Vincent Restaurant

Every once-in-awhile an event comes along that changes your view of the world. For some that event has its roots in religion, maybe in a near death experience or even the death of a loved one. For others, those heightened levels of existence can result from great food, fine wine or exceptional art.

I once heard a sermon at a little Christian Reformed Church in South Bend, Indiana which finally gave voice to such life transforming events, the pastor called them "gestalt switches." The gestalt is the new way of viewing the world and the gestalt switch is the event that triggered the new perception. There is actually a whole branch of psychology called, what else, gestalt psychology, which focuses on the gestalt switch and its causes and effects. Anyways, that's neither here nor there, but it does allow me to properly segue into my most recent gestalt switch!

First and foremost, this is trivial, but notable, because it occurred on my birthday. If you turn 31, and if you are still single, and if you continue to seek the higher truths in life, any new gestalt, trivial or not, is welcomed and encouraged.

Most, I fear, cannot fully comprehend the essence of a remarkable meal. Many would simply try to inflict a sense of guilt for taking such pleasure in a meal when so many people in this world have no meal in which to partake. I'll have none of that. This piece is about my birthday and my very LONG search for an incredible restaurant in the Twin Cities. As such, guilt is cast aside (being an Objectivist, I feel none anyways), and I am free to partake in all that the Minneapolis dining scene has to offer!!

If you've read my previous reviews, the reader will note that I've left most restaurants dejected and disgusted. Sometimes I feel this way immediately and sometimes it takes a spell, but the result is always the same. I just cannot figure out why fine dining in Minneapolis has to be so difficult, why there are so many rednecks trying to pass off marginal cuisine at $30 an entrée. I'm convinced it's Minnesota ignorance. I've seen it embedded in their business practices and in their management styles, Minnesotans think they are doing something novel, which in fact, it's already been done, usually years before. Such attitudes are ultimately reflected in their restaurants.

Another argument could be made that the the patron is guilty. Knowing not the exquisite requirements of a great meal, they instead pass off marginal fare as the "creme de la creme" of fine dining...none of that for me.

Back to my birthday and our experience at Vincent at 11th and Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis. My first choice was Margaux in White Bear Lake. For weeks I have been craving great French wine and a tasty rack of lamb. My last visit to Margaux resulted in a wonderful night of food and fun. Their lamb was unparalleled. I left very very happy.

More to come..

Mortgage Rates Drop Again!!

Mortgage rates dropped for the third consecutive week last week, with the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage falling from 6.06 percent to 6.01 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders. With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate having fallen from 6.47 percent three weeks ago, rates are once again flirting with the six percent mark.

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was last below six percent on July 23, registering 5.99 percent. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.32 discount and origination points.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancing also retreated, from 5.37 percent to 5.33 percent. The jumbo 30-year fixed rate mortgage trickled two basis points lower to 6.44 percent, and the one-year adjustable rate mortgage dropped by a similar amount, from 4.09 percent to 4.07 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of one percentage point.

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm 31 today. To celebrate, Jen and I are going to eat at Vincent tonight. Vincent is in the same building at Brit's downtown and from what I've heard it's supposed to be one of the better French restaurants in town - second only to La Bella Vie? I've eaten at Margaux in White Bear Lake earlier this year and that was excellent. So we'll see how that turns out...last night we ate in Eden Prairie at Redstone's. Very nice, very dark atmosphere. I've been there 4 times and have never had a really good meal. It's somewhat pricey at $20 - $30 an entree. The owner of that restaurant is also the former owner of Champp's I think...he should have stuck to Champps...because Redstone sucks. Champps has great BLTs....great lunches...never had anything but the BLT at Champps..(two m's or two p's???)

Gotta run! Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me....

:-)

Brent

9/22/03: Mortgage Rates Plummet Over The Last Two Weeks

Rates are heading back down. That's been the news the last couple of weeks. Please read the blurb below and then check our our Mortgage section to get the latest rates,etc..

Mortgage Rates Plummet Over The Last Two Weeks

In Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.01 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ending Sept.19, 2003, down from 6.16 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.05 percent.

The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 5.30 percent, with an average 0.5 point, down from last week's average of 5.46 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.47 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3.81 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week's average of 3.87 percent. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 4.28 percent.

"Financial markets are feeling more confident that the Fed will not raise rates anytime soon. Add to that the fact that recent economic data shows core inflation is less than the market expects, and we see mortgage rates drop once again," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. "And although refinancing has fallen off somewhat, home buying activity remains vigorous, unfazed by market chatter that the end of the housing boom is near.

Pracna Restaurant / Bar Review

Jen and I headed out to St. Anthony Main for some food on Saturday night. We decided to try Pracna on Main.

From the Web:

Pracna on Main
117 SE Main St.,
Minneapolis
(612) 379-3200

Built in 1890, Pracna stands as one of the oldest restaurants in the oldest street in town. It offers a spectacular skyline view of downtown Minneapolis as well as the beauty of the Mississipi River. The aged brassy bar keeps visitors coming back for Pracna’s Bloody Mary and legendary 1890 turkey sandwich with cranberry cream cheese. Or try their Shrimp Napolitana entrée. Old-world ambience on a quaint cobblestone street; seasonal sidewalk dining.

We started out with the Catfish strips appetizer. That was very good. Little spicy, but not too bad. Jen then ordered the Chicaken Pasta and I had the New York Strip. Our Ceasar Salads were not all that good. The dressing was somewhat watery and had a distinctly fishy taste to it. The croutons were stock and overall the salads were less than satisfactory. Jen's meal was just ok as well. The noodles were not adequately cooked and the sauce was extremely thick and rich. It was edible, and agreeable, but definitely nothing special.

My steak was good, a little too fatty, but not bad. My vegetables of carrots, broccolli and cauliflower were pretty good. My baked potato was very good. The rolls were ok, but they provided cheesy stock butter. Service was adequate but my sodas went unfilled and our dishes weren't cleared very quickly.

The atmosphere was nice, somehwat dark, lots of dark wood..however it the bar area, there were several couples smoking which also detracted from the overall experience. It's nice place to go for a very casual meal, perhaps next time we'll try their sandwiches, I guess that's what they are known for...Pracna is located right next door to the movie theater to it would be nice for a light dinner and then a movie...Kikugawa is just down the way and we ended getting a piece of chocolate cake to go from Vic's, which is a new restaurant with great food.

We'll try Pracna again,but only on a night where we have little to lose and little to do...

Back in Minnesota! Sakura Sushi Bar!

After a 27 day foray to my resort in Michigan (www.rosewoodpointe.com), I have returned with a renewed vigor and zest for life.

Great Homes in Minnesota continues to do very well. The graphic below shows that the site continues to receive greater and greater traffic counts. I expect September unique visitors to surpass 30,000, which is quite significant and ranks Great Homes in Minnesota one of the top real estate sites in the nation.

Due to the success of Great Homes in Minnesota, I have formed a new company, GreatHomesUSA, LLC which owns and operates similar sites in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Denver. We are scheduled to launch in Portland, Seattle and Chicago in the coming weeks.

On a separate note, Jen and I (yes, we are still together!!) visited Sakura Sushi in downtown St. Paul last night. I had been there once before and the food was excellent, lastnight was no different. I love Origami in Minneapolis, but I think the food at Sakura is at least as good if not better and the atmosphere is more open and casual. Parking can be difficult, but other than that I would suggest ordering the Sushi Deluxe platter for $25.00, it will save you some bucks and contains a nice variety of the offerings at Sakura.

Not sure how many people have tried Shabu Shabu, but when I was in Japan this quickly became one of my most favorite japanese meals. Sakura has traditional Japanese style sitting and also serves a mean Shabu Shabu. Jen and I hope to get back soon to give it a try ourselves.

Apartment Investing

Here is a decent article on Purchasing Apartment Complexes as an Investment:

http://www.inman.com/inmannews.asp?ID=36954&CatType=B