Bloody Mary Review: The Happy Gnome

Place: The Happy Gnome

Location: 498 Selby Ave., St Paul, MN 55102

Day: Tuesday, December 20

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Temperature: Around 34 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

The Happy Gnome is a nice bar/restaurant with lots of warmth and friendly atmosphere. Woodwork lines the room and a well placed fireplace accents the space perfectly. Plenty of room for moving around with friends, and lots of parking space. ( Which always draws to mind the question "If it's illegal to drink and drive, why do bars have parking lots?" ) With over 75 beers to choose from, the humor isn't lost on me that I ordered a Bloody Mary and it arrived without a beer chaser. Guess they don't want to run out. LOL! I'm sure I could have gotten one if requested, but as always I chose to see what the bar does instead. The bartender had a good sense of humor, which tends to go a long ways in my decision to return to an establishment.

There wasn't anything to frilly about The Happy Gnome, but it did have pure comfort. A chalkboard sign on the wall offered you a choice of specials, and the dining area was kept well separated from the bar area allowing diners to relax and eat in peace while drinkers ... well, drinkers drink.

As for the Bloody Mary, the review isn't as good. It wasn't horrible by any means, but it was a bit over spiced and stronger on the alcohol side than hoped for. This gave it a bit more of a water taste, while knocking out the flavor and burning the gullet. The "extras" were on the lower end of the scale. A lime wedge, a pickle, and an olive, were all that adorned the rim of this cocktail. On the bright side, it did come with a salt ring, but just your average celery salt and nothing major to write home about. The price also was a bit of a down turn. At about $7.68 for the cocktail, I'd like to have gotten more out of it than just a burning tongue.

Would I visit The Happy Gnome again? You bet I would. One drink does NOT a bar make. The atmosphere and the staff, the parking and the location, each of these add up to an excellent experience. I would very much like to go back and give the food a test run. Would I visit the Happy Gnome again just to get a Bloody Mary. Sadly, no. Would I visit it to get a Bloody Mary that gives a buzz and a kick? Maybe, but plenty of bars can offer that. I like my Bloody's to have flavor and a meal attached at the top. A matter of taste.

End results:

Location : A

Parking: A ( Street & Lot Parking)

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: B

Bloody Mary Extras: C

Bloody Mary Itself: C

Price: C ( $7.68 )

Bloody Mary Review: W.A. Frost & Company

Place: W.A. Frost And Company

Location: 374 Selby Avenue, St Paul, MN 55102

Day: Tuesday, December 20

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Temperature: Around 34 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

This place is one of those gems that you would swear you only find in cities such as Chicago or New York. Best description would be to call this place "Total Class." While the menu was not set to break the budget ( in fact, it was set to prices of an average diner ) the food was outstanding! The atmosphere, outstanding! The service, outstanding!

The Bloody Mary ...

The extras were well chosen and added an interesting twist with the addition of pickled beans. A VERY well chosen addition indeed. The flavor mixed well and added a nice compliment to the drink. The Bloody Mary was a bit on the spicy side, and did offer a good kick. Those faint of heart to spices may opt for a different drink. The flavor of the mix was well proportioned to the amount of alcohol and had good tomato flavor without being watery. A beer chaser was actually offered by the waitress as an option as opposed to just being assumed. And an excellent choice of beer chasers it was. Not sure what the brand, but it definitely had flavor to spare. My only negative critique of this cocktail would be the lack of a salt ring on the glass—something noticed by one of my fellow diners ( who had chosen the same drink ) as well.

If it appears by the photo below that there was quite the substance to this drink with plenty of thickness via additives, you would be correctly envisioning it. Nothing to choke on, but plentiful enough for me to describe this drink as having "pulp."

End results:

Location : A

Parking: B ( Street & Lot parking)

Bar Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: B

Bloody Mary Extras: B

Bloody Mary Itself: A

Price: Unknown ( Purchased for me )

Beer Quote #1

Bloody Mary Review : VFW Post 246

Place: VFW Post 246

Location: 2916 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis

Day: Saturday, October 8

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Temperature: Around 74 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

NOW here’s a freakin’ hidden treasure of a dive bar for you. I could see this being the sort of place I end up hanging out at as I grow older. There were a few younger people and a few crypt keepers in the crowd. You enter through alleyway door, go down a hallway, turn right, up a couple of stairs, and hit a buzzer to be let in. Getting creeped out yet? Once inside you get the feeling like most of the people there have been there for quite some time. The thought of the ‘Hotel California’ line “You can check out but you can never leave” comes to mind. It’s not real brightly lit, but you can make it to your bar seat. The staff is friendly. Actually, far more friendly than I was expecting. After a short while you start to feel familiar with the place. It’s odd, but it’s also good.

So what kind of Bloody Mary gets served in this place? Spicy? No, not really spicy. Watery? No, while it looked like it was just being made with vodka, Tabasco and little else, there must have been a point at which the bartender did some magic because once I gave it a stir, it had flavor. Nothing to write home about, but still more flavor than some other places serve. As for extras. There was a lime wedge and a very decent size beer chaser. All this for the very low price of $3.50.

They have pull-tabs in the corner, free popcorn, Big screen TVs around the room each playing different sporting events, a Jukebox (which for some reason someone had set to play Tammy Wynette singing “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.” twice in a row) and Karaoke nights.

This may be my new favorite place to go when I need to shut off the rest of the world.

p.s. A lucky pick on the Pull Tabs ended up making this a very pleasant experience. Indeed!

End results:

Location : B

Parking: C (Metered & Residential side street parking) - Free after 6:pm

Bar Appearance: B

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: C-

Bloody Mary Extras: D

Bloody Mary Itself: B

Price: A

Bloody Mary Review : The Lyndale Tap House

Place: The Lyndale Tap House

Location: 2937 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis

Day: Saturday, October 8

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Temperature: Around 75 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Outdoor Sidewalk Seating

The Lyndale Tap House is yet another in the grouping of LynLake bars worth visiting. I’ve been here once before for the Bloody Mary, and was expecting that this visit would elicit the same experience. It didn’t. Now that’s not to say it was worse or better, it was just different. The place is very well located with the surrounding of bars, reminiscent of my youthful years on the Iron Range where going bar hopping during a rain storm meant hardly having to get wet.

It’s clean, kitschy, with a friendly staff, and loads of Varga-Girl style imagery around the room. My friend and I sat outside on the sidewalk/patio area, which, on a 75 degree, Minnesota, Saturday evening in October brought out a Salvador Dali-esk variety of people for our viewing pleasure. I think we spent 15 minutes watching one woman try to parallel park a Camry. Not her specialty. Thankfully my car was not one of the two she was trying to wedge in-between

The Bloody Mary had a decent amount of flavor, but not as much as remembered from my last visit. It also arrived without the thick slab of bacon it sported on my last visit, along with no sign of a beer chaser (again, something that was presented on my last visit). Now I know some people will tell you that you need to request the chaser if you want it, but my goal on this quest is to see what arrives without having to specify more than a “Bloody Mary”

Still, the taste was good. An even level of spice without being overwhelming. A nice mix. Not a pungent taste of alcohol. The extras, while not the same as I remembered or expected, were pleasant and the salt ring a tasty blend.

End results:

Location : A

Parking: C (Metered & Residential side street parking)

Restaurant Appearance: B

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A

Bloody Mary Extras: B

Bloody Mary Itself: B

Price: B ( $6.00 )

Bloody Mary Review : Amore Victoria

Place: Amore Victoria

Location: 1601 West Lake Street, Minneapolis

Day: Saturday, October 9

Time: 4:12 p.m.

Temperature: Around 76 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Outdoor Rooftop Patio

The draw of a rooftop patio in this neighborhood is much akin to a bug drawn to a zapper. Sadly, that's kind of how this blog entry is going to begin and end. Amore Victoria is tucked in neatly between Lake Calhoun and the heart of Uptown. Just a few blocks either way can grant you a comfortable waterfront walk, or an eclectic shopping experience.

To get to the rooftop patio, you need just walk around to the back of the restaurant, and a very well crafted wooden staircase leads you upwards. For those needing it, the restaurant has even set up a single person elevator lift. An item that 100% received my attention and respect. The patio is perfectly laid out, with an excellent amount of spacing for tables as to not crowd the guests. The day was perfect, the temp perfect, the low noise level on the roof was perfect.

That bug zapper is looking soooo nice right now. The Bloody Mary arrives.

Let’s just say, if I were a candidate for having a heart attack and my doctor said that I needed to remove sodium and flavor from my food, I would end up drinking this bland flavorless tomato water for the rest of my life and never have a problem again. No salt ring on the crest of the glass, ZERO extras, unless you count the straw. There were loads of spices floating in the glass, but they must have been spices that were rinsed through a cleanser so many times that all that was left was the pulp and zero actual spice flavor. This didn’t even have the zing that I would image a glass of water with ketchup poured into it would have.

Please remember, this review should not be taken as one for the establishment, as I am told the food here is phenomenal, I just would have liked if some of that would have translated over to their Bloody Mary as well.

This didn’t even arrive at the table with the “plus-one” buddy of a beer chaser which at least would have given me some type of flavor (I would hope).

While the staff was polite, I will tell you that they could have been around a little more often. Waiting for the check to arrive felt like an eternity. Also, tables were left to sit far too long with the remaining carcasses of whatever the last hipster had delighted upon, making some of the most choice (view enhancing) tables undesirable unless you are o.k. with sitting amongst remains as you wait ... and wait, for the staff to clear it.

The price of this red liquid. I have no idea. My guest was wise enough to grab the bill and keep it from me, with the added note of, “you can get the next ones at the next place.” HA!

End results:

Location : A

Parking: B (Meter / Side Street / Parking Lot in back )

Restaurant Appearance: B

Staff: B-

Bloody Mary Appearance: D

Bloody Mary Extras: D

Bloody Mary Itself: D

Price: Unknown

Bloody Mary Review: Muddy Waters Bar & Eatery

Place: Muddy Waters Bar & Eatery

Location: 2933 Lyndale Ave. So., Minneapolis

Day: Saturday, October 8

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Temperature: Around 78 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Outdoor Patio (alongside the building, not sidewalk, but with a gated view)

Muddy Waters makes for an excellent way to start the weekend. This place was so relaxing. People with dogs alongside their tables gave this such a nice casual neighborhood feel. No loud interactions, just a VERY diverse group of people enjoying the day. The restaurant is clean and well kept. The tables were nicely spaced out so you never get the feeling of being crowded in.

The parking situation is, as always, a tough one, but parking can be found on the street if you try, and if you end up having to walk a few blocks to get to this place, it’s worth it.

The staff were polite and our waitress kind and smiling without being bubbly. She gave the specials-of-the-day clearly and enticing enough that my guest was drawn to order one of them. I, myself went with the chicken-fried-bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. ($7.50) OMFG! It was out-of-this-world good!

But before that arrived. Bring on the Bloody Mary.

If you like your Bloody Mary spicy, with a lot of flavor and a nice mix of extra’s this is the place for you. It gave me a bit of a kick at first as I wasn’t prepared for the spice. That passed quickly though because the flavor —YES FLAVOR— was actually there. I’ve been missing a really good flavored Bloody Mary recently. Ya, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of extra’s here, but if you’re looking for a salad in a glass, you should order the salad and put it in yourself. However, when flavor is present, extra’s go back to being just that, extra’s. One of those being an unrequested-for beer chaser. Impressive.

End results:

Location : A

Parking: C (Metered & Residential side street parking)

Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A

Bloody Mary Extras: B

Bloody Mary Itself: A

Price: B ($5.50)

Bloody Mary Review: Dan Kelly's Bar & Grill

Place: Dan Kelly's Bar & Grill
Location: 212 S 7th Street, Minneapolis
Day: Tuesday, October 4
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Temperature: Around 70 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Dan Kelly's is an Irish pub in downtown Minneapolis, though it's most notable Irish items to me were the shamrock on the menu and sign out front, a few Irish beers served, and not much else. Not really a problem, as I was there to give the Bloody Mary a try-out. (Also to wish a friend well as they quit one job and embarked into a new one.) The parking situation was one I expected to be problematic. I was very pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite. Street meters are enforced only until 6p.m. and finding one was as easy as picking red M&M's from a party-size bowl. This could be different on other days of the week, during sporting events, or who-knows-what, but at this time, it was perfect.

The employee's at Dan Kelly's were polite and alive. Not too invasive, but still around enough to access if needed and impressive enough to be be able to throw back comments at patrons without being insulting. More like having drinks at a friends house.

Happily, this Bloody Mary didn't disappoint my taste buds. The "extras" were not elaborate, including only a lime wedge and a pickle skewer, however the salted edge on the glass was at least the proper celery salt and not just a crushed sea salt — as I encountered last weekend at a bar with friends. The beer chaser was fine. Nothing major to write home about, but not horrible. The Bloody had just the right amount of tomato flavor (One of the people at the table said that it was actually Clamato, but as for that, I am uncertain). There was a good mix with just the right amount of alcohol not to be watery. The spice level was at the lower end of the spectrum, and by low I mean VERY low. If you don't care for a spicy Bloody, this would be the place for you. The price was just $4.23 (with tax), so the budget remained well intact. In my humble opinion, while the Bloody wasn't as thick as I would prefer it to be, and while extra's not as extra, I would still recommend this bar/drink to anyone wanting a Bloody Mary with flavor to it.

End results:

Location : B
Parking: C (Street & Parking Ramps)
Restaurant Appearance: B
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: C-
Bloody Mary Extras: D
Bloody Mary Itself: B
Price: A

Bloody Mary Review: Herkimer

Place: Herkimer
Location: 2922 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis
Day: Wednesday, September 14
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Temperature: Around 58 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Outdoor Sidewalk Tables

Herkimer is in a location that I have very genuinely loved for many years. The Lyndale/Lake Street area in Minneapolis is one of great culture and easy going style. Parking in this location can be an extreme hassle depending on when you are going there. Street parking is your strongest option. On that adventure though, good luck!

Sadly, this Bloody Mary did not impress me as much as the location. The "extras" were minimal at best, including only a lime wedge and a pickle skewer. The beer chaser was good if you enjoy a strong lime-flavored beer much like a Corona with multiple limes soaking within (which I do, so I enjoyed that very much, however, my guest did not). The Bloody was lacking much flavor and was a bit on the watery side. The taste of alcohol was stronger than the flavor of the mix. The drink has some spice kick to it, but it was spice without much taste. (Totally my opinion, but that is what this blog is for). The service was fantastic, friendly and polite as well as making just enough visits to the table to make sure everything was ok. (Mind you, this was at 1:00 on a Wednesday, so evening and weekend service might be a different story ). The price of this beverage was a mere $4.50, so that does make for an inexpensive people-watching outing for you and a guest. That combined with the ambiance of the location & friendly staff is enough to bring me back. Though possibly for a different choice of beverage next time.

End results:

Location : A
Parking: C (Mostly street & metered)
Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: C-
Bloody Mary Extras: D
Bloody Mary Itself: D
Price: B

Bloody Mary Review : Burger Jones

Place: Burger Jones
Location: 3200 West Lake Street, Minneapolis
Day: Sunday, September 11
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Temperature: Around 84 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Outdoor Patio


The location of this place is VERY accommodating to it's patrons. Parking can sometimes be a hassle, but only during extremely busy hours. Otherwise, there is a large, shared parking lot space, safely off the busy Lake Street. The inside is exceptionally clean, the workers are fantastically courteous and the outdoor patio a refreshing get-away.

The Bloody Mary at Burger Jones was exceptionally well priced (Happy Hour prices) at just a little over $4.00 which also included a beer chaser in a small glass that very much resembled a Pilsner glass.

Served in a Kerr style canning jar, with a Lime wedge, Mozzarella cheese pieces, an olive, a sliced burger-style pickle and what I took to be a pepperoni style meat stick (not sure what it was exactly), it's presentation was very well set up. While the extras didn't impress me so much – though plentiful as they were – the Bloody Mary itself was FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC! Not too watery. Not too thick. Spicy, but not too spicy (although my guest did inquire about having extra horseradish, prior to even tasting, and they happily obliged). I enjoyed this Bloody so much, I ordered a second one.


End results:

Location : A+
Parking: A
Restaurant Appearance: A+
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: A
Bloody Mary Extras: C
Bloody Mary Itself: A+
Price: A+