Tilia

Visited on Tuesday, January 1st

Ben's Review

To fully utilize the time my parents were watching Annie and Luke, we wanted to go out to breakfast on New Years Day after our sushi dinner the night before. We struggled for a bit deciding where to go, knowing we wanted a place that was NOT close by, since we didn’t mind the drive with nothing else going on in the morning. Also, we struck out on a couple places that didn’t appear to be open on the holiday.

I was looking over our list and randomly clicked on Tilia to see what it was, and they helpfully had an updated web site that showed they were indeed open on New Years Day. Located in Linden Hills, it also fit the bill for not being close by, and Erin had been wanting to check them out, so we were set.

We arrived around 9 o’clock to a restaurant that was about half full. I appreciated the heavy curtains on both sides of the door that did an effective job of blocking any cold air from coming in when people entered or exited, very smart.

The host attempted to seat us near the door which, in spite of the curtains, was certainly colder than NOT being by the door, even though there were far better tables available. I asked if we could instead sit closer to the exposed kitchen and the host complied, but she certainly seemed a touch annoyed. We weren’t having seating luck on these New Years Eve restaurant outings.

Our server stopped by soon after and got our coffees going. When our coffee was brought out, I was immediately in love with the coffee mugs. They were white, simple, easy to hold, and had a thin rim. I loved them so much that I located them at Crate and Barrel and have since bought us four of them :) They’re only $4 each too.

The coffee setup was cool too, with a nice matching cream cup, and large hunks of brown sugar for Erin to get her fix. The actual coffee itself was just ok, it tasted a bit burnt to me, but the mug more than made up for it :)

Looking over the menu, I came across their Cuban breakfast sandwich and knew that I was done looking. “¡El Sapo en la Cubano!” has your typical Cuban ingredients of pork, ham, pickle, mustard, and they add a runny egg on top. Either the mustard had horseradish in it, or they added horseradish on its own, because there was a ton on the sandwich that nearly made some bites inedible it was so strong.

Other than the occasional hit of horseradish, this sandwich was amazing. The people leaving at the next table over helpfully told me to just break the egg and use a fork and knife, and that was certainly necessary. The sandwich is humongous and would be difficult to eat as a normal sandwich (and I hate getting my hands messy anyways). Tilia uses high quality ingredients in their food and it definitely showed with my dish, it was absolutely superb.

While we ate we had a chance to check out the restaurant and I really want to make it back in the evening for dinner sometime. The entire restaurant is well decorated with a rustic, vintage feel to it, and the bar is no exception. They have a great list of tap beer and a large wine selection as well. The quality of our brunch makes me think the dinners are also excellent. We may have to venture over to Minneapolis again soon to give it a try.

Erin's Review
I was really excited to find out that Tilia was actually open for brunch on New Year's Day. I've been wanting to try the place since they opened, but we very rarely got over to Linden Hills, and I knew that the chances were slim of getting a table quickly if we did have time for brunch - the idea of waiting for a table with 2 little ones was not appealing! We have been able to go out for brunch a few times on weekdays, but none of the good places are open then. This time, we got lucky!

I was really surprised at how not busy it was when we got there. As far as I know, this is still a pretty popular spot, but maybe people were like us and just assumed they'd be closed. Their loss, our gain! I was glad that we decided to move over the side of the restaurant by the kitchen since it was freezing outside and the vibe on that side was much more pleasant and bustling. I loved the decor here, everything was very simple but felt very thought out and worked well together with the beautiful bar and the open kitchen. We saw some kiddos and it looked like they had some little fun stuff for kids to play with which is awesome.

We immediately ordered coffee and I got a cinnamon roll since I was starving. The menu had many enticing options, but I can never turn down a benedict, and the Reuben one on the menu sounded amazing. I went with that, and enjoyed the coffee. The coffee was ridiculously strong, so it took quite a bit of cream and sugar for it to be prepared to my liking, but I made do. The cinnamon roll was pretty good, but I've had better and it would have been a lot better if it was warmed up a bit.

Our food came out pretty quickly, and I had to chuckle at the couple who came over and told Ben how to eat his cuban - the instructions were great, but the fact that they name dropped the chef as if they were best friends (and, I guess, maybe they are??) seemed like a very Linden Hills thing to do. It was good, because Ben honestly did look a little confused as to how to proceed, so he clearly needed some direction.

My Reuben benedict were simply amazing. The corned beef hash croquettes were the best part, along with the perfectly poached egg and delicious hollandaise. Sooo, everything was the best part. It was just delicious. Definitely the best breakfast dish I've had in recent memory. We lingered over our food for a long time, and I had a few more cups of decaf as well. It was so nice to enjoy a nice long breakfast without having to manage the kids.

I loved our meal at Tilia, and would definitely go back. I'd love to try their dinner options, but wouldn't hesitate to go back for brunch or lunch or any meal for that matter.

Deets
Tilia
2726 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis

Republic

Visited on Saturday, November 19th with Lori and Jeff

Ben's Review

On the same day that we went out for lunch at Cheeky Monkey Deli, we had also made plans to continue our child-free day and have dinner with our friends Jeff and Lori at Republic in the old Sgt. Preston’s location.

The snow had continued all afternoon and made for a gross five mile drive to 7 corners, but it wasn’t as bad as I had feared with the first snowfall of the season and we made it over there in fifteen minutes or so. It was strange to notice how different this area of town was in the years since we went to school here, Grandmas and Sgt. Preston’s are gone, as is................whatever was there before Corner Bar, and we noticed that Bullwinkle’s was now closed too.

They had just gone on a wait at Republic when we got in, but the host was just clearing off a table and told us we could have it, so we settled in while waiting for Jeff and Lori to arrive. Erin was starving and so ordered the spinach artichoke dip to nosh on while I pondered what I would have for my three beer flight. The flight is $10 for three eight ounce samples of beer. This can save you a buck or two if you choose the pricier beers on the menu. I went with Surly Wet (my only time this year having it), Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard, and Odell Mercenary Double IPA as my options. The tap beer list is fantastic at Republic and getting to try three beers is awesome. When Jeff and Lori arrived he saw what I had and followed up with the exact same order.

I made an effort to not look at the food menu before we came so that I wouldn’t have my meal decided before I even stepped in the door. While Republic doesn’t have the largest menu, they do seem to have a reasonably diverse food offering, especially some of the appetizers like Serrano ham and ricotta fritters. Since I had a Cuban sandwich at lunch I wasn’t feeling like having a sandwich or a burger and decided on the beer battered fish and chips.

The spinach artichoke dip had been very good and only served to get me even hungrier. We were eating later than we normally do when Annie is around, and that coupled with my beers was making my stomach growl. Luckily our food came out not too long after we ordered and I was not disappointed.

My fish and chips came with homemade ketchup, tartar sauce, and some other white looking sauce that I couldn’t distinguish, but can only assume was mayonnaise. It was only after I was nearly done that I realized I hadn’t even tried the homemade ketchup as I had used the tartar sauce for my fish and fries. The fish was what you’d expect from battered and fried fish, and was very good, no big bites of just breading and no mushy fish anywhere. The fries were also good, hot, and well seasoned.

Predictably, Erin and Lori wanted to order dessert and since the prices were low we ordered three desserts to share between the four of us. We got the Caramel Pot de Creme, the Black & Tan pudding, and the Caramel Apple Cake. The reason for the low-ish prices was apparent when the desserts came out, as they are rather small, but I prefer it that way anyways. We all tried all three desserts and they were delicious and the perfect size to finish off an already large meal.

We really enjoyed Republic and the atmosphere there, as it’s a far cry from the drunk frat boy crowd that used to exist on weekends. Between that and the excellent beer list I can see us coming back here in the future.

Service: Service was good, they took care of us without bothering us.
Food: Good spinach artichoke dip and fish and chips, nothing crazy, just a good, clean fill.
Drinks: Awesome list of beers, the wine list doesn’t look as extensive, but I wouldn’t know.
Ambiance: It was busy at Republic without being so loud that you can’t hear anyone, I also like the remodeling they’ve done inside, much nicer than Sgt. Preston’s.
Convenience: We parked in the Holiday Inn ramp without bothering to look for street parking as it’s a pain in the ass as far as I’m concerned. Certainly buses are available as it’s right near campus.

Erin's Review

I'd heard about Republic a lot from my coworker Janelle, who is a big fan of craft brews in addition to dining out. (Definitely check out her website if you are a Minneapolis lover - a great way to find out about hidden gems in a number of the neighborhoods she's toured!). When reviewing our list lately, often Ben and I have a hard time getting really excited about going to a place. There are a few really nice places left on there that I definitely want to try, but for a normal Saturday out, our reasonably priced options are running thin. That makes us even more excited when a place like Republic opens up, because it's so obviously one that we would enjoy AND it's not too expensive at all. It's a good thing I don't really care about beer, so I didn't make Ben wait until March to go so I could drink too.

I was still battling a cold, but managed to spruce myself up that night a bit for our double date. We got there at 6:30, and it was definitely pleasantly full. It's a fairly dark restaurant - made taking photos a bit more difficult, but the ambiance was nice. I was surprised at just how much remodeling had taken place since Sgt. Preston's - the only thing that remained the same was the one stall bathroom, but thankfully it didn't retain the same odor from it's previous owner.

As Ben mentioned, I was starving when we got there, so I quickly ordered the first appetizer I saw that looked appealing - spinach and artichoke dip. It's been awhile since I had that at a restaurant, since it's frequently made at gatherings at my own house and others, but this definitely hit the spot. Once Jeff and Lori arrived, we all got to chatting, and waited awhile before ordering.

While Republic has a pretty good menu, nothing interesting was standing out to me, so I just went with an old standby of a bacon cheeseburger. The burger didn't come with fries, but since Ben had gotten some, I knew I'd be able to at least have a few. Our food seemed to come out relatively quickly, and everyone's dishes were well presented. I enjoyed my burger, but didn't feel it was anything particularly special. However, I could barely taste anything due to my cold anyway, so my judgement is probably off.

I hadn't noticed the dessert menu on our table tent, so when the waitress responded to my inquiry about dessert with a "yes", I was ecstatic. Lori and I couldn't narrow it down, so we got 3 - which turned out to be a great choice because they were quite small. My 2 favorites were the black and tan (chocolate and butterscotch pudding and whipped cream) and the caramel pots de creme. Yum!! They were the perfect size for one person, but since we were sharing, 3 was great.

Republic is definitely a welcome addition to the 7 corners area. I wonder if it is still a hangout for the traditional age college students anymore, because Town Hall and Republic definitely seem to cater to a slightly older crowd. Perfect for this almost 30 year old! I'm sure we'll be back, especially in summer to try out their excellent patio. If we actually went out more often than once a month, I could see this overtaking Maxwell's as our go-to spot (that we haven't been to for nearly a year)... I'll always have a special place in my heart for The Max, but Republic does have better food and beer and a good vibe.

Deets

Republic

221 Cedar Ave S

Minneapolis

Black Forest Inn

Visited on Friday, May 27 with Jake and Allison

Ben's Review

Erin heard about spargelfest at Black Forest Inn and wanted to check it out. Her parents took Annie up to the cabin one day early on Memorial Day weekend, so we took the opportunity to meet our friends Jake and Allison for dinner before heading up ourselves on Friday night.

I had heard that Black Forest Inn had a great patio, but I wasn’t really excited to try this place out. After having what I considered to be bland, uninteresting food in Germany during our honeymoon, I had written off their food entirely. Spargelfest sounded cool, and I do like asparagus, so we headed over after work.

It was cold out the day we went, so the patio wasn’t going to happen, which was unfortunate. The inside of Black Forest Inn reminded me of the beer halls in Germany with the high, painted ceilings, the woodwork, and the customers and staff.

We had arrived early which gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and consider our options. I started with a beer (Erin insisted that I get a German beer, which I was going to anyway) and got the Paulaner Salvator.

I was surprised at how much of the food actually seemed good, not what my prejudiced mind was expecting, which was nice. I actually didn’t end up getting any spargelfest specialty, but I made sure to try Erin’s asparagus soup. I went traditional and got the bratwurst dinner which consisted of two bratwurst links, hot German potato salad, sauerkraut, and rye bread. I also noticed that they had a maibock mentioned on the spargelfest menu that was not on the beer list, so I got a maibock with my meal as well (can’t recall the brand now).

I was amazed at how good this food was. I don’t know if I just happened to get bad food in Germany, or if my tastes have changed in the past five years. The bratwurst was excellent, and I even slightly enjoyed my sauerkraut. The best part though, was the hot potato salad. I had breezed over the word ‘hot’ in the menu and was expecting the cold variety that we know and love. This potato salad was phenomenal and I fully intend to try making this at home because it cannot be that difficult.

Jake and I also got to have the lion’s share of Erin’s pork because she had ordered a ridiculously sized portion for herself and found herself not really needing her third slab of meat. Needless to say we left incredibly full and with leftovers for the cabin.

Service: The service was just OK, it took awhile to get our drinks and orders taken. Our server changed halfway through, so there must have been a shift change or something going on.
Food: The food was excellent and the portions were huge.
Drinks: Small beer list, but they have light and dark German beers and a couple macro brews.
Ambiance: Kind of loud and boisterous, while also friendly, which also reminded me of Germany.
Convenience: Black Forest Inn actually has a parking lot, which I did not realize. We parked on the street, and we’ve always managed to find a close street spot when we come to this area.

Erin's Review

Like many places on our list, I'd been wanting to go to Black Forest Inn for many many years. German food just isn't high on my wish list, however. The patio was the biggest selling point for me, so I was pretty disappointed that it was cold and raining on the day we planned to go. I do definitely think we'll have to go back sometime to sit on the patio, because it looks beautiful!

Ben and I took our honeymoon, now 5.5 years ago, to Germany, and Jake and Allison just went on a trip to Germany last year, so it was fun for all of us to reminisce about our time in the FATHERLAND (not Motherland as I sometimes have been known to mistakenly say).

I was having a REALLY hard time figuring out what to order. I started off with a refreshing root beer, and then stared at the menu for a good 20 minutes while we waited for Jake and Allison to show up. I knew I wanted SOMETHING with asparagus, and wanted a pretzel. Those were my basic requirements.

Finally I decided to order the asparagus soup as a starter - it was creamy and delicious, with mostly pureed asparagus but with enough chunks to make it interesting. It brought back pleasant memories of the asparagus soup I had in Amsterdam on the last night of our vacation in Europe 2 years ago.

After MUCH deliberation, I decided to go with the hausplatte - it was described on the menu as "A generous sampling of rippchen, bratwurst, polish sausage, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and potato salad. Served with a fresh-baked pretzel and homemade mustard". I mistakenly thought that this would be a "sample" plate - which is what it said on the menu. But no. This was FULL portions of EACH of those meats, PLUS a pretzel and full orders of each of those sides. Um. A bit much for me, you could say. I did think this was DELICIOUS - especially the pretzel. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the "rippchen" which was some kind of huge slab of pork. No thanks. Anyway - my advice is that this plate is PLENTY for two people. I made good headway with the brat and potato salad, and some saurkraut but that was about it. Far too much for one or even probably two people. Despite the solo pretzels not being anywhere that I could see on the menu, you can just order one on the side. Probably a better idea than ordering an enormous meal just because it came with a pretzel. Oh well, live and learn.

Black Forest Inn was friendly and inviting - everyone seemed to be having a great time. Upon looking at their website, they have a kids menu and I saw plenty of high chairs too. We might have to go back with Annie in tow for a patio visit later this summer.

Deets

Black Forest Inn

1 East 26th Street

Minneapolis

Town Hall Tap

Visited on Sunday, February 27th with Kris, Erin and Ruby

Ben's Review

While we were in Mexico a few weeks ago we found out that some friends of ours would be nearby on their own vacation. We intended to meet up with them for a night, but that didn’t work out, so we arranged to have dinner after we all got back. Last Sunday we met Kris, Erin, and Ruby for dinner at the recently opened Town Hall Tap at 48th & Chicago.

The Tap has a nondescript entrance, I drove right by it as I was looking for it, so we parked a block away. It is on the same block as Pepitos that we reviewed in 2009 (whoa, it’s been a long time). We arrived around 5:30 in the hopes that it wouldn’t be that busy yet and we could get a table big enough for four adults and two toddlers, but it was already nearly full. If we had waited for a proper six person table it would have been over a half hour wait, as it was we squeezed into a four person table with high chairs at the end.

The bar is enormous and beautiful, all wood with a huge wooden arch over the backing mirror. Kris gave me a little bit of trivia about it, it turns out it’s over 100 years old and they bought it from someone in Illinois and had it delivered here. I don’t want to know what the shipping fees were for that. If we weren’t there with the kids I would have considered sitting there, it was cool.

Our server came around to get our drink orders and even though I looked at the menu, I knew I was getting a Masala Mama, it’s just not right to pass this up. Beer Advocate has it rated as one of the best beers in the country. I wasn’t feeling in the mood for a half pound burger, and I’ve been on a Cuban sandwich kick lately, so I went with that. I’m sad that it took me so long to try the Cuban sandwich, as my total happiness for life would have been so much higher if I had discovered it earlier, even in high school.

I’d like to say that the sandwich was memorable, but to be honest it was just good. Nothing wrong with it at all, but nothing that set it apart from other Cubans. It was big if nothing else, and combined with the fries it was a huge meal. I never eat leftovers from restaurants, so I did my damnedest to finish it there, I think I left a bite or two. But really, you can’t go wrong with a sandwich that has cheese, ham, AND pork. Ham AND pork. It’s really something special.

I had wanted to try another beer before we left, but between the meal and my first beer, I was way too full. Kris and Erin invited us over to their house nearby because Kris had made crepes with caramel topping. This was a pleasant surprise and we, of course, obliged. Annie was a little trooper and made it through for a late bedtime that night, but it was well worth it.

Service: The service was good, we were taken care of, and they were good with the young ones.
Food: Great bar food, and they have a kids menu, but you have to ask for it.
Drinks: Obviously a great beer selection of their own brews and some guest taps. Also a full bar.
Ambiance: It was pretty hopping for 5:30 on a Sunday night, so I can imagine it gets even rowdier later at night.
Convenience: Plenty of on-street parking on Chicago and certainly some bus lines.

Erin's Review

Lately we've been eating out less and less on our own, and more with Annie in tow. Right now, she LOVES to eat and eats a ton, so the days of just bringing along a banana and some cheerios are sadly gone. When setting up dinner with Erin and Kris, I suggested the Tap because I knew they were frequent visitors and liked it. Since it is primarily a bar, obviously, I asked if it was kid friendly. She said the first time they visited, the server scoffed at the idea of a kids menu, saying they didn't have one and didn't plan on it. Low and behold, a few weeks later they apparently realized what neighborhood they were in, and an extensive kids menu was created!

As Ben mentioned, it was packed - I was really thankful that the hostess let us squeeze 2 high chairs on the end of a 4 top table, since there wasn't any other space for a larger group. I was surprised at how busy it was so early in the evening. Apparently this is quite the hot spot! Right when we sat down, the waitress asked if we wanted the pickles appetizer - I heard the words cream cheese in the description and was instantly sold. They came out quickly and were delicious - the blackberry chutney they are served with was a nice alternative dipping option. I also got a light beer. It was pretty good, I only drank half of it, but that's to be expected.

The kids menu has a few pretty good options, nothing all that healthy. I originally was going to order a cup of chili, but the waitress warned me that it would be too spicy. Who knows if it actually would have been, since Annie seems to be able to handle a bit of flavor, but I chickened out. There are chicken "toes" (you know, since chicken don't have fingers), grilled cheese, and ham and cheese. I went with the ham and cheese for Annie. They all come with a side of fries. It would be nice if they had another option, many places have applesauce or carrots. I wasn't going to sweat it for just one night. I brought Annie's milk from home, so I'm not sure if they had that. She ate one of the sandwiches and a few of the fries, and her and Ruby ended up splitting the 2nd sandwich when we stopped at Erin and Kris' house later.

For myself, I ordered the Brewer's Cheeseburger with Wisconsin Casa Creme Cheese and fries. This was huge. Seriously just huge. I could barely finish even half of it. I would have liked some lettuce or onions on the burger, but what can you do. It really was just a cheeseburger, with a thin spread of mayo under the patty but that's it. I guess I should have read the description more literally. It was pretty good, but nothing special.

If we lived in this neighborhood, we would certainly frequent Town Hall Tap - I liked the vibe, and they were accommodating to Annie and Ruby. I might just stick to beers and appetizers, however, or try something new for dinner. It seems to be a solid addition to the other establishments on that block of Chicago in south Minneapolis.

Deets

The Town Hall Tap (no separate website, but lots of info on their facebook page)

4810 Chicago Ave S.

Minneapolis