Hi all,

I'll be in the Bloomington next month for a week-long conference. When I'm not being wined and dined on my company's dime, I'd like to venture out to the Minneapolis (at least or twice) and sample the food (on my own dime). Sorry for such a general post, but if you can make any recommendations, I'd appreciate it.

In particular, I'm looking for something uniquely Minneapolis (but Juicy Lucy's don't really interest me). Any good gastropubs? Scandinavian food? Must-eat restaurants? And how's the Global Market?

Keep in mind, I won't have a car (so anything along the Hiawatha Line would be preferred) and not looking for anything really expensive - I'll be with co-workers, not my wife :)

Thank you!!!

Sorry menton, wrong person to ask.

ok i give up. I am in the minority for my hatred of hot dogs!

and actually, my favorite hot dogs are from the grill with hoagie topping (like a spicy red pepper relish). Better than Rutts.

That is correct. And to reiterate, I liked it. It was good. But is it worthy enough to be its own style of pizza?

I'm no expert and I've only had NH pizza once from one place so please take my comment with a few grains of salt. But if Modern is one of the better NH pizza establishments than I would question all the hype surrounding not only Modern but NH pizza in general.

Maybe I need to try it more than once and try other pizzerias in the area?

Tommy - I agree that anything can be exceptional in its class. I recognize that Rutt's hot dogs are infinitely better than the boiled crap they served in school or whatever they serve at 7-11. It's a very good hot dog but still, it's just a hot dog. Say you don't care for chocolate, even the finest Belgian chocolate may not impress you. That's how I feel about hot dogs.

Forunder - I thought the relish was very good. I like relish so I'm glad they had it. A bit sweet but it had a nice tang.

Thank you everyone. We ended up going to Rutt's Hut on the way home. A bit off the turnpike but that was fine. I got two rippers and topped both with relish but just one with mustard. They were pretty good and I guess these are highly touted dogs, but I'll say the same thing after I went to the original Nathans - it's still a hot dog. I mean it was cool that they deep fry them, but when it's all said and done it's a hot dog and how good - even the very best - can it be?

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Rutt's Hut
417 River Rd, Clifton, NJ 07014

Thanks everyone. Went to Modern and had two pizzas: Margarita and Clams Casino.

The margarita resembled a plain pie and was just okay. If you had told me it was a plain cheese pizza, I would have believed it. Not sure how the actual plain cheese differs from what we got. It was good but the middle of the pie (first bites of each slice) were limp and a bit soggy. Crust had a nice char. It was a bit greasy but tasty. Nothing special.

The clams casino with bacon and peppers (white) was better. The toppings went together nicely and it was tasty. But it was also greasy and soggy in the middle.

Overall, it wasn't a spectacular culinary experience. But it definitely fit the bill as a good place to stop and eat along the way. If this is typical New Haven pizza, then I would have to say that the style is a bit overhyped.

Thanks everyone!

Wow, this is a lot of info. Thank you everyone!. I may end up going to Pepe's or somewhere in Southern CT since I am now leaving a bit earlier (and therefore, I should be further along my journey around lunch time). And thanks for the tip about Mystic - maybe on the way home!

Hi everyone,

New guy here looking for advice. I'm driving up from Philly to Rhode Island next week and I'm looking for a good place to have lunch on the way either in northern NJ, the Bronx, Westchester County, or Stamford.

Criteria

Cheap, good, quick, and not too far off 95. Understand that I will be people who would prefer to stop at a rest stop, not lose time, and get to our destination ASAP. To convince them, it can't be far off the highway. I'm thinking like a place that would be featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Your advice is appreciated! Thank you.

Hi everyone,

New guy here looking for advice. I'm driving up from Philly to Rhode Island next week and I'm looking for a good place to have lunch on the way- either in Northern NJ or Westchester Co, NY while avoiding crappy, low quality, and overpriced rest stop food.

Criteria

Cheap, good, quick, and not too far off 95/NJ Turnpike. Understand that I will be people who would prefer to stop at a rest stop, not lose time, and get to our destination ASAP. To convince them, it can't be far off the highway.

Your advice is appreciated! Thank you.