AKICILJ: the French toast edition
Dec. 20th, 2008 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Snowy Saturday. So fond.
We watched Blues Brothers, which may be the worst movie in the world for triggering a cascade of movies I want to watch. This is mostly Dan Aykroyd's fault. I love Dan Aykroyd. Seriously, now I want to watch Trading Places and Sneakers and Ghostbusters and Grosse Pointe Blank and maybe even Antz and Dragnet. And I will have time for exactly none of that this week. (The schedule: it is scheduley.)
What I want to know, though, is what good breakfast or brunch places you people know of in the Twin Cities. I consider it completely possible that some of you have visited here for a convention and had good breakfast, so I didn't filter the post. I know Cecil's in St. Paul and Maria's in Minneapolis. What else is out there that you could recommend? Stuff that isn't in the far west suburbs is particularly useful, since it would be ideal if we could meet somewhere between Spring Lake Park and Eagan, with some flexibility in what "between" means. Downtown Minneapolis is fine. Minnetonka, not so fine. And we're looking for non-chain stuff if possible; we already know that Perkins and Bruegger's serve what they serve to the quality level they serve it.
One of the ways in which having people come to town turns out to be different from traveling to visit them, for me, is that I am extremely happy with long, detailed works of nonfiction when traveling, but apparently when I'm home they will get lost in the holiday shuffle. So that's a thing to remember, I guess. Good thing somebody lent me a stack of short, rather snappy mystery novels just recently.
We watched Blues Brothers, which may be the worst movie in the world for triggering a cascade of movies I want to watch. This is mostly Dan Aykroyd's fault. I love Dan Aykroyd. Seriously, now I want to watch Trading Places and Sneakers and Ghostbusters and Grosse Pointe Blank and maybe even Antz and Dragnet. And I will have time for exactly none of that this week. (The schedule: it is scheduley.)
What I want to know, though, is what good breakfast or brunch places you people know of in the Twin Cities. I consider it completely possible that some of you have visited here for a convention and had good breakfast, so I didn't filter the post. I know Cecil's in St. Paul and Maria's in Minneapolis. What else is out there that you could recommend? Stuff that isn't in the far west suburbs is particularly useful, since it would be ideal if we could meet somewhere between Spring Lake Park and Eagan, with some flexibility in what "between" means. Downtown Minneapolis is fine. Minnetonka, not so fine. And we're looking for non-chain stuff if possible; we already know that Perkins and Bruegger's serve what they serve to the quality level they serve it.
One of the ways in which having people come to town turns out to be different from traveling to visit them, for me, is that I am extremely happy with long, detailed works of nonfiction when traveling, but apparently when I'm home they will get lost in the holiday shuffle. So that's a thing to remember, I guess. Good thing somebody lent me a stack of short, rather snappy mystery novels just recently.
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Date: 2008-12-21 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 04:24 am (UTC)(This does not mean that other people shouldn't speak up, though.)
One of the two best restaurant breakfasts of my entire life was in a Cajun restaurant.
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Date: 2008-12-21 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-22 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 11:32 pm (UTC)Pr'bly some creole, too!
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Date: 2008-12-22 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 05:25 am (UTC)I've been to Fat Nat's and it was tasty but not too heavy. Sunnyside Up made me feel a bit sick and greasy after (and I do like my grease), so if you get that rec, be careful.
(obviously take that list with a grain of salt since anyone could vote for it and Hardees seems to get a crazy amount of votes on the Citysearch lists over the years)
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Date: 2008-12-21 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 12:06 pm (UTC)They have tea! Also, great food, but food is a damn sight easier to find in America. They're, um, you go out of the hotel and down the street and then across somewhere. They're in downtown Minneapolis near where they have Minicon. They have friendly wait staff and nice varied brunch food, and teapots and boiling water.
Also there is a nice place right next to Dreamhaven, with exposed pipes in the ceiling, where I have had some nice breakfasts and also lunches with Elise. And there was the time I was staying with Geri and nobody was going to be awake for a long time and I walked down there and had breakfast and Dreamhaven was going to be open in half an hour and I wanted to keep sitting there reading my book until then so I ordered a waffle, which was cheap and which I thought was going to be, oh, the size of my palm, rather than the size of Kansas. That's a nice place. They don't have tea, but you don't want it anyway.
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Date: 2008-12-21 01:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 03:18 pm (UTC)'cause that's what I recommend.
There is also, a block from Rice Paper and across from Dunn Brothers, a little breakfast and lunch place with a name that starts with Z. Um. I can't remember more, but they have nice frittatas.
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Date: 2008-12-21 11:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-22 04:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 06:42 pm (UTC)P.
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Date: 2008-12-22 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 05:17 pm (UTC)My first was Chianti Grill - Don & Margo keep dragging us off to there for their Sunday brunch. It's currently at Snelling & Larpenteur in St. Paul (in the same building as The Source). They're building a new from-scratch location at Har Mar - I'd guess it's going to be open sometime this spring.
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Date: 2008-12-21 11:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-22 12:49 am (UTC)Upon reflection - I've been there for Easter and Mother's Day Brunches. There was a wide variety of little pastries and desserts, the omelet bar, your standard breakfast stuff (scrambled eggs, various sausages, bacon), eggs benedict, waffles, maybe pancakes. And a couple of lunch entrees - sorry, I don't remember in particular what they were.
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Date: 2008-12-22 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 02:27 pm (UTC)There's some good breakfast options at Vera's Cafe, which is near Intermedia Arts on Lyndale, as well as the Manny's Tortas location at the Midtown Global Market (a few of their other stalls also open for breakfast so there would be variety -- though my favorite there is Safari Express, which is a lunch/dinner stand only). I've also had good breakfasts at the Mercado Central on East Lake St. (OK, caveat: this was all in 2006.)
Also, I know you're looking for breakfast and not so much other meals, but you've been to Babani's, yes? It's my absolute favorite awesomest Twin Cities restaurant and I feel compelled to proselytize on basically any MSP food post... (http://www.babanis.com/) ()
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Date: 2008-12-22 04:29 am (UTC)Colossal Cafe
Date: 2008-12-21 04:39 pm (UTC)And they mean it.
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Date: 2008-12-21 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-21 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-22 03:15 am (UTC)If you're ever in Ames, IA, the Grove Cafe serves good breakfasts and will make you Mickey Mouse pancakes if you ask. Their normal pancakes are the size of a plate, but very tasty.
On a mission from Ghawd!
Date: 2008-12-22 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-22 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 04:02 am (UTC)I also recommend Dixie's in St. Paul, for Sunday brunch. Particularly if the people involved are carnivores.
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Date: 2009-01-02 07:31 pm (UTC)There's this tiny place called My Kitchen in our neck of the woods that is supposed to have great traditional diner breakfasts, IIRC. It's off of Bryant & 38th or 36th or something like that.
The Turtle Bread place on 44th in Linden Hills area now serves breakfast & lunch (and has ample seating). We had lunch there with Dean & Laura recently and I had an excellent sandwich and D&L had excellent egg dishes. Looked like they'd have great french toast.
Love Hell's Kitchen, though haven't yet visited their new location.
We enjoyed the Famous Dave's Sunday brunch the one time we tried it at Calhoun Square. Crowded and loud with live jazz music and a very hearty meaty buffet (as you might expect).
Last year we were pleasantly surprised to discover on a Saturday or Sunday when we were at the Dome for an afternoon Twins game, that they made omelets to order in the Rally Room or whatever they call the season ticket holders restaurant place in the Dome (Mirrasou Wine Sun Room? Something stupid. Used to be Rally Room). Kevin always craves breakfast when we get to the Dome at 11am or whatever and on a lark we tried that place (which usually has carved sandwiches, nachos, hot dogs) and in addition to the usual stuff, they would make omelets and give you a side of fruit. Nifty!
It sounds like the brunches they serve at our new corner cafe could be good. We still haven't tried the place, I guess we're still mourning My-T-Fine (which had excellent french toast).
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Date: 2009-01-03 12:51 pm (UTC)Thanks for all the other recommendations, though! Wow! You're very brunchy!