Date Night - Week 1

I realized we are now going to be a family of 3. That means Chad and I only have 30 more weeks of the peace n' quiet single life where we can go out without spending tons of money on a babysitter. So this is project Date Night. This hip young couple is hitting the city once a week and will review our posh date location.

Week 1: Bar Lurcat
It wasn't difficult to decide where to go on our first date night. Bar Lurcat is easily my favorite bar in the Twin Cities and I think it is on Chad's Top 10 as well. I love it for the decor and Chad loves that the drink menu has a great selection of scotch. The only criticism is the parking and the service, but only a minor hitch in the grand scheme of things. Overall, its a nice place to get dressed up and have a intimate conversation over drinks. Don't worry - I had hot chocolate and got to select a hot tea out of a fancy presentation box :)

Week 2: Groveland Tap fish fry
The Groveland Tap is a bar in our neighborhood. We had a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free, so we went there for the all you can eat fish fry. The Friday fish fry is not as popular as in WI, but deep fried fish, fries and beer are tasty anywhere you are. (Although I was missing the rye bread they always serve in WI). The bar is known for the selection of Summit they have on tap and we were there for the 2 for 1 special. Which meant Chad got 2 and I got none! I actually have not been feeling sorry for my sober self because I have not really been fiending for alcohol, and when I do want a beer the N/A brands are pretty good. The 12 thousand TVs prevented any intimate conversation, so we went for an after dinner stroll down by the river. I somehow lost a bet about Lewis and Clark to the "Mississippi River Expert" ("Katy - I have lived in MN my whole life") so I had to do all the dishes for the whole week!

Week 3: Chambers Hotel Lounge/brunch at W.A. Frost

After the fish fry at the local bar, we were ready to hit the high rollers scene again. It was a beautiful summer night and Chad's friend was spinning at a hotel bar with a rooftop balcony. The Chambers is a high end "art" hotel, so I had always been hesitant to go there for fear it would break the bank. It was just the opposite! I of course had a fru-fru juice and Chad had 2 gin&tonics and a scotch. The bill was only $14! I can't even explain how cool the bar was and the patio overlooked downtown Minneapolis. Great service and the extremely diverse crowd entertained us with some of the best people watching. We will most definitely be going back!

The cheap bar tab allowed us to splurge on a outdoor Sunday brunch at W.A. Frost in the old Victorian Cathedral Hill neighborhood of St. Paul. It is an expensive restaurant, but brunch/dessert/drinks are to die for and still affordable. I have wanted to go to this patio from the day I saw it - it is so cute! I felt like we were in the Secret Garden. Again, the weather was beautiful and we were appropriately seated under a big umbrella. Chad had grilled walleye topped with a poached egg and I had banana bread with candied walnut butter and berries in a hazlenut mousse with candied walnuts. YUM! It was the perfect brunch - I could have spent all day on the patio!

What an awesome date weekend! These 2 places are on the top of my list of cool bars/restaurants in the cities!