The Skyway Sybarite: Zelino's

Once upon a time the hubs held a temp job on Nicollet Mall. Apparently, at this temp job, they ordered food from Zelino's a lot. Very good food, from what he says.

So, on his recommendation, I was excited to try this place out. Although it is literally on the other end of downtown, I could really use the exercise, so I didn't mind walking. But I'm glad I had AC with me to navigate the skyway.

AC ate: Chicken Fennel Soup
AH ate: A huge slab of lasagna

AC says:

Zelino's is tucked away in the corner of the Medical Arts building in Minneapolis - although not in the skyway, rather ground level, it still counts because of the contrived way you have to go to get here. They share some pretty fantastic neighbors and have have some pretty stiff lunch competition. Not that Zelino's sweats it - they happen to share a kitchen with big brother, Zelo, a full blown Italian place packed with an important lunch crowd. Serving soups and sandwiches on the go, there isn't a place to sit down, actually, there is hardly room for a line. A pretty, dimly lit operation not unlike the rest of the building, run here if you want something quick and have a few extra bucks.

AC likes: The chicken fennel soup was very good. The vegetables had quite a bit of tooth so head's up if you are fully cooked vegetables-in-your-soup person. I was fairly sure this was vegetarian when I started eating it due to the little bit of chicken in it but since I'm also completely ok with that I was happy. It is crammed full of greens and flavor lacking the overwhelming amount of salt that some places add to make up for the tasteless broth. The egg salad is also quite good.
AC would skip: This isn't the place to go if you're a few days off from pay day as it's expensive for what it is. A bowl of soup plus soda in a bottle was more than $8. The sit down restaurant version is actually pretty close to the same cost.

My two cents:

Zelino's is basically a limited take out coutner for Zelo's. They have soups, salads, wraps and pasta. I had heard that the lasagna was really good, and that seemed like a good hearty food on a cold winter's day, so I decided to try that. The hubs had warned me that the line was sometimes really long, but when we went there were only a few people ahead of us. I ordered a piece of lasagna that was about the size of a brick and got marinara sauce on it, since the meat sauce contained pork. The staff was friendly and fast and knowledgable (at least about their meat sauce containing pork). The lasagna and a Diet Coke came to $11, which is pretty steep for a one course meal if you ask me. Plus, for some reason I felt the need to tip on the credit slip, so I was out a few more bucks.

Anyway, back at my desk, I dug into the lasagna. After about two bites, I was full because it was honestly at least four inches thick. But I kept at it, because it was amazing. It was just cheese lasagna, but there were about a trillion layers to it and oh, man it was good. I managed to eat half of it before I ran out of room, and marinara sauce.

I was going to try to tackle the other half the next day, but I'm really not a fan of leftovers.

AH likes: It was delicious. Definitely worth the hike. If you work on the south side of downtown, get to Zelino's ASAP and order yourself some lasagna (to split with a friend).
AH would skip: I would have liked a little more sauce, if I had eaten the rest the next day there wouldn't have been any sauce on it. Also, $11 is pricey, but if you split it into two meals it's not too bad.

The Skyway Sybarite: Allie's Deli

Last Wednesday, AC, kHm and I headed to Allie's Deli at 5th and Marquette. This has long been one of AC's and kHm's favorite lunch spots, but I of course, had never been.

kHm ate: Bowl of White Chicken Chili
AC ate: Half a BLT and a cup of Chicken Wild Rice

I ate: Half a Rueben and a cup of Chicken Wild Rice

kHm writes:

It's no secret that I am a White Chicken Chili fanatic. Once the chill in the air evolves to the demi-ice that lingers until the frosty climes of the Frozen Tundra thaw mid March, this soup is my lifeblood. I can't recall just when or why I first ordered it, but I have almost never strayed since that fated day. I love it because it reminds me of ski-hill soup at the slopes I learned to ski on in Northern New Mexico. The soup has a little zesty bite thanks to the green chiles sporadically swimming in the broth, which is infused with sautéed onions and garlic. Allie's Deli is not shy with the shredded chicken and the white beans are the perfect balance of firmly squishy- perfect to smoosh on one's hard palate when savoring this 10 out of 10 for skyway soup (at least in my book).

If the soup wasn't enough to bring you in, the place is always hopping, the staff is attentive, speedy and friendly. Jokingly, AC and I nicknamed Allie's "Muppet Deli" after Pete's Deli in "Muppet's Take Manhattan"- I am still not sure just why, but it reminds me of that little coffee shop. Everytime I go, I expect to see Fozzy chopping up lettuce for the salads, Skeeter spreading mayo on a sandwich or Rolf operating a cash register.

The only drawbacks are the fact that it is compressed in terms of square footage- better as a pick up for lunch than a sit down and the fact that Muppets do not actually operate this hidden jewel in the skyway system.

AC writes:

AC Likes: Super friendly people who are genuinely happy you chose to come to their deli for lunch. I can appreciate that. They also have good prices, tons of choices and will make any and all of your substitution requests. I love the BLT on bread w/o mayo plus guacamole and the sliced fruit topped with cottage cheese. If they run out of the pre-packaged fruit/cottage cheese they will always make you one.

AC would skip: The whole sandwich - half is more than enough.

My two cents:

Although I ordered what was possibly the unhealthiest thing on the menu, I didn't feel like a glutton. The half sandwich was a nice size, the whole thing would definitely have been too big. The Rueben was stuffed with saurkraut and was piping hot in less than three minutes! The Chicken Wild Rice soup (always one of my favorites) was a creamy, delicious treat. I love that Allie's uses shredded chicken instead of chunks.

AH likes: Fast, friendly service and top-quality food. Isn't that what we're looking for?

AH would skip: Less is definitely more at Allie's. Ths sandwiches are big, so just get a half.

The Skyway Sybarite: Zen Box

This week's review is Zen Box Japanese Eatery located at 6th and Hennepin. With guest reviewer Amanda from if you tell anyone....

I ate: Yaki Soba bowl and Spicy Funky Roll

AC ate: Buckwheat Soba Salad and Zen Ocean Roll

AC writes:

Zen Box is certainly a box - a very small, hot one with minimal space except to order and get out. I had been waiting for a long time to eat the soba noodle salad there. Weeks, in fact. I'd walked past the sign telling me delicious soba noodle salad waited just inside the doors but I ignored it... until I realized there are about three healthy things in the skyway to eat for lunch and the soba salad was one of them. I'd say for Japanese fast food I wasn't disappointed. The soba noodles were not the highest quality buckwheat noodles around but they're not bad. I think it could have used a few more vegetables besides edamame but the dressing was great and the lettuce was crisp.

AC likes: Employees who know what ingredients are in the food - a bonus for those with allergies. They also are the only fast food place in the skyway that serves short grain brown rice.
AC would skip: The sushi. There are plenty of places in the skyway that have a fresher tastier selection.

My two cents:

Service was extremely fast and friendly. When I asked for Yaki Soba with no chicken, the girl behind the counter did her best to give me as little chicken as possible. In my world, steam table meat = G R O S S. The yaki soba bowl was advertised with assorted vegetables, but I could only identify cabbage. That said, it was tasty and quite a bargain for a such a large portion. I think I ended up eating about 1/3. The roll was decent, for pre-made sushi, but wasn't anything special. I've had worse but I've had better. I like my pieces a little daintier, so I don't look like a chipmunk while I try to chew and swallow my food.

AH likes: Aside from the meat, the food did not have the "steam table" taste or texture that usually turns me off at fast food eateries. There were a fair amount of vegetarian options, as well.
AH would skip: I agree. The sushi. Nothing will live up to my beloved Bagu.

The Skyway Sybarite

During lunch today, I was walking back to my building from Macy's, where I had just purchased an unreasonable amount of makeup, when I decided to stop in to the Greek Grill and get something to eat.

Check it. I never, like never, eat in the skyway system at lunch. I think I have maybe done this 7 times over the 4 years I have been employed at my current job. And at least half those times were from Chipotle. Generally, I bring something from home, or more often lately, eat at our building's cafeteria.

I used to love the cafeteria, because they have the all-around best BLT in the world. Hands down. I could eat it every day. However, I gave up pork about 9 months ago (believe me, whether or not I could live without the BLT was almost a deal-breaker) so I don't get to enjoy the BLT. And the rest of their options are mostly blah. They have good salads once in a while, and good soup occasionally. I like the turkey burgers and I make myself do the salad bar when I'm good. But that's about the extent of what I can eat there.

So, I need new places to eat.

Which brings me to the Greek Grill, and therefore, to my new weekly (hopefully) post detailing my adventures in skyway gastronomy.

And we're off!

The Greek Grill and Cafe is located in the City Center. It's a fair distance from my building on Washington, but almost everywhere in the skyway system is.

I ordered a falafel plate, which consisted of a falafel sandwich and Greek salad, for at total of $8.04.

The salad was delicious, with a pleasant amount of vegetables of the non-lettuce variety and the size was great. Once I removed my tinfoil-wrapped sandwich from my to-go box, the salad filled the whole thing. Sweet! My only complaint about the salad was that I got one measly kalamata olive with it. One! Although it's pretty hard to mess up a salad, I thought this one was top of the line.

The falafel sandwich, which I don't think I've had before, was also good. It was a little dry and I thought it needed some sort of sauce. The husband thinks it should have come with tahini, but mine did not. Other than that, the sandwich was great. The pita was warm and soft, and did not tear or fall apart. Beside the falafel, the pita also contained lettuce, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.

All in all, I would definitely go back to the Greek Grill. The service was fast and friendly. I was in and out in less than 5 minutes, even though it was close to noon. Check it out on your next lunch break!