Ben's Review
As our Christmas present to each other, Erin and I went out to breakfast on the 23rd (which is actually Erin's birthday but many places weren't open on the 24th or 25th). After scouring our list for an acceptable breakfast place we decided on Citizen Cafe on 38th St, near Hiawatha.
I called a little after 10 to make sure they were still serving breakfast. They stop breakfast at 11am so we hurriedly hopped in the car to make sure we didn't miss out. Getting there at 10:30 on a Wednesday was no problem, especially since the route has us going through mostly side streets (we even caught a green light crossing Hiawatha, a Christmas miracle!).
Citizen Cafe is s smallish place and we almost drove by it as it was covered in snow on this day. When you walk in you can go straight into one dining area or through a door to your left into another, smaller dining area that faces out a window towards the street. It was nearly empty so we had our choice of tables and Erin chose the smaller area in front that we had to ourselves and the two friendly servers who would hang out nearby. The place is decorated simply and sparsely, matching the website and the starkness of the communist nature of their logo and posters. In the room we were in they had a huge blackboard that was beautifully drawn with their menu and artwork.
I went with a potato scrambler that appears to not be on the menu anymore, but it had cubed potatoes, pulled chicken, some veggies, melted cheddar, with a fried egg on top. While all of the individual ingredients tasted great, the dish as a whole lacked consistency. I think it needed more cheese to let everything gel together, as little of it stuck together, making it frustrating to eat (everything rolled around on the plate).
Homemade and local food lovers will like Citizen Cafe as they use locally sourced products and everything on the menu is made in house. In spite of this the prices are still reasonable, the eggs benedict are even under $10 which is getting hard to find. I think we will find our way back here on a weekend after the baby is born so Erin can give the eggs benedict a try, it's at the top of her list of things she misses due to the pregnancy.
- Service: The service was great, both servers were friendly and knew when to leave us alone.
- Food: Excellent scramblers, I just wish they had loaded it with more cheese.
- Drinks: We just had coffee and oj, but they also have beer and wine, though I didn't inspect the list at all.
- Ambiance: This is a laid back place, there was a group of six people hanging out and another couple came in with newspapers in hand, they don't seem to mind if you take your time.
- Price: Great prices, especially given that everything is made from scratch and with local ingredients.
- Convenience: Close to Hiawatha and the buses and they also have a parking lot.
It has been tough for me to choose breakfast places I actually want to go to on our list - if we DO go, that sacrifices the "first" time where we will write a review, and in the past 8 months, I have been strongly advised against my favorite breakfast food - eggs benedict - due to the raw egg yolks in hollandaise sauce. Sometimes I will ask if the eggs in the sauce are pasteurized - I've only found one "yes" so far - Red Stag Supper Club. Mmm boy, those green eggs and ham were DELICIOUS. Most restaurants just can't tell me for sure, so I don't take the risk. At Citizen Cafe, at least they only serve eggs benedict on weekends, and this being a Wednesday, I didn't have to feel like I was missing out!
It took us awhile to get going that morning - Ben wanted to wait until he was "really hungry" before leaving, and I also made him go to Caribou to get my free birthday drink for me :) I'm actually pretty sure they stopped serving breakfast at 11:30, and that we got there at like 11:20 because I remember it being much more rushed than Ben describes - I think we left our house about 30 minutes before they stopped serving breakfast. Not sure how strict they would have been with this, but a couple that came in closer to noon did get the dinner menu.
When we arrived, I chose to sit in the room facing 38th Street (I think) because it had more windows and more light for photos :) We were all alone for a bit, which was just fine with us. After we ordered our drinks, the server brought out a small plate of pumpkin bread and scones which were both tasty.
It looks like the menu has changed since we went - I got the brioche french toast, but it was served with berries, not foster style. It reminded me a lot of the french toast we got at our B&B when we went to London last May - delicious! I ate every single bite. It seemed like a much more reasonable portion than most places, either that or I'm just eating way more right now :) I also got the fresh squeezed oj, which was a reasonable $2, unlike some other places we've been...
Citizen Cafe was an awesome breakfast spot - I'd definitely like to return on a weekend, post-baby, to enjoy the eggs benedict, or for dinner - they have a lot of great options on the menu. The ambiance and service were wonderful - it was close to empty when we were there, so it's hard to judge how it would be if it was busy, but everyone was very friendly and attentive.
Deets
The Citizen Cafe
2403 East 38th Street
Minneapolis
