Goddamn, I'm behind on this stuff.

OK. Set the stage. Two Thursdays ago. Cathy's birthday. We really want to hit up Victory 44 for dinner, but there's a problem, because Thursday is CSA pickup day between 5:30 and 7:30. CSA pickup is in Linden Hills, V44 is in Robbinsdale. If we get the vegetables first, we'll hit Victory at sometime like 6 or 6:30, which means not getting out of there until 8 at the earliest. Impractical.

Yes, I can write about a restaurant twice if I want. So there.

Back at Victory 44 in Robbinsdale for the annual anniversary dinner. The actual anniversary (of my arrival in MN) is Valentine's Day, but we dodge around that date to escape the associated restaurant hassle.

To this day, there is some shit I only know about thanks to the original Iron Chef Japan.

One of these things is xO sauce, a legendary high-end Chinese condiment. I actually know of at least one place in town that sells it, but at $16 for a small bottle, I'd never bothered trying.

So this came up in conversation recently - that people's pizza style preferences are largely set early in life. The pizza you have as a child, whether it's thin crust or deep dish or square grease crackers? That's the pizza you'll love best for the rest of your life.

Now, I get that. I grew up on, essentially, Pizza Hut style pizza, usually actually from Pizza Hut, and I still have a fondness for standard, triangular, reasonably thick, doughy-crust pizza.

Upon a night's sleep and some reflection, further thoughts and clarifications on Victory 44.

First, I totally forgot to mention the roasted beet salad. We got this because, not knowing what we'd be getting on the plates, "Rabbit Sausage" and "Scallops and Chorizo" seemed like they needed some kind of vegetable to round out the meal.

OK. Here's the deal. I have a lot of words, and I'm not sure what they are yet or what order they should be in. Circumstances led me to a late dinner at Victory 44 in Robbinsdale, and what I can tell you first is that they are fucking around... and they are not fucking around.

Context. Context is important. For the past month, everybody who is anybody and gets paid to write about food has been talking about Travail in Robbinsdale. Elaborate preparations, incredible flavors, astonishing in a good way prices. I want to go to there.

The lesson for today: a restaurant's food should be as good, or, ideally, better, than the menu makes it sound.

I have this problem with, of all places, Noodles And Company. The menu items list a ton of different vegetables included in many of their dishes, but when you get them, the quantities of the vegetables are miniscule. A problem they never seem to have with the cheese. What I want leads to what I order leads to what I don't get leads to disappointment.

I don't do this often, but I'm going to engage in a bit of advocacy here. If you can, go to Mix Fusion Bistro in Eden Prairie, because I'm pretty sure nobody is, and I want to be able to go to it in the future.

Many moons ago, in a shitty, shitty strip mall on Shady Oak Road between 62 and 212, there was Pastrami Jack's. It was a great place to go if you wanted a cow between two slices of bread. But Pastrami Jack's went away, and the space it left has been filled, with surprisingly few decor changes, with a French-Asian hybrid cuisine that will startle you.

Man, I love me some Urbanspoon. Just pick a general direction on the map, start poking at flags, and seeing what works.

Therein lies a tale. A Tea House tale.

Last night, we ended up at the new University location of the Tea House, a small set of Chinese restaurants that dot the Twin Cities from the Western suburbs to East St. Paul.

I haven't been to any of the others, but the first thing you notice at the new location is the incredibly striking decor. It's a lavish mix of modern and iconic, that walks right up to tacky, introduces itself, then wanders off in a whole other direction.