Earlier this week, I stopped by Herbie’s on the Park to check out their Toast to Summer festivities! Located inside the old Minnesota Club, one of St. Paul’s original buildings, the hockey-themed restaurant is next to the Xcel Energy Center. If you have trouble finding it, just look for the Herb Brooks statue outside – he also serves as the eatery’s inspiration.

Part old world elegance and part game-day sports public room, the formal historical ambience mixed with large screen tvs playing above the massive bar help to round out the upscale atmosphere. A full bar for those who love beer and handcrafted cocktails, they even have a nod to my favorite mythical lumberjack! Try the Babe, the Blue “Mule” with Bombay Sapphire, lime, and ginger beer.

Herbie’s is walking distance from some of Minnesota’s best cultural attractions. If you are in downtown St. Paul and need a drink after a show at the Ordway, looking for WILD or Lynx pre-game merriment, grabbing dinner after a conference at the Rivercentre or need a break from studying at the St. Paul Library, Herbie’s is the perfect spot.

Pictured (with exceptional presentation): roasted pear toast with cambozola, and gemma balsamic on crostini; cauliflower salad with medjool dates, peppadew pepper, chevre, almonds, and roasted garlic vinaigrette; a BLT with hickory bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, jalapeno aioli, between two slices of grilled sourdough; creme brulee with macerated seasonal berries, and Bulleit Rye bourbon.

It is my personal belief that that only way to make it through mid-weekdays, happily, is by chocolate. You may disagree, and that’s okay; more chocolate for me. Speaking of, I give you Mademoiselle Miel in St Paul.

Founded in 2011 by Susan Brown, MM moved to its current location, a small storefront and showroom off Kellogg in 2013. Specializing in rooftop honey bon-bons thinly-coated in 100% dark chocolate, MM is lovingly known as the beekeeping chocolatier because they collect honey from hives that sit on the rooftops of several Twin Cities buildings. The honey from each different location has a very distinct flavor because they are reflective of any place the bees are getting nectar from. When it’s time to harvest, the honey is extracted directly from the hives in the shop. After it is encased in the bittersweet, black chocolate, it is painted, by hand no less, with edible 23k gold leaf. What a better way to add ‘fancy’ to your Wednesday?! Amirite? These babies belong in a museum. While the raw honey is Miel’s signature, they also have seasonal flavors like rose, espresso, fennel, and black pepper. I loved the rose because the essential oil laced through to the chocolate and permeated the bon-bon into perfection. Beautifully packaged in sets of 3-PC, 8-PC, 20-PC and unique in every single way, Mademoiselle deserves its accolades; Awarded 2014 Top 10 Chocolatier of North America and named one of the best chocolates in the state by Minnesota Monthly.