Tonight I was looking to continue our trek around the South Metro looking for the best burgers available to those of us south of the river. We’ve already been to Bucky’s, Junior’s, and the House of Coates. I have plans to get to some others but for tonight’s adventure I did a quick search and found Gossips Bar & Grill in Farmington, MN home to one of the two Jucy Lucy restaurants in the South Metro.

Situated next to Longbranch Saloon and Eatery, this narrow bar is located amongst the other restaurants and businesses that congregate around downtown Farmington. On our first approach to this unassuming bar I noticed the large sign on the front door that read that they do not accept credit cards. I immediately posted to twitter my great displeasure with this fact and off we went to the nearest bank for cash. Unfortunately the Bremer bank branch did not want to give us any cash and after a message to Josh to locate the nearest US Bank ATM, we headed to EconoFoods to use them as a bank. With a pocketful of cash, most of it for tomorrow’s trip to the State Fair, we went back to Gossips, went in and sat down.

Gossips is narrow and small. It has a bunch of simple tables and a fairly good sized bar. They apparently have karaoke (that’s carry-oh-kee people, no cur-oh-kee is not correct, you will not convince me or the rest of the civilized world of any other pronunciation) on Wednesdays so if you ever plan to go there for anything, make sure you aren’t there between 9 and midnight. Everything is dark except the fluorescent green menus and the bright glow from the Golden Tee machines, Big Buck Hunter and the SilverStrike bowling. If the photos suck, you can blame the terrible lighting inside this place. They don’t seem to have a website but if you’re interested in viewing the contents of those bright green menus, you can check out a copy here courtesy of the Hastings Star Gazette.

Kim and I took a seat at one of the few low tables that sat near the front door and game machines. We were immediately asked for our drink order and I took a Newcastle and Kim grabbed a Coke. Our drinks were back to us in seconds but my Newcastle was skunky and I decided on a typical light domestic for my next beer instead. I came here expecting Kim to go with the Friday night two burger special for $2.20 but she chose a cheeseburger and fries instead. I went with the “Juicey Lucey” (sic) meal and chose onion rings (to give a comparison to those that we received at House of Coates).

Kim and I didn’t have to wait long for our food and they came served in baskets lined with paper. The buns were absolutely bland and boring. You could find better buns in a five day old bread aisle at a defunct Aldi store than you will at Gossips. The burgers are tiny. While we are sorta accustomed to the monsters we had at Bucky’s, House of Coates and Juniors, I would have expected a bit more out of Gossips than the mid-range sized burgers we were offered tonight.

Kim started with her fries. She said, “wow, the fries are good… They taste just like McDonalds!” Before I took a bite of my food I tried a fry and agreed. While it’s been quite some time since I’ve had McDonald’s, it tasted just like I remembered and if I didn’t know any better, I’d honestly believe you if you told me that they would run out the back and down the road to the McDonald’s to get orders of their fries for you. After that I dug into my burger. The Jucy Lucy was cooked all right. Most people think that it shouldn’t be anything but medium but as you well know, I don’t care if it’s mooing when I bite in. This had a little bit of pink and the cheese was oozing. If I had closed my eyes, I would have told you I was eating a double cheeseburger at Rotten Ronny’s, no shit. The onion rings were completely unremarkable for me but Kim said they were better than what we had at House of Coates. I think she’s crazy but she’s the expert on that side. Her cheeseburger was also unremarkable and we have no intention of ever returning here again.

When it was all said and done, we paid $20.53 for our meals, the two beers and the drink. I guess we’d have paid almost the same with two meal deals at Rotten Ronny’s, if they served beer. The pint of Newcastle was just under $5 and the Michelob Golden Light was $3.15. While the two burger baskets were $11, I just don’t find this place to be a great deal or a good meal. My recommendation? You’re really better off going somewhere else for your food and/or beer. I’m not quite sure how they feel that they’re going to live up to their self-proclaimed award of “hottest new sports bar south of the river” but based on what we had tonight, all I can say is, “the gossip around town is, this place won’t make it too much longer.”

Address:
Gossips
313 3rd S
Farmington, MN 55024-1352

Phone:
651-463-9367

See all the pictures from Gossips in Farmington on Flickr here.

Tonight, based on a recommendation from a reader, Kim and I headed the five and a half blocks to Otho Restaurant and Street Lounge in Minneapolis. The reader had some interesting things to say about the place including that he thought that the food was their strong point and wanted to know what we thought. Always up for good happy hour specials, we headed out after work and got in the door just after 4:30 this afternoon.

The first thing I noticed was the quiet neighborhoodish location. Honestly, if I hadn’t known better, I wouldn’t have thought we were only a few blocks from the hustle and bustle of Government Plaza. As we were walking, I was saying to myself, “did Google Maps really bring us to the right spot?” Sure enough, we rounded the corner and I saw the sign for the restaurant tucked beneath the condos above. They have a really nice street presence centered on their nice patio which just opened up today. While it was a bit too warm for that this afternoon, I’m sure it must be real nice for an evening nightcap after dark or dinner in the early fall or late spring.

We walked in and found very few people taking advantage of the happy hour specials. We were a little early and while it got a bit busier later, it never got anywhere close to what we have seen elsewhere during happy hour. Being that this location is a bit off the beaten path, I suppose it’s not all that surprising. We took a seat on the side of the bar facing the majority of the restaurant and spent some time chatting with the bartender. Not only was she very attentive and friendly, she was also quite knowledgeable about the restaurant and its menu. While I realize that it’s easy to be all of those things when it isn’t busy, it doesn’t mean that someone has to spend the time to do it. I have had plenty of unpleasant experiences with bartenders that just stand across the bar from you, arms crossed, waiting for you to prompt them for another drink. I also didn’t feel like she was doting on us to get a better tip. She seemed genuinely interested in the restaurant and letting us know it.

We started out by ordering drinks. Kim decided to ignore the B1G1 rail drinks and instead ordered a Southern Peach Tea which included Southern Comfort, peach schnapps, vodka (Absolut because they ran out of their cheap one), rum (The Captain!) and sour. While they don’t list drink prices on the menu, the bartender poured the drink pretty stiff and when I tasted it later, I’m surprised that Kim hadn’t fallen over into the road as we walked back to the 477! I ordered a 312 on tap (taps are $1 off) and then took advantage of their B1G1 bottles (Miller, Bud, and Golden Light). I wasn’t at all surprised with the price of Kim’s drink ($8) but I was a bit surprised to see that my bottle of Golden Light was $4.25. If you think that B1G1 is a deal, you’re wrong. Even the $4 312 was a bit expensive to be honest, especially for the relatively small sized glass (it was probably a 16 oz but shaped as if it were a 22). If you’re not into 312 they also offer Summit, Shiner Bock, Sapporo, and Delirium on tap as well. They had one more beer but I couldn’t read what it was from where I was sitting — sorry.

Our appetizers arrived were presently quite nicely. My New York Strip Beef Tataki, described as flash seared, grilled asparagus, toasted sesame panko, wasabi crème friache, thai chili aioli, and pickled ginger was deconstructed on the plate. While I normally think that any dish done that way borders on retarded, this ended up working out well — especially if you are not a fan of the individual ingredients. While the meat and aioli were pretty good, the asparagus was my only complaint as it was dry and almost twig like. When Kim asked to try it, I suggested she not as I knew she wouldn’t be a fan. Overall, a decent dish and one that I would have again if there had been just a bit more beef. While my appetizer was middle of the road, Kim’s wings were very tasty and obviously homemade. They were presented very nicely and were definitely different from your typical appetizer wing. I was surprised with the seasoning and crispy frying but was just a tad disappointed with the amount of meat. Honestly, with a slight drop in price and a bit more meat, these would be very close to a stop everything and proceed directly to Otho for a nice happy hour treat.

Because my appetizer had so very little to it and even after I ate two of Kim’s wings, I was still pretty hungry and with a couple beers in me I knew I’d need something else. While we had originally planned on only getting appetizers, we went ahead and ordered an entree to split between us as well. We both decided on the New York Strip Beef & Broccoli which was listed for $13 and was the only stir fry to come with a side of jasmine rice (the other stir fry dishes had a $2 fee for rice which would be a bit expensive if it was the same size as the rice we got as part of our meal). When it came out I immediately noticed two things:

1. If the beef in this stir fry was NY Strip, it certainly didn’t look like it. I am not about to go as far and say that they weren’t entirely truthful but they should rethink their choice of beef because apparently NY Strip doesn’t work in stir fry. The meat was gray, tough and pretty much tasted like anything I could have purchased for $4 or $5 at your typical mom and pop shop. Just because the meat is NY Strip doesn’t mean you can cook it to shoe leather, add in some broccoli and expect it to command a $13 price tag.

2. It just wasn’t presented all that well and it really didn’t look like enough to make me think it was worth the $13 price tag (even when split in two for us). While I was pleased that we weren’t charged to split it, the meal was pretty disappointing to be perfectly honest. I had really high hopes after the reader’s recommendation and our appetizer but it was just a blah dish and not one that I wish to ever repeat in the future. You’re seriously better off with a stir fry meal at Lee Ann Chin.

In the end, our bill came to $45.85. If you take out the $13 for the entree, the price drops under $30 and is still fairly steep for the beers I chose and the amount of food I received as part of my appetizer. I realize it’s tough to make it in Minneapolis, especially in this location, but you’re not helping yourselves by having a happy hour menu that really doesn’t lend itself to what I would expect when I’m out for happy hour.

Aside from the limited amount of food and the ho-hum stir fry, I really appreciated the service we received. I overheard Kim talking to her cousin on the phone earlier and she brought up how great the bartender was to us. We can’t say enough good things about her I guess… Even with that, I’m not quite sure I’d be back for another happy hour as there are too many other options closer to where we work that offer more of what I’m expecting. That said, if you happen to be in the area or even live there, you might want to check it out. They have half price martinis on Thursday nights but if tonight’s beer was any indication, that may mean that you end up paying just as much as you would anywhere else…

I think with a little work this could be a great little spot but it’s going to take a lot more than just the great service and nicely presented wings to do it.

Address:
Otho Restaurant and Street Lounge
949 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Phone:
612-455-1516

See all the pictures from tonight’s happy hour on Flickr here.

Some people that Kim works with decided it would be fun to have a Thursday night happy-hour get together every other week this summer and because I work next door she figured she’d ask if I wanted to come along. This week they decided to head down to the 8th Street Grill and Bar which has happy-hour specials between 3PM and 7PM.

Kim and I usually work until around 4 but since I was busy working on something a little past my usual quitting time, I didn’t even get out of my office until 4:15 and after some futzing around with our bags, we headed down to street level at around 4:30. We walked in the open-air bar at around 4:40 and being that it wasn’t quite yet prime happy hour time the place was almost deserted except for the crowded patio area. We sat down at the bar even though there were plenty of tables open in the rest of the place. The bartender came over and asked if we wanted to see a beer list but I was so close I could read the taps myself. They had a nice selection (similar to Panino Brothers’ setup) with about 30 or so tap beers along one wall and another 4 or 5 around the corner. I decided on their Flat Earth Porter (apparently their “seasonal” tap although I’m not quite sure why a porter would be in as a summer seasonal) and Kim ordered a Stevens Point Root Beer. There was a list of their daily happy hour specials hanging above the bar and Thursday read $3 St Paul beers. Their tap beers are normally $3.50 at happy hour so I decided to stick with the St Paul beers today.

The waitress let us know that in addition to the reduced price on the taps that they also offered $2 off appetizers. After just having our drinks for a bit, while the waitress scurried around helping others, we asked for a menu and eventually we ordered their Roasted Red Pepper Hummus as well as an order of onion rings. Kim has been craving onion rings lately I guess and I have always enjoyed red pepper hummus — especially when I was on my diet not so long ago…

The service was friendly but it took a bit to get served even when prompted by the bartender asking if I wanted another. I ordered a Summit Hefeweizen and as soon as I did the bartender ripped the St Paul specials sign down off the overhead sign. I was a bit perturbed and then concerned that she was going to try and charge me $3.50 a tap. I had the photo evidence to prove my case but I ended up paying $3.11/beer (taxes?). I figured the Hefeweizen would be a nice summery drink and while I don’t jump up and down over Summit’s heavy clove taste, I made it through ok ;)

Right after I got done asking Kim, “how fucking long does it take to make onion rings and a batch of hummus up,” they both appeared in the hands of another server. Kim just shook her head at me in disbelief and told me I was being a grumpy bastard… The roasted red pepper hummus was tasty, a tiny bit spicy in the back and looked like it was not straight from the plastic container. It had a nice orange color and might have passed for raw pumpkin if I hadn’t tasted it. Even though there were plenty of warm and soft pita slices to dip with I ended up using them all, with hefty doses of hummus, before the hummus itself was gone. I used the spoon to get the rest — yes, I actually enjoyed it that much. Kim’s onion rings were large and looked nice and golden but had a slight fishy taste from what I imagine could only be oil cross contamination. Kim asked for a side of ranch and the container that came out was entirely too small for the size of the onion rings. She was disappointed that she had to finish off her three or four remaining rings with inferior ketchup — I would have been fine taking over for her but next thing I knew they were gone; so much for that idea.

Overall, eh. The food was ok for appetizers (mine was great but the fishy onion rings brought it all down to the “ok” level) but I certainly wouldn’t rush back again with so many other choices in town. While the beer selection is good you’re probably better off at The Depot for their happy hour specials at $2.50… It was far less crowded over there, the service was more prompt because of it, and the menu was more restaurant-like rather than bar foodish. Guess it depends on your mood and your location.

When it was all said and done we ended up paying $23.99 before tip for two appetizers, two beers and two root beers. Not bad but nothing to get all atwitter over. We probably won’t be back anytime soon. We are planning on hitting happy hour once or twice a month this summer and should have a steady stream of reviews for all of you working downtown — keep checking back or subscribe for updates.

See all the pictures from today on Flickr here (camera).

Address:
8th Street Grill and Bar
800 Marquette Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Phone:
612-349-5717