I have a confession to make: Before I had a baby I was a bit of a curmudgeon about children. My niece was nice but other people’s kids were sort of annoying.

The first time I went out to eat with my daughter I brought a stack of reading material. I thought I was going to drink a cup of coffee, eat a light lunch and leaf through a magazine.

Ha!

She wanted to eat.

And spit up.

And cry.

Other patrons looked at me with disdain. Couldn’t I do something?

For starters, I’m seeking noisier restaurants where my kid’s wails will simply add to the cacophony. The Fishtale Bar & Grill in New Prague is just such a place.

Kids will love all the decorations. Red and green canoes hang from the ceiling and the walls are covered with fishing nets, poles, lures and replicas of birds and fish.

Patrick Glasby has owned Fishtale for about a year and a half. He purchased the restaurant, and all its décor, from original owners Reed and Sandy Clemmer. They ran the restaurant for about 10 years.

“Most everything is homemade right in this building,” Glasby said. “We’re known for our broasted chicken … it’s excellent chicken. It’s still cooked in oil but it’s a lot juicier in the center and crispier.”

Weekend breakfasts are served with fresh kolatches (or kolackys) baked by Marion Skluzacek, a local woman renowned for her Czech pastries filled with prunes or berries.

I ordered a combination platter with fresh walleye, lightly breaded and smoky barbeque ribs ($15.95). I rationalized that my healthy dinner salad cancelled out the less-than-healthy side of delicious cheesy hash browns slathered in sour cream.

My husband chose the pecan crusted walleye, which he really enjoyed, although I preferred the traditional breading. His steak and palette were made glad when dressed with mushrooms and onions, per our server’s recommendation.

We split a large warm bread pudding drizzled with caramel sauce and dotted with whipped cream. For once my husband got to finish the dessert because I was busy taking photos.

Plenty of other families were enjoying Sunday lunch at Fishtale and we felt comfortable passing the baby back and forth, feeding her and giving her a rattle. Other moms smiled at me and I knew we were in the right place.

Associate Editor Melissa Gilman can be reached at mgilman@swpub.com.

The Fishtale Bar & Grill
East side of New Prague, 200 E. County Rd. 37
(952) 758-8000

Fajita Republic takes “fast-casual” to the next level

By Patrick Johnson
05/18/2006
Not long ago the phrase “fast-casual” wasn’t in the average American’s lexicon. I can clearly remember a time when there were no options other than fast-food or traditional restaurants when you wanted to go out to eat.

Now, we are in the midst of the “fast-casual” boom and we are reaping the benefits. Shakopee’s Fajita Republic exemplifies this unique restaurant concept, which is a hybrid of fast-food and traditional restaurants. In many ways, it takes the category to the next level.

Fajita Republic in Shakopee is not full of unnecessary frills. It offers a delightful variety of top-quality, authentic Mexican dishes—enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, and chiles rellenos to name a few—all made the way Mexican food is supposed to taste, but at a portion of the cost and time of a traditional sit-down restaurant.

“The key to Fajita Republic,” says owner and operator Gus Khwice, “is that we use fresh product. Everything is prepared fresh and made from scratch.” Khwice opened the restaurant in May 2004 and is now beginning to take Fajita Republic national.

“The next Fajita Republic restaurant will be in Naples, Florida,” he said, “and we are in the process of building two in Venezuela right now.”

The quaint, impeccably clean restaurant is designed like a fast-casual restaurant, but with a couple of unique flares. To the right is a buffet-style ordering area where you can watch your food being cooked-to-order, and to the left is the dining area, a bright windowed room centered by a round, gas-lit fireplace. Outside is a petite patio where you can enjoy your meal and Cerveza under an umbrella on a sunny day or warm night.

When you step up to the counter, be ready. Your food is cooked-to-order and cooked with gusto. Choose from options like black or pinto beans, cheese or no cheese, lettuce, hot, medium or mild salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Served surprisingly quickly, the final product looks like a work of art—a beautiful mixture of mouth-watering color and texture.

Take your pick from numerous inexpensive, yet tasty options. Fajitas, burritos, chimichangas, fajita salads, and tacos are the staples of the menu.
Chimichangas are made with a giant flour tortilla filled with beans, blended cheeses, and choice of meat, then deep fried and topped with an optional salsa-infused cheese sauce and choice of rice.

Meat options are pork, beef and chicken. All the meat is marinated and served shredded or pulled, not ground. The slow-roasted barbecue pork “Mexican style” is a must- have and the juicy shredded beef in the taco was of a much higher quality than the usual oily, salty hamburger found in many a beef taco.
The Mexican-style rice served with the majority of dinners was light, fluffy and tasty, but even better was the light, buttery cilantro white rice.

Another way to go is a combo platter which gives you a choice of three items from the options of two enchiladas, two flautas, a taco, or a chile relleno. A Fajita Republic must have are the chicken enchiladas. Marinated whole chicken, braised for hours with mild adabo seasoning, is wrapped in two tortillas and topped with possibly the best enchilada gravy I’ve ever had, along with the option of cheese and sour cream toppings.

On the extras menu are chicken tortilla soup, chips and guacamole, chips and salsa and Jalapeno cornbread. The guacamole is a pleasant surprise—very tasty and creamy like it should be.

To drink, have a Mexican soda (I recommend the Mandarina). And for the herbivores among us, vegetarian options are available in each of the items.
All menu items are available for takeout. Fajita Republic also will cater your event. “One-third of our business is catering,” says Khwice. “We do a lot of catering to the many hospitals in the area and to the various business parks in the area.”

By doing everything just a little bit better than the other “fast-casual” restaurants, Shakopee’s Fajita Republic makes itself one of the Twin Cities’ greatest new restaurants, and furthermore, epitomizes an evolution in the category.

Patrick Johnson is a freelance writer living in St. Paul. He can be reached at carmichaelfitzpatrick@net.

Fajita Republic
1555 1st Ave E., Shakopee.
(952) 224-2449