You have to root for a restaurant that tries as hard to please as does the newly-opened Lake House Grill in Prior Lake.

"We police the lot, align the wood chips and make sure there are no weeds out front," said owner Stuart Erickson. "When you come in, we open the front door for you."

Opened June 12, Lake House Grill is striving to be a family-friendly restaurant featuring excellent food, excellent service and prices that won't make you take out a second mortgage on the old homestead.

The good news is each and every one of the 18 secret ingredients in Victoria House’ signature pepperoni soup makes the short drive to Victoria well worth it.

The bad news is no one is going to tell you what the 18 ingredients are.

Top secret
“We had to buy the formula separately when we bought the restaurant,” said Daniel Lee, one of three co-owners who bought Victoria House from its previous owners in 2000.

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?

Is it possible that one of the best delis in the Twin Cities is in an Eden Prairie strip mall run by two guys named Jack?

It sure is.

It was 30 years ago when I came face-to-face with my first honest-to-God deli sandwich, at Rose’s Deli and Bakery in Portland, Oregon. Memories of that incredible thinly-sliced rare roast beef pilled sky high on caraway rye bread still linger.

I enjoyed a sunny Saturday afternoon from large picture windows inside The Green Room in Waconia. The recently opened restaurant is small and casual, with a seat-yourself atmosphere perfect for lunch with close friends or a family outing.

The restaurant is co-owned by Tom Peterson, Keven Kvalsten and Matty O’Reilly. Kvalsten was last a sous chef at The Corner Table in Minneapolis, and Peterson and O’Reilly own 318 in Excelsior. Peterson is also a working musician, playing bass in a band called the New Primitives.

In the barbecue wars, which almost always run hot, smoky and messy, Baker’s Ribs owner Al Killion will stake his ribs, beef brisket, sausage and sauce against any joint in the Twin Cities.

And Killion has ammunition in this red-hot battle. Not only do customers rave about the barbecue at Baker’s Ribs, so do the critics.

Critics, diners love it

Wampach’s Restaurant in downtown Shakopee is retro, but in the truest and not the trendiest sense of the word.

Portions are generous; the selections gloriously basic and sentimental fare – from turkey wild rice casserole to a side of green Jell-O with whipped topping, all for little more than $5.

Tiny multi-colored tiles dot the exterior of a building that has changed little since Jerry Wampach flung open the doors in 1954.

Red neon signs invite all to “COME AS YOU ARE.”

(To the tune of “Home on the Range”)
Oh, give me a home, where spider rolls roam
Where temaki and tempura reign,
Where special lunch dishes, include all sorts of fishes
And waiters explain sushi names.

OK, Little Sushi on the Prairie has a catchy name. But the restaurant also boasts a great selection of sushi offered in a low-key suburban setting.

It may be cooler near the lake, but Hazellewood Grill and Tap Room in Tonka Bay is a hot spot among dining choices in the southwest metro.

From the moment I walked into the Hazellewood Grill I felt elegant warmth. The interior design simultaneously evokes feelings of a northern Minnesota lodge and a California beach town.

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re thinking if I’m going to schlep all the way out to Apple Valley for dinner, it had better be great.

So start schlepping already.

Owners Dan and Kay Shimek and General Manager Francois Paradeise and his wife Nancy have made Enjoy! an extraordinary treat for each of the senses: touch, taste, sight, smell and sound.

The only question is which of your senses is going to have the most fun.

Lovely to look at