On March 8th, and on the way home from dropping Nina off at the airport, Niko and I were going to dine at The Cheesecake Factory. But, due to construction and the way the GPS was guiding us, The Cheesecake Factory was not conveniently on the way home. So, we bypassed that idea of eating. We did stop at a nearby Dairy Queen, but it was for a quick pee. Since both of were hungry and it was getting close to his bedtime, we dined at a local restaurant in our neighborhood.
I promised him a rain check (or should be a snow check because we live in Minnesota) for The Cheesecake Factory.
A few weeks ago, The Cheesecake Factory was on the radar, but it snowed. So, we didn’t go.
Last Monday, Niko had a day off from school, and he asked Nina if they could go to The Cheesecake Factory for an early dinner. Now, let me preface and tell you it’s located in Minnetonka, Minnesota which is about 35 minutes from us, plus, when he asked, it was close to 3 pm. Bedtime for Niko is 6:30 pm, so it just wasn’t feasible.
But, I told him, let’s plan for Saturday and we can afterwards, run around and explore the Ridgedale Center. When we lived in San Antonio, we would frequent The Shops at La Cantera (it was an upscale outdoor shopping mall that included Luciano’s, The Cheesecake Factory, and PF Changs as our favorite restaurants and several stores that we liked to spend money in. Ridgedale is similar, but it’s all indoors and we have only been there once before to The Cheesecake Factory. Also, the Ridgedale location is one of the most wealthy places in Minnesota (just Google, Minnetonka and Wayzata). Our realtor told us the schools in Wayzata was top notch, but we couldn’t afford anything (but, we did look at the next town over which was in the Wayzata school district).
Yesterday, our destination for Niko and I was The Cheesecake Factory, but, as soon as I parked, Niko changed his mind. Dad, I am not hungry and I want to go home! At first, I thought he might be “hangry” and that happens when he is hungry and doesn’t realize it, and everything is a no for him! It wasn’t that, although I think a little bit it was. I then said, let’s go in and explore the mall and then we can feed our bellies. I also had to pee!
So, we went in and Niko really enjoyed the ambiance and largeness of the mall. We explored a game store, the lego store (yeah, he got a recycle truck), and a toy store. In the middle of the mall, there was a line of people waiting for something and the majority were wearing Randy Moss’s number 84 for the Minnesota Vikings. Now, I knew why the parking lot was packed as Moss was scheduled to appear to sign autographs! We did get a glimpse of him.
For lunch, we went to The Cheesecake Factory, but there was a short wait. Niko said nope, let’s go somewhere else. I didn’t care, because I knew there were other places to eat. Also, a little bit of me was relieved as The Cheesecake Factory’s menu is like 20 pages! And, when I eat there, I have to narrow down what I don’t want to eat and do want to eat, so eventually, when I arrive, I can only look at a few things. I also study the menu ahead of time. Yesterday, had we gone, I was looking at the Thai noodles with shrimp (as I have never had them before).
For lunch, we went to another restaurant called The Tavern Grill, but there was also a short wait. Niko said nope, let’s go somewhere else. I didn’t see a menu, but the food on other diners tables, looked easy and American (pizza, burgers, fish, steak, etc),
For lunch, we went to another restaurant across from The Tavern Grill called Big Bowl Chinese and Thai, and guess what? No wait, so we opted in and enjoyed a pleasant meal. We had chicken dumplings, wonton soup, chicken and beef lo main with no vegetables (for Niko), and orange chicken with fried rice with no peas and no carrots (for me), and it was actually really good. To go for Nina, we got chicken pad Thai. I would go back, but I wouldn’t get the orange chicken as it was a bit too orange’y flavored for me. If you had to ask me my favorite type of food, it would easily be Chinese! Don’t laugh, but next week, I need to go to a Spectrum store and St. Cloud is the closest, and as I was reviewing the map, I was also looking at places to eat and there are a few Chinese places nearby. Same thing as on April 20th, I have a doctor’s appointment in Minneapolis, and know there are two Chinese places nearby! Yes, I know, if I get something, I either have to eat it all so Niko doesn’t get jealous or bring something for him. As for Nina, I ask, but usually, she turns it down.
After our lunch, we went back to the mall area and Niko got a pistachio shake and I got a strawberry and mango smoothie at Haagen-Dasz. It was either that or Jamba Juice for us.
