Last night I had originally planned on eating leftovers from the enchiladas we had with the gang the night before but as the day went on I found myself eating most of the leftovers for lunch and a midday snack. After that, I told Kim I thought we were going to have hot dogs and sauerkraut but I remembered that my horseradish mustard was at work in the fridge and because no one should eat hot dogs with anything other than sauerkraut, mustard and possibly red onions, I decided we needed to have something else entirely. We had a couple of frozen pizzas in the freezer but the rest of our food was either too thin for dinner on a Sunday or frozen solid. So I did the obvious: ordered out for pizza.

We have been getting fliers for Umbria Gourmet Pizza for quite some time and they have always looked impressive. Rarely do you get something from a pizza place that is not bundled with other trash, looks glossy and comes with as many coupons as this one does. I must admit that advertising worked to get a customer…

I couldn’t find our most recent flier from them, even though it arrived just the other day, so I looked them up online and called instead of ordering on the web. They had a little asterisk next to Apple Valley for a limited delivery area so the first thing I asked was whether or not they would deliver to my address. He said that they deliver to all of Apple Valley so I guess their website and fliers are wrong. After some communication errors over my address as well as a 5 minute wait on hold while he tried to find the incorrect address he thought I said first, we were set. $21.96 and 40 minutes I was told…

I ordered the Rancho Chicken which is listed as a “Umbria Signature Pizza” and includes grilled chicken breast, smoked bacon, Canadian bacon, green peppers, fresh tomatoes, green onions, ranch, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. This is very similar to a pizza we used to get in college except Kim wouldn’t order it with anything except cheese, ranch, and chicken. I like all that extra shit and because it’s on the menu like that, I assume it should be eaten that way as well.

The pizza arrived in exactly 39 minutes and was still quite warm as opposed to Linwood Pizza in Apple Valley which is quite a bit closer, took longer, and was cold when it arrived. Their special was a side order of garlic bread for free so I got that as well. I opened the garlic bread and found quite a few pieces of bread with a small container of marinara. The marinara was kinda lame and the garlic bread was pretty salty but was soft and well coated with butter. I’d eat the bread again but would ask for something other than their marinara to dip it in. The pizza looked great. It’s rare that I open a pizza in Minnesota, especially one from a local chain, and find it cut correctly and looking so tasty!

I grabbed two plates, peeled off a slice for myself and then one for Kim and added a piece of garlic bread with marinara sauce to each and dug in. The crust was doughy (the way I prefer it) the pizza was cheesy, meaty, and excellent. Kim wasn’t a fan as she wants her chicken ranch pizzas boring as hell but I thought everything was pretty much top notch… I immediately posted to Twitter the shortest and most accurate review of this particular pizza:

Quite possibly the best pizza I’ve eaten in Minnesota — whatever that’s worth.

Kim looked over the menu and said while she wouldn’t get this one again because of all the extra stuff on it that she doesn’t like, there are some other pizzas offered that she would definitely order instead. My only complaint for the entire pizza was that the smoked bacon flavor was a little over the top and I could taste it with every bite. Other than that, I’d order this every single time we ordered out for pizza.

Address:
Umbria Gourmet Pizza
1965 Cliff Lake Road
Eagan, MN 55122

Phone:
651-332-5332

Hours:
Sunday to Thursday: 11am - 9pm
Friday and Saturday: 11am - 10pm

See all the pictures from tonight on Flickr here (mobile).

Tonight, after getting home from geocaching around Menomonie, WI I was looking for somewhere different to eat that would give me the spicy food I desired. We haven’t eaten Indian food in quite some time so I poked around on the web and found Sambol in Eagan, MN. When I brought up Sambol I expected to be immediately shot down by Kim who isn’t much of a fan of trying something outside her comfort zone. I was shocked when she agreed and soon we were out the door to Sambol.

They open for dinner at 5pm on Sunday and we arrived at about 5:45 to a nearly empty restaurant. There were only 5 people, at three tables, all next to the window. After waiting for a large takeout order to be carried outside and some other minor business to be attended to, we were seated in the far corner by the window overlooking most of the restaurant. The place was decorated nicely and there was some soft Indian music playing in the background. Everyone at their tables seemed to be enjoying the food they had and I was looking forward to my meal.

I opened the menu and on the first page they say, “Sambol restaurant was started with a simple idea — to provide a unique dining experience that will bring back memories of far away lands… The cuisine is an artful blend of exotic ingredients that finds its influence from India and Sri Lanka which includes flavors from all regions of the two countries.” Sounds good so far!

After much decision making, we chose their Vegetarian Sampler Platter (for two) which included samosa, paneer pakora, vegetable pakora, and alu tiki for $9.95. We also ordered a side of garlic naan to nosh on. Kim chose their Palak Paneer which is a dish of homemade cheese and spinach that’s gently spiced for $11.95. I asked the waiter to recommend something spicy as that’s what I was looking for tonight (to clear our my sinuses affected by allergies) and he offered two dishes. The first I didn’t catch but he mentioned the Chicken Tikka Masala which I was actually considering and went with that. He asked if I wanted it “spicy” or “very spicy”. I went with “very spicy”. Chicken Ikka Masala is described as tender pieces of chicken cooked in a spicy sauce of tomatoes, made heady with chopped onion and green pepper cooked to a creamy perfection for $13.45. Sounded very yummy.

After taking our orders, I looked over the drink and dessert menu. They have numerous wines and beers available ranging from your typical domestics ($4.25) to beers imported from India ($4.95 to $7.95). They also offer Chai, Lassi (a fruit and yogurt drink in Mango, Strawberry or “Sweet”), a mango milkshake and mango juice for $3.25 each. There were several dessert items listed and all sounded quite tasty. When assuming Kim wouldn’t want to try Sambol, I told her that the desserts looked so good that she just had to try it ;)

Our appetizer was out first with two sauces (I am unsure of what either were but Kim and I really enjoyed the brown one) and then a few minutes later came our garlic naan. The appetizers were absolutely fantastic and were very reminiscent of what we ate at my buddy Manu’s wedding reception in Los Angeles. The garlic naan was very tasty and I quickly snarfed it down while Kim enjoyed her’s a little more slowly.

Our food came out in two bowls alongside a another of rice for my dish. Kim’s dish was a deep green color and mine a very bright orange-red. As I was taking photos Kim mentioned that she could already smell mine. After putting my nose directly up to each dish I was able to smell them but with the allergies wrecking my sinuses it wasn’t as pronounced for me.

I took a small bite of mine before asking Kim if I could try some of her meal. The menu didn’t intend for her dish to be eaten with rice but she chose to do it that way so I did it that way as well. I was immediately impressed with the flavors and was quite surprised at how very good it was. My dish was equally as impressive. It wasn’t as spicy as I really had been looking for but the flavors were not muddled and all had me really wanting for more and more — I had to hold myself back to save some for lunch tomorrow!

We ordered desserts after dinner. Kim went with the Gulab Jamun (deep fried milk balls in sweet syrup) and I went with their mango custard (creamy mango pudding with fresh fruits) for $3.55/ea. My mango “pudding” didn’t have much of a pudding consistency but tasted very good. Kim’s milk balls were very sweet and reminded her of doughnuts. I didn’t care for her dessert at all but I thoroughly enjoyed mine.

In total, with a large appetizer, naan, dinner and two desserts, our bill was just under $48. Please note that they will automatically add grituity of 15% for parties of 4 or more.

While we are not at all well versed on this type of food we both agreed that this was a top restaurant for us and comes highly recommended for service, ambiance and food. I am really looking forward to returning for their lunch buffet as well as future dinners with friends. It certainly rocked what we had at Tandor in Bloomington. If you’re looking for a nice night out and some decent Indian food, we recommend that you give Sambol a try. Please let us know what you think.

Address:

Sambol Restaurant
1260 Town Centre Dr
Eagan, MN 55123

Phone:
651-688-8686

Lunch Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Dinner Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Check out all the pics from Sambol on Flickr here (camera).

From the Pioneer Press’ Eagan Police Calls:

Blind beef bandits breakout, “Boo-ya!” before bolting:

Shoplifting: It was reported April 24 that a man stole about $30 worth of steaks from Cub Foods, 1940 Cliff Lake Road. A witness reported seeing a female in a waiting car. The couple gave each other a high-five, apparently thinking they had not been seen.