Wedding Favor Idea: Limoncello

When it comes to wedding favors, brides-to-be are always looking for something beautiful, memorable, and - most importantly - something guests will actually like. While not everyone drinks alcohol, limoncello makes an elegant gift that people can enjoy or serve to their own guests. To make the process even simpler, you can use mason jars and home-made tags to personalize this wonderful wedding favor.

We like the recipe that comes from here:

The Kitchn: How to Make Limoncello

Again, you can replace the swing-top bottle with something readily-available like mason jars. Tie a color-coordinated ribbon around it and a personalized wedding tag, and you have a beautiful gift for your  adult guests! If you don't want to give alcohol to everyone, you can replace some jars with lemonade or another mason jar recipe.

Looking for an elegant venue for your wedding reception or groom's dinner in the Minneapolis area? Visit our website or this page to see what we have to offer. At St. Petersburg Restaurant and Vodka Bar, you can sort every detail from photographer to decorations in just 2-3 meetings (if you wish.) Contact Irina for information: 763-587-1787.

The Wedding of Your Dreams

You want an unforgettably stunning venue for your reception or groom's dinner, and you want it in the Twin Cities. With our facilities, you get that and so much more:

• Seat up to 200 people
• Large stage and dance floor
• Everything you need for a slideshow and/or music is built in
• Amazing food unlike anything else in the Twin Cities
• Huge, free parking lot
• Enough amenities that your entire wedding, from photographer to decorations, can be figured out in just a couple of meetings

See for yourself 4 different kinds of setups, including an incredible ambiance that will feel like a fairy tail come true.

70's Fun Valentine's Weekend!

Free fun in Minneapolis!

Something Different for Valentine's Day

Where Should I Eat or Drink in Minneapolis?

In the Twin Cities and looking for something new and exciting? Look no further!

Known to patrons as "The Vodka Bar," this Minneapolis-suburb gem has everything: authentic European AND Americanized European food, a ton of high-quality vodkas from around the world, and signature drinks and dishes you can't find ANYWHERE else in the Twin Cities. And the restaurant/bar is just the beginning. Wait until you peek your head into the main dining room. If it's set up for an event, you will be blown away! Come join us for a wonderfully memorable experience. If you have an upcoming event, check out the facilities while you're here!

Visit us on Yelp for our video showcasing the inside of our entire restaurant and bar!

St. Petersburg Restaurant and Vodka Bar
3610 France Ave
Robbinsdale, MN 55422

Coffee-Infused Vodka: the Perfect ingredient for your Lebowski Fest White Russians

The 2014 Lebowski Fest takes place in NY this weekend, and people at our MN establishment are very excited.

Why?

Here at the Vodka Bar, our signature drink is a White Russian made with our coffee-infused vodka.

You don't have to love the movie to enjoy this cocktail, but we know what a lot of people think of when they see this drink. The Dude.

So if you're like us and can't get to NY to pay homage to one of the best cult films of all time, fear not. You can easily make your own White Russians at home where you can don your old robe and jelly sandals without judgement.

We won't give away our secret recipe, but we can tell you a simple way to make some coffee-infused vodka at home. If you start today, it will be ready by the weekend.

What you're using: 
The ingredient amounts depend on how much vodka you want to infuse. If you're doing a bottle, use about 3/4 cups of dark roasted coffee beans to 6 cups of vodka.

If you're just making enough for a few drinks, a handful of the beans is appropriate for about a half a liter of vodka.

You also want sugar to help the infusion. A teaspoon is enough for your small batch. About a Tbs and a half for the bigger batch. You can also add vanilla to sweeten the mix, but it isn't necessary.

The vodka you use, by the way, doesn't need to be top shelf. Just choose something standard without being too cheap.

Steps:

1. Your first step is to crack the beans. No need to pulverize them, but you do want to break them. You can crush a bunch between 2 spoons or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin. As soon as the beans have cracked, they are ready to go.

2. Place cracked beans in your jar (glass works best) along with the sugar. Pour vodka in, filling the jar as full as you can. Try to allow as little air as possible into the jar.


 Seal the jar tightly and shake vigorously. Place it somewhere cool and dark. To speed along the infusion process, shake the jar every day. If you do this, your vodka should be ready in about 5 days.

Picture from http://quirkyeats.com/2013/07/10/coffee-infused-vodka/

3. When the vodka is ready, it will be a dark brown color. Most of the beans will disintegrate. Filter the vodka into a new glass container, and voila! Amazing coffee-infused vodka!


To make your White Russian, use 2 parts coffee-infused vodka, one part coffee liqueur (like Kahlua), and one part cream. Serve over ice in a lowball glass.

Now you're ready to toast Lebowski and treat your bowling team to a refreshing beverage.

Keep your doors locked and your rugs safe, my friends.

Four Free Things to do for your Wedding Guests (and even benefit yourself)

We know your big day is all about you, but you can't make people talk about it for years to come without taking special care of your guests.



Nowadays, you have so many great options to make for a convenient and special experience, like creating your own website for free on The Knot. 

Here are four more free ways to use modern conveniences to give your guests something to remember you by. A couple of them will even benefit you in the process:

1. Give your guests Uber credit and accrue some for yourself.
If you've been living under a rock, you may not know of the latest, greatest service in transportation: Uber. When you need a ride, you use your phone app to request a pickup. You don't even have to know the exact address; your phone's GPS will help Uber know where you are. The app finds a driver close to you, and then lets you track him or her as your ride travels to you. You even get a text when your driver has arrived. You do need an account to use Uber because they just charge your account when you're done. Did I mention you get to choose what kind of vehicle picks you up? You can ride classy in a Town Car if one is available. 

The other great thing about Uber is that if you share a referral code with other people, both you and they get credit to put towards a ride. So you're giving your guests a discount on a cab - which is even more reason to get that safe ride home - and you're giving yourself free money to use when you next need a ride.

Put your coupon code on your wedding website for guests or email it to them before the big day. (Or have someone in the wedding party deal with all that.) You may be able to put it on the invitations, but I can't find any literature on whether the referral codes expire. For more info, visit here.

2. Give your guests helpful suggestions on curing their hangovers. So you're helping your guests make it home safely, but what can you do to assist their recovery the next day? If you have a wedding day website or you're putting together a last-minute email for guests, include some tips on kicking a hangover. Some people like to eat greasy foods to feel better, so you can list some great breakfast joints in the area.  A lot of people have found that taking a vitamin B supplement really helps a hangover, so recommend people have that on hand. Eating foods that replenish the vitamins you lost to alcohol also helps, so you can suggest eating bananas or tomatoes. People also have a lot of luck with Alka Seltzer. You can find a lot of advice on the internet. Even a reminder to have some water and Advil before going to sleep can help your guests remember to take care of themselves. Hangovers not only make people feel crappy, forget stuff, and look ill, they can also make people unsafe drivers. 

3. Create a social media page for your big day. This isn't a new idea, but it is a good one. If you don't have time to make one, ask your personal attendant or someone else in the wedding party to help you out. Here are some benefits of having such a page:

• The most obvious is that your guests can post pictures and videos of your big day. Yes, they can post them to their own pages and then tag you, but with your own wedding page, you can find everything in one spot. Additionally, your friends who weren't invited won't be as likely to see who made the cut. (You invited her and not me?!?) Just be sure people aren't posting anything unflattering or incriminating. 

• You also have a great place to share photos of your shower, gift opening, and honeymoon.

• Most people who use social media are most easily and quickly contacted through it. If you need to post special directions (for road construction, let's say), last-minute announcements, or any of the things suggested in this blog, you will easily reach your guests. 

• On that note, if you have last-minute panic questions (MY DRESS RIPPED AND I NEED A SEAMSTRESS!), you can ask for help here. Yes, you can ask for help on your own page, but if you have friends who didn't make the guest list, do you really want to keep rubbing it in their faces? 

• If anyone made a connection at your wedding but wasn't able to grab contact info before the night ended, what better way to cyber-stalk - er - reunite with that special someone?

• People who had fun at your wedding want to relive it almost as much as you do. People can watch that best man speech again, your parents' moving toast, and anything else your guests captured for you.

4. Give your guests a song list ahead of time or a link to the band.

As I mentioned, if your reception is really fun, people want to relive it later. Some people give out music as wedding favors (or they did before music was so digital.) If you've given your favorite songs to the DJ, share some with your guests. They can download them to have ready for the ride home the next day. If you have a band playing - especially if it's a friend's band - you can also give a link to their site. Guests can hear what to expect ahead of time, and they can also buy their music if they really want. 

There are a lot of great ways to make your wedding something your guests will talk about for years. We wish you much luck on having a perfect day! If you're still looking for the perfect reception venue in the Twin Cities, check out St. Petersburg Restaurant and Vodka Bar. We have a huge dining room complete with a stage and everything you'd need to set up entertainment. We also have a large parking lot that is FREE! We offer authentic Russian/European cuisine, giving your guests yet another unique experience to rave about for years. You can find us on Google+, Facebook, and at myvodkabar.com.