El Toro
Category:
Food & Dining
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429
(763) 537-6822
El Toro is a new mexican restaurant in Robbinsdale, located on Hwy 81/Broadway & 41st Ave. Part of the El Loro family of mexican restaurants throughout the Twin Cities. This is one of my favorite...
El Toro is a new mexican restaurant in Robbinsdale, located on Hwy 81/Broadway & 41st Ave. Part of the El Loro family of mexican restaurants throughout the Twin Cities. This is one of my favorite from between the 2 I have tried so far.
Must haves: Fajitas, tacos, quesadillas, seafood enchiladas and nachos- anything with chicken or seafood as they seem to be bigger crowd pleasers with my co-tasters. The guac was very fresh although the salsa was once perfect (I prefer chunky) and another visit it was more picante (more watery). Next visit I'm trying the taco salad- looked very appetizing from a neighboring table.... Also of note the cook is from Iztapa, I believe and from what the server/cashier told me, and exceptional with seafood even though it is not on the menu- just ask! If the seafood enchiladas are any indication they may have a whole new restaurant in the making specializing in seafood!
Service **** 4 out of 5 stars- very friendly and helpful in making suggestions
Price *** 3 for average most meals between $ 5-12 Some of the specialities run at $22 for two people.
Entrees All very flavorful courtesy of their awesome cook!
Dessert- Must try flan if your a custard freak like myself- swims in carmel and melts in your mouth!
Enjoy!
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Can't say enough good things about Jeff and Sherry Psihos at Thomas Charles Salon. Jeff is on the main floor and does fantastic work no matter what types of hair you have- in my case curly, long,...
Can't say enough good things about Jeff and Sherry Psihos at Thomas Charles Salon. Jeff is on the main floor and does fantastic work no matter what types of hair you have- in my case curly, long, mixed race hair. If your looking for updo's check out Beth Ann- she's at the same salon.
For mani's and pedi's- Sherry does both and they are a true luxury. To attest to her talents some clients actually fly in from out of state to be pampered!
Thomas Charles is just off of Minnetonka Boulevard next door to Yum.
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Service C
Food A
Ambience B-
Price B
I finally made my way over to PF's this past week. On arrival the hosts were very quick and professional with their greeting. Great job of welcoming you...
Service C
Food A
Ambience B-
Price B
I finally made my way over to PF's this past week. On arrival the hosts were very quick and professional with their greeting. Great job of welcoming you and checking in on your reservation. Our server was friendly and quick to our table as well. The evening was fairly busy for a Monday eve! We ordered the wonton soup, lettuce wraps, Sichuan from the sea (shrimp and scallops), wok seared lamb, mongolian beef, brown and white rice. Drinks were sake, and green tea.
Food was top notch. They accomodated our requests (shrimp and scallops vs just one or the other). The wonton soup was a new hit for us with chicken and shrimp along with large wontons. The wraps were very fresh with a mix of sweet, salt and crunch of the crisp iceberg lettuce. We could have used a few more wraps (lettuce leaves) but that may be due to us - we may have not put enough filling in our wraps. The sichuan had a very nice kick! The lamb was flavorful as was the mongolian beef.As the evening got a bit busier service slowed down a bit. The beef was tender and very flavorful as well. Highly recommend all 3 dishes.
Beverages- the sake was warmed and fairly nice- personally have had a better sake at another restaurant but this one was enjoyable all the same (B) per my tastes... The hot green tea was wonderful! Great cleanser of the palette before the next tastes. Light and smooth in flavor.
To our server's credit she was new and trying very hard. Needs to practice a bit more to get the flow of things and she'll be a fabulous server! Couple of errors that occured at the end of the meal with the billing but it was resolved.
Ambience- why a B minus? This is my own personal preference- just not swayed by overly dark restaurants with high ceilings- too much noise- difficult to have a conversation. Among my favorite things talking and eating are up there. Due to the popluarity of the place though it isn't holding it back per se...
Ciao!
Mochablue
Would I go back - Yes! Next time have to try the noodles and see if they are equally as good!
2 locations- Maple Grove and Edina - Reservations suggested.
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I had the opportunity to check out the new Chambers Hotel on 9th and Hennepin last night. We were invited to a event showcasing some of its offerings. Things I liked...they style and architecture...
I had the opportunity to check out the new Chambers Hotel on 9th and Hennepin last night. We were invited to a event showcasing some of its offerings. Things I liked...they style and architecture are magnificent (A-). Very crisp, boutique euro hotels. White walls with modern furnishings, artwork and as they promote it "the ultimate Luxury Art Hotel". The suites we viewed had beautiful views of the city and a nice sized balcony- could easily see myself relaxing with the sounds of the street below. The bathrooms are very modern european- colbalt glass subway tiles, stainless steel fixtures and ceramic sinks. Light flows throughout. The eye opener was the walk in showers with the rainfall fixture grid- their water bills are going to be high! If your not a shower person they have a large soaking tub as well. The only reason it was downgraded to a minus was due to the suites we were able to see did not provide handicap access to the balconies- they were all step overs.
Chef Jean Georges http://www.jean-georges.com had samplings of grey goose vodka martini's paired with a variety of different appetizers. The mushroom eggroll's were very crisp and good. Favorite martini was the Ginger Lime. The pork satay's were well flavored.
Some challenges were ...
service- they ran out of glasses, passing of the hor d'oeurves were concentrated in a few areas and did not circulate to the whole crowd, some of the service was poor in behavior towards the guests due to understaffing?? One server actually rolled his eyes at us...and that is just unprofessional. They did have a large crowd enter in around the same time about an 30-45 minutes into the event.
Some pearls were ...
greeting- excellent service from the doorman, receptionist- they actually smiled and gave a warm welcome to the guests as we entered- impressive.
service (C+see above)- with good there is bad and thank god there was some real stars who comprehend the art of customer service- be it a smile so they look as if they are enjoying themselves, interacting with the guests positively- taking a minute to see how they can be of service to you is always impressive
food-(B+) the appetizers that I did get to try were fabulous- downgraded for reasons listed above.
Style, architecture (A-)
Chambers is definately on my list to visit again- I'm looking forward to trying the restaurant especially after the sales the bartender gave and the samplings we tried. Some of the challenges I think will work themselves out as they continue forward.
Overall B+
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