Thursday, September 07, 2006
Dinner at El Nuevo Rodeo
I was taken on an unexpectedly fabulous dinner date last Friday to what is apparently the Twin Cities' Latin dining and dancing destination of the minute. Perhaps I am revealing my un-hipness here, but had I not caught up on the word via a post-visit Google search, I would have never thought El Nuevo Rodeo is the place to be. Maybe because we were the ONLY peeps in the place. Which was maybe because we were there early to score some eats before heading off on a quick dash to IKEA, but I'm sure the old people had been lined up outside the Cracker Barrel for at least an hour or two, so it's not like it was THAT early.
Anyway, the food was AM-A-ZING. We ordered the Parrillada (menu here) on the recommendation of our hostess/server/bartender. This dish also happened to be the only thing she was willing to recommend, and I couldn't tell if this was because it was the only thing she liked, because it was the only thing she felt comfortable describing in English, or if this was a snub because we weren't speaking Spanish. I suspect it was the latter, but whatever, because it was beyond delicious.
Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting that this was going to be a picture-worthy kind of date, so I didn't bring my camera, but you get a bit of an idea via the phonecam:
That thing is an elevated, heated tray that was basically a pile-o-grilled meat along with some cactus leaf, onion, the most amazing fried cheese I have ever eaten, and some seriously fresh warm corn tortillas. There are not words to describe how tasty it all was, but my favorite was the beef short ribs that would have made a vegetarian kneel and beg. Absolutely the definition of cow deliciousness. So the gist of the thing...I think... is that you wrap up all these various tidbits in a tortilla and chow down, which is exactly what we did, with enough leftovers for at least another meal or two. And the 2 for 1 margaritas were pretty dang tasty too.
It was unlike anything I have ever eaten and a lot like what I hope to be eating again soon. And apparently you can hook yourself up with this and everything else on the restaurant menu until 3am, which ought to keep you off the White Castle crack for a while. So check it out, but also check out the online reviews to get an idea of what you might be in for if you're planning on going later in the evening...
El Nuevo Rodeo
2709 East Lake Street
Minneapolis MN 55406
612.728.0101
Anyway, the food was AM-A-ZING. We ordered the Parrillada (menu here) on the recommendation of our hostess/server/bartender. This dish also happened to be the only thing she was willing to recommend, and I couldn't tell if this was because it was the only thing she liked, because it was the only thing she felt comfortable describing in English, or if this was a snub because we weren't speaking Spanish. I suspect it was the latter, but whatever, because it was beyond delicious.
Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting that this was going to be a picture-worthy kind of date, so I didn't bring my camera, but you get a bit of an idea via the phonecam:
That thing is an elevated, heated tray that was basically a pile-o-grilled meat along with some cactus leaf, onion, the most amazing fried cheese I have ever eaten, and some seriously fresh warm corn tortillas. There are not words to describe how tasty it all was, but my favorite was the beef short ribs that would have made a vegetarian kneel and beg. Absolutely the definition of cow deliciousness. So the gist of the thing...I think... is that you wrap up all these various tidbits in a tortilla and chow down, which is exactly what we did, with enough leftovers for at least another meal or two. And the 2 for 1 margaritas were pretty dang tasty too.
It was unlike anything I have ever eaten and a lot like what I hope to be eating again soon. And apparently you can hook yourself up with this and everything else on the restaurant menu until 3am, which ought to keep you off the White Castle crack for a while. So check it out, but also check out the online reviews to get an idea of what you might be in for if you're planning on going later in the evening...
El Nuevo Rodeo
2709 East Lake Street
Minneapolis MN 55406
612.728.0101
