Rudy’s Redeye Grill has locations in both White Bear Lake and Alexandria. They are also related to Axel’s River Grille in Mendota. All are apparently exclusive to Minnesota but with the Rosemount location it appears that they are continuing their expansion.
From the outside it looks like any other chain restaurant (think Ruby Tuesdays) but the inside is something else entirely. It’s warm (lots of hardwoods and deep reds), nicely decorated, and honestly I felt *way* underdressed until I saw that 99% of the patronage was dressed as poor or poorer than I was :)
We were greeted and told that we had about a 10 min wait walking in at ~6pm unless we wanted to sit outside. With the temps in the mid 80s today we opted to absorb more of the warm glow and sit on their comfy sofas near the front door.
We were seated about 5 minutes after taking a seat in their Pier Oneish sofa lounge and were treated to a knowledgeable staff member who educated us about their wine and bar specials. We opted for non-alcoholic drinks even though their bar looks well stocked and quite inviting ;)
The menu was fairly simple. A large single page of options in large text. I didn’t bother to do any math but I’d that the average prices were around $20. I was a little surprised by the high prices and by the order choices of our fellow patrons, I would guess that they too were expecting something a little less expensive. They do have some $9 appetizers, burgers, and pizzas for $10 if you are looking for something more “average” but I would guess you would be coming here for huge pork and beef dishes instead.
The waitress was in a rush — wanting to take our order almost immediately as if I had been here before and knew what I wanted. After some silent suggestions that she move along, she did.
I decided on their 14oz pork tenderloin medallions with twice baked potato (they have several potato choices including smashed (like Copper Bleu), baked, twice baked, and shoestring) and vegetable. Kim ordered Axel’s pan fried walleye with toasted almonds. Sounds good so far. I was surprised to be asked how I wanted my pork cooked (nice touch especially in Minnesota) and then ordered a Caesar side salad.
The salad came out quickly and was loaded with freshly grated cheese. The waitress kindly asked if I would like some fresh ground black pepper — bring it on! Very fresh and crisp, well done. Not the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had but certainly better than average.
While waiting for our main entrees, Kim mentioned several interesting things:
1. With all their fancy artwork, decorations, and ambiance, they have rough terry cloth napkins on the tables. While very useful they don’t match the rest of the decor. Strange — more fitting for a wings/ribs place, not here.
2. The waitstaff is rushing around everywhere. We experienced *no* waits on anything after the initial 5 mins to be seated but they could slow down just a bit IMHO :)
3. This restaurant is *far* nicer than Copper Bleu and you don’t feel like you are sittng in your neighbors lap (like both the Copper Bleu and Viva Italia in Eagan)
Out food came out quickly and was impressive to look at both in presentation and portion size. My pork medallions (3) were smothered in some sort of mango salsa, came with a side of green beans and carrots tossed in what seems like a light teriyaki sauce or thai peanut (which I could have done without). The twice baked potato was huge, cheesy, and was on its own plate. Kim’s *huge* piece of walleye was smothered in almonds and the second she put the first bite in her mouth I knew my meal would not be disappointing. She was just nodding and smiling after the first taste — heh.
As I said before, I was surprised when the waitress asked how I wanted my pork cooked. She offered that most people would prefer it medium to medium well but that they temperature check them to ensure they are fully cooked. I ordered mine medium and while they were a little on the rare side I still enjoyed them — especially with their excellent fresh from the grill char taste. Mmm. Note: if you are squeamish about the color of your pork, I suggest you get it well done :)
Kim’s walleye *was* tasty (I actually got a taste because the huge portion allowed for that this time ;)). She is going to end up taking this home yet she’s already interested in “seeing” the dessert menu “even though she’s not going to order any”…. Sure Kim ;)
Another “rush” came in around 6:40 and we were waiting a bit after dinner (time for me to write this up heh) and we watched a *ENORMOUS* piece of cheesecake (literally two slices stacked on top of each other) go by… Soon after our own waitress brough the dessert tray to tempt us and tempt us it did; so much so that, as predicted, Kim folded and ordered a dessert.
I went with their “Death by Chocolate” a *very* rich warm brownieish cake with frozen raspberries, blueberries, and whipped cream drizzled with a raspberry sauce. Kim went with their “Baked Alaska”, a merengue covered chocolate cake with mocha flavored ice cream. Wow. It was so large that Kim couldn’t finish it while complaining, “I wish we could take this home!”
Our total bill, before tip, was $56.00. Not bad for what we had tonight but still out of the “average” range.
Based on what we experienced tonight, I *highly* recommend Rudy’s Redeye Grill above any of the other local “hotspots” in the South Metro, except maybe Stefano’s in Burnsville. The decor, service, and food are all excellent and certainly rival what you’ll find at the more expensive Copper Bleu.
Kim agrees ;)
See all the pictures from today here (mobile).
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August 7th, 2006 at 8:23 am
Sorry, the pictures link was broken. Thanks to the Comcast user that was surfing just now that showed me the mistake ;)
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:47 am
Thanks for the review. Based on your and Kim’s experience we decided to give the place a try. We were not disappointed. I had a bit of a special request for my dinner and both the waitress and the kitchen handled it with no problem at all. We will be going back again soon.
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 am
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the comment.
May 24th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Bill,
I took my family there shortly after RRG opened. We, too, experienced fantastic service and our food was great, with one exception: my steak had no flavor. Really. It was weird. The meat was cooked properly and prepared beautifully, but had no flavor. It’s not that it tasted bad. It just didn’t taste -at all-. It wasn’t worth mentioning had the manager not come over and asked how everything was. I gave her my kind but honest review. She responded by taking the steak off the bill and comp’ing us desert. Nice.
We went there again with a group of friends a few weeks later. While most everybody’s meal was great, my brother had a Steak Wellington with the same symptoms. The meat was bland. Something was just wrong” with it. We mentioned it and received a similar form of apology.
The real kicker came from the experience my close friends had. (Bear in mind that I’m repeating what I was told by them.) They apparently both ordered steaks that, well, tasted like shit. Not figuratively, but actually had an odor of manure. Poop. Feces. When the mentioned this to the server and, subsequently, the manager, the response was “Oh, we had somebody mention this same thing last night.” What the fuck? You know you have poop-steak, but still serve it? Ewwwww.
The manager asked if they wanted the steak removed from the bill. My friend politely responded “Oh, that’s okay.” So, RRG left it on the tab. Here’s a tip, restaurant owners/workers: If you serve meat made of shit, you don’t -ask- to take it off the bill. You take it off the bill. Hell, you comp the whole meal. Yes, even if the customer is too nice to accept your offer initially.
So, nobody I know has gone back. Sad. This place showed potential. Now I’m just hoping for their failure so somebody better can take over the great building. Oh well.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Tonight Kim, Chris, Laura and I headed over to Rudy’s after bowling together. I will post a complete review in addition to the one above because they have revamped their menu (last month) and the food, service and ambiance topped even our first visit.
I have been to several places after beginning my diet changes and have been pretty much disappointed in every single experience — which says a lot considering what I have been eating lately. Tonight, however, was something different with each one of us floored at the excellent quality of our meals.
Check out the new review tomorrow!