Secrets of the City

He’s not leaping,

He’s flying baby, He’s FLYING!

Why is it, when MNSpeak — er — um — Secrets of the City — has a lively conversation about hamburgers, I have meetings???

What is up with the Popular Today sidebar? There are things from 2008 on there!

(I realize it may have been broken for some time and I only just noticed…)

Anyone up for an hour of happy at a local drinking establishment today?

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not go to Ft. Snelling, and watch a tank run over a car?

Folks, it doesn’t get much better than this. Bring the kiddies.

Bixby: Oh, yes. An hour of happy is always welcome.

@Dougnuts: We plan it that way.
But, I am curious to see if anyone has been to Burger Jones? Good? Bad? Off The Hook? Burger Smurger? Would it change the cold Burgereist heart of Bix?

@Bix: There’s a slim chance I can make a short HH — where are you thinking? Time?

I’ve been to Burger Jones but I just had the poutine which was delicious (although more delicious if you let it sit for a while before eating it).

re: Happy Hour
I’m not done with work until 5pmish, so I’d probably say 6pm to be on the safe side. I am not thinking of a specific place but I am in the Warehouse district.

Burger Jones kind of sucks. Check out Chowhounds.com or Heavy Table for reviews.

Re the flying cat, obviously I was going to do this:

hhmph. I’ll be in the uptown area Bixby: Minneapolis Criterium.

Wonder if I’ll be able to hear the peloton approaching.

how long till Platt comes in here and responds. I’ve never seen a critic go to bat for an establishment as much as he has….makes ya wonder?

Supposedly Burger Jones is having the worst case of working-out-the-new-restaurant-kinks in restaurant opening history. I’ve heard a bunch of people say the Parasol folks will figure it out and I for one hope so. They have poutine, people.

(And I’m sure the Parasol people are well aware of all the grousing about the place and are scrambling to get settled in more quickly. They better be!)

I have not tried the Smash Burger in St Anthony but friends have been there and deemed it adequate.

http://www.mysmashburger.com/

I have not tried Smashbuger, but it sounds like a Steakburger.

Am I the last one to know that Red’s Savoy took over the Galoony’s Space in Uptown?

While I can accept the problems with service with a new place, Burger Jones’s burgers don’t have much taste. They have great toppings, for a premium, but the actual burger tastes like nothing.

But, the salted caramel shake is the best damn thing I’ve ever had. And the poutine was good, but I prefer thicker cut fries.

Yes…I believe Red’s Savoy Pizza Uptown opens this weekend. A friend of mine, who also owns some part of The Seville, bought the twin-cities area franchise rights. Which would seem to create a perfectly natural opportunity for a cross-pollinated marketing tribute to Norm Coleman’s dearly departed father.

@bob – thanks for the link to the tank-car-smashing. the boy will love this.

Has anyone been to the new Gold Nugget in MTKA / Excelsior? It was, IMHO, turning out the best burger in the metro when it was regrettably razed 2 years ago in spite of (or perhaps because of) its humble surroundings. Wonder if they are still making burger magic in the shiny new space.

I enjoy the old-timey greasy badness of a Red’s Savoy pizza now and then.

G Rote my take on the new GN
Here:

http://constantlycomplaining.com/blog/content/goldnuggetmn-notasgood

and here:

http://constantlycomplaining.com/blog/content/gold-nugget-tavern-grille-sucks

Short answer: NO but I am skewed as I don’t think anything could have measured up to the charm of the old nugget.

I loved the old GN as it was not far from where I used to work. The new GN doesn’t hold any appeal for me to drive that far.

Kogi Tacos

A friend kept telling me about these amazingly tasty Korean tacos in LA. The don’t have brick and mortar locations – only trucks. Apparently they use twitter for daily locations. People stand in line for hours for these things.

I want them to come to Minneapolis!

Thanks, Ryan. That answered my questions. At least I still have Convention Grill(e) and Ye Old(e) Lions Tap

Yeah the place strikes me squarely as being built so the owner would have a place to impress his friends and try and find a mistress.

Unfortunately almost all the restaurants in Mtka fall into this category.

I think you should check it out if your ever out that way. Its still a decent burger, just not what you/ I remembered.

RE: the lions tap…there good but you have to eat two to get full…thats why they print all those damn coupons.

I am down for HH, but I’m biking westward and have to leave DT by 5:30 or 6. Lee’s would be my go-to if they had a patio. Maybe McKenzie’s???

Cat…that’s not a workable business model in MSP because:
1) we don’t eat spicy food (well, you and I do…but we’re weird)
2) we don’t do late night food
3) we have too much red tape
4) our weather sucks

the end.

@kc you mentioned that salted caramel malt, and I recently had salted caramel ice cream at the Craftsman. I am not really into ice cream but that stuff is awesome. The closest thing I could find at my grocery store was caramel (not salted) ice cream by Blue Sky. It’s great.

I prefer thinner cut fries, so I’m hoping I love the poutine. I’m sure no poutine is as good as being drunk in Montreal somewhere late, and getting an order of it then.

I’m on the bus, but will likely be home by 4:00 or so. Which means I could drive/bike somewhere for HH, probably not, but keep me posted just in case.

(Sorry to whomever hates the use of HH… I think it is you, Bix.)

Dang, Grote – ruin my dream. Sheesh.
Well, they could do seasonal and do earlier hours. The spicy? Well, they’ll just have to cater to the 20 people who live here that like spicy. It could work!

Speaking of spicy, I recently tried Ghandi Mahal and was giddy with how awesome and spicy the food is. Yay!

Dougie_D, yes you are the last to know. If you drove up Hennepin, instead of Lyndale, eating burritos and driving with no hands, you could stop for Red Savoy pizza.

LB Suzikamo at the PiPress was ranting about those Korean tacos on Twitter after his trip out west, Cat. Sounds interesting.

I have to drop off a vehicle in Shakopee today, but after that, I’m free for HH.

I could possibly-to-probably be in for happy hour…

Cat, I love Gandhi Mahal too. It’s quickly becoming my favorite Indian joint in the Twin Cities. (Surabhi is a close 2nd.)

Gandhi Mahal is excellent. And I really like the service I get there. Not that service is bad other places, but they are so nice.

They really are. The owner always comes out to greet me personally when I come in.

I could possibly be up for happy hour if it’s at a puppy-friendly establishment.

When I wake up from my lengthy nap, I am quite sure that the powers-that-be will have decided where and when I will be drinking chilled adult beverages at a reduced price. Correct?

I can’t believe I had never been to Gandhi Mahal before. They were just trying this new dish so they gave us this huge portion of it to try. It’s a mix of eggplant, cauliflower and spinach, I think. It’s addicting.

Has anyone tried their new place next door? The kabobs? I think they are now opened.

Where is Ghandi Mahal?

It’s right around the corner from Town Talk Diner.

Oh right. I’ve heard good things about that place.

When are we going to Ghandi Mahal???

Yeah well SLP is getting Toby Keiths signature “I love this bar” bar…thats right; suck it South Minneapolis!

Oh brother. Where is that sinkhole going to be?

in the concrete jungle that sprouted up across from costco.

fried bologna sandwiches on the menu no less.

at least it’s not in the Eruv.

What are you saying G Rote …you don’t think Toby keeps a kashrut house?

Oh that area. Eh. Fine.

In other (goaty) news, the TC needs one of these.

Get a great caramel flavored custard at Liberty Frozen Custard-5401 Nicollet

It’s odorless, invisible and it wants to kill you, Minnesota. The St. Cloud Times has the story on radon in Minnesota.

Let’s show radon the door — it’s an unwelcome guest in too many homes.