Minneapolis Trip Help

And it all goes full circle back to #1

 

Pizza Luce for brunch! I make sure to hit it up every time I visit the cities.

 

5) Is [insert any TG beer] as good as it was last time?

 

Very much agree! Pesto benedict, FTW. The kids tell me that means "for the win."

Edit: F' I'm getting old. I said the kids, and didn't even say "the cool kids."

 

I'm not sure what kids are the cool ones these days. It's probably the ones that use the tinders and smoke jazz cigarettes.

 

My two cents...

Burgers:
JUICY: Shamrocks (Or the Nook, same owners, same menu I believe) has the best Juicy. Beer selection is mediocre, but a solid juicy.
"Gourmet" Burgers: Red Cow. Any of the 3 locations have amazing burgers. And almost always have some great beers on tap.
Breweries: Town Hall is excellent, depending on the day (what's on tap). Still one of my favorites, and good food. Some mediocre beers, but also some EXCELLENT brews. Depends on the day, but usually at the very least, solid.
Indeed. I don't go a lot, but consistently good to great beers. And a cool spot.
Dangerous Man: Just a good spot, with good beers. Worth a stop.
Surly: Well, it's Surly. I dunno, I might be in the minority, but I don't love the new place. Feels like a giant cafeteria. Still, worth a stop, and always good beers on hand. Don't expect growlers or beer to go though. Cool to go to at least once, and some decent food. I've never been to the restaurant portion (you can get food in the brewery), but have heard it is very good.
Stores: Really depends where you can stop. If in MPLS, Zipps, France 44 (Edina/MPLS), South Lyndale Liquors are my go to spots. For the Rogers area, I have no clue!

 

No!!! Matt's. Blue Door's okay, but Matt's is the shit. Greasy? Hell yeah, it's part of the appeal.

 

I didn't leave "hungry" from Travail but you certainly don't feel the same as when you leave an Old Country Bufet The night we went I think there were 22 courses served over the course of 2 hours. If you normally stuff a burger and fries in your face in 7 minutes (like me) then it's definitely a different experience eating 1 or 2 bites at a time spread out. I felt content leaving though. Travail was the most unique restaurant experience I've ever had, totally worth the money.

The drinks are not included but are awesome. My lady friend had a fizzy martini served in a beaker with a crazy straw and I had a manhattan (the Ron Burgundy) that's served with smoke. They had some fun drinks with gin, absinthe, egg whites, etc., stuff you normally don't see everywhere and wine by the glass options in the $8-12 range.

Overall I think we paid about $200 for the two of us with 2-3 drinks each and our meals.

Has anyone been to Pig Ate My Pizza? It's the same owners right?

 

Also I consistently can't believe how much people love and recommend Town Hall around here. I've never had a beer there that wowed me and the food is consistently subpar.

Compared to the food and beer selection down the road at Surly I'd skip Town Hall 9/10 times.

 

Different strokes. I could not disagree more. Just the way it is, I suppose.

 

Although I tend to agree with you on the food, I couldn't disagree more on the beer. I've been going to Town Hall for 10+ years and the beer has always been consistently superb. The single hop Eldorado Pale Ale they had on several months ago was unbelievably delicious.

 

Perhaps I miss some of the standouts, I admit I don't go there frequently. I've tried it maybe 3 or 4 times and always leave unimpressed. I took my brother in law recently as he was visiting from out of town for the holidays and we each got a flight and split a pour of twisted trace, which was admittedly a very nice beer. The rest of the beers were all average, with the IPA being a little above average but certainly not near Todd or Abrasive level.

The food though.. cheese curds sitting in a thick layer of grease was a bad start to our meal. You know it's bad if I don't finish the cheese curds. Maybe they just need to not serve it in that black bowl so I can't see the grease pooling at the bottom.. I don't know.

Like @mnbeergeeksaid different strokes and all but I'd much rather have the pork fries down the road. Luckily for us folks they are close enough where we can hit both in an evening if we want.

 

Check this thread out as well. I am going to abandon that project as it has not proven useful for posters.

 

It is because nobody takes the time to look or search. It would work better if we could make it a sticky.

 

A big thing for me is the massive variety of beers that Town Hall brews. I can stop in there any given week and usually have a new beer that is at least great, if not excellent or amazing. Not everything is amazing, but they don't have much batch variation for their size, their beers are clean (no off flavors), and generally tasty. Even if I don't end up ordering a particular beer, it is usually tasty. I cannot remember the last time I had a bad beer from them. They don't always have a Todd/Abrasive level IPA (though I do love Masala for a different flavor profile), but they also don't put out bad products. Surly has a variety of beers I would consider bad. Usually not off flavors, but that new One Time Sour or whatever is truly atrocious.

TL;DR Pros and cons to both, but Town Hall is consistent.

 

Well that is good to know about not being able to buy beer on Sunday's, I'll make sure I pick some up on Saturday when I'm in town there for the Stadium Series.

 

Stores aren't open on Sunday, but most taprooms sell crowlers/growlettes/crowlers on Sunday.

 

I always hit Zipp's because I like to stock up mixed six packs of 12oz bottles and 16oz cans.

 

Good to know. Anything y'all recommend I bring back to Chicago while I'm there?

 

I just did a little trip this weekend and hit up:

The Nook
The Happy Gnome
Ale Jail/Wine Thief
Dangerous Man
Fair State
Indeed
Butcher & the Boar

Had nothing but great service everywhere. I need to get up to the TC more often.