Road Tips

House of Coates - Coates, MN

Traveling along Highway 52 between Rochester, MN and the Twin Cities, I've seen a small roadside place near the small town of Coates by the name of House of Coates.  A large sign near the establishment along a four-lane stretch of the road touts their burgers.  On a trip to the Twin Cities recently, I decided to stop in and try one of their burgers.  (Picture courtesy Bill Roehl.)

House of Coates is a little roadside bar/restaurant on a frontage road outside of Coates, which is an small town just south and east of Rosemount.  (see map)  There are a couple ways to get to the place when you're heading north on Highway 52.  You can get off on the highway at the Minnesota Highway 46 exit and take the east side frontage road to the place.  Or if you pass it, there's an entrance to the frontage road that you can take about a quarter mile north of the place that allows you to double back.  (If you're heading south on Highway 52, take the Highway 46 exit, take a left to go across the bridge to a left turn on the east frontage road and there you are.)

The House of Coates started in 1962 when Ed Bohn bought a little roadside gas station and opened a bar/restaurant next door.  His kids, Mike, Kathy and Patty, all helped out running the place.  When Ed decided to slow down about 25 years ago, he ended up selling the place to Mike and his wife, Kim.  Kathy and Patty, along with their husbands, as well as a slew of other Bohn relatives and descendants work in the place.  

Pictured right - Mike and Kim Bohn.  (Picture courtesy apple valley-rosemount patch.com) 

House of Coates has been on my radar since first reading about the place in Minnesota Monthly magazine about four years ago when they were named one of the top burger places in the state.  Their Swanee Burger - a half-pound hand-pattied burger topped with grilled onions, American cheese and bacon with an option of blue cheese dressing - is House of Coates signature burger.  But they also offer noon-time specials, grilled chicken and pork tenderloin sandwiches and a series of appetizers including their homemade onion rings.  

From the outside, House of Coates doesn't look like much.  The weathered boards on the top of the place give it a rustic, yet somewhat rundown look to the exterior.  However, walking in the door reveals a clean and cozy, pine-wood paneled dining room with subdued lighting. The dining area features two levels with booths on top and a series of larger tables on the lower part.    

The bar is to the left as you walk in.  I decided to take a seat at the bar and I was greeted by Kim Bohn who gave me a menu and told me of the lunch special that day.  Suddenly, someone called out from the kitchen area behind the bar to let her know that the lunch special was gone for that day, which I believe was a pork loin dinner.  Kim was sort of surprised when she heard that, then shrugged her shoulders and said, "OK, well, disregard what I just said.  The special went pretty quickly today!"

That's alright, I was there for the burger.  I almost went for their mushroom-Swiss cheese burger, but I decided to try the signature Swanee burger.  When Kim came back to take my order, that's exactly what I told her I wanted.  She asked me if I wanted blue cheese dressing on the burger and I asked if I could get it on the side.  No problem with that.  She tried to tempt me into a half-order of their French fries, but I declined.  The burger would be enough.  

The burger took about 15 to 20 minutes to come out to me.  It came on a small plate with a dill pickle spear.  The bun was thick, but it was very light and airy, almost spongy to the touch.  The burger had an ample amount of grilled onions on it underneath a couple slices of American cheese and three small pieces of crispy bacon.    

It was slightly overcooked from the medium I had ordered. I think of medium as having some pink in the middle, but there was just a small bit of pink in the beef.  But it was still juicy and flavorful.  The bun was a nice compliment to the burger, once again furthering my belief that a good bun is the key to a good burger.  

I tried a little bit of the blue cheese dressing on a couple bites of the burger.  The chunks of blue cheese in the creamy dressing were large and zesty in taste.  While I wouldn't have wanted blue cheese in every bite of the Swanee burger, it was a nice compliment to the taste.  

Kim Bohn came back and asked me how the burger was and I gave her a thumbs up.  Overall, the burger was good, but not one of the best I've ever had.  It would have probably gotten an honorable mention in my recent Best Burger List, but probably wouldn't have gotten a higher ranking.  Maybe I would have liked the Swiss/mushroom burger better.  

The Swanee Burger was certainly a good value, though.  It was $6.99 for the burger and it was filling.  I'm glad I didn't get the fries, but the onion rings that a guy a couple seats over had ordered looked pretty good.  I usually don't go to the Twin Cities along Highway 52 all that often, as in - maybe - three or four times in the past 10 years.  But I would like to stop back into House of Coates and try the Swiss/mushroom burger at some point.  I may have to take that way home from the Twin Cities sometime in the future.  It was a pretty cool place to visit.  

Gopher Bar - St. Paul, MN

WARNING!!! - If foul language and political incorrectness upsets or disgusts you, do not read this entry! 

With that said, welcome to the Gopher Bar (click here for the link to their web site - WARNING - it is not politically correct, nor suitable for sensitive eyes) in downtown St. Paul where their logo sign tells you to "Sit Down, Shut Up and Wait Your F***ing Turn!"  It's the quintessential dive bar that just happens to sell some of the best coney dogs this side of Detroit.  I had heard about the place from someone who I call on in the Twin Cities and on a recent visit up to Minnesota, I made an effort to have lunch at the Gopher Bar.  

Before I went to the Gopher Bar, I read a number of user reviews on Yelp and Urbanspoon about the place.  Some of the comments were, "I'll never go back!", or "The owner was so rude!".  But reading between the lines with other comments led me to believe that the majority of people who gave the place a bad rap didn't see the "forest for the trees", so to speak, in regard to the Gopher Bar.  I had to check this place out.

The man behind most of the controversial slogans and signs is 65-year-old George Kappas, the son of the original owner of the Gopher Bar, Andrew Kappas.  George is sort of known to speak his mind on issues that upset him.  To say that George is on the right of the political spectrum may be an understatement.  When St. Paul instituted a smoking ban in restaurants and public areas in 2008, George put a series of signs in his windows decrying the effect the ban was having on his business.  Many of the signs used four-lettered works and were deemed "inappropriate" by city leaders.  George eventually took them down, he evidently says what's on his mind.  

George's father, Andrew, opened the original Gopher Cafe in downtown St. Paul in 1931 after immigrating from Greece.  After living in New York, then Chicago, he came to St. Paul to open his little restaurant near where the Xcel Energy Center now stands.  After Prohibition ended in 1933, Andrew began to sell liquor on the premises and changed the name to Gopher Bar.

In the mid-40's, Andrew fell in love with one of his waitress, Phyllis, whom he eventually took as his wife and business partner.  That led to the birth of three children with George being the oldest.  

In 1955, the Gopher Bar had to move to make way for the old St. Paul Civic Center which was being built very near where the bar stood.  The Pappas' moved to the present day location of 7th St. and Wacauta Streets, about 7 blocks east of the original bar. (see map)   George took over running the bar from his father in 1968 and his mom helped out until she retired in 1990.  George and his wife, Cherie, who was a waitress at the Gopher Bar in the early 1980's, were married in 2005 and run the bar together.  

After finding the Gopher Bar, I was able to park on Wacauta Street on the side of the building.  Not quite knowing what to expect what I walked inside, I found a place that looked like a delightful dive bar.  Some people are immediately offended by the Confederate Flag, Sarah Palin bumper stickers, and signs that read, "No F***ing Credit Cards!" and "No! We Don't Have Any F***ing Coleslaw".  The Gopher Bar also has T-shirts for sale that has - what I've been told as - George's favorite saying, "Shut The F*** Up" on the front of them.  Being a pretty apolitical person and bringing out the inner crassness in my nature, I immediately loved the place.  

It was around 1:30 when I got into the Gopher Bar and a handful of people were having lunch in the place.  People of all sorts were in the place.  A table of people dressed in business attire were at a table having beers and in a deep discussion.  Three or four people were spaced down the bar - one of them was a lady who was reading a book.  I decided to pull up a stool at the bar and see what all they had on the menu.

Well, other than coney dogs, I found that they don't have much.  You can get the coney dogs with cheese or without.  They also have a number of appetizers, a soup of the day, a house salad and, interestingly enough, fish and chips.  When the bartender came over to take my order I said, "You know, I want to order one of your coney dogs."

She asked, "Do you want cheese on it?"  I declined.  "Any fries," she asked again.  Nope, just the coney dog. And since it was a great dive bar in Minnesota, I got a glass of Grain Belt Premium that they had on tap.  

It wasn't moments later that the coney dog showed up in front of me.  It wasn't big and sort of expensive for $3.50.  But it was piled high with Gopher Bar's homemade meat sauce (they don't call it a chili dog and you can't really call it chili what they put on top) and a generous portion of chopped white onions.  The toppings hid the grilled hot dog that was laying on a bun that had been shot with mustard before the hot dog went on.  The bartender dropped about 8 napkins off for me.  Even though there was a fork, I decided that I needed to eat this with my hands.

The bun was sort of surprisingly crunchy on the outside, sort of like a crust.  But the bun, itself, had a soft inside.  I couldn't tell much about the hot dog, itself, but the meat sauce was very interest.  It was ground beef in sort of a Greek spice/tomato-base concoction.  While it seemed to be similar to Cincinnati-style chili with the all-spice added, it had more of a subdued taste.  It was like a Sloppy Joe on a hot dog.  At first I wasn't certain that I liked it, but after a few more bites I decided that it was a different taste that was pretty damn good.   

I only had one since I'd had a large breakfast earlier in the day.  But I could have easily had two.  Finishing my coney dog and my beer, the bartender came over and said, "Anything else?"  When I said no, she said, "Wow! Talk about the ultimate dine and dash!"  I had been in there for less than 10 minutes.  My tab came to $4.75.  I gave her six bucks and told her to keep the change.  

The Gopher Bar may not be everyone's place to go, but I found it to be a delightful dive bar with good chili dogs.  I didn't get an attitude from anybody working there, nor was I offended by the signage and other items they had on the wall.  Maybe I'm one of those who gets what the Gopher Bar is all about.  It's far from fine dining and not the place to take the kids for chili dogs.  I'd go back to the Gopher Bar in a heartbeat.

Keys Cafe and Bakery - Minneapolis

The last morning of our vacation earlier this summer, we checked out the continental breakfast at The Marquette, the boutique hotel we were staying at in downtown Minneapolis.  It was the usual fare - bagels, toast, pastries, that sort of thing.  Cindy wanted something a little more substantial for breakfast so I immediately thought about Keys Cafe, a local iconic restaurant in the Twin Cities.  Given that there are 9 Keys Cafe locations around the area, I figured one had to be close by.  I took a quick look on-line to see where the nearest Keys was and, to my surprise, there was a location - Keys Foshay - down Marquette Avenue a couple blocks and a half block to the south on 9th Street. (see map)  We took our bags down to the car in underground garage to put them in the trunk and then walked over to Keys Cafe for breakfast.

I have eaten at a Keys Cafe location a couple three times in the past, but it has been quite sometime since I was last in one.  A friend of mine from the Twin Cities, George Miller, turned me on to Keys Cafe when we were talking about comfort food one time a number of years ago.  Every once in a while when I'm on the road, I'm tired of burgers or steaks or pasta, so I need some comfort food - hot beef sandwich, meatloaf, roast pork and mashed potatoes with a big glass of cold milk - to set my body right.  Keys Cafe has been one of my go-to places for comfort food in the past, but it had been quite sometime since I was last at a Keys Cafe.

The first Keys Cafe opened in 1973 in St. Paul.  Barbara Hunn was the mother of four children and a licensed practical nurse when she decided she needed a change in her life.  Along with a friend, Beverly Oien, they looked at buying a restaurant on Raymond Ave. in St. Paul, Mr. D's.  Only Hunn didn't have much experience in a restaurant.  Her parents had briefly owned a bar on a lake in north central Minnesota, and Hunn had worked as a counter person at a Dairy Queen that Oien owned.  But they forged ahead, buying Mr. D's. and putting Hunn in charge of the place while Oien took off to live in Florida.  They changed the name to Keys Cafe - known to the locals as Keys on Raymond - and the story goes is that it was named Keys as it was going to be the closest that Hunn would ever get to the Florida Keys.  

At right - Barbara Hunn with former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.

The former owner of Mr. D's gave Hunn three days of training and then said, "You're on your own!  Good luck!"  She toiled over the next 10 years, refining, changing and improving the original Keys with the help of family members.  Hunn then opened a second Keys Cafe in suburban New Brighton, MN in 1983.  As I said, today there are 9 Keys Cafe locations in the Twin Cities areas, all run by Hunn (now Hunn-Miesen - her third marriage) and her children - Carol, Jean, Celine and Roy - and their spouses and children.

The Keys Cafe and Bakery is located in the historic Foshay Tower - the first skyscraper built in Minnesota.  Topping out at 29 stories, the Foshay was the tallest building in Minnesota from 1929 to 1972 when the IDS Tower was built.  The art deco designed building was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 1978.  About six years ago, developers Ralph Burnet, his son Ryan Burnet, Tim Rooney (the young Burnet and Rooney are co-owners of the Barrio Mexican restaurants that I've written about here and here) and the Ryan Companies development group bought the Foshay and turned it into a 230-room boutique hotel - the W - Foshay.   The famous Manny's Steakhouse is located at the corner of Marquette and 9th, just up the street from Keys Cafe and Bakery. (Look for an upcoming entry on Manny's in the coming days.)  

We got into a somewhat crowded Keys Cafe around 9:30 on a late summer Sunday morning.  It's different from the other Keys Cafe's I've been in - but I've only been in two others.  It features a bar area serving beer and mixed drinks, a bakery counter up front and a number of hardwood tables and chairs in the front part of the restaurant.  There's also sidewalk dining at Keys, but it was sort of a dreary morning outside so we decided to sit inside.  We were taken to the back part of the restaurant, up a couple steps to a little alcove where the sign said, "Section Closed", but it obviously wasn't.  There were a row of tables with banquette seating on the wall in the little room.  Cindy took the banquette seat and I took the chair opposite her.  The hostess dropped off menus and soon thereafter, our server, Monica, came to great us.  

Breakfast is served all day long at Keys and there is a lot to choose from.  Pancakes, cinnamon French toast, omelets, eggs any way you like, and their famous caramel or cinnamon rolls are the big breakfast draws at the restaurant.  They also have toast made with their homemade bread at Keys.  I had only gotten comfort food on my previous visits, so I was sort of looking forward to trying their breakfast.   

By the time Monica came back around to take our order, I was wrestling in my mind over the blueberry Belgian waffle or getting an omelet.  I decided to get a sausage (pork sausage, they also had Italian sausage as an option), mushroom and Swiss cheese omelet.  Cindy went the simple route, saying that she needed something more substantial that what the continental breakfast at the Marquette had to offer, but was still somewhat full from our meal the night before.  She ended up getting a couple eggs over easy with hash browns, bacon and a couple pieces of Keys homemade toast. 

Now, here is another story as to why I hate banquette seats in restaurants.  To me, you're sharing a booth or a bench with someone.  The tables with banquette seating are relatively close and it seems that conversations from the other tables carry more easily with banquette seating.  Just after we ordered, a middle-aged couple were seated to my immediate left.  The guy looked a little scruffy and he was seated in the banquette seat next to Cindy, and on the opposite side of him was the hallway that went down to the restrooms.  The man announced rather loudly when he sat down, "Oh good!  Right next to the restrooms!  I'm incontinent!"  A sophomoric joke that I probably would have laughed at if I were at a dive bar, but not at Keys Cafe.  

The guy and the girl began to have a conversation and no matter how much Cindy and I tried to carry on our own conversation, the guy's vocal tone and volume always interrupted us.  It turned out that they were probably on a first date, the guy was a recovering drug addict and he was describing his on-going treatment regimen to the lady.  We also believe the lady was a recovering alcoholic as she was telling the guy that she was living her life one day at a time, trying to keep the temptation of having a drink at a distance.  I'm sorry, but it was not hard to hear their conversation.  Thankfully, the table on the other side of us stayed empty during our visit.  

Monica brought out our breakfasts about 15 minutes after we ordered.  The picture I took of my omelet didn't turn out.  (I was having trouble with the camera and the lighting in Keys Cafe - a lot of the pictures of the bar area and the dining room didn't turn out.)  But it was a thin omelet that covered a good portion of the plate.  It was loaded with ample amounts of sausage and mushrooms, and was oozing with cheese at each cut into the omelet.  It was very, very good.  I don't know if it would have been better than the blueberry Belgian waffle, but it was pretty damn good for me that morning.  

Cindy was amazed at the food on her plate.  One thing Keys doesn't do is scrimp on portions.  Her hash browns covered half the plate and the slices of bacon that she had were not as crisp as she'd like, but she still ate them.  The highlight for her was the homemade toast.  The toast was thick cut, but light and airy in taste.  She loved eating the toast more than anything on her plate.  I tried a couple bites from her bread and it was better than the 12 grain toast that I had with my omelet.  

The Keys Cafe and Bakery location in downtown Minneapolis was just as good as the other Keys locations I've been to around the Twin Cities.  Unfortunately, most of the Keys locations are on the east side of the Twin Cities and I just don't get over there all that often any longer.  It was great to reconnect with Keys after not having been to one for quite sometime.  It's no wonder the Keys Cafe's are so popular - good food, generous portions and a great back story of a woman who didn't know what she was getting into nearly 40 years ago making it all come together for a true American success story.   

The Blue Door Pub - St. Paul

Over the past year, I've been on a mission to find the best stuffed-cheeseburger in the Twin Cities area.  I've tried the two most famous ones - Matt's Bar and The 5-8 Club - and found a surprising one at The Nook in St. Paul.  One more on my list to try was a St. Paul bar/burger joint by the name of The Blue Door Pub.  I was in the Twin Cities calling on accounts earlier this summer and had time to stop by The Blue Door Pub for a burger one afternoon. 

The Blue Door Pub is one of the newest of a list of nearly 30 burger joints in the Twin Cities that feature their own version of the Juicy Lucy - or Jucy Lucy - depending upon which spelling you subscribe to.  In the fall of 2008, Jeremy Woerner and Patrick McDonough opened the doors of the little funky place at the corner of Selby Ave and Fairview Ave. N in the Merriam Park area of St. Paul (see map).  The building used to house a Puerto Rican restaurant - Puerta Azu (The Blue Door) - so they just Anglicized the name and the rest is history. 

Woerner and McDonough were veterans of The Groveland Tap, a nearby neighborhood corporate establishment that also served a variation of the Juicy Lucy.  Woerner and McDonough happened to live in the Merriam Park area and sort of caught the vibe that the area needed a little neighborhood pub.  The "BDP", as it's known to the locals, has about 12 to 14 tables and booths and a small bar.  In the summertime, outdoor seating is available.  There's a small parking lot on the east side of the building and plenty of street parking up and down Selby.

I got into The Blue Door Pub and sat at the bar as no tables or booths were open.  The World Cup was playing on the flat-screen television in the corner above the bar, but I really had no interest in that.  A bartender gave me a menu and asked me what I'd like to drink.  I had a couple more stops that day, so I didn't think a beer or two at lunch would hurt.  The only problem was what to choose.

The Blue Door Tap has an extensive menu of beers on tap - one that changes on a seasonal basis and can change on a weekly basis.  I was torn between three or four beers before I ended up getting a Surly Furious- a very hoppy American India Pale Ale made in the Twin Cities.  (For my entry on Surly beers, click here.)

Burgers are the cornerstone of the menu at The Blue Door Pub - they call them "Juicy Blucy's" at the BDP, an obvious take off of the name.  The burgers at The Blue Door Tap have a bit of a twist to them compared to the other Juicy Lucy burgers that proliferate the Twin Cities area.  They have 10 different variations of the Blucy Lucy to choose from, some of which are:

The Blucy - a bleu cheese stuffed burger.

The Merriam Park - bacon, bleu cheese and garlic stuffed burger topped with red currant jelly.

The Bangkok Blucy - coconut milk-soaked mozzarella stuffed burger topped with carrots, cucumbers, red onions and ginger served with a side of curry.

The Breakfast Blucy - a cheddar cheese stuffed burger topped with more cheddar cheese, thick cut bacon and a fried egg.

The Frenchy - Swiss cheese and caramelized onions stuffed inside, then topped with more Swiss cheese.   A cup of au jus sauce is provided to dip the burger into.

Yum!!!

They also have something called the Jiffy Burger where they cover a burger with peanut butter, mayo, pepper jack cheese, bacon, and pickles.  Although peanut butter on a burger doesn't sound appealing to me, it was recently given the Best Burger in the Twin Cities award by City Pages weekly newspaper.

You can also build-your-own burger at the BDP.  You can have a single - or double - non-stuffed burger and pick from a myriad of toppings including lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, pineapple, sweet chili lime, banana peppers, and fried or raw onions.  They offer nearly two dozen toppings (not including ketchup or mustard) and six different types of cheese to choose from for the build-your-own burger.

The Blue Door Pub has a contest called the "Blucy Challenge" that allows customers to order all 10 of their regular "Juicy Blucy" burgers (they also rotate a couple limited-time specialty burgers in and out of the mix from time to time) and they'll receive a winners shirt.  Challengers get a punch card and once they hit their tenth burger they get a pretty cool t-shirt.  Here's a random picture I took off of BDP's Facebook site of a happy challenge winner displaying her shirt.  If I lived in the Twin Cities area, I probably would join in on the challenge.  But given that I only get to the Twin Cities two or three times a year, it would be five years before I would be able to go through 10 burgers at The Blue Door Pub.

In addition to burgers at the BDP,  they also feature a Pub Sandwich which sounds like a high-octane Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich topped with a fried egg and cheddar cheese.  For the health conscious in the crowd, they have a black bean burger and something they call the St. Paul Burger which features an egg foo young patty topped with garlic aioli, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.  The menu says it was popularized in St. Louis, but quite honestly I've never heard of it or come across this variation during all my travels to St. Louis.

One more thing - the BDP is quickly becoming famous for an appetizer they call Spam Bites.  They take a small bit of Spam, cream cheese, and a pickle and deep fry them.  I understand they're delectable, but I would think that would be an appetizer that you'd share with others.  Also, they had beer-battered green beans and they're also known for their tater-tots - served plain, Cajun style or with hot sauce to dip in.

I was torn between a couple three of the burgers:  the Mushroom-Swiss Blucy that features Swiss cheese and chopped mushrooms stuffed in the middle; the Breakfast Blucy - even at 1:30 in the afternoon that sounded damn good; or the Cajun Blucy - pepper jack cheese with chopped jalapenos stuffed into the center.  After a long deliberation that took up a good portion of drinking my Surly Furious beer, I ended up going with the Cajun Blucy.  The Mushroom-Swiss Blucy was a close second.  I also got a side of their hand-cut fries, narrowly choosing them over the tater-tots.

Waiting for my burger to show up, I switched gears for my second beer and got a Summit Extra Pale Ale.  And that was almost finished when my burger finally showed up as it took nearly 20 minutes from the time I ordered to the time the burger reached my table.

 
If you've read my earlier entries regarding Juicy Lucy burgers, the biggest problem is that they have to literally cook the burgers to a well-done state to get them to cook through to the middle.  And that means they usually cook them at too high a temperature and too fast.  I've found through trial and error of making my own homemade Juicy Lucy's is that a low flame and a long time on each side to cook through without drying out the meat.  I'm guessing that's exactly what they do at The Blue Door Pub.  The bun was soft and chewy, lightly toasted and very tasty.  The cheese and jalapenos oozed out of the burger, they weren't cooked out like I've had at other and more notable Juicy Lucy joints in the Twin Cities.  it could have been a little more spicy for my taste, but there was still a little kick from the jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.  But most importantly, the burger was still juicy and not over-cooked.  It was a very, very good burger to say the least.

I had a few of the hand-cut fries and they, too, were very good.  Nice and crispy, the fries weren't limp or over-cooked.  They went very well with the meal.

Earlier this spring, Guy Fieri from The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives stopped in for a Juicy Blucy and filmed his experience for an upcoming episode that will be shown later this season.  Here's a picture that I took off of BDP's Facebook page of Guy with the boys from The Blue Door Pub.   His Food Network colleague, Adam Richman - host of Man vs. Food - has visited the 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar, whimping out during his segment by not declaring which of the two have the better Juicy Lucy.  Well, I can attest that the Juicy Blucy blows away either the Jucy Lucy at Matt's Bar or the Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 Club.  So far, The Nook comes in second to The Blue Door pub when it comes to a cheese-stuffed burger in the Twin Cities.  I have a handful of other places I'd like to try before giving the BDP the "Road Tips Best of" award for Juicy Lucy's.  But I'm afraid it's going to be tough to top the Blue Door Pub's Juicy Blucy.

 

The Nook - St. Paul

In my continuing quest to find the best "stuffed-cheese" burger in the Twin Cities, I was directed by one of the guys at the Ultimate Electronics location in Roseville to The Nook in St. Paul.  Located right across the street from the famous Twin Cities Catholic High School, Cretin-Durham Hall, The Nook is a small place in a little neighborhood enclave of shops just south of the corner of Randolph and Hamline (see map).

The Nook is owned by partners Ted Casper and Mike Runyon who also own and operate The Shamrock, an Irish bar about a mile east of The Nook.  Lifelong friends, Casper and Runyon graduated from Cretin-Durham Hall and ended up buying The Nook in 2000.  While they were going to school across the street, the place was  known as "Mickey's Nook", named after the original owner, Mickey Braunsen who owned the business from 1967 to 1997.  In 1997, Chuck Mitsch bought the place from Braunsen and shortened the name to just "The Nook."  When Casper and Runyon bought the business in 2000, it wasn't much of a place - a small joint that just sold beer and had a limited menu.  However, with the guidance of Ted Casper's dad, Tom, as well as the cooking experience of Mickey Braunsen, it became one of the best places in the Twin Cities to get a burger. 

There's not a lot of available parking in the immediate area around The Nook, but I was able to find a spot on Randolph that was designated for 30 minute parking only.  I didn't figure I'd be in there much more than a half-hour, tops, so I took the parking spot.  Besides, it was a shitty day with temps in the mid-30's and on-and-off rain.  I also figured that there probably wouldn't be any parking enforcement that day. 

It was around 2 p.m. when I got into the Nook.  I took a seat at a table toward the back of the restaurant.  There's a small bar area up front as you come in and the kitchen is sort of off to the side.  There's a number of pictures and old-time memorabilia on the walls of the place.  It had a sort of wonderful, homey feel to the place.  I immediately liked it.  And I knew my friend, Scott Schroeder, would like it, as well.  His brother lives in the St. Paul area and I wondered if Scott had ever been to The Nook.  If he hadn't, I was going to tell him he needed to go - even before I got my food. 

I grabbed a menu that was on the table and took a look to see what their version of the "Juicy Lucy" or "Jucy Lucy" cheese-stuffed burger would be.  Whereas the other places in the Twin Cities that I've been to feature only a stuffed-cheeseburger, or maybe two or three other variations, The Nook has a number of burgers to choose from other than a stuffed-cheese burger.  Mickey's Original Burger is what Mickey Braunsen helped build and sustain his business for 30 years.  Some of the burgers are named after notable Cretin-Durham Hall athletes who have gone on to find success in professional sports, such as Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer, two guys who undoubtedly have eaten in The Nook at some point in their life.  

The waitress came over and I asked if the Juicy Nookie burger was their form of a "Juicy Lucy".  She said, "Yes, it is.  Only ours is better."  I noticed just under the Juicy Nookie there was the Paul Molitor Burger - a Juicy Nookie stuffed with pepperjack cheese.  I wanted that.  Fries came with the burger, although I really didn't want them.  I could have substituted onion rings or sweet potato fries, but I just stuck with the french fries.  She also asked me if I wanted raw onions or grilled onions on my burger.  Although I love the taste of grilled onions, they don't get along with my stomach for some reason (same with grilled peppers).  I also ordered up a beer to go with my burger.

I looked through the menu and saw that The Nook also does a number of grilled chicken sandwiches for those people who don't want to go the burger route.  But The Nook features 21 different types of burgers and six different grilled chicken sandwiches.  They also have Reubens, pork-tenderloin sandwiches and what they call the Half-Pound BLT - a bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich that has a half-pound of bacon.  Oooo...  My arteries are hardening just thinking about how great THAT has to be!

I really liked some of the old signs, pictures and memorabilia on the walls.  I was sort of taken with this old Hamm's Beer sign they had on the wall near my table.  Hamm's was the beer my dad always drank when I was growing up and they always had some of the best beer signs available.  A few years ago, I thought I'd start collecting some of the Hamm's signs and old-time memorabilia, but I soon found that it was pretty expensive stuff.  I had a chance to get a lighted Hamm's beer sign from a friend a number of years ago.  It was one that had a circular image that moved to show different scenes that where all somehow connected.  I'm still kicking myself in the butt for not taking him up on his offer.  I found one at some point in an antique store about five years ago and they wanted $300 bucks for it.

 My waitress, who was a very good server, by the way, brought out my burger and fries.  From the first bite, I knew this was a better stuffed-cheese burger than what I'd had around the Twin Cities.  The bun was a fresh baked bakery bun that was light and chewy.  It definitely wasn't dried out from the toasting it went through.  The burger was oozing cheese, but it hadn't been completely cooked out of it like I'd had at the 5-8 Club.  Even the handcut french fries looked good.  And the few I had were very good.

 

 

 

 

The burger wasn't over-cooked like I had at the other places, either.  The meat was still pretty juicy and the pepperjack cheese was a great compliment to the overall taste of the burger.  I have to tell you, I sort of like having a camera on my phone now.  But I'm still trying to figure out all the settings on it.  And when I use the flash, it's so obtrusively bright and obnoxious that I get embarrassed when I take pictures in darkened areas.  It's bad enough when I hold up a burger like this and take a picture, then look over to see a couple looking at me and thinking, "What the hell is he doing?"

All in all, the Paul Molitor burger at The Nook was the best of all the stuffed-cheese burgers I've had in the Twin Cities.  I have a couple three more places to go check out before I declare it the best, but it has taken the lead halfway around the track.  I also liked the ambiance at The Nook better than the other places.  I guess I'm a sucker for old beer signs, baseball memorabilia and old pictures on the wall of a small tavern.  But it just had something of a homey feel to the place.  It was comfortable, the service was very good and the burger was top-notch.  I can't put it in my Top Ten List at this point, but I'd give it a strong honorable mention.  Sometime when I have the time when I 'm in the Twin Cities, I'd like to come back to The Nook and just hang out.

(Update - The Nook suffered a devastating fire in mid-December of 2010.  The owners have vowed to rebuild and hope to reopen by the Spring of 2011.  But losing all the old signage and memorabilia will be a blow to the ambiance of the place.)

(Update II - The Nook has reopened and it has an updated look.  All the old beer signs and memorabilia are gone, but they have a nucleus of new signage to being with.  Click here to see a new report on the renovated Nook and what they had to go through to after the fire.)  

Axel's Bonfire - Savage, MN

When I fly through Minneapolis-St. Paul, I usually stop off at Axel's Bonfire in the main terminal to get a wood-grilled burger.  (Click here to see my post on Axel's at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.)  The food there, for an airport restaurant, is pretty good.  I had been telling myself that I needed to go to one of Axel's Bonfire's six other locations around the Twin Cities.  When I was in Minneapolis recently, I decided to go have dinner at the location in South suburban Savage (see map). 

The first Axel's restaurant - Axel's River Grille - opened in 1996 and was named after co-owner Linda Young's father who was a long time maintenance worker at the restaurant she took over along with co-owner Chuck Burrows.  Young and Burrows began to franchise the Axel's Bonfire concept a few years ago and sold their interest in the restaurants and franchises about two years ago.  

The menu at Axel's Bonfire is a mix of American cuisine that includes steaks, fish and seafood, chops, sandwiches and salads.  A number of the entrees are cooked in Axel's wood-burning oven or over an open wood-fire grill.  They even have wood-fired pizza at Axel's Bonfire - something I've wanted to try, but never have.  I like a good wood-fired pizza.  

The Axel's Bonfire in Savage was about a 15 minute drive from my hotel in Bloomington.  I'm guessing the location was rather new as it didn't show up as being listed on my Garmin GPS.  When I punched in the address for Axel's in Savage, it gave me an alternate address to use.  I thought that it had to be in the area, so I just used that address.  Turned out that it wasn't all that close.  It put me out about a half-mile north of the Axel's location.  I drove around a series of strip mall's and big box stores in the area for about 15 minutes before I finally found the Axel's Bonfire tucked in off the west side of state highway 13.  

I went in and took a seat at the bar and got a menu from the bartender.  She gave me a run-down of a couple specials they were featuring that night, but neither tripped my trigger.  I really didn't know what I was in the mood for that evening.  I'd just had pizza the night before and I wasn't up for having another one that soon.  Burgers?  No, I always seem to get the burger at the one at the airport.  

Steak?  Yeah, maybe.  Barbecue - that did sound kind of good.  So did a pan-fried walleye.  One thing that caught my eye were the walleye tacos on their "Southwestern" part of the menu.  They called the walleye "fried" and I wondered if they were breaded and deep-fried, or bits of pan-seared walleye chunks that were put into a taco.  The bartender asked me if she could explain anything on the menu and I immediately asked about the walleye tacos.

"When it says fried walleye, are they breaded," I asked. 

She said, "Yeah, we use a light breading on our walleye.  The walleye we use in our tacos and walleye fajitas are basically the walleye strips we have as an appetizer.  It's like chicken strips, only they're walleye."  

Well, that's not really fish tacos in my book.  So I went with Plan B - the brisket.  She said, "Oh, that's a good choice."  For my side I got the buttermilk-mashed potatoes that include bits of bacon.  I got a side salad with French dressing as an opener.  

The interior of Axel's Bonfire in Savage is a contemporary Southwestern-style mix of wood and glass with low level lighting.  It can get a little loud in Axel's because of the furnishings, but nothing that is overbearing.  It's a very comfortable place to have a meal.  There are also televisions throughout the place that are usually tuned to a sporting event so it has somewhat of an upscale sports bar feel to the place. 

As far as the food goes - my salad was OK, nothing special.  It featured a large serving of greens topped with some veggies and their homemade French dressing that was more tangy than sweet.   It was a pretty good sized serving, but I was hungry and I wanted to get something in my stomach pretty quickly.

The brisket and mashed potatoes were brought out the bar and the bartender placed it in front of me.  There was a small container of barbecue sauce.  I knew I would need more so I asked her for some.  She happily told me, "Sure!  I'll get you some more here in a bit!"  

The barbecue sauce was sort of sweet and smoky.  It was OK, nothing special.  The brisket was all right, as well.  It was sort of tender, but didn't have a lot of flavor to the meat.  The barbecue sauce made the brisket taste a little better, but it was far from the best brisket I'd ever had.  

I had a couple three bites of the mashed-bacon potatoes.  They, too, were just OK.  I'm not big on potatoes these days, but I do like to sample some out-of-the-ordinary recipes for mashed potatoes when I come across them.  They were pretty basic, to say the least.

Overall, I'd give my meal at Axel's Bonfire a B-.  The brisket was just about average, the potatoes had some potential that they didn't live up to.  The salad was OK.  With three beers, the meal came to just over $40 bucks with a generous tip to my bartender who was friendly, attentive and accommodating.  

Axel's does some things better than others.  I do like their burgers and I've seen some of the other entrees they had to offer.  I probably need to try something that they actually cook in their wood-fired ovens or over their wood-fired grill.   There's something that I just sort of like about Axel's Bonfire.  I like the concept, I like the ambiance, and I like the varied menu offerings.  I'll have to give Axel's another shot at a full entree meal at some point, but definitely not the brisket. 

The Kitchen - Stillwater, MN

Stillwater, MN is a wonderful little community full of shops, restaurants, and other interesting places along the St. Croix River north and east of the Twin Cities.  It's one of the more picturesque communities in the Midwest.  It's certainly a treat to head out to Stillwater to get a good dinner.  While I was in the Twin Cities recently, I was on the far east side of the city doing a meeting for Ultimate Electronics and I've always wanted to go try a burger at a restaurant in Stillwater - The Kitchen.  I went out there for lunch that one day.

The Kitchen is located on South Main Street in downtown Stillwater (see map).  What sort of threw me a bit, it's actually located in the back of a small boutique mall on South Main.  You can see their outside eating area from the side street on the north side of the small mall.  There is an entry way into the mall off of the north side, but I went to the front of 326 S. Main and walked through the building, hoping as I kept walking along that I wasn't getting lost.  As I turned a corner toward the back of the main floor, there was a sign pointing up a set of stairs to the restaurant. 

The Kitchen is a contemporary American restaurant that was established earlier this year in what was the old Stone's restaurant in Stillwater.  Ben Hiza and Erick Harcey are the principal owners and also are involved with Victory 44 in north Minneapolis.  The menu at The Kitchen is an eclectic mix of items that include beef, poultry, seafood, and even something called "Duck, Duck, Goose" - a duck breast with duck hash topped with a goose liver sauce.  Intriguing, to say the least.  

But I had read during an earlier visit this fall to the Twin Cities that The Kitchen had something called "The Perfect Burger".  It's a half-pound burger topped with pickles, mustard, bacon and Minnesota cheddar cheese.  That's what I was looking for.  

I sat at the large, square bar in the restaurant.  I would have to say the place was about a quarter full for the lunch time.  It was a very rainy day and I'm sure it was keeping the crowds away that would have been there had the weather been nicer as the leaves in the trees were brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow around the area.  One of the chefs at The Kitchen, Dan, was seated at the bar going over schedules.  I got a menu from the bartender and ordered a water.  

There it was on the menu - The Perfect Burger.  When you have a restaurant that calls their burger "perfect" that means they're putting all the marbles on the table.  OK, let's see how good this burger really is.  

I ordered mine, medium, and the bartender asked if I wanted any fries or any other sides.  Nope.  Let's go for the burger.  He told me he'd get it out to me as soon as possible.  

Actually, it took a little longer than I expected.  After about 15 minutes, the bartender came out and apologized for my burger taking so long.  The chef at the bar asked him what was going on in the kitchen and he said, "Backed up."  

The chef said, "Do I need to go back there and help him?"  The bartender said he didn't think so.  And just then, a waitress brought out my burger.  

It was big and juicy, a very light and fluffy bun adorned the top.  There was large pickle slices along with two large strips of bacon.  The bartender asked if I wanted any ketchup and I took him up on his offer.  From the first bite I could tell it was a very, very good burger.  A true gourmet burger with a sharp cheddar cheese topping.  It was - totally - a spot-hitter.

The bartender came over and asked me how the burger was. I said, "Excellent.  Very, very good." 

The chef at the bar said, "Aw, you're just sayin' that 'cause I'm sitting here."  

I said, "No, honestly.  I eat a lot of cheeseburgers on the road and this is very, very good.  I don't know if it's a 'perfect' burger, but I don't know what a 'perfect' burger is."  

He said, "Our head chef came up with this burger.  We feature it at our sister restaurant and he just brought the burger over here to put on our menu.  Actually, I've had them at both places and I think ours is better than at Victory 44."  (I may have to try Victory 44 to make sure!)

The Kitchen's "Perfect Burger" is a little expensive - $8.95 - but it's a very, very good burger.  The jury is still out as to whether I can move it into my Top Ten list of burgers, but I have to give it a high honorable mention.  (It may also be time to update my Top Ten list.)  And while I have trouble calling the place a "burger joint", The Kitchen is a high quality restaurant that just happens to serve a good burger.  As for The Kitchen overall, I think they're going to be a favorite for tourists and locals alike for a long time in Stillwater.  

(Update - Upon doing some research to add links to Urbanspoon, I found that The Kitchen closed their doors in the early part of January of 2011.  No word as to why they closed.)

Donatelli's - White Bear Lake, MN

While I sometime think that Guy Fieri, the host of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on The Food Network, can be a little over-the-top in his shows, he has turned me on to a number of interesting places that I want to try for myself.   One of the places that he's visited for his show is Donatelli's, a family-owned Italian restaurant in suburban White Bear Lake, MN.  I was in the Twin Cities for a few days recently and decided to trek over to Donatelli's for some food.  (The picture of Guy Fieri was taken in the kitchen at Donatelli's.)

 

Here is the "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" segment on Donatelli's. Click the play button in the middle to watch -

Donatelli's began in 1979 as a pizza joint.  However, Steve Donatelle had a number of family recipes available to him and he expanded his menu over the years and moved to his present day (and larger) location a few years ago.  The hallmark of Donatelli's is that all their food is made from scratch.  From the pasta to the sauces to the pizza dough, Donatelli's is an exceptionally unique restaurant these days. 

I made it to Donatelli's one cool, rainy evening.  Located in a strip mall near the corner of County Road EE and County Road N in White Bear Lake (see map), Donatelli's has a loyal clientele that has been coming back for years and years.  Many employees at Donatelli's have been there for well over 20 years.  It has a very family atmosphere to the place. 

I had about a 10 minute wait to get seated in the dining room at Donatelli's.  The young host showed me to a booth, asking me if I'd rather have that or a table.  The booth looked sort of secluded, even with a four-person table nearby.  I took the booth.  He gave me a menu and told me the waitress would be with me in a moment to take my drink order.

Since I've lost my weight and have been able to maintain the weight loss, pasta hasn't been on my radar like it had in the past.  But after seeing Fieri's segment on Donatelli's, I was looking hard at getting something with their homemade red sauce.  Their pasta menu was very extensive and included traditional plates like spaghetti and meat balls (all made from scratch, remember?), fettuccine alfredo, and veal or chicken parmigiana.  They also had a number of baked pasta dishes including rigatoni, cheese tortellini, and lasagna.  Their meat sauce for their pasta entrees can be ordered with ground beef or with Italian sausage.

Donatelli's also feature a number of specialty pastas such as Cajun chicken alfredo, chicken and spinach stuffed cannelloni, and butternut squash ravioli with grilled Italian sausage.  Actually, the first time I ever had a white sauce at an Italian restaurant - I remember this so vividly because it opened up a whole new world of Italian food for me - was a dish of tortellini alfredo at Chiarelli's Pasta House in a suburb of Kansas City.  (Chiarelli's has long since closed, or I would have written about it on Road Tips long ago.)  Chiarelli's tortellini alfredo had prosciutto-stuffed shells, with peas and mushroom slices.  Donatelli's tortellini alfredo had cheese stuffed tortellini, but generous amounts of prosciutto, along with mushrooms and peas in their homemade alfredo sauce.  Man, my mind was in a tizzy! 

Donatelli's also has weekly featured items and dinner specials Monday thru Thursday and other specials on the weekends.  Monday night is "All You Can Eat Spaghetti" - $6.99 a person and it includes two meatballs.  Donatelli's also features a special "Beer of the Month".  I was really starting to like the place.

My waitress came over and I ordered a Summit Oktoberfest beer.  She asked me if I had any questions on the menu and I said, "My head is spinning because there's so much to choose from!"  She said she'd give me some more time and went to get my beer.

At the table next to me, they brought out a large pizza for the family of four seated there.  Suddenly, my world stopped.  It was thin crust, large and ample chunks of sausage, a lot of pepperoni and other fresh looking veggies across the top.  I went to the pizza section on Donatelli's menu and took a quick look.  In addition to their thin crust pizza, Donatelli's did a deep dish style, as well.  And the price on the deep dish pizza wasn't appreciably higher than their thin crust.  Maybe that's because their thin crust pizzas were a little high priced to begin with ($9.99 for a 10" one topping pizza). 

So now I was REALLY in a quandary.  Pasta or pizza?  Geez, I haven't had pasta in quite some time, but their pizza looked great.  I was still trying to decided when she came back to take my order.  I said, "Boy, I'm torn.  I was all set to get some pasta, but I didn't know if I wanted your red or white sauce dishes.  Then I saw these people get the pizza.  Now my stomach is telling me pizza." 

She asked, "Are you from around here?"

I said, "No, I'm up here on business."

She said, "Do you come to the Twin Cities often?" 

I said, "Oh, maybe three or four times a year." 

The waitress said, "OK, here's what I'd do.  I love our pizza.  Tons of people get the pizza here.  That's what we started out as 30 years ago, a pizza place.  I think our pastas are great, too, but if I was going to get one meal, I'd get the pizza.  And then, you can come back and get pasta on your next visit!" 

Pizza - 10" - thin crust.  My standard Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.  She smiled as she took my menu and said, "Excellent choice.  I know you won't be disappointed." 

I finished my beer and my waitress came back to ask if I wanted another beer.  I said I did.  The only problem is that they had run out of the Summit Oktoberfest.  I ended up getting another beer, a Bud Light. 

About 20 minutes after I ordered, another waitress brought my pizza to the table.  It looked great - piping hot, tons of toppings, thin crust.  I couldn't wait to bite into it, but it was so hot as it just came from the oven. 

From the first bite, I was overly impressed.  It was a damn good pizza.  The crust was thin, but not too crispy.  The Italian sausage had that nice fennel bite to its taste.  The pepperoni was sassy and the mushrooms were definitely fresh.   And the pizza was small enough that I was able to eat the whole thing in one sitting.  The waitress was right  I wasn't disappointed.  In the pizza, that is.

However, I was disappointed in my waitress.  After she left off my second beer, she didn't appear at my table again until after I was done with my pizza.  I had finished my second beer halfway through the pizza (which tasted very good with a cold beer, I need to add), and I wanted another one.  I ended up just drinking water to finish up the pizza. 

She asked if I wanted any dessert, but I said there was no way.  She left the bill and walked away.  I guess you have to pay at the front counter.  She didn't get a good tip when I paid by credit card at the front counter.  I wanted to tell her to not forget about her customers when they're eating, but I didn't have the chance.   

Donatelli's pizza was very good.  I don't know if it was as good as Psycho Suzy's, but I found it to be very enjoyable.  Other than the hiccup with the waitress sort of forgetting about me during the meal, my experience at Donatelli's was very pleasurable.  I'm definitely going back at some point - probably next Spring, since I don't travel north of the Iowa border between November to March - and I'm going to try one of Donatelli's pasta entrees.  Their descriptions on the menu - and how they look on the Guy Fieri video - make my stomach do jumping jacks. 

The Mall of America

Here's a very healthy suggestion for those men out there whose wives or girlfriends say they want to go to the Mall of America:

Don't go. 

When we were in Minneapolis this past summer, we stayed at the Ramada Inn next to the Mall of America.  Cindy said, "I need to go to the mall to look for some clothes."

I said, "The mall?  As in, the big one right over there?"

She said, "Yeah, I want to go to the Mall of America." 

So, in order to keep Mama happy, we went to the Mall of America.  I bitched and pissed and moaned the whole two minute drive from the hotel to the parking garage.

Now, we'd been to the Mall of America before - back in 1994, two years after it opened.  At that point in time, we weren't very impressed with the selection of stores they had to offer.  Many of the stores they featured were stores that we had in our malls back home in the Quad Cities.  And there were even duplicate stores in some cases. 

Since that time, I'd personally been to the Mall of America about four or five times, primarily to eat at one of the restaurants.  I hadn't really poked around to see what stores they had to offer.  It turns out they've upgraded the offerings from when we were first there nearly 15 years ago. 

There are now over 500 stores in the Mall of America with a number of restaurants, entertainment venues and, of course, the huge amusement park in the middle of the place, the Nickelodeon Universe.  For the first 14 years the mall was in existence, the amusement park was known as Camp Snoopy.  Negotiations between the Peanuts organization and the Mall of America broke down in 2006 and the park was renamed The Park at MOA.  Nickelodeon, the cable channel that is geared toward younger viewers, took over the park in late 2007 and reopened the park as Nickelodeon Universe in March of this year.

At one point in time, there were a number of bars and restaurants on the east side of the mall where a guy could go and hang out while their wife or girlfriend went shopping.  However, now there's only a Hooters.  About three years ago, a number of the bars on the 4th level shut down, including Jillian's, Player's Bar and Grill, and America's Original Sports Bar.  Interestingly enough, all three were owned by the Dave and Buster's chain which has been having some financial difficulty in recent years.  However, others point to the local law which banned smoking in all public buildings for the demise of the bars and restaurants.  There used to be a Country and Western club on the 4th level, but that closed years ago.  So, unless you want to have a drink in the bar at Tony Roma's, Twin City Grill, or Famous Dave's, that's about it for a way to pass the time in a bar at Mall of America. 

Here are some other interesting fun facts about the Mall of America:   

• Mall of America is the largest, fully enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the U.S.
• Seven of the old Yankee Stadiums would fit inside Mall of America.
• Mall of America’s 13,300 short tons of steel is nearly twice the amount in the Eiffel Tower.
• Walking distance around one level of Mall of America is .57 of a mile. Given that there are three main levels, with four levels on the east side, you can walk about 1 3/4 miles if you hit walk past all the stores and restaurants in the mall. 
• Spending 10 minutes in every store would take a shopper more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America.
• More than 4,200 couples have been married at Mall of America since opening in August of 1992. 
• There are 30,000 live plants and 400 live trees planted in Nickelodeon Universe®.

Something in the Nickelodeon Universe is a pilgrimage to me when I go to the Mall of America - it's the plaque that shows where home plate used to be in the old Metropolitan Stadium, which was razed to make way for the mall and the first place I saw a major league baseball game.  The only thing I hate about the plate-shape plaque is that it isn't even positioned correctly as to the direction it faced in the old Met.  The plate is facing south, while the home plate faced southwest in the old stadium.  I know, it's probably not a big deal, but being the old time "purist" for all things Minnesota Twins, I would have thought they would have paid a little more attention to that detail.

While Cindy was shopping for a new top, I came across this sort of neat display for the new Best Buy store they had just opened in the Mall.  It was next to the down escalator on the first level over by Nordstrom.  This is actually a two-dimensional video display, made out of transparent glass and only about a half-inch thick.  There were speakers embedded in the base of this and it really appeared like a Best Buy sales guy was standing there talking to you.  It was kind of funny to see people do a double take when they were walking by, noticing the person they just saw from the front had no back to him.  It was actually pretty neat to see. 

In addition to the over 500 stores throughout the mall, there's a number of kiosks on the first level selling everything from sunglasses to watches to toys to clothing for some of the restaurants in the mall to God knows what else.  It was American sales and marketing at its best.  It was just a retail overkill. 

Nintendo had it's hand in exploiting the Mall of America as it had a number of young girls doing demonstrations of the Wii Fit exercise program.  Given the lack of anyone coming up to give it a try while I was standing there for a couple minutes, I'm guessing Nintendo pissed away a lot of money on this display and for paying for the girls to help with the demos.  

They're talking about expanding the Mall of America to the north, putting in a waterpark, some more stores and restaurants, hotels and a Bass Pro Shops location.  There's already an IKEA on the land, but I understand further expansion has been held up due to lack of public funding for the developers.

Years ago, I used to think malls were the center of the universe when it came to American retailing.  These days, I just cringe when I have to go to a mall - fighting the traffic and parking, walking long distances to get to a store and seeing basically the same thing in each mall I go to.  Mall of America has actually done a good job of re-marketing themselves over the years and it continues to be a destination for hundreds of thousands annually who want to be over-stimulated to what America really has to sell.  If I had to choose 10 places to take a foreign person to show them what America is all about, Mall of America - for all that's good and bad with the country - would be on the list.

Axel's Bonfire - Minneapolis

While I usually hate having layovers in airports, for some reason I really enjoy spending some time at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  One of the reasons is the good food at Axel's Bonfire, a restaurant in the main terminal.

The main terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul is sort of like the terminal at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.  There are a number of shops and restaurants throughout the building.  It looks more like a shopping mall than an airport terminal.  There's a trendy ladies clothing store called Radio Road, a Nevada Bob's golf pro shop, and a Harley-Davidson store.  And throughout the airport, there are nearly 50 different restaurants, cafes, deli's, fast food and specialty food outlets. 

It's been awhile since I'd been to Minneapolis-St. Paul International and I had a three-hour layover after coming back from France this summer.  After a night of about two hours of sleep, a 4 a.m. wake up call, a 4:30 a.m. trip to the airport in Lyon, then about 10 hours of being on a plane (with a layover in Amsterdam), I was ready for some good old American food.  The walk from customs thru the terminals to Axel's Bonfire is quite long, but it was worth it to me.  Although it was 12:30 in the afternoon in Minneapolis, it was 7:30 p.m. body time.  Food and beer is what I needed.

Axel's Bonfire at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport is actually part of a family of Axel's fine dining restaurants around the Twin Cities.  There are five Axel's restaurants, while there are six Axel's Bonfire restaurants in the area, not counting the one at Minneapolis-St. Paul International.  The Axel's Bonfire restaurants feature American-style cuisine with a touch of Southwestern flair.  Many of Axel's Bonfire's selections are cooked over an open fire using Mesquite.  They offer everything from steaks and seafood, to pizza and sandwiches.  If you can't find something good to eat on an Axel's Bonfire menu, you're probably not too hungry.

The history of Axel's Bonfire and Axel's restaurants began in 1996 when Linda Young and Chuck Burrows opened the first Axel's restaurant in Mendota - Axel's River Grille - which formerly housed the old Parker House restaurant that both Linda and Chuck used to work at years before.  Linda named the restaurant after her father Axel Young, who was a long-time maintenance man at the Parker House restaurant.  Later, Young and Burrows opened their second restaurant - Axel's Steakhouse - in the former Riviera restaurant, a long-time prestigious restaurant in the Twin Cities.     

Over the years, more Axel's restaurants opened and the Axel's Bonfire concept became a reality.  Young and Burrows began to franchise the Axel's restaurants, but continued to give direct support to the franchisees.  Earlier this year, Young and Burrows sold the Axel's restaurants and Axel's Bonfire locations, as well as as all franchise licensing, to the Twin Cities-based Nath Companies which is involved with restaurant, hotel and real estate holdings in the area.  

The Axel's Bonfire at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport was typically busy that early Sunday afternoon.  I found a place at the bar and the waitress got me a cold beer and a menu.  As I said, the offerings at Axel's Bonfire are plentiful with soups, sandwiches, seafood, steaks, salads, pasta, pizza - about anything you want.  I went with the old reliable - the Bonfire Burger - a 1/2 pound fresh ground burger topped with in-house smoked ham slices, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and swiss cheese.  I got an order of fries on the side.

It wasn't much more than 15 minutes later when my burger showed up.  It was cooked to a perfect medium and the roasted red pepper, smoked ham and mushrooms really added a great taste kick to the burger.  After eating rich and very good food in France the previous few days, it was good to get some good ol' American food in my gut.  

I've yet to eat at any of the other Axel or Axel's Bonfire restaurants in the area, but I'd really like to give them a try sometime down the line.  If they're as good as the one at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, then the food has to be top notch.         

 

Patrick McGovern's Pub - St. Paul

I was in the Twin Cities a few weeks ago calling on accounts and I offered to meet one of my dealers for dinner as we couldn't get together during business hours.  He suggested an Irish pub in downtown St. Paul called Patrick McGovern's Pub (see map).

Patrick McGovern's in downtown St. Paul.

I'm not overly familiar with downtown St. Paul, not like I am with Minneapolis.  But with the new Xcel Energy Center just down the street, the area has become revitalized over the past few years. 

Patrick McGovern's is run by Patrick Boehmer, who has owned the place for 34 years.  Patrick McGovern's started as a small corner Irish pub, then took over the space next to it just to the south a few years ago.  Recently, they expanded to an outside patio area with a full service bar.  They also have a party/meeting room upstairs for receptions or parties.

Actually, we were going to meet there for dinner on a Wednesday night, but it turned out that Elton John was playing at the Xcel Energy Center that night.  My dealer said, "It's going to be a zoo downtown if we go.  Let's do it on Thursday night."

So, we did.  I got to Patrick McGovern's around 7 p.m. and sidled up to the bar and grabbed a Summit Extra Pale Ale.  The bar area has a very warm feel to it, heavy on the dark walnut paneling.  The bar, itself, looks to be well worn - possibly older than the 34 years Patrick McGovern's has been around.

Due to traffic (the main roads around the Twin Cities always seem to be under construction), my dealer didn't show up until about 7:30.  We sat at the bar and talked for about a half hour before we retreated to a booth in the half-full bar area for dinner.

Patrick McGovern's menu is varied with steaks, burgers, pork chops and ribs.  They also featured a number of comfort food items on the menu.  One that jumped out at me was the meat loaf on sourdough bread, with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy.  I was a little hungover from going to the Twins game the night before, I thought I needed to have a "stick-to-your-ribs" meal.

My dealer ordered his favorite - Jalapeno Halibut sticks.  They're basically halibut filets cut into fingerling sizes, then dredged in a breading with chunks of jalapenos and deep fried.  They sounded good, but I stuck with my meat loaf.

And the portions were huge.  The waitress brought me a huge piece of meatloaf - close to a pound of meat - on a large slice of homemade sour dough bread, with the mashed potatoes and it was all topped with a great beef gravy.  Oh, it was a spot hitter.

Total bill with our food and beer came to just over $40 with a tip.  It was a lot of food for not a lot of money. 

There's plenty of parking in the immediate area in the form of parking ramps just to the west of the place.  If you're up in the Twin Cities and want a change of scenery from downtown Minneapolis, Patrick McGovern's Pub is a great place for a cold beer and a good meal. 

Davanni's - Twin Cities

I don't eat at Pizza Hut any longer.  One of the big reasons (other than their pizza sucks) is that they no longer serve their "hoagies" - a sandwich with Italian meats, topped with mozzarella cheese, Italian dressing on Italian bread, then baked for about 10 minutes in an oven.  They were absolutely great. 

It's tough finding a good old hoagie like the ones they had at Pizza Hut.  But I think I found something close at Davanni's located throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. 

Actually, I had seen the Davanni's restaurants before in my travels around the Twin Cities, but I'd never stopped in.  I was recently reading a Sports Illustrated article on Joe Mauer, the very good young catcher for the Minnesota Twins.  Mauer, a bachelor, said that one of his favorite post-game meals was picking up a hoagie from Davanni's and taking it home.

On my recent trip to the Twin Cities, I was in between appointments and hungry at lunchtime.  I found a Davanni's in suburban Plymouth and stopped in.  At Davanni's, you order at the front counter and they take your name to call you when the food is ready. 

I ordered an Assorted hoagie - ham, salami and smoked ham with mozzarella and Italian dressing on Italian bread then baked.  I got the Assorted "Whole", which is basically two five inch submarine style sandwiches.  You get your choice of bread and I usually get mine on the regular white hoagie bun.

About ten minutes after I ordered they called my name and I went up to the pick up counter and got the sandwich.  I took it back and dug in. 

It was everything that I remember about the old Pizza Hut hoagies.  The bread was crisp and warm, the meat was plentiful, the Italian dressing was tangy - it was a very good sandwich.   

Davanni's also serves pizza, lasagna and calzones, along with a number of assorted hoagie-style sandwiches.  Honestly, from the pictures at the restaurant that I saw, the pizza, lasagna and calzones didn't look as good as the hoagies. 

Davanni's Assorted hoagie was a definite "spot-hitter".  I've been back to Davanni's many times and I usually eat at the one in Edina, the location in Bloomington, or the one in Eden Prairie.  Actually, all of the Davanni's I've eaten at are basically the same.  The Assorted sandwich is always great.  

The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter - Stillwater, MN

My friend, George Miller, had been on me for quite some time to come dine with him at a German restaurant in the picturesque town of Stillwater, MN. Located on the beautiful St. Croix River, downtown Stillwater is a collection of shops, restaurants and bars about 15 miles from downtown St. Paul.

I was in Minneapolis for meetings last fall and I made plans with Geo to have him come to pick me up and take me to The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter, but known simply as The Gasthaus, which George told me was some of the best German food he's had.

Geo came to the hotel and we took off toward Stillwater. He turned down a road in the country outside of Stillwater and then went down another road when we saw the Gasthaus sign (see map). Suddenly, it was like deja vu. I realized I'd been there years prior with my old colleagues when I first became a sales rep in the mid 80's.

Before we walked in, I said to George, "I'm almost certain I've been here. You come in and the bar is on the right, and the bathrooms are on the left."

George said, "That's right." He was a little crestfallen. He thought he had taken me to another place I'd never been to before. He offered to go somewhere else, but I said, "Are you nuts? We're eating here!"

I told him it was a LONG time ago - nearly 17 years - since I'd been there. But I remember it being good.

When we got in, it was exactly as I remember it. The Gasthaus is large, yet cozy as the rooms within the place aren't all that big. There are lots of ornate German touches to the dining room and bar area (which isn't very big), including a nice collection of steins. It wasn't busy that night, but the crowd was steady.

We both had a 1/2 liter stein of their imported Munich brewed Oktoberfest and George ordered up a sausage sampler. When she brought it out, I thought, "Holy crap! How are we going to eat this AND our dinner?" It was a large plate of cut up sausages and sauerkraut with a tangy German mustard to dip in. We did make a dent in it, I'll tell you that.

Our waitress was an older lady, which reminded me of the waitresses at the restaurants in the Amana Colonies. She gave wonderful service and had a good sense of humor, too.

I don't exactly remember what George had for dinner, but I had the Jagerschnitzel, two lightly breaded boneless pork chops in a mushroom sauce with sauerkraut and red cabbage. All of which were just wonderful. Just as I remember them from years prior.

We washed down another half liter of Oktoberfest at The Gasthaus. I found the next day that was probably a mistake - Oktoberfest, with a higher alcohol content than most beers, has an affect on me that just makes me feel like crap the next day. Well, that and the fact that George took me to a neat little bar in downtown Stillwater afterwards for three more beers before we ventured home.

George was telling me that The Gasthaus has one of the largest Oktoberfest parties in the upper Midwest. They erect a huge tent next to the restaurant and park the cars in the open field to the east of the building. He says it's fun and just crazy. I'd never been to an Oktoberfest any where before, and the way he was describing it, I really wanted to go to the one next September.

This is NOT the waitress we had, but one of the girls who works at The Gasthaus during Oktoberfest. Hey, I'm a sucker for any pretty girl who has a handful of full beer mugs and a big pretzel around her neck.

The Gasthaus is as authentic Bavarian cuisine as you can get in the states. I've eaten at a lot of great German restaurants in my lifetime, and The Gasthaus is right up there with the best of 'em.

Keys Cafe - Twin Cities

Keys Cafe is a Twin Cities institution with five or six locations around the area.  I've only eaten at the one in Roseville a couple of times and the food is just great.  I've had their meat loaf which is good (not as good as mine), and their hot beef sandwich, which is out of this world.  I also had a cup of the Wild Rice soup (a Minnesota staple) on one occasion and it was great, as well.

Keys is locally owned by one of the two women who started it back in 1973.  My buddy, George Miller, swears that the Beef Tips are to die for, so I'll have to try them the next time I go in. 

If you really need a "stick to your ribs" dinner in the Twin Cities, you can't beat Keys!