Fogo de Chão

Grade: C

We went here for her birthday thinking it be like a similar restaurant we'd previously dined at in Las Vegas. Both are similar in that the salad bar is your appetizer, and then servers constantly come around offering a variety of meats prepared in a few different fashions until you signal that you don't want anymore.

Fogo did that, but not very well. For starters this place is listed as fine dining, but the plethora of persons in jeans and t-shirts says otherwise. And the noise! My god, we couldn't talk to each sitting at the same table without having to regularly repeat ourselves. And our reservation! We actually arrived just a few minutes late (we had called ahead to let them know we'd be just a few minutes late) and still had to wait 20 minutes in the bar because they were over booked. Annoying, and not entirely understandable, but I'd have guessed that with this style of restaurant you'd have people dining longer as they're waiting for more food to brought around, and since it's basically all-you-can-eat people would take advantage.

I'd hoped the food would make up for some of these negatives, but actually it didn't. Some bits of meat were quite good, the rest tasted like they came off my backyard grill. Now that's not saying its bad, but if I can do that same kind of cooking and get the same kind of flavors by cooking at home, why would I go there and pay 4-times more for the food? We also had to settle on the champagne side of things. They don't carry Dom! What fine dining establishment doesn't carry on of the beverage standards for fine dining?!? We went with White Star instead (same vineyard as Dom) and all they had were splits (small bottles for those not familiar with the term) as there was a wedding reception happening in another area and apparently they drank all the larger bottles.

The salad bar was not at all impressive, and in fact they were out of a few items when we walked through. I waited around for a few minutes for the ceaser salad to get replenished, but the empty bowl just sat there with all these employee's walking back and forth around it.

I was very disappointed with the whole experience, and Maryanne wasn't much happier than I. She enjoyed all the food of course, but we both had similar issue with the atmosphere and other clientele.

Still, if you've never been to a Brazilian style restaurant, then give it a try. I'd suggest going during the week instead of a weekend, and make sure you arrive hungry (and are a meat eater of course). I wasn't at all impressed, but Maryanne overall enjoyed herself and that's what counted.

We did decide on the way home however that we're now on a mission to find the best fine dining establishments in the Twin Cities. We've dined at too many places that call themselves fine dining to not notice a sorry trend: they aren't fine dining. Armed with that knowledge we're going to search for the top 5, best of the best that the Cities has to offer.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 1

Unless your a huge Harry Potter fan and simply must see it now, wait for a rental.


Slow, plodding, lots of miscellaneous plot and storyline stuff... it all makes for a really dull movie. I understand that the last book of the series is simply too large to fit into one movie (which is why Part 1) but I'd think the screen writers or somebody could've at least made the movie more interesting.

The important bits: the threesome (Harry and friends) set off on their own yet again to find and destroy all the remaining horcruxes (sp?). They go alone because everyone else is in danger, Harry is being actively hunted buy the big V and his cronies, and Harry is afraid other people will get hurt (no surprise there). Ron and Harry of course get to fighting and Ron storms off only to return later to save Harry (go figure).

The biggest problem is that, in my mind, we've seen this movie already. They're not doing anything new yet (that's all in Part 2 I guess), and that makes it really boring especially when there are such long waits between the important bits. I guess you need to see it to understand what's coming, and that's a really weak reason to make a movie in my opinion, and understanding that I'd suggest you wait for a $1 rental in a few months. The second part is coming spring of next year if I recall correctly, and I'm sure they'll have this movie out on disc before then.

If you must see it in a theater, go for the matinee at least.

RED

Ehhh... See it in the theater while you have time I guess.


Not that the movie is bad mind you, just a bit slow and campy at time. There are some slick action sequences and such, but overall you'll be familiar with most of the characters right away. Bruce Willis is always cast in these down-n-out law enforcement type roles, which his role in this movie isn't exactly but it's awful close. Morgan Freeman is doing his best intellectual impersonation (with just a bit of action). You'll recognize lots of faces though you may not know all the names. And the movie plot is also pretty predictable so it makes it difficult to be surprised when things happen farther along (like the twist on the twist near the end, I saw it coming an hour earlier).

Regardless, it was overall a fun and enjoyable movie. I'll probably buy it when it comes out on video, and I'd suggest seeing it in the theater before it's gone. Go for a matinee with a bunch of friends and you'll do well. There is a lot of little stuff happening ont he screen, and if you don't have a very large screen to see it all you'll miss a few little bits here and there.