's Juicy Lucy that we love.

This is a very small restaurant with barely any waiting room. We had to hear from someone in line that the bartender was taking care of the waiting list. I was hoping that the long line meant the food was worth the wait. It was completely packed. We waited about a little less than an hour and ended up sitting at the end of the bar, in perfect view of the kitchen. Bill ordered a Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke (Coke and grenadine). They both tasted a bit odd.

For an appetizer, we decided on cheese curds. They seemed undercooked and didn't have much flavor. The Ranch dressing they were served with it was really tasty, though.

We both ordered their signature burger: "Juicy Nookie". It mentioned in the menu that they are all cooked to medium and all are served with their fries which we had learned from the Food Network were "marinated" in vinegar. When we got our burgers (which have the cheese in the middle of the burger, in case you're unfamiliar with a Juicy Lucy), we noticed that they weren't very hot, especially the cheese in the middle. The meat tasted better than the burgers we get at Matt's, but not by much, and my burger was cooked Medium Rare to Rare, rather than the Medium it said in the menu. My stomach is very delicate right now due to my medical issues, so this was not good news. Also, both our orders of fries were very overcooked. We had noticed that the cook had cooked some fries, left them sitting over the fryer (which makes them soggy), then popped them back into the grease when he got an order for them, just to heat them and crisp them up a bit. That explains why ours were overdone.

We heard the bartender talking to the party next to us at the bar and she was saying that they were busy before they appeared on the Food Network, but were even busier afterwards. There is a second location about a mile away, but neither of us remember them saying anything about a second location on the show. So all the extra business is going to this location, which can't handle it. It just seemed like they were so busy, that the cooks were just trying to get the food out to the guests, but not making sure it was properly cooked.

The bartender had mentioned that the other location (which in the menu was called "The Irish Nook") was on Randolph and West 7th St. We looked for it and couldn't find it. The only pub that was there was a place called Shamrock's. When we got home, I looked on line and found out that the actual name of the second location is Shamrock's Irish Nook. The words irish nook were nowhere to be found on the sign outside, so there was no way for us to know that it was the right place.

Overall, we were very disappointed. It is definitely not worth the wait. I might go back for appetizers if I want to go someplace that's packed - and that will never happen... We will probably give the other location a try at some point, but most likely not soon. We would much rather get our Juicy Lucy's from Matt's at 35th and Cedar on Minneapolis.

I Am Legend...

Ever seen Resident Evil?

If you have, then you've seen this movie. Couple changes - One actor and dog to carry most of the movie (couple more people show up later). Still, it was creative and well thought out, but I felt like I'd seen it before (Resident Evil again) so I kinda knew what to expect. After awhile of watching, I started predicting things and was right more than half the time.

I don't like predictable movies, especially when they are supposed to be action-adventure-sci-fi-drama flicks.

Will Smith did well, and really does carry the movie for the first hour or so. The CGI (computer graphics) work and special effects were pretty good, though I've noted in the last couple years that its getting easier to spot and pick out the CGI work in movies. It still looks artificial and almost out of place to me. Maybe that's my color blindness making it stand out more, or maybe its just getting that noticeable again.

Either way, we'll probably end up buying this one after it's been out on DVD for a bit and the price drops. It was mostly enjoyable with a predictable ending (for me anyway).


Still, were trying to find another theater to see Michael Clayton in so we can catch it on the big screen and review it. Also working on Spiderwick, Golden Compass, Jumper and Vantage Point before we miss them entirely. Also looking forward to the next Narnia movie (coming soon!).

We saw I Am Legend at the GTI 4 in Roseville....

GTI 4 Theater - Roseville, MN

This is one of those $2 theaters ($1 on Tuesdays) were you can find first run movies that have left the main theaters.

That's the best part. Problems with this place include the mold and mildew smell in each of the theaters (Maryanne smelled urine and bleach at one point during our movie), broken seats, dirty floors and ceilings (water spots on most of the ceiling tiles, big ones).

This place is past run down and is heading towards decrepit. I used to hit this theater a few times a month just a few years back. It wasn't this bad back then but still had a few issues. Currently Maryanne needs to avoid moldy environments (lung issues right now) and we didn't even think about that until after we sat down and the smells started rolling in.

Unless we are desperate to see a movie in a theater, and we missed it in the main-line theaters, we don't plan on going back here anytime soon.

Snuffy's Malt Shop - Roseville, MN

I've been driving by this place for years. After the movie, we thought it'd be nice to stop in for a malt (shake for her) and a bite after seeing I Am Legend.

Long story short:
I cut my thumb on my malt spoon. It had a flat spot on the handle rubbing against or getting flattened by another piece of metal, and it had a nicely sharp edge. Went through my thumb like an x-acto knife blade.

My chocolate malt (and her shake) were apparently chocolate ice-cream and milk. Looked like a little too much milk was used (kinda runny) but still fine by themselves. Could've used an extra shot of chocolate though.

She got a chicken sandwich, and wasn't very happy with it. It looked like it wasn't cooked on the outside, but she kept cutting into it and checking and it was fully cooked. She said it felt slimy.

I got a cup of instant heart burn, also known as over-cooked (tasted, but did not look, burned) chili. Other than the slight burned taste, it was good and hot. Got me later when the diarrhea hit and I was burping it up all night. I hate to be so blunt like that, but this deserves it.

There is another Snuffy's place in St. Paul, and I've eaten there a few times before and liked it. So, I was expecting better of this location. I was disappointed instead.

We won't be back.