Restaurant Ruminations :: Aida

Before moving to my apartment on Grand Avenue, I spent most of my life growing up in the small suburb of Richfield.  The city doesn't have the most glamorous of food scenes, but tucked away here and there are some restaurant gems like Vina or Sandy's Tavern -- unassuming spots with great food and a neighborhood feel.  I've watched as the Richfield food scene has slowly bumped up its game, and as my parents still live in the city, I'm always anxious to try out some of the new offerings so I can give them my reviews. 

While I was reading one of my favorite food sources, The Heavy Table, I came across a quick mention of a new Mediterranean restaurant that had opened in Richfield, Aida.  What is this?  Mediterranean cuisine in Richfield Minnesota?!  I called my mother and set up a dinner date -- I had to check out this new place immediately. 

My Richfield friends will immediately recognize this location as the old Taco Bell on 66th and Penn Avenue.  The outside of the restaurant still bears some similarities to TB, but once you walk inside Aida, it's an entirely new feeling.  The tables are gleaming, colorful lanterns hang from the ceilings, wide-screen televisions display the menu offerings and cycle through photos of the food and its regional inspiration, and you can smell the aroma of cooked, spiced lamb. 

The menu is small but enticing.  And for newbies to the Mediterranean food scene, they make it very easy for you!  You can choose a sandwich, salad, or plate.  Then you choose your meat, whether it be lamb, chicken, or falafel.  Then you get to choose your toppings and sauce.  Easy!  They also have a few house specials, dessert options, and a small kid's menu for your smaller eaters.  I knew exactly what I wanted: naan falafel sandwich, topped with feta cheese, onion, and tomato, and the cucumber yogurt sauce.

falafel

It was a very tasty falafel sandwich.  The generous serving of falafel had a delightfully fried crunch on the outside and was perfectly seasoned.  The onions and tomatoes gave the sandwich a fresh aspect, which I always enjoy.  And the cucumber yogurt sauce was thicker than I'm accustomed to, but it was very delicious and very garlicky!  I think I tasted garlic for at least an entire day after eating the sandwich.  But I love garlic, so it was delightful.  All of these flavors wrapped in a piece of soft naan bread...a welcome addition to the Richfield food scene.

chicken kebab

My mom also enjoyed her chicken kebab sandwich.  The kebab is cooked to order, so you have to wait just a bit longer for it to be prepared than the other meat-based menu items.  But my mom says that it was well worth the wait.  I didn't try it, but I trust her assessment!  In addition to the good eats, the service was rave-worthy.  It's an order-at-the-counter style restaurant, but the server/cashier walked around the restaurant, asking all of the patrons about their meals.  And the food was brought out immediately after it was prepared -- whether the server brought out the plates or the cook who had just prepared them.  It was like they just could not wait to share their food with everybody.  I loved it!

I would love to go back to Aida and try more of the menu offerings, including the desserts (!), but my preliminary assessment is very positive!  I hope that the people in the Richfield community take advantage of this new restaurant and its wonderful hospitality. 

After reading my daily emails this morning, I saw that the Heavy Table also posted their review of Aida!  I was so close to being first...this is what I get for watching Smash instead of blogging!  Read the Heavy Table review here.

Restaurant Details
2208 W. 66th Street
Richfield, MN 55423
(612) 866-5061

Hours
Monday-Saturday: 11am - 10pm
Sunday: 11am - 8pm

Restaurant Ruminations :: Vina

It's actually shocking that it's taken me this long to write a review of Vina, a wonderful little restaurant in Richfield.  Growing up, my family ordered take-away from Vina on a regular basis.  And it was always the same thing: an order of the egg rolls and lo mein.  All for me.  I vividly remember driving home from a track meet in high school and stopping off at Vina for some celebratory egg rolls.  And I didn't even do that well in my events!  My mom and I still love going to Vina for dinners, and I'll sometimes call her just to talk about the egg rolls (i.e. try to convince her to bring me some).  So when my dad went out of town for work this week, my mom and I sent up a dinner night at Vina. 

The restaurant is on an unassuming corner in Richfield, right on 64th and Nicollet.  It's small, never terribly busy, but it hasn't changed in years and the regulars (me!) continue to frequent Vina.  The service is great, the food is flavorful and hot, and that's why I've been coming back to Vina for over ten years.  This time around, things seemed to have changed a little bit, but the basic elements of Vina remained the same. 

My mom and I started with cream cheese wontons, which were served with a sweet side, almost like a duck sauce.  I polished off my three wontons in seconds.  The cream cheese filling seemed heartier than usual -- not just cream cheese but something else that I couldn't quite pinpoint.  Whatever it was, it added an extra bounce of flavor. 

But the pièce de résistance of Vina is the egg roll.  I've turned many people onto these egg rolls and I can say with absolute confidence that they are the best egg rolls I have ever eaten.  The egg roll wrapper is crunchy and the inside is filled with crisp vegetables and other savory ingredients, but not overrun with cabbage (a common problem I've seen in egg rolls).  What really makes these egg rolls supreme is the dipping sauce.  It's aromatic, amazingly flavorful, and has a light sugary and vinegary warmth that also complements any main dish.  If I had just a little less class, I would probably sip it secretly like a tea!  I could eat both large egg rolls easily.  But I try to share when possible!

My entree is always the veggie lo mein.  The veggies are soft but still have a bite, the noodles are springy, and the peanuts on top are delightful.  The nutty flavor pervades the entire dish, adding an extra layer of saltiness and crunch.  I could hardly contain myself -- even after three cream cheese wontons and an egg roll, I nearly polished off this entire large plate of saucy noodles.  I finally resisted so I could bring some for lunch, but all evening I had to resist the temptation to open up my take-out container and dig in.  I'm serious.  Vina is that tasty. 

Food, service, atmosphere, and price all come together for a pretty great experience at Vina.  If you're in the Richfield area, check out their lunch and dinner specials.  There is a Vina in Highland Park in St. Paul as well.  I've been there and the food is just as good, but I'll always prefer my Richfield location.