19 thoughts on “April 12, 2020: A Nostalgic Wax”

  2. Cafe Twenty-Eight in Linden Hills was a favorite. It's especially frustrating because it didn't close because it failed; instead, it closed because the landlord wouldn't extend the lease because he wanted to put his own restuarant in the location. Thus, I will never eat at the Harriet Brasserie.

  3. Big Ten Subs. I've heard that recently the replacement restaurant in Hopkins is starting to serve them.

      1. That's too bad. I've been there a few times. New one is over ten years old. The old one was a little shack with sloping floors. Cheeseburgers mad on a fifty year old flat top with PBR on tap. Much different!

  5. B.K. Restaurant in Coon Rapids. Run by a gruff Greek named Bill. He sold it in the late 90's, it went to hell, he bought it back again and ran it for a while and then retired. Some of the same staff work at its replacement (Pappy's) but it's garbage now. It wasn't amazing food, but it was consistently good and consistently cheap. They had good malts.

  6. It's not local, but when I worked in NYC in the West Village, there was this nearby place (part of a small chain) called Burritoville, which closed a few years after I moved away. Sometimes I still think about their border burrito--I've tried to recreate it but never succeeded.

  7. I already posted this as a reply to NBB, but I've got some additions...

    Peter's Grill in Minneapolis had the best club sandwich, hearty soups and heavenly pies. Damn good coffee, too.
    The Flat Iron Tavern in St. Cloud was the home of the legendary Darrel Burger and dollar taps. You could get a great meal and a good buzz for under ten bucks.
    The Vineyard in Anoka on Highway 10 had great surf & turf, excellent prime rib roasted in rock salt, and they mixed a mean Old Fashioned.
    Pinske's Meat Market in Gaylord supplied their spicy hamburger for cafes, fairs and carnivals across the county, and made awesome deer sausage.
    The Quarterdeck in Brainerd had great seafood, the walleye was always fresh and they made a blackened swordfish that I still crave.
    King's Inn Supper Club south of Rice was a favorite venue for our fraternity formal events and specialized in prime rib, steaks and chops. Huge baked potatoes.
    The Uptown Bar & Cafe was a legendary joint with a breakfast sure to cure your hangover, hash browns dripping in butter and oh, those Bloody Marys!
    The St. Paul Athletic Club cafeteria made the best macaroni and cheese with a crispy crunchy bread crumb coating on top, and their roasted chicken was always worth ordering.

    1. Oh, the old Brothers Deli in Bloomington, the first place I had matzoh ball soup and their corned beef or pastrami on rye with Swiss cheese was one solid sandwich. The Perkins on Division Street in St. Cloud for the after-bars ham and cheese omelet. And in Iowa there used to be a local burger chain called The Famous Dillburger, but their best item was the pork tenderloin sandwich that stuck out two inches past the bun.

  8. It's closed now for the plague (open for takeout), but we used to go to this place in Eden Prairie for lunch when I worked in Minnetonka, a Vietnamese joint called Eden, tucked away in an unbecoming strip-mall. Spicy ginger chicken to die for, also spicy beef potatoes. And a good value.

  9. A couple that haven’t been mentioned that were on my list:

    - Barbary Fig
    - Vincent
    - The Sunny Side-Up Cafe on Lyndale
    - La Belle Vie

    Elsewhere:

    - Sophia’s (our favorite brunch spot, communal seating for a dozen or so)
    - That BBQ Joint (mustard sauce & rib tips...)
    - Inka Heritage (fine. Dining Peruvian, lomo saltado & papa a la Huancaina)
    - Crandall’s Peruvian Bistro (a three pisco sour lunch)
    - Harold’s Chicken Shack (now I get fried gizzards from an Egyptian joint)
    - Cafe Costa Rica (in a walk-out basement, sat about six patrons)
    - Kabul
    - Hot Fish Shop

    1. Oh yes, we had the tasting menu at La Belle Vie every year for our anniversary. Incredible.

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