fdizzle's Profile
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
Town Hall Tap and Town Hall Brewery are 2 different places. The Tap is a new place in South Mpls.
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
I figured. Their food is mediocre at best, but for the record their beer is good, brewed on site, and unique to the location.
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
Your main problem is your size. McGovern's and O'Gara's could both probably accommodate your group, but neither are much of a real Irish pub and neither have very special beer lists.
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
Yup, they should have the space. I think Al is still the bar manager/beer expert there so you might want to talk to him. Their beer list should please your group.
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
Another idea is Rock Bottom.
Serious Beer Drinkers - Please Read - I NEED your input!
Some quick ideas. The Blue Nile or Stub & Herb's (might be too small for 150). Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit for German beer.
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Stub & Herb's
227 Oak St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414
Anybody been to Seven Fires Steakhouse in the Black Bear Casino in Carlton, MN?
I will be staying at the Black Bear Casino this winter and I'm wondering if Seven Fires is worth checking out for dinner or if we should eat in Duluth before we check in. I haven't found much information on the restaurant. I suspect it might be new since the casino was remodeled. Any feedback is welcomed. Thanks!
Reuben sandwich - searching for "The One"
Shamrock's in St Paul makes a good Rueben. Worth trying.
Restaurants everyone loves--except you
I get your point about it not being a great place to send an out of towner, but what specifically do you dislike about the food? I went to Val's in St Cloud (loved it, btw) based on your recommendation and Matt's and Val's are not the same thing but I would think most people who like Val's would like Matt's. I get that Val's is all about the experience with the ordering and the closet size and everything. Is it because the Nook is just that much better? Not trying to debate, just trying to understand your viewpoint since your recommendations on chowhound are usually good.
Restaurants everyone loves--except you
Luckys 13 in Mendota. Happy Gnome (food usually not good, love the beer selection though). There's a bunch of other places I really don't get, but they are mostly easy targets.
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Happy Gnome
498 Selby Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55102
Luckys 13
1352 Sibley Memorial Hwy, Saint Paul, MN 55150
Restaurants everyone loves--except you
MSPD, Do you really dislike the food at Matt's and 5-8 or do you just dislike people's obsession with them?
I've been to Cecil's once and enjoyed my Pastrami sandwich, but I don't think I've ever had Pastrami I don't like and I've never experienced a "real" deli.
Mancini's is not exciting (do you want steak or steak?), but that grilled bread is damn good.
Where can I buy curing salt around here?
I need to buy some curing salt for curing meats, but I haven't seen it locally. It is also called Prague Powder # 1, Insta-Cure, or pink salt. Does anyone know where I can find it in the twin cities? I've found Morton Tender Quick, which has Sodium Nitrite, but I'd like to find the pink salt that is 6.25% Sodium Nitrite. If I can't find it around here, I'll just order some.
Food-related day trips in Twin Cities area
Another place I thought of in the Western side of the state, but haven't been to, is George's Steaks in New Ulm. I think New Ulm could be a fun, quick trip.
Food-related day trips in Twin Cities area
Actually worth the drive? No place that I know of. Here are some thoughts though...
Zimmern visited Cozy Cafe in Cyrus, but I'm not sure if it's still open and I'm not sure if it's really anything special. He went there for lutefisk...not my favorite dish. :)
If you head all the way to Fargo Moorhead there is likely some chowhound type stops. I've heard good things about Grand Junction and I'm sure there is some other places across the border in Fargo. People seem to like Zorbaz pizza which is in that area and elsewhere around Minnesota, but I doubt it's worth the drive.
There's got to be a good supper club somewhere in Western, MN but I'm very rarely in the area so I'm not aware of anything specific.
I might have some other daytrip ideas...let me think about that.
Are there any good Mom & Pop restaurants in the western suburbs?
Peg's Countryside Cafe is likely not too far for you and it might be the kind of place you are looking for.
http://www.pegscountrysidecafe.com/
Food-related day trips in Twin Cities area
Ok, I'll start with one that can be an actual day trip (if you have a lot of energy and obviously you wouldn't hit all these spots). This is a trip into Duluth and back. It's more of an obvious one, but I'm going with it anyways. This could easily be expanded into a longer trip with the North Shore. Please feel free to add the good places I miss. I know there other things I could have added, especially in Duluth, but I tried to make this focused on the more affordable stops and I left out the fancy places while including some divey places. There is more information on many of these places if you look around Chowhound.
Hinckley
Tobies Bakery
http://www.tobies.com/
Typical bakery. Not terribly exciting as I remember but might be worth checking out.
Between Hinckley and Carlton
Banning Junction (Finlayson exit)
Cafe, Restaurant, and Bar - Truck stop style place. I like stopping in the cafe for breakfast. Dinner food is okay, but nothing spectacular.
Carlton Area
Green Pastures Dairy
http://www.greenpasturesdairy.com/
Raw milk Dairy Farm - stop here for cheese
TJ's Country Store
http://www.ourwurstisbest.com/
Brats and Sausages
Cozy Cafe
Little breakfast place that I've heard good things about
Cloquet Area
Gordy's Hi-Hat
http://www.gordys-hihat.com
Old fashioned burger place - only open in Summer. I love this place.
Between Cloquet and Duluth
Buffalo House
http://www.buffalohouseduluth.com/
Bar/Restaurant - not too special but I like it
Duluth
Sammy's Pizza
http://www.mysammys.com
Midwest Style Pizza place - multiple locations
Fitger's Brewhouse
http://www.brewhouse.net
Brewpub with good fare. If you like beer it's a must stop since this is one of my favorite brewpubs anywhere.
Beaner's Central
www.beanerscentral.com
If you like coffee, this is my preference in Duluth.
Positively 3rd Street Bakery
http://www.positively3rdstreetbakery.com/
Bakery I've heard good things about
Northern Waters Smokehaus
www.northernwatersmokehaus.com
You're going to Lake Superior, you must pick up some smoked fish right.
Amazing Grace Bakery and Cafe
http://amazinggracebakery.com/
It's been a long time since I've been here but I remember getting a decent cup of coffee and I've heard good things about the bakery.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
http://www.rmcf.com/mn/duluth50533/
This is a chain, but if you end up in Canal Park and love chocolate then it might be worth the stop. I remember there being at least one other candy store too in the shops above Amazing Grace.
Hell Burgers
http://www.hellburgers.com/
Spin-off of Hell's Kitchen in Mpls. Early reviews haven't looked good but maybe that's changed. I figured it's worth mentioning.
There also is a farmers market in Duluth in the summer if you're into those.
http://www.duluthfarmersmarket.com/
Superior, WI
Anchor Bar
http://anchorbar.freeservers.com/
This is a dive bar with good burgers. Always an experience.
Some people also like the Coney Island in Duluth but I had a bad experience many years ago and haven't been back.
Food-related day trips in Twin Cities area
Wow, there are many, many options here. If I have some time this week, I'll try to put together some ideas.
If there are any preferences, such as family vs romantic or time of year (season) that would be helpful.
Northern Minnesota Coffee
Thanks guys. I'm hoping to try Brewed Awakenings this weekend.
Northern Minnesota Coffee
Awesome. Thanks TDQ. Both of those are in areas I drive through from time to time. I vaguely remember seeing the Warming House before. I'll check them out.
Northern Minnesota Coffee
I am frequently in Northern Minnesota and I love coffee. Is there any place to get great coffee north of the twin cities? I am fairly familiar with the options in Duluth, but I am specifically looking for a good cup in other places (Hinckley, St. Cloud, Brainerd, Grand Rapids...anywhere really).
Pubs without TVs
That's a good start.
I feel like the Muddy Pig doesn't have tv's but I can't say for sure. Maybe someone can confirm. Sounds like it's not your neighborhood though.
north of Duluth, place next to a bridge
Are we talking south of Two Harbors or south of the Canadian border? Just trying to narrow it down a little.
Pubs without TVs
I like bars with tv's, but there's something warm, amazing, and old school about a bar that can succeed without one. I have a couple ideas of places that may not have one but not really sure, so I'm trying to put together a list of pubs sans television in the twin cities.
MSP: "Best" Grocery Store
I have had similar experiences for years at the Lakeville SuperTarget. I've had a little better luck at both Apple Valley locations for some reason. Kind of odd.
MSP - Dining with infant in downtown Minneapolis
Thanks. Hell's Kitchen might work. We love Town Hall too, but it's a little too far from where we will be.
MSP - Dining with infant in downtown Minneapolis
Thanks for the feedback. Here's a little more information. I am looking for a place to eat and have a beer on a weekend afternoon before the Hollidazzle. There will be 4 or 5 of us plus our baby. We'll probably bottle feed for convenience so breastfeeding won't be necessary.
I've been to Brit's, the Local, and Barrio before baby but all of these places area usually packed at this time. Honestly, our baby doesn't mind all the commotion and we usually don't either, but if people are standing shoulder to shoulder it won't be comfortable for anyone. Also, we can't just squeeze in a small table in the bar - we will likely have a carrier.
We are open to different types of food and would expect to pay the average downtown prices - nothing too fancy. I'm thinking Hell's Kitchen might work or maybe Keys. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Hell's Kitchen
80 South 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402
MSP - Dining with infant in downtown Minneapolis
Any recommendations on a place where a 6 month old will be welcomed in Downtown Minneapolis? The closer to Nicollet Mall, the better.
