Minnesota - Where to Eat?

MSPD,

It could get worse. We could devolve further here with those Ole and Lena jokes.

It's all ongoing. We'll work through this lutefisk and move on, but maybe lutefisk will live on here as a reference as long as the thread remains viable. Right now it seems it is 2 to 1 in suggestions in Wisconsin's favor. Wanderingjew may never make it this far west if that favor remains. If he drives instead of flies he could stop at the Norski Nook in Wisconsin.

MSPD
 
I agree with you 100% . Just like the similar Cinci thread which is more than just about about 5 way chili and goetta, the Minnesota thread should be more than just about Lutefisk and Hot Dish- All kidding aside, I've made it plainly clear previously that I have no desire to try Lutefish, well, I wouldn't go out of my way to find it
 
Now if Davydd, would stop INSTIGATING!!!!
 

 
 
 

So MSPD, how did your kids get hooked on lutefisk?  (I'm always interested in how you get kids to eat certain things.)

Nancy...first off, the bakery down the street from Maria's is Franklin Street Bakery.  It's very good.  Not the best in town, but worth a stop if you're by there.  (As is Maria's for their cachapas venezolanas...corn pancakes).  Just east on Franklin at Bloomington is a little dumpy Halal market that makes some of the best gyros in MSP (on a good day) as well as some tasty goat.  Further east about a mile is a wonderful stretch of Franklin in the Seward neighborhood.  There's the Himalayan, True Thai and a beautiful co-op right there.  You're also very close to the Cedar Riverside neighborhood which is full of great Roadfood joints.  All in about a 2 mile radius and all easily walkable from the light rail platforms (2 stops).

Honestly, I think our "no nonsense" approach to food/dining has helped develop well-rounded eaters.  We make what we make, covering balanced nutrition, and they either eat or they don't.  We don't accept fussing and we don't make special things if the kids don't like what we made.  It's really that simple.  So when there's something new, they try it.

I was serious when I said lutefisk done right is outstanding.  I grew up in Rhode Island and the DC area and have a lifetime of seafood eating as well as catching my own.  As ridiculous as people will say it is, perfect lutefisk reminds me of lobster tail, sea bass, black cod (like the famous preparation at Nobu), and those types of fish.  It's buttery (even without the melted butter you put on it) and has a slightly chewy (in a good way) texture.

Lutefisk was an easy sell on the kids simply because it tastes good.  Now....I *will* be curious to see the reaction to the beef tongue that I'm about to get out of my freezer (we get our beef direct from the farm).

p.s. -- I appreciate the joking and know it's ongoing...I just would hate if the MN info got so diluted that it was hard for a newer person to actually find useful info.

MSPD,

Out of all this you are probably the first one that has seriously endorsed lutefisk. As you know Alton Brown stormed through on Feasting on Asphalt and made fun of it and our own local guy, Andrew Zimmern, has taken shots at it on two shows, his own Bizarre Foods and Man vs. Food. It seems no one can resist the potshots. We do the same with hot dish. It's casserole anywhere else yet Prairie Home Companion and the like have elevated it to humor.

You have to understand, it is a long running leg pulling wj and I do to each other all in fun, at least from my end. It should culminate with him coming out to our new Target Field next year and it should be a great time if we can get together. I wouldn't even mind if he went to Grumpy's Bar for that tater tot hot dish. Grumpy's is a fun place. The last time I was there was just before a monster trucks show at the Metrodome and it was overrun with dad's and preteen boys.

There seems to be a concentration of Scandinavian ethnic restaurants on Highway 8 east of I-35 over to the Wisconsin border. I've never stopped at any of them since going through there is always at the beginning of a road trip on the last leg before hitting the metro area returning home.

I wondered about the Franklin Street Bakery--is the halal market you're talking about the one with the sign in the window listing all the various animals and organ meats they sell?  I passed that probably four times trying to get a good picture without holding up traffic and couldn't.  (This is an actual problem--when I went back up to take Hennepin back out of town an officer pulled next to me to ask if I was lost.  /embarrassed) 
 
Sounds like you've done a great job raising adventurous eaters!

Davydd


MSPD,

Out of all this you are probably the first one that has seriously endorsed lutefisk. As you know Alton Brown stormed through on Feasting on Asphalt and made fun of it and our own local guy, Andrew Zimmern, has taken shots at it on two shows, his own Bizarre Foods and Man vs. Food. It seems no one can resist the potshots. We do the same with hot dish. It's casserole anywhere else yet Prairie Home Companion and the like have elevated it to humor.

You have to understand, it is a long running leg pulling wj and I do to each other all in fun, at least from my end. It should culminate with him coming out to our new Target Field next year and it should be a great time if we can get together. I wouldn't even mind if he went to Grumpy's Bar for that tater tot hot dish. Grumpy's is a fun place. The last time I was there was just before a monster trucks show at the Metrodome and it was overrun with dad's and preteen boys.

There seems to be a concentration of Scandinavian ethnic restaurants on Highway 8 east of I-35 over to the Wisconsin border. I've never stopped at any of them since going through there is always at the beginning of a road trip on the last leg before hitting the metro area returning home.

Oh, Davydd, you know it's all in fun from my end too....Grumpys seems like a fun place to check out- I've seen their reviews on yelp- they actually have a hotdish happy hour on Tuesdays from 5-9 pm- according to their website- all the hotdish you can eat for a buck- although it's still a year off- it's very unlikely my visit to the Twin Cities will fall on a Tuesday although I'm sure I'm going to spend at least 3 or 4 days there.

Nancypalooza


I wondered about the Franklin Street Bakery--is the halal market you're talking about the one with the sign in the window listing all the various animals and organ meats they sell?
 

Yes.  Kidneys, liver, camel meat, goat meat, chicken, etc.  All listed right there on the window.

Lifelong Minnesotan, here.  But I orginated on the other side of the River from Davyyd so I know next to nothing of the restaurants he speaks of and even less of downtown Minneapolis. 

St. Paul, I know!  And of course, Dick's Bar in Hudson (being that it is east of the twin towns!)  Red's Savoy, it is surprising to me that they list four locations.  There is only one:  it's on east Seventh Stree in St. Paul.  The others are imposters.  Equally surprising is that they also opened another imposter in Hugo over a year ago and that one wasn't listed.  Oh well, not missed either.  The original is a hoot!  I have visiting out of towners (Florida, Denver, NY) who ask to go there.  All but the Floridians who are native Minnesotans, were surprised to see the pizza cut into squares.
 
Some of my favorite resturants are ones that do not offer linen napkins or have websites.  We recently ooohed and aaaahed again over the Swedish Inn in Lindstrom.  Hubby had steak & shrimp, I had an open faced turkey sandwich and my company from Denver had an open faced hot beef sandwich, all with homemade thick sliced bread and homemade potatoes and gravy.  Steak & shrimp was 9.99 and the sandwiches were 7.99.  The steak and shrimp came with unlimited salad bar and homemade soup. 
 
The Cornerstone Cafe in downtown White Bear Lake is one of our favorite breakfast restaurants.  I always get the Italian Hash and two poached eggs, it is 7.99 and well worth it.   In the summertime you can sit outside and have a great view of the park with its little gazeebo and beautiful landscaping.

Someone on this thread mentioned the Pannekeouken; I adore that place.  Now I wish I would have brought the friend from Denver there.  I must go soon.

I must say that the friend from Denver loved Obb's Bar on St. Paul's East Side.  We had the Fish Fry there two Friday's ago.  It is always a hit.  We went exceptionally early (around 4:30) and got one of the last seats.  Usually there is a wait, that's what happens when you get a reputation over 50 years.   For ten dollars and all the fish you can eat I will call Obb's my steady Fish Fry as long as they stay in business. 

There are plenty of roadfood places outside of Minneapolis and the airport area.  They don't have the patent on Minnesota.  And it isn't always "down to the cities" I know plenty of people down New Ulm and Sleepy Eye, Mankato way that say they go "up to the cities".  And they are about as Minnesotan as it gets!!!!

MSPD

Nancypalooza


I wondered about the Franklin Street Bakery--is the halal market you're talking about the one with the sign in the window listing all the various animals and organ meats they sell?
 

Yes.  Kidneys, liver, camel meat, goat meat, chicken, etc.  All listed right there on the window.

Do they raise camels for food in your neck of the woods or in the USA at all?

Twin City-ites,

Years ago - gosh, now that I think about it almost 40 years ago, I used to go to a tavern in Minneapolis named Maazlax (I'm sure the spelling is wrong) which had FANTASTIC roast beef sandwiches. Carved from garlic studded steamship roasts, on a kaiser style roll, and dipped - they were soooo good. I remember folks queueing outside in mid winter to get one.

Their motto was  'Nobody beats Maazlax meat".

I doubt it is still there, as it surely would have been mentioned. I'm curious as to their fate.

Thanks,  Doug 

It was Mayslacks, a bar in northeast Minneapolis. It is still there but 40 years ago you may have been served directly by the late owner, Stan Mayslack. Stan Mayslack was a former pro wrestler and a giant of a man. In order to get your roast beef sandwich, which was larded with garlic BTW, you had to stand in line with your plate. The bun nearly filled the plate and Mayslack would ladle the roast beef on it. If you didn't have both hands under the plate he would not serve you. The Seinfeld Soup Nazi was a piker compared to Stan.

The lines were indeed long and usually out there door. In 1978 I resigned from my job at an architectural firm to go on to another. For my going away lunch the whole office of about 20 went to Mayslacks early expecting to get in and out at about 11:30 AM. We didn't get out of there until after 2:00 PM. There were no repercussions to the employees. My old boss and owner of the firm was among them.

I haven't been there since Stan Mayslack died several years ago. The place is still open under his name.

NYPIzzaNut

MSPD

Nancypalooza


I wondered about the Franklin Street Bakery--is the halal market you're talking about the one with the sign in the window listing all the various animals and organ meats they sell?

Yes.  Kidneys, liver, camel meat, goat meat, chicken, etc.  All listed right there on the window.

Do they raise camels for food in your neck of the woods or in the USA at all?

It's possible, but I seriously doubt it.  Actually, I'd be interested to know where Halal camel meat sold in Minneapolis comes from.  Maybe I'll ask them next time I'm in. 

Great looking park!

Davydd, thanks so much for the Mayslacks memories. That was a truly great roast beef sandwich.

Another spot I enjoyed from those days was Lindys,  a steakhouse which was located, I believe, in the Arden Hills area near the Control Data plant where I worked while on my trips there. We always stayed at the Paul Bunyan.  

D'Amico Cucina in the Butler Building closed, Morton's Steak House in Gavidae closed and Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday but did not close in Minneapolis. However they did close Oceanaire restaurants in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Seattle and Philadelphia. Those are all top end restaurants in their categories. If the economy doesn't start getting better there could be some more major surprises.

I think Oceanaire expanded maybe a little quickly.

My wife and I met BuddyRoadhouse at the Black Forest on 26th and Nicollet tonight for dinner. We hadn't been there in over 25 years and the place doesn't look like it changed one iota. We sat out in the outdoor beer garden.

Saturday night (7/11) we are getting together again at Little Szechuan, 422 W University in St. Paul at approximately 6:45 PM. Anyone care to join us feel free to do so. The more the merrier.

Catching up because I have been busy designing brick ovens in 3D...





and then I went into the wilderness of Whitewater State Park in Minnesota away from cell phones and the internet eating from the fire pit...



We did meet BuddyRoadhouse at the Black Forest Restaurant in Minneapolis. I had only the iPhone camera with me to record Buddy...



My wife Nancy...



...and the Apple Strudel we all shared...



I probably hadn't been to the Black Forest since the very early 1980s and the place appeared exactly the same. We sat outdoors in the biergarten and it most definitely looked the same. The Artists Quarter bar and grill used to be across the street and it is long gone replaced by a new building housing the Bad Waitress restaurant. Black Forest is on the corner of 26th and Nicollet in the heart of what is now called Eat Street for the explosion of ethnic restaurants. If I am around in another 25 years I might check it out again to see if it changes.

We did meet again at Little Szechuan on University Avenue in St. Paul. The food was good but the jury is out for BuddyRoadhouse as to whether it is any better than Tea House. I gathered Buddy preferred the smoked duck at Tea House better than this...



Nancy ordered the Crispy Chicken which tasted good but was chewy and bacon like and not at all like we thought it would be (nuggets?). The waiter tried to warn us.



I ordered the Chili Scallops which I liked. We shared the dinners along with a couple of excellent appetizers.



Buddy gave us samples of his Southern Sunset bar-b-que sauce which we used to make our own pulled pork sandwich stock to take on our camping trip. Southern Sunset is not available in the Twin City stores.

Today is Manic Monday at Lord Fletcher's in Spring Park on Lake Minnetonka. Every Monday during the boating season outside on the dock from 2 to 9 PM Lord Fletcher's has a $4 ($5 for Cheeseburgers) promotion serving half-pound hamburgers with all the trimmings from a cafeteria outdoor grill setup where you dress your own. For the price, and an honest half-pound from an outdoor grill, it was a great deal. They also sell MGD and Miller Lite in bottles for 99 cents. Beware, though, you'll probably pay more for a basket of onion rings or a beer more to your liking than for the burger and beer deal. It's a good deal. There is a lot of people and boat watching to make it fun. There are a lot of boat slips to pull into but there are many more boats that just like to parade through the channel to be seen and see alike. Two weeks ago the place was packed and you had to stand around and wait for a table to open up. That wasn't too bad, they sold the 99 cent beers from carts spaced around the dock.

Agree w/ Davydd re: dated MN news.  Does anyone have current info about the Brainerd / Cross Lake region?   ** also, just started new thread for this particular area, hope you can help one place or the other, thx **

Minnesota Food Chatters - -
 
I read all 82 messages in one sitting yesterday to get a feel for those offering opinions and insights, and to gain information about Minnesota Roadfood restaurants.
 
Although I am a twenty year resident of Minnesota, have eaten at six of the fourteen listed restaurants, and still refer to my 1983 purchased edition of GOODFOOD for reviews, I have not seriously explored the listed in-state establishments.
 
I pledge to do so. 
 
And I challenge everyone to begin anew your conversations.
 
Gary Wassam

Davydd, I've been bouncing around this thread; definitely have a vested interest in the subject, being a frequent visitor to the Twins, but just too busy to sit down and read every single post.  I did see your comments on our last get together at Little Szechuan, and have to say that Tea House is still my favorite for Chinese in general in your fair metro area.

For me, everything about Tea House is more inviting than Little Szechuan.  Food, service, ambiance; it all comes together better (IMHO) at Tea House.  BTW, after we left Little Szechuan, I did stop at that mobile taco stand on University and had an outstanding al pastor taco for dessert.  Crispy, flavorful bits of al pastor generously stuffed into a soft, warm taco with a zesty shot of salsa verde and sprinkle of onion and cilantro put a very satisfying cap on the evening's repast.  They park in two locations, the second one escapes me at the moment.  I think the University spot, several blocks east(?) of Little Szechuan is their weekend location.

As for Black Forest, it never disappoints.  Our meal there was excellent and the apple strudel was inspired.  More than enough for three previously well fed people to share.

One last thing, your recommendation for picking up brats a Karmarczuk was spot on!  Not only did I get some excellent brats (they placed fairly high in the recent Wisconsin Brat Cook-Off), but I also found a wonderful old world cafeteria style restaurant attached to the butcher shop (you knew I would, didn't you?).  I was trying to grab some lunch before leaving town and with Al's Dinky Town Diner packed to the rafters, Karmarczuk was in the right place at the right time.  At first glance I thought they were a bit pricey for a cafeteria, but the amount of food I was served (I don't think I made it halfway through the sampler platter) was definitely a good value.

Thanks again for yours and Nancy's company, and for some excellent Roadfood suggestions.

See you soon,

Buddy

For your viewing pleasure.  We made our annual outing to Wisconsin for a delicious lutefisk supper.  Moe Lutheran Church near Clear Lake, Wisconsin.

Great post MSPD.

It was Wisconsin and not Minnesota.

Should we put out an alert for wanderingjew?

Paging wanderingjew!  Paging wanderingjew!

Davydd


Great post MSPD.

It was Wisconsin and not Minnesota.

Should we put out an alert for wanderingjew?

Paging wanderingjew!  Paging wanderingjew!

Come on, you know I have no interest in seeking out lutefisk. What I find comical is that if you factor the Twin Cities metro population of say 3 million versus the NYC population of say 20 million. With only 50 or so (I think I'm being generous on the figure) kosher and kosher style delis in the entire NYC area,  per ratio there are actually more restaurants in Twin Cities metro that are serving hot dish and swedish meatballs (and scandinavianesque specialties) than jewish and kosher delis in the NYC area, yet if you venture into the discussion of the "museumesque and touristy" delis in NYC, the locals on the forum are fooling themselves into believing (and having you believe) that they are, flourishing and packed with locals (yeah....right- lots of sarcasm in that tone)

wj,

Relax man. We're having fun. I thought New York was Italian as in pizza.

Your logic may be flawed. It could be possible with that logic for the Twin Cities to have more Jewish delis than NY since the Twin Cities has had and has a fairly prominent Jewish community. The Coen brothers just released a movie on the subject in A Serious Man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serious_Man

Anyway, my all-time favorite Jewish deli was Bernie's in St. Louis Park, MN. Unfortunately, it closed many years ago. Mid 70s I believe. St. Louis Park Historical Society said 1966 but that is in error since I didn't move to the neighborhood until 1971.

http://www.slphistory.org/history/mtka4212.asp

Hi !  Altho have enjoyed the pix, the sarcasm & the 'abuse', still NO ONE has responded to original question about good food  in & around Cross Lake / Brainerd region.  Is there nothing special there ?  thanks...

Davydd


wj,

Relax man. We're having fun. I thought New York was Italian as in pizza.

Your logic may be flawed. It could be possible with that logic for the Twin Cities to have more Jewish delis than NY since the Twin Cities has had and has a fairly prominent Jewish community. The Coen brothers just released a movie on the subject in A Serious Man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serious_Man

Anyway, my all-time favorite Jewish deli was Bernie's in St. Louis Park, MN. Unfortunately, it closed many years ago. Mid 70s I believe. St. Louis Park Historical Society said 1966 but that is in error since I didn't move to the neighborhood until 1971.

http://www.slphistory.org/history/mtka4212.asp

I know, I'm just pointing out something that I find quite ironic.

It wouldn't surprise me if there were more Jewish Delis' in the Twin Cities per capita than there are in NY, I thought there were probably more in Cleveland as well.