Fall 2012 - RESTAURANT WEEK: October 21 - 26

Mpls St Paul Magazine's Restaurant Week is back for their Fall edition. Join us once again for three-course lunches and dinners at a special price!

Lunch — $20

LUNCH ONLY: Free glass of house wine to start or non-alcoholic beverage

Appetizer (Choose one):

Soup & Salad Bar - Prepared fresh daily, featuring two house-made soups.

Entrée (Choose one):

Pasta Vodka - Ground spicy Italian sausage, roasted red peppers and Prosciutto ham, simmered in a creamy vodka tomato sauce, tossed with penne pasta and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Minnesota Walleye - Grilled, Beer Battered or Panko Crusted with wild rice, vegetable du jour
Petite Martini Steak - A flat iron steak grilled and seasoned with all the makings of a martini (shaken not stirred) and garnished with St. Peter’s bleu cheese crumbles and green olives. Served with vegetable du jour and scalloped potatoes
Black and Bleu Pasta - Spicy beef tips sautéed with red onion, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and bacon. Tossed in linguini noodles with a Southwest sauce and topped with bleu cheese crumbles
Almost Famous Chicken Sandwich - Grilled chicken breast, jalapeno aioli, chicken fried bacon, butter lettuce, avocado, tomato slices, 7 grain Ciabatta.
Legendary Ken Burger - Ken Davis Sweet and Smokey BBQ, Cheddar, sautéed onions, bacon
Kielbasa Mac and Cheese - Macaroni noodles, knights vail gouda, cheddar, grilled kielbasa sausage and fried leeks
Pastrami Sandwich - Hot pastrami on Russian rye bun with horseradish mustard, Swiss cheese, spicy house made pickles and an over easy egg. Served with pasta salad

Dessert (Choose one):

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Creme Brulee

New York Style Cheesecake

Dinner — $30

Bottles of wine from our award winning wine list are available all week at ½ price!

Appetizer (Choose one):

French Onion Soup

Caesar Salad

Classic Wedge
Winter Green

Entrée (Choose one):

Filet Mignon - 6oz center cut filet mignon, roasted shallot demi-glace, asparagus, roasted fingerling potatoes
Short Ribs - Slow braised short ribs, carrot ginger puree, foie gras butter, whipped Yukon gold potatoes, braising jus
Chicken Marsala - Chicken breast, classic marsala mushroom sauce, whipped yukon gold potatoes
Panko Crusted Walleye - Minnesota’s state fish hand breaded with parmesan seasoned Japanese bread crumbs, pan seared and served with lemon aioli sauce and rice pilaf
Grilled Salmon - Heirloom tomato-caper relish, lemon buerre blanc, fingerling potatoes
Top Sirloin - 8oz top sirloin on a bed of sautéed mushrooms and onions. Served with vegetable our famous scalloped potatoes
Kielbasa Mac & Cheese - Macaroni noodles, knights vail gouda, cheddar, grilled kielbasa sausage, fried leeks
Pork Tendorloin - Center-cut tenderloin, sweet potato hash, apple, brussel sprouts, apple cider lingon berry glaze. Candied bacon, cheddar ale biscuit
Martini Steak - A flat iron steak grilled and seasoned with all the makings of a martini (shaken not stirred) and garnished with St. Peter’s bleu cheese crumbles and green olives. Served with our famous scalloped potatoes

Dessert (Choose one):

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Creme Brulee

New York Style Cheesecake

Sounds great, right?! Well, we hope you'll join us through Friday for Restaurant Week. Secure your reservations by calling Woolley's at 952.854.1010 or online at Open Table. 

Dining on a Dime - Part 2: Specials!

Everyone knows that the best things in life are free, right?! It should be no different in your dining experiences. Often, people assume that they should only be granted a free meal or a discount if they experience a service shortcoming.

What about specials and freebies that simply require you to show up on a certain night or order a certain item? That's a whole new ballgame! Our second recommendation for dining on a dime, is to look for deals! Here at Woolley's, we offer deals on Wednesday and Sunday evenings in the form of Wine Lovers Night. From 5:30 to 10pm on those days, any bottle of wine off our award winning list is half off with your dinner entree purchase.

We also offer a Tri City Passport Program that gives patrons the opportunity to dine at Woolley's and our two Tri City sister restaurants to earn punches on their passport cards. Once the card has been stamped for each location, diners will receive a free dinner at the Tri City restaurant of their choosing.

A great way to learn about your favorite eateries' specials and freebies is to follow them on Facebook, twitter, and/or sign-up to be on their mailing lists.

Good luck and happy eating (and saving)!

The definition of an Oenophile...

Do you know the definition of Oenophile? It’s a lover of wine. Not just someone who is fond of wine; but a person who relishes each glass.

As the director of Woolley’s Wine Program, I would call myself an Oenophile. After participating in the International Sommelier program, I put my expertise to work for Woolley’s Steakhouse and built up our wine program to over 200 selections. I love helping guests pick out the perfect bottle of wine for their meal. I know ordering wine in a restaurant with many selections can be a little overwhelming.

So how, you may ask, do Oenophiles order wine? Let me tell you:

First, Oenophiles consider their budget. Most wine lists have multiple price points. An Oenophile with a small budget will locate a good producer on the list and look for a bottle in a less expensive category.

Second, they consider the people at their table. If there are beginning wine drinkers present they might opt to purchase a white wine or lighter red. (Personally, I suggest a French Riesling, Italian Pinot Grigio or French Beajulais for beginners).

Third, an Oenophile will not be afraid to ask the server for suggestions. If the server does recommend a bottle, they will always ask if the server has actually tried the wine.
When the selected bottle arrives at their table, Oenophiles will always verify it is the right vintage and year. When the server presents the cork they will inspect it for contamination. (If the wine has seeped through the cork, the bottle may be bad. This is not always the case, but a warning sign). When server pours a small sample, Oenophiles swirl the wine in the glass around and take a deep sniff. They watch out for smells like vinegar, rotten cork or cooked cabbage. If it smells alright they take a taste, swishing the wine in their mouths so it hits all their taste buds. If that satisfies the Oenophile they’ll have the server continue pouring for the rest of the table.

Finally, if the Oenophile has ordered a nicer Cabernet or Cabernet blend, they’ll ask the server to decant the bottle. Pouring a Cabernet into a decanter will help the wine breathe, softening the tannins and bringing out more of the subtle flavors in the wine.

The next time you are a bit nervous in selecting wine for your table, start thinking like an Oenophile. Who knows? You just might become one!

That’s all for now, but don’t forget to join us every Wednesday and Sunday as we celebrate Oenophiles by featuring every bottle on our list as half-off! I look forward to sharing the best of our wine program with you.

Cheers,



Ben Berry
Wine Program Director

Evenings for Wine Lovers

Woolley’s Steakhouse, an independent restaurant located inside Embassy Suites Minneapolis Airport, is offering half-price bottles of wine to guests every Sunday and Wednesday night through the end of the summer.
Long been considered a hidden gem in the dining world, Woolley’s Steakhouse is known for pairing the best of American cuisine with some of the world’s finest wines. “Since 2004 we have built our wine program up to over 200 selections,” says Ben Berry, Restaurant Manager at Woolley’s. “By introducing half price bottle night, I believe we are giving discerning guests the opportunity to enjoy some of the most celebrated wines in the world without compromising their budgets.”
Woolley’s wine program has been honored by the Wine Enthusiast with the Award of Distinction and by the Wine Spectator with the Award of Excellence. Patrons are invited to visit Woolley’s Steakhouse every Wednesday and Sunday from 5:00pm to 10:00pm for the opportunity to purchase any bottle of wine at half price with the purchase of any entrée.