Secrets of the City

not that these guys seem to have much to offer in the first place, but that Dancing Ganesha location is going to be the rocks upon which many restauranteurs dash their ships.

A review of a cheeseburger at a seafood restaurant?

amckeown…that’s the beauty of We Got Served. it’s like a box of chocolates.

I should clarify that I meant it’s like a box of Whitman’s chocolates.

not that these guys seem to have much to offer in the first place, but that Dancing Ganesha location is going to be the rocks upon which many restauranteurs dash their ships.

Agreed. Horrible location.

Willie’s wouldn’t have survived even in a good location, though.

Whitman’s Chocolates
Low-brow, but varied… seems apt. Who does the Le Chocolatier Manon version in the TC?

TC Eats is really great, but the writer is vegetarian, so the reviews are only so useful for meat eaters.

Willie’s wouldn’t have survived even in a good location, though.

based on that review, you’ll be saying the same about DG in 6 months. how many successful “restaurant in the ground floor of a parking structure” stories do you know of? I can’t think of any off the top of my head.

also, further down on that TC Eats review, they try to quantify why 112 is always packed, and Saffron is half empty. I think they are both fantastic, but just can’t account for the difference, other than maybe the “menu theme” of saffron is just too challenging for most of us minnesotans, whereas 112 has more of a gastropub vibe.

I can name a bar in the ground floor of a parking lot — the Little Wagon. But I don’t know if that counts as a restaurant.

I’m guessing they do >50% of their revenue in booze, so no.

The used to offer a great free food spread at the Wagon for HH, but alas, no longer under new ownership.

I thought the same thing, grote – about 112 Eatery vs. Saffron.
It’s been a struggle to get any number of friends to Saffron because of the menu.

I’m excited to try Cafe Agri. Oh, Jane, where are you? Another b’fast place to try.

in all the reviews of both places, I seem to notice the author referencing a lamb dish. the scottadito @ 112 and the lamb brains @ saffron. that might be one reason for the disparity.

I’ve been wowed by Saffron’s food 3/3 visits. I’ve been wowed by 112’s food 5/6 visits, and on the bad one I was just too drunk. hard to argue with either.

Back in ole’ days, the Wagon did a fair amount of lunch and dinner biz between the grain exchange and Star Tribune.

Cat, I’ve been to brunch at Agri and it was very tasty!

Ooh, good to know – thanks Tara. And if we can round up another b’fast group, you’re more than welcome to join us.

I think that the biggest problem with the Willie’s location isn’t that it’s in a parking structure, it’s that it’s on Harmon. What a cursed street for restaurants that is. There are at least three locations along Harmon that have been restaurant killers.

Poor Harmon Place. It’s so close to downtown, but strangely disconnected. It dead ends on both ends, so nobody drives on it, and yet it’s four lanes wide, plus parking. The city ought to look into pulling a couple lanes of traffic out of there, widening the sidewalks, adding some trees and street furniture, and making it into a premier pedestrian / cafe street connecting to Loring Park.

Two things:

1) The city ought to look into pulling a couple lanes of traffic out of there, widening the sidewalks, adding some trees and street furniture, and making it into a premier pedestrian / cafe street connecting to Loring Park.

THAT IS BRILLIANT.

2) The naan was hot a delicious but I thought the aloo paratha (tandoori bread stiffed with potatoes and peas) was a but oily. – TC Eats

Forgive me in advance for the jerk I’m about to be: DUDE. PROOFREAD. Your cred drops dramatically when it reads like that.

Cat, I am always up for Agri, so let me know if you guys go.

Cat: I’m excited to try Cafe Agri.

I went there last Friday.

1) Waiter dude took 5-10 minutes to give us menus
2) When the waiter dude served the wine, he didn’t let either of us sample it before pouring both glasses — which he then tried to swirl, spilling wine all over the table
3) There were lipstick stains on both my water glass and my wine glass
4) The waiter dude gave me a new wine glass but didn’t remove the old, stained glass
5) My food took approx. 45 minutes after ordering — and it still came out 15 minutes before my date’s entree
6) Food was cold and unremarkable
7) At the end of it all, the waiter dude handed me the bill and asked, “Is this okay, or…?” It was as if he knew they’d screwed up, but wouldn’t write anything off unless I asked him to do so in front of my date. Which I did.

Not going back.

Mike, that sucks that you had such a bad experience. I admit that when I went, my waiter wasn’t exactly tip-top, but we didn’t have any major screw-ups or anything. He just seemed a little confused. Maybe it was the same guy. Hopefully their other servers are better.

Mike, he must have thought you were deaf.

Bummer, Mike. I don’t know how long they’ve been open – maybe… working out the glitches? It’s double the bummer that it happened on a dagte.

But, since I would like to try brunch first, I’m hoping for a different waiter dude.

Tara: We’ll post something in the open thread if we get some peeps together.

dagte = date

Tara, Cat, MB, and Jane — it’s a dagte!

Yeah, Agri looks good.

Picky, Picky, Leigha!! I write a blog not professional journalism but just for you I fixed my grammar glitch and spelling. Now I am hungry.

Picky, Picky, Leigha!!

I know, I know, I suck. And frankly, your post made me hungry, too. Maybe I was just resentful of the meal I wanted, but you had.