Enough with the pizza porn. Yes, I do other things as well. Check out that thread on Roadfood.com.
Last night we went to Grumpy's Bar in downtown Minneapolis. I'd never been there even though I work downtown because it would be about a 2 mile hike from my office. We planned to get there at 5:30 PM thinking that is how you beat the dinner crowd. The streets were jammed and there was a guy with a flag waving us to a parking lot with a $15 sign. I asked what was up and he said are you here for the Monster Trucks? No, we just want to go to Grumpy's. He then said we would be better off parking on the street at the meter (right in front of us and the last one). Grumpy's is in the shadows of the Metrodome where the Vikings and Twins play.
When we got to the bar the place was packed. It was fathers and preteen sons all over. They were having dinner before going to what else, Monster Trucks!!! That's what fathers and sons do. Minneapolis is a non-smoking city and bars are now kind of kid friendly because the price of bar food is just right.
Every table was taken. This is not a place where a hostess seats you. You just find an opening. We decided to sit right at the bar at two empty stools, a big rectangular bar in the center of the space. Two bartender ladies were manning the bar. I never saw two bartenders work so hard. They were going at top speed to get the drinks out. Fortunately for us (me and the Mrs.) we were in no hurry. We relaxed and watched the bartendering show along with a Gopher/Denver college hockey game on the TV. When they took our orders they said it would probably take 1-1/2 hours because of the unusual rush. No problem for us. We drove 25 miles one way for this tenderloin.
The pork tenderloin sandwiches actually came to us within one hour of ordering so all was well. The sandwiches were very good. When I started this pursuit I did not think breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches were all that common in Minnesota yet here we were eating the 19th Minnesota tenderloin just two miles from my office. But then again most of the places we sampled we probably would have never ventured into had it not been for the pursuit.
The beer in the picture is a pint of Surly Brewing Co. Bender. Surly is a fairly new micro brewery in the Twin Cities. That was my first and it was very good. The Mrs. had Summit Ale the staple tap brew of the Twin Cities.
Let's see, hmm, 4 miles round trip walk, approximately 500 calories, I could almost zero out my lunch.
Dang! too much time.
Enjoy!
