Cuisine: Mexican
Restaurant Features: Bar,  On-Site Parking

Locations: Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, Woodbury, Maplewood
Addresses & Maps:

Blaine- 9360 Baltimore St. Blaine, MN 55449 (763) 795-0347

Coon Rapids- 12759 Riverdale Blvd. Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763) 323-8772

Maplewood- 3069 White Bear Ave. Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 748-0316

Stillwater-240 West Frontage Rd. Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 351-9462

Woodbury-1795 Radio Drive Suite A Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 739-6360

Links: Acapulco website

Atmosphere: Festive, with the walls painted with murals and is somewhat made to resemble a  Mexican courtyard. 

The Woodbury location also has a large bar area with several large-screen TV's playing different sporting events.
There were also several round tables for their weekly Texas Hold 'Em tournaments.  Seemed like a quite  a popular place!

Menu: Appetizers include Acapulco's famous Cheese Dip, Guacamole, 5 Layer Dip, Taquitos, and Nachos.  Burritos include the Acapulco Burrito (steak), the Burrito National (smothered with cheese sauce), Creamed Burritos, Fajita Burrito, Wet Burrito (covered in enchilada sauce), and Chile Relleno Burrito.  Tacos include ground beef, grilled chicken, grilled beef, shrimp, mahi-mahi, and carnitas (pork).  Quesadilla include Queso (cheese), mushroom/onion/tomato, Relleno (stewed chicken or beef), or the Fajita Quesadilla.

Entree specials include Grilled Beef or Chicken Fajitas, Carne Asada, Chile Colorado, Carnitas, Chimichanga (with stewed chicken or beef), Seafood Chimichanga, Grilled Chicken, Taquitos, Pollo Dulce (Marinated chicken with sweet salsa), Chilaquiles Pollo (Stewed chicken casserole), Green Chili Pork, Poblano Chili, and Chicken with Rice. 

If you're in the mood to try a few different items, Acapulco has 10 menu combination plates.  They also offer a build-your-own combo where you can pick-two or three or four items (tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chili rellenos, tostadas or tamales). 

Price guide: Appetizers $4-8  Burritos $7-8  Tacos 2 for $5-6  Quesadilla $5-8  Entrees $8-14  Combos $8-10
What we ordered: To start off, we had complimentary chips and salsa.  The chips were hot and crispy and the salsa was good for standard mild tomato salsa.

My companion and I ordered several plates to share. We ordered a four-combo platter with a beef taco (for me), a chill relleno (for her), and two enchiladas.

The beef taco was pretty good.  The crispy corn shell was filled with beef.  The chile relleno was also pretty good, with a nice crispy batter and delicious spicy pepper.  The enchiladas….um, how can I say this diplomatically?….were not to my liking. I did not care at all for the soggy stewed chicken mixture and the enchilada sauce itself did not seem to be the kind of homemade origins.  The beans and rice were served separately…the refried beans were thick but good.  The rice was not the custom Spanish rice, but rather a mild flavored rice with mixed vegetables.

The fajitas were pretty good. The chicken and steak were marinated and grilled and served with a ton of peppers and onions.  Our server happily brought us an extra side of tortillas and never charged us for them.

Service: Pretty friendly and fast.  Drinks were served frequently.
Overall Impression:   The restaurant had a fun atmosphere, especially with the crowd that was in the bar area playing poker… I know that at least the Woodbury location offers Texas Hold 'Em tournaments a few nights per week, not sure about the others.  The food however, was nothing to rave about. Mediocre.  My suggestion is to stick with grilled meats rather than the stewed. 

Cuisine: American, Pizza, Steak, Chops & Ribs, Steak, Chops, Ribs

Restaurant Features: Bar, Patio Dining, Sunday Brunch, On-Site Parking

Location: Eagan, Eden Prairie, Maplewood, & Plymouth, MN

Addresses & Maps:

Eagan: 1288 Promenade Place Eagan, MN 55121 (651)287.8784

Eden Prairie: 12365 Singletree Lane Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (952)930.3742

Maplewood: 1745 Beam Ave E  Maplewood, MN 55109  (P) 651-366-6440  F) 651-366-6441

Plymouth: 3005 Harbor Lane North Plymouth, MN 55427 (763)559-1595

Links: Jake’s City Grille Website * Jake’s City Grille on Facebook

Atmosphere: Contemporary with warm, rich colors;  very relaxing and inviting. Large dining room split into two sections, with additional seating on large patio.  I found it interesting that the wall between patio and restaurant is a clear-garage door; not sure if/when it is opened. There is also a nice view of the kitchen and wood-fire oven in the back of the restaurant, you can watch your pizza being baked!

Menu: Jake’s has a very large menu! Appetizers include Buffalo Wings, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Dumplings, Lettuce Wraps, Seared Tuna, Bruschetta, Nachos, and Walleye Fingers. There are a variety of Burgers and Chicken Sandwiches and Specialty Sandwiches like the Prime Rib Dip, Walleye Sandwich, Lobster Clubhouse, or Smoked Turkey Melt.  In the mood for a good steak? Choose from Ribeye or Prime Rib (3 sizes to choose from), or Ribs and Beef Brisket.  Other entrees include Glazed Chicken, Pork Chops, Shrimp, Walleye, Salmon.  Tex-mex selections include Smoked Chicken Enchiladas, Fajitas and Tacos.  Pasta selections include Cajun Chicken Fettucine, Spicy Garlic Shrimp Linguini, and Baked Penne with Sausage.  There are also wood-fired pizzas with many choices of toppings.

Jakes also offers a Sunday brunch.  Items include Mesquite Beef Brisket, Peel-N-Eat Shrimp, Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, Scrambled Eggs, Jumbo Sausages, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Smoked Gouda, Au Gratins, Southern Fried Chicken, Made-to-Order Omelettes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Pan Gravy, Ciabatta French Toast, House Smoked Salmon, Fresh Fruit, Bagels and Cream Cheese, Caramel Rolls, Cinnamon Roll

Price guide: Appetizers $7-12  Burgers/Sandwiches $8-12 Entrees $15-21 (More for large prime rib)Pasta $11-14 Pizzas $9-11 Sunday Brunch $14

What I ordered: Smoked Chicken Enchiladas (Herb seasoned shredded chicken, onions and pepperjack cheese wrapped in corn tortillas with ancho chili sauce, pico de gallo and sour cream).  I have to say I thought this meal was really good, better than I expected for a non-Mexican specialty restaurant.  The black beans must’ve been marinated in spices because they had really good flavor  The rice was also excellent.  The enchiladas themselves were very cheesy, but had chunks of white meat chicken.  The portion was modest, I was actually able to eat the entire thing.

One of my companions ordered the Fire Grilled Chicken Ciabatta
(Caramelized onions, cheddar, Jake Sauce and chipotle mayo). She liked it so much I ended up ordering the same sandwich on a  separate visit a few days later with a different companion.  I was blown away by the amount of french fries that were on my plate!  The sandwich was very good, it had a sweet sauce that was similar to BBQ, but more sweet and not as thick.  Loved it on the ciabatta bread.

On my second visit to Jake’s, my companion ordered the largest Prime Rib (22oz).  Huge steak for the money! It was very tender and cooked perfectly.  The au juis at Jake’s was very good

I was too full to consider dessert on either occasion, but they all looked really good, as you can see from their dessert tray.

Service: Excellent on both occasions.  The servers were very knowledgeable about the menu and made recommendations, or answered all questions.

Overall Impression: Great atmosphere, huge menu of excellent food, prices a little high but comparable to similar restaurants.

Cuisine: Italian

Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Locations: Bloomington, Burnsville, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Oakdale

Addresses & Maps:

Bloomington- 4701 American Blvd W. Bloomington, MN 55437 (952)841-4044

Burnsville- 1451 County Rd 42  Burnsville, MN 55306 (952)898-4200

Coon Rapids- 150 Coon Rapids Blvd Coon Rapids, MN 55443 (763) 786-1089

Maple Grove- 12520 Elm Creek Blvd N Maple Grove, MN 55369 (763) 420-9699

Maplewood- 1749 Beam Avenue Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 773-0200

Oakdale- 8367 3rd Street N.  Oakdale, MN 55128 (651)264-1447

Roseville- 1525 County Rd C Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 638-9557
Saint Louis Park- 5235 Wayzata Blvd Saint Louis Park, MN 55416 (952) 544-4423

Links: Olive Garden website  

Atmosphere: One look at the house wines lining the walls, and there should be no doubt this is an Italian restaurant!  Cozy, warm and dimly-lit are the words I would use to describe the atmosphere.  Several small sections of the dining area offer privacy and romance.

How cute is this little indoor courtyard that greets you upon entry? The perfect place to have a glass of wine while waiting for your table!

Menu: Warm breadsticks and Italian house salad are brought out almost as soon as you place your meal order. 

Appetizers include brushetta, stuffed mushrooms, smoked mozzerella, calamari and shrimp scampi.

Entrees include classic Italian recipes such as lasagna, fettuccini alfredo, ravioli, manicotti, spaghetti and linguini, and chicken or eggplant Parmigiana.

Not in the mood for pasta? No worries…there are a variety of Italian pork, beef and chicken dishes as well.

Price guide: Appetizers: $6-10  Classic recipes $9-12 Meat entrees: $15-20

What I ordered: Baked Manicotti with a delicious blend of cheeses…so much cheese in fact, that I needed to order a meatball to balance it out a little.  Very rich.

My companions ordered the Tuscan Garlic Chicken (Pan-seared chicken breasts with roasted garlic, red peppers and spinach in a white wine and garlic cream sauce, tossed with curly fettuccine).  Absolutely delicious, I will order this dish next time.  The huge cloves of garlic laced throughout the dish are a garlic-lovers dream, a vampire's nightmare. 

and the Stuffed Chicken Marsala (Oven-roasted chicken breast stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with mushrooms and a creamy marsala sauce. Served with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.)  Another delicious dish!

Service: Our waitress was very nice and friendly, patient throughout the ordering process.  She offered suggestions and offered us samples of the house wines.  She was very friendly and prompt in checking on us.

Overall Impression: The food and atmosphere at Olive garden is pretty much the same at every location you would visit.