Secrets of the City

http://www.towntalkdiner.com/

open until midnight on weekdays, weekend brunch until 3pm, adult malts, several 40s options. genius!!

Sweet, I thought I saw it open when I drove past a few days ago. The menu looks great and I can’t wait to try it.

Oh! Good scoop on the web site — I figured they must have one but couldn’t find it (duh, never tried typing in ‘towntalkdiner.com’)

Some friends of mine with reputable taste buds went and came back with a mixed review. I’m looking forward to a visit though. But I’m totally gonna miss the ‘free meal’ star stamps that randomly appeared on the back of the receipts at the old place!

I went Tuesday night. (I have a friend who is obsessed with that place, so I’d been checking the website semi-regularly since last summer.) I’m no food critic, but here’s what I noticed:

1. The menu is definitely consistent with the diner theme, but also has some vegetarian options. I had a very good grilled-cheese sanwich; my friend had a tempeh sandwich. We shared sourdough onion rings as an appetizer — they were good, but not great. (A little soggy.)

2. The dining room is also set up like a diner. Hopefully they’ll install booths at some point, because it looks a bit utilitarian with all the rows and columns of 2-tops.

3. There are great options if you enjoy the booze: A long wine list, distinguished by price; a cocktail list; and a good beer selection, including 40s. I didn’t see tap beers, but I enjoyed a tall can of Sapporo with my sandwich.

4. The servers were eager, if not very experienced. I liked everyone I met, but I suspect that neither our waitress nor the busperson (?) had worked in those positions before. Still, the service was v. good and I was happy to be able to tip 25% on my meal.

5. I really, really hope the bar area turns out to be a good place to drink. It was hard to get a feel for the atmosphere, since we only passed through it on the way in and out of the dining room, but it would be great to have another cool place to booze it up without having to leave SE Mpls.

Here’s one review from a Chowhound.

Let’s try this again.

So sorry, for some reason I’m not linking. I’ll put it in as “my url.”

Try this: http://chowhound.com/midwest/boards/midwest/messages/30072.html.

Thanks Mike. I *do* know how to link. Or at least I think I do.

No worries, scs. I’d never been to that site before, so I will probably kill several hours looking for new restaurants.

$9 for a lunch sandwich!?!

*slaps forehead*

You’ve got to be kidding!

I was hoping that TT would reverse this despicable trend of new diners overcharging for lunch. But apparently not.

That is the lamest menu I’ve ever seen. You can basically get an egg sandwich or a hotdog for about $7 or $8 or you can get some big ass thing for about $17. This is what I call an officer Barbrady, “nothing to see here, move along.”

sweet! now there’s a place to have dinner or wine before/after a perfromance at Patrick’s Cabaret!

There’s no lunch at Town Talk. They open at 4:00 for dinner only, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

If you’re wanting dinner/wine before Patrick’s, one of my favorite places is Midori’s Floating World Café. Sweet little mom-and-pop (and little kids) place with passable sushi, awesome noodle soups (the wakame udon makes me very happy) and other Japanese fare. They have beer and wine.

Also in the neighborhood: Manny’s Tortas, my favorite sandwiches ever, and El Nuevo Rodeo, which is supposed to be good Mexican, but I haven’t tried it yet.

No lunch! $9 sammiches! Has the whole world gone crazy?

If their sign weren’t so freakin’ sweet, I would have problem with Town Talk even calling themselves a “diner” anymore. That would suggest breakfast and/or lunch, in my opinion. As it stands, though (and as a great lover of Sunday brunch), I’m pretty excited. Pulled pork for breakfast is the greatest idea I’ve heard all day.

My understanding is that it’s supposed to be an “upscale” diner. Hence the prices. I certainly would not go there for a Vienna beef dog, I’d just head over to Joey D’s. But I’ll surely visit TT if for nothing else than the 40s. Do they serve them in a bag? El Nuevo Rodeo is decent, but have only been there once. They do have some unusual things on their menu, and I believe I’ve read good reviews.

I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the 40s — are people actually gonna drink that crap? For $8.22! And $3.00 for a can of Premo — wow.

The Strib reports that Hamlin’s Cafe will be closing March 3. Because I fetishize old-timey diners, this makes me sad, but because the location of Hamlin’s always seemed so random and puzzling, I retain hope that it might reopen, say, in a space-time anomaly in my closet.

Does anyone know if Dara Moskowitz is no longer writing for CP?

Maternity leave.

Would on the street is that Dara is definitely still around at the CP, even though there’s some new fresh blood in the food reviews so far this year.

oh, sarah, that is a doosey . . .

Speaking of local food writers, did any other Slagging On Kathie Jenkins hobbyists catch this latest piece of word wizardry: “The first time she opened on a shoestring. This time, she went with the entire shoe.” Brilliant! You can now use the phrase “the entire shoe” in casual conversation with your friends! For example, Rex recently mentioned that he spent 800 bucks on alcohol for his party- in Jenkins, parlance, Rex has gone “with the entire shoe.” Awesome.

That Hamlin’s news is depressing. I’ve had a horrible time finding places to eat lunch downtown — by that I mean, places that are not my desk — and had only recently decided that Hamlin’s would be my go-to joint.

If you’re in that neighborhood, hit Pineda Tacos #2. Ginormous burritos (burrote) for $6.50 or so, and tortas from between $5 and $7.

The torta doble with milanesa and carnitas rocks.

trust me, I know how annoying high prices for food/drink can be – BUT, it’s so incredibily tough for places this size to turn a profit with all the overhead. I find that sharing entrees and such can make it a much more affordable.

hey Rex, that’s so very nice of you to splurge so we all can enjoy ourselves. I can only imagine the line for the bar, stretching all the way down the stairs, out the door.

Got a bartender too (Alexis’ cousin, no less) so it shouldn’t be too bad.

Hey, my money is your money. Sorta literally.

zenrhino is right!

Something near Patrick’s? Check out Dashen (2713 E Lake St) – fresh, gorgeous Ethiopian food and refreshing doses of hospitality…the entire shoe.

dara is on maternity leave?? but she’s supposed to have my child! and we’d share witty banter over candle light while dining and reviewing yummy restaurants around the globe.

*sniffs*

What is a diner without breakfast?

Back in the day, the Town Talk had THE BEST pacakes in the Twin Cities. Way better than Al’s. The only reason I was excited to see this place open back up was the pancakes, and now I am all kindsa sad.

Ah well..

xbryanx, I hear ya.

Although I notice they do serve pancakes . . . 2 for $8.25!

So, as it happens a friend of mine knows one of the owners and said friend wanted to check it out. We went there last night for drinks and appetizers. The service was very good, and there seemed to be a nice mix of diners. The shepherd’s platter was excellent, I’d make a meal of it again. I’d go back.

xbryanx, the waiter said they have the pancake recipe from the original Town Talk, and he said they are huge pancakes. Maybe it’s worth a try.

I ended up dropping into the Town Talk Diner this evening. I was quite impressed. I’ll be back soon.

to xbryanx and others that long for Town Talk pancakes, I just learned there is an all-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast fundraiser for the Brackett Park Rocket this Friday!

Here’s my take on Town Talk Diner. I thought it was awesome.