the grove cafe

"One pancake at the Grove Cafe, a little pig meat on the side, is a meal." - Michael Stern

From Road Food: "Of the many fine pancakes we have eaten coast to coast, we have a special spot in our heart for those made at Grove Café. When you order one, the very word will take on new shades of meaning, for in this place a pancake is, in fact, a pan cake – a good-size cake that has been cooked on the griddle. It is nearly an inch thick in its center and wide as its plate – a pillow-soft round of steamy cooked batter that has an appealing pale orange hue. With a couple of peppery, piggy Iowa sausage patties, one of these cakes is a mighty big meal. Two of them are listed on the menu as a “short stack” – a meal strictly for the tallest appetite."

After hearing this review of The Grove Cafe in Ames on the Road Food segment of The Splendid Table several times, we got to experience these fine pancakes for ourselves this morning. For Heidi, half of the pancake was a meal and it was wonderful!

bielen burger

Before heading home we stopped off at REI and IKEA for a bit of shopping in Minneapolis and finished just in time for lunch. We'd heard about the Bielen Burger at the Woodbury Cafe (803 Bielenburg Dr. Woodbury, Minnesota) and had to try it. Even though there is no discount if you share the same name as the burger, it was fun to order (and to eat!)

as big as your head

Sunday night we ventured out for ice cream at Nelson's--a favorite of the Bielenbergs who grew up in Stillwater. They say the ice cream cones are "as big as your head" and Nelson's/Brown's didn't disappoint!

remembering grandma b

We spent a long 4th of July weekend in Stillwater, Minnesota, celebrating the life of Gertrude Bielenberg with many other Bielenberg family members. It was the first time since Grandpa’s funeral in 2002 that many of us had seen one another and there were lots of laughs as well as a few tears.

Highlights of the weekend included:
Meeting Sean's fiance, Jessica (and their 2 dogs, Nini and Cali)
Morning runs
Yoga
Soaking in the hot tub
Pontoon boat rides along the river
Surprise bridal shower for Sean + Jessica
A beautiful service presided over by cousin Brent
A white elephant featuring several ‘classic’ items from Grandma
Several games of 65
Shopping in downtown Stillwater
A tour of 410 Rice Street, one of the houses my dad grew up in
Ice cream at Nelson’s