Minnesota There I Go (part 2) and maybe some DC!

Bryant Lake Bowl, A Gourmet Restaurant with 10 Lanes of Bowling!

I had another day left in the Twin Cities and then it would be back home.  I made this trip the first weekend of November 2010 and the weather was perfect!  Sunny each day and temps in the 60's.  If I had decided to make this trip just one week later, I would have been in the middle of the first blizzard of the season for the Twin Cites, 2 feet of snow the next weekend, boy am I glad I chose the weekend I did!

I started my third and last day by going to breakfast at a place that was and still is one of the most unique places that I have ever been to.  It is hard to figure out what type of establishment I was at.  The "Bryant-Lake Bowl" is both a gourmet restaurant and a bowling alley.  It is named for the intersection that it sits at in Minneapolis, Bryant and Lake Streets and I arrived there at it's opening time on a nice Saturday morning.  The food they serve here is very good.  I got a Breakfast Quesadilla which was very good.  The place is know for it's quality gourmet meals, but right next to the dining area is a 10 Lane Bowling Alley, I have never seen that before, I have seen lunch counters in bowling alley but usually the most gourmet food at those places is grilled cheese sandwiches and huge greasy fries, not here, oh no!  For lunch I headed to St. Paul to try a staple St. Paul meal at two different places.  The first stop was at "Casper and Runyon's The Nook".  At The Nook, the sandwich to get is the "Juicy Lucy".  This is an 'inside-out' cheeseburger.  This delicious burger has the cheddar cheese inside the burger patties and is served with some really good fries.  the sandwich is served with a warning note about the "Molten Cheese" inside the burger.  From there I went over to the "Blue Door Pub".  At the Blue Door I got the "Juicy Bluecy", pretty much like the burger at The Nook, but the burger is stuffed with Blue Cheese.  I also had to try the "Spam Bites".  The bites are like a hush puppy with a Spam center.  The bites come with a Sweet Chili sauce and are very good.  Spam is made in nearby Austin, Minnesota and really when done in this manner gets a really bad rap!  It is hard to pick which one I enjoyed more, both were excellent, I did like the gooey cheddar better, though.

Niki, The Owner of Victor's 1959

My last meal in the Twin Cities would be with a friend of mine that I have known since my days at Mosby Wood Elementary.  Suzanne has lived in the area for a number of years and we met at a really great (but small) place called "Victors 1959" and specialized in Cuban cuisine.  It was funny as I was driving to Victors I followed my GPS but I could not find it, it is so small that it sits away from the road and Suzanne watched as I drove by it 4 times.  I got a meal called Picadillo, which is a meat based stew that has all kinds of  veggies with alot of capers, it was delicious.  Suzanne and I had to sit at the bar due to the number of others there and that was a real blessing, we got to talk to Nikki, the owner and she told us all about the filming and the fun she had with Guy.  She told me that the meal I got was Guy's favorite and that during breaks he would go back to get more!  Cuban is not the type of food you think about when you hear Minnesota, but if you can try this place.

My Friend Suzanne at Victor's 1959

I flew home and had to bypass a stop in Chicago because if I had stopped there I might still be there!  The flights were all full so Delta Connection brought me home and I must say that they have very nice service and they upgraded me into First Class so you can't beat that!  From Dulles I headed into Washington DC to try two places.  I drive to the East Falls Church Metro and took the train into DC, first stop was the Capitol South Station to try a burger joint called "Tune Inn".  The Tune Inn is a family run place that proudly calls themselves a "DIVE!"  There are alot of cool wall decorations and I got the Roast Beef sandwich and it was very good.  Then I left to Metro over to the U Street Station to try a place that serves authentic "Soul Food".  The place is called "Oohs and Aahs".  The place was packed but there was a seat right next to the grill so I was able to see the chef crank out alot of great food and also talk with the owner, she was super nice!  I got a turkey meal, that was the closest thing to a Pork Chop that you would ever find.  I also got the Mac and Cheese, which was super rich and tasty.  I left as just about everyone else that goes there - VERY FULL!

I drove home and had now visited 91 DDD locations and a fun weekend was over!



The Owner of "Oohs and Aahs" on U Street in DC