Vacation Restaurants

Well, we got back from vacation yesterday. We had such a good time spending time with just each other and the kids. We made it a point to visit only non-chain restaurants if possible so that we could try new things. Here are some of the places that we visited:

• Mickey's Diner (36 7th St W, St Paul, MN 55102) - It is an original American diner established in 1939. The pancakes are absolutely delicious. Also, my husband is not a baked bean fan but he actually ate all of the beans that came with his meal, they were very good. I would highly recommend stopping in if you are near Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• Izzy's Ice Cream (2034 Marshall Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104) - We made it a point to stop in at this ice cream shop as it was featured on an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" (yes, we do watch too much Food Network). They had so many interesting and delicious flavors, and they top every cone/dish with an "Izzy scoop," which is a small scoop of any flavor ice cream that sits on the very top of your main selection. I had Creme Coffee Crunch with an Izzy of Coconut. Jared had Cream Cheese with an Izzy of Fresh Cantaloupe, which really truly tasted just like a fresh cantaloupe! Our 2-1/2 year old ordered just plain chocolate but then told us later that it had strawberries, broccoli (which he actually hates), and jumping beans in it:)
  
• Rainforest Cafe (Mall of America) - Our food was really good until we found a hair in our son's meal and one in my husband's. But they were really good about giving us some hefty discounts because of this. We had the Spinach and Artichoke Dip for an appetizer. I had the Tuscan Chicken (two chicken breasts topped with a sauce of grilled cucumber, tomoto, kalamata olive, and one other thing that I can't remember) with a serving of garlic mashed potatoes (they were made with baby reds and were sooooo delicious). The kids had the shrimp kid's meal and the grilled cheese kid's meal.
• Ebeneezer's (200 Pearl St, La Crosse, WI 54601) - We got to have a "date night" while on vacation and this is the restaurant we went to for dinner. We had the Pizza Fries for an appetizer. I had the Californian 10" pizza (a basil pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and then I added diced, grilled chicken), it was so good! I think that I will try making pizza on the grill sometime this summer. Jared had a Chicken Bacon Club pizza, which was also very good. If you ever try Ebeneezer's and you still have room for dessert, there is an ice cream shop right across the street that is really good (The Pearl), they also sell homemade candies, fudges, etc. and they just opened a coffee shop next door. We didn't have room for dessert this time, but I have been to The Pearl on other occasions.
• Jackie O's Coffee House (16846 S Davis St, Galesville, WI 54630) - We took my sister and brother-in-law here for lunch the day after they watched our kids overnight (so we could have a date night). Jared and I have been there at least a half dozen times. They have really good coffees, but they also serve a very simple lunch menu (you can get either the "Sandwich on the Square," which changes every day, a salad, or soup de jour). This time the "Sandwich" was a ham, swiss, spinach, and pineapple wrap with homemade mayo sauce. It was really good and I will probably try making this at home as well.