The Week and Weekend Update

On Friday's post I told you all that I was going golfing that afternoon for a work tournament and was hoping for the golf gods to be nice to me....well they weren't.  I did ok.  I started off strong and ended strong, but failed miserably in the middle.  Oh well, practice for my next round of golf.  But I do want to mention that I did push (tie) my partner on almost half the holes.

The weather was gorgeous all weekend that I broke out my spring/summer gear and wore shorts and a tank top to the spring Wolf Pack practice game on Saturday and a cute skirt Easter Sunday.
Easter was great as always.  Lots of food, family, sunshine and eggs.   And now for the last week.  Get ready for a long post with lots of pictures.  Sorry.
Monday I left the gorgeous weather and headed to Madison, Wisconsin.  It was beautiful when I arrived, but the weather turned over the next few days.  Madison was very interesting and I spent my days walking around for work and checking out the University of Wisconsin-Madison for work of course.

Wisconsin State Capital Building
Monday night when I arrived in Madison, I went to Eno Vino Wine Bar & Bistro for Happy Hour.  The food was unbelievably good and at a great price too.   I had the fresh mozerella bruscetta and proscuitto, asparagus, fontina and apricot bruscetta to start as recommend by the bartender.  The proscuitto one was the best, but they were both good.  And then I had the crab cakes, also recommended.  The crab cakes had a buerre blanc sauce with baby rocket.  I would have licked the plate clean if I were allowed to.

  Tuesday morning I enjoyed a waffle and coffee at TnT's Coffee and Cafe .  I am a sucker for a waffle, but add some strawberries and I am beyond happy.

 

  Tuesday after work, I had some time to kill before going to dinner, so I wen to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.  Outside not much was bloomed, but inside the conservatory, there was plenty to see.

Gorgeous Flowers (hibiscus, orchids and others)

Cutest little common quails

Glass sculptures imitating nature, waterfall and koi fish 

Sights along the garden path   That evening I dined at  Tempest Oyster Bar during Happy Hour again.  They have amazing prices on scallops, shrimp, oysters, oysters rockefeller and smoke stack (fish stack).  I opted for the oysters (2 different kinds), shrimp cocktail and a scallop.

 

The oysters and scallop were amazing, but the shrimp left a lot to be desired.  Weird how they could mess up the shrimp, but they did.
Wednesday I traveled to Minneapolis where I was greeted with sheets and sheets of rain.  Ugh, and it rains hard there.  In Nevada, we don't get down pours like that.   I made my way over to Zelo for some pasta and the best dessert I have ever had.  I had the tortiglioni rossa which had sausage, peas, roasted peppers and romana rossa sauce.  It tasted almost like my penne ala vodka, without the vodka kick.  And I loved the peas in it so much, that I think next time I make my sauce, I will add peas to it.  And post the recipe for it.

For dessert, I had the chocolate hazelnut creme brulee.  Now I am not a fan of creme brulee, but the bartender swore by it.  This wasn't like your normal creme brulee.  It was a chocolate hazelnut mousse with maple syrup and smoked flake salt.  My mouth is watering thinking about it.  I would eat that dessert every meal if I could. It was that good.

Oh I will dream about you for years to come. Thursday was spent walking in the rain and sky ways of Minneapolis.  Again it rained like a beast.  Also to note, my left black flat had separated from the sole and there was a gaping hole which proceeded to fill with water and I felt like I was walking around barefoot.  Ugh, feet cold, wind blowing, trying to control my umbrella, made for a grumpy Danielle.     It also meant that I had to buy new flats.  This may seem awesome to some, but not when you have to travel to the Mall of America and shop through a million stores at night and not enjoy yourself.  This mall is massive.  Did I mention there is an amusement park in the center?  Or an aquarium in there too?  No, well this place is four stories of massiveness.  I managed to get my shoes (at a steal) plus a few other things I probably didn't need, but had to have for the summer.
After shopping around and my feet hurting, I made my way to Broder's Pasta Bar which has been featured on Diner's Drive-ins and Dives (but I didn't know this at the time).  I went off the recommendation of the bartender again and got #9, penne rosa al rosmarino.  It was a similar dish to the one I had the day before, but nevertheless, just as good.  It had penne pasta, rosemary, chilies and bell peppers.  So this version was spicy, but not overly so.  Plus it was paired with really good bread and wine.  Wait it wasn't paired with the wine, I just made it paired with the wine.

You may be able to tell that I love to eat...especially on my work trips.  I usually work up my appetite walking around the cities I travel to, and I look forward to the food.  Except crapholes that only have chain restaurants.  Sorry, but not sorry. Until my next trip and food binge.