Place: Ike’s Food and
Cocktails
Location: 50 S 6th
Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402
Day: Friday, November 1,
2013
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Temperature: 48 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor
While enjoying the cusp of
‘Fall to Winter’ in Minneapolis some friends and I decided to stop in at
Ike’s. I’ve heard inspiring stories
about Ike’s Bloody Mary’s, so my feet were more than willing to journey
inside. Ike’s is nestled just down from
Lyon’s Pub (Bloody Mary Review April 8, 2012) and Murray’s steakhouse. There’s a limited amount of street parking
if you are lucky enough to capture a meter and ramps close enough nearby where
the walk wouldn’t be too far.
Inside is very much the
style of a pub that has been around for years.
This being a lunchtime visit, we stood a while in the doorway elbow to
elbow waiting for a table to open but not an exhaustive amount of time. The service was exceptional, from start to
finish. The greeter was courteous, the
wait staff pleasant, and this while in the midst of a lunch rush.
The lunchtime Bloody Mary isn’t
as extensively loaded down as the large version I’ve heard of which appears to
have everything from the pyramid of nutrition in it. This, the lunchtime
version came with 2 ‘dilly beans’, a lime wedge, a celery stalk, an olive and a
spicy banana pepper. No pickle? The beer chaser in the picture was assumed
and arrived with the drink. It was a
light beer, which is really to say, it was almost water with a beer
flavor. Perfect. And the Bloody
Mary verdict ... Spicy Goodness! The flavor of this mix seemed a bit
watery at first, but as always, a little bit of a stir and the blend was most
excellent. This may not be a drink for
the bland at heart. Don’t get me wrong,
the spice level wasn’t at DEFCON 5, ( for those of you who remember a time when
DEFCON 5 meant something ) but it did have a kick to it. Just the right amount to keep the flavor
level right where it should be, yet just possibly enough to require an antacid
chaser. On the rim of the glass I
noticed an oddity I hadn’t seen before —or at least don’t remember seeing— two
types of salt, each lining it’s own side of the glass. I asked.
One was celery salt and the other being just plain salt. Interesting option. Celery salt being the more preferred of the
two.
With the drink I ordered a
side of fries. They weren’t the crispy
crunch you may find at most restaurants or fast food diners, however, the flavor was
absolutely worth the order. They are a
bit on the greasier side, but recommended just the same. ( Those who know me well though, know that
fries are just my gateway item to get to my blessed ketchup )
The meal was toped off with a gift of Dum Dums and cookies. Not wishing to disturb the delicious aftertaste of ketchup I was euphorically enjoying, I refrained from these.
As we prepped to leave, the
waitress pointed out a sign on the wall relating to the Wizard of Oz. The quote is from Rick Polito of the Marin Independent Journal printed in Northern
California. He wrote this single-sentence summation for the Wizard of Oz,
It may be hard to read in the photo, but it's the one right above the "fist to nose" quote.
End results:
Location : B
Parking: Street metered
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A
Bloody Mary Appearance: A
Bloody Mary Extras: B
Bloody Mary Itself: A
Price: $8.00
