Eating at the Forestsedge, Saints Game, Bean Bags

June 8th, 2008 in Apple Valley, Bars and Pubs, Metro, Restaurants, South Metro, St Paul

This weekend Kim and I were busy with the usual suspects first with a Saints Baseball Game, then Panino Brothers with Josh until close, then a quick change of plans to tacos, bean bags, beer, wine and a movie at our house on Saturday.

Because we were at the Advocates for Human Rights 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner on Thursday, we couldn’t pick up the Harmony Valley Farm CSA box like we normally do. I have talked about the CSA boxes received already this year and I noted that while I knew it was going to be slow early in the season, I was a bit surprised at just how small the boxes were. We were also disappointed that the grass was always greener on the other side with us seeming to miss the “good stuff” on the off weeks we had. This time, however, we found that the box was filled with goodies that were not only different but also included some of the stuff we missed out on last time (like Rhubarb — which Laura uses in a fantastic pie recipe). We had Chris and Laura change the pickup location to Bloomington so they could pick it up for us and they brought the box over on Saturday. I did my usual photos of the unboxing (is that like when nerds unbox electronics gear?) and sampled some of the merchandise. Yummo. I’m really looking forward to another Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from Laura and the excellent mix of salad greens that came with the box this time.

On Friday we joined up with Chris, Laura and Josh for a night at Midway Stadium to watch the Saint Paul Saints (who are apparently leading their division) get fucking rocked by the Wichita Wingnuts. Near the end of the game, with 90% of the “fans” heading for their cars or long gone, we watched as the Saints attempted to mount a comeback in the 9th. After being down 12-1 on 11 hits they lost 12-2 with at least 4 errors. Awesome.

After the game, Josh, Kim and I headed to Panino Brothers for beer, a root beer float for Kim, some snacks and well, more beer. The “Tap of the Month” is PBR and it’s always on sale for $2. Even with happy hour specials at $2.50, I was sticking with the cheap stuff to keep the tab low :) At least when it’s served in a Guiness/Harp pint glass it looks prettier than it tastes. Josh enjoyed some Jager Bombs and cheese curds with their homemade ranch dressing. After closing the bar down after 2 AM, I walked outside to a downpour and called Kim to come get us. By the time she showed up it had already stopped and I swore up and down that it was actually raining when I called — our driveway was dry. I was originally slated to go caching with Chuck at 6:30 in Lake Elmo on Saturday morning but as I approached Cedar in Apple Valley (in the car) I read Chuck’s e-mail that he was a gigantic pussy and stayed in bed (I was running on 3 hours of sleep and I made it!) but I later found out that he had actually went caching later that morning — effectively ditching me and moving him down on my hero list one notch.

We had originally planned to head to Chris and Laura’s for a day of bags, dinner, beer, etc but a last minute change in plans had them at our place for more of the same. Kim and I straightened up the house a bit with Kim doing most of that as I ran to the grocery store for some lunch and some random missing items that we needed. Chris and Laura arrived around 2:30 and we spent the afternoon out in the sunshine playing bean bags (Laura and I only won once, grrr!). It actually got a little too warm so we retreated inside to play some cards, snack on pretzel dip, and relax. When we looked outside again, the clouds had rolled in and it looked like it was going to storm. Braving a few random drops from the sky, we played several more unsuccessful games on bags (with Kim and Chris stomping all over us each time) and took everything inside before it started to rain (it never did). We made dinner while the girls ran out for more beer (it was hot and we were thirsty!) and a bottle of wine. Sticking to the tradition of Minnesota wines, like we had last week straight from the source, Kim and Laura picked out a bottle of Rhubarb Raspberry Blend from the Forestedge Farm and Winery in Laporte, MN. None of us were nearly as impressed with the wine that we drank last night as it was a bit acidic and pretty nasty. It also did not share the same crack-like after effects or the same great taste. I don’t recommend that anyone buy the Rhubarb Raspberry Blend from the Forestedge Winery.

After dinner we popped in Will Farrell’s Semi-Pro which was the first movie I happened upon when I was out and about yesterday. I didn’t really give it much thought and got my ass back home before Kim yelled at me that I wasn’t helping enough. I knew nothing about the movie other than it starred Will Farrel and it was about basketball. I was surprised to see both Maura Tierney (from such award winners as Welcome to Mooseport and Instinct) and Woody Harrelson and wondered if they really thought that playing in a Will Farrell movie would give some sort of short burst to their lame careers. The movie is rated a 5.9/10 on IMDB and a 21% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was so bad it was funny — perhaps that’s what they were going for? Between the bad overall plot that was nearly pointless to the sad, sad, sad “love story” between Tierney and Harrelson which was egged on by Tierney’s wife (including a scene where he finds the two lovers fucking on the couch and sits down at the kitchen table to jerk-off while he watches — ick) it was nearly painful to watch. All the beer and glasses of wine in the world (I finished off Laura’s after she decided she didn’t like it) couldn’t numb me from the pain I experienced watching it. I have since been banned from renting movies in the future.

See all the pictures from this weekend on Flickr here, here and here (camera, mobile).