Beer Quote #3

Bloody Mary Review: Grumpy's Bar & Grill

Place: Grumpy's Bar & Grill

Location: 1111 Washington Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55415

Day: Friday, March 16th
Time: 4:50 p.m.
Temperature: 77 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Grumpy's isn't a place I frequent more than once a year.  Not because it's an unlikeable place, but because I just don't find any reason that draws me over to that part of town.  In truth, the place itself is a nice, almost hometown feeling, bar with an eclectic crowd that lends to a feeling of comfort.  Every here and there you can see attempts to show throwback homage to 1950's diners.

Seating is bar fare, and depending on the time of day you get there, can be limited.  With pool tables, darts and pinball ( 2 of each ) set to entertain the masses, it can make for an enjoyable getaway or an everyday watering hole.

The service at Grumpy's ( at least while my friend and I were there ) was excellent.  The Bloody Mary had great taste with a bit of a kick, and was perfect in consistency. The salt ring was flavorful and blended well with the mix of the drink.  The extras were 'moderate' at best, consisting of just a pickle and an olive.  A beer chaser, however, was offered ( and accepted ) and had a similar flavor to Miller High Life.

If you make the journey, I recommend the chilli.  It was just what the doctor ordered.

End results:
Location : C
Parking: Street metered & good parking in a lot around back
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: B  ( It's a bar, seriously, but clean )
Staff: A
Bloody Mary Appearance: B ( just kind of average )

Bloody Mary Extras: C

Bloody Mary Itself: A

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As an added bonus, my friend ordered a Summit Oatmeal Stout.  

His review "Delicious" "Comparable to Guiness" 

Beer Quote #2

Bloody Mary Review: Sally's Saloon & Eatery

Place: Sally's Saloon & Eatery
Location: 712 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, 55414

Day: Friday, March 16th
Time: 2:49 p.m.
Temperature: 72 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Sally's is my #1 favorite bar near the University of Minnesota campus.   Nothing too fancy, but plenty of space indoors and out.  It's clean and always has a courteous staff.  It's the kind of place where you can walk in and immediately feel relaxed.

 

2:49 p.m. on a Friday afternoon in March the tables are pretty much open, pool tables & otherwise.

Mind you, if you're going to make the journey to Sally's, I heavily recommend the popcorn.  Yes, it's located right outside the bathrooms, but what other time are you ensured at least 50% of the people have washed their hands.  Say what you want, but the people just walking into a bar don't offer any guarantee that their hands are clean either.  At least near the bathrooms theirs a better chance of it.  HA!

Bloody Mary BAZINGA! The service on this day does NOT disappoint.  A very sweet waitress stuck working the daytime shift, yet still she does it with a smile.The Bloody arrives with a beer chaser, light in appearance, but also light in flavor.  Still an unrequested, free chaser.  Bonus points.

The Bloody has just the right amount of flavor to spice ratio to be a very tasty treat.  The extras, while minimal, included a pickle, a banana pepper, an olive and a lime wedge.   Minimal extras are fine enough in my book if the Bloody Mary has good flavor.   The banana pepper had an unexpected amount of kick to it.  Worth noting.  The beer chaser came in handy after chowing on that thing.

End results:
Location : A
Parking: Street metered & some parking in a small lot
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A
Bloody Mary Appearance: B ( just kind of average )
Bloody Mary Extras: C
Bloody Mary Itself: A
Price: $4.75


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As an added bonus, my friend ordered a Summit Extra Pale Ale.  
His review "Good.  Hoppy, but not too strong."

Bloody Mary Review: The Library Bar

Place: The Library Bar  
Location: 1301 4th St. SE, Mpls, MN 55414

Day: Friday, March 16th
Time: 1:10 p.m.
Temperature: 60 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Located in Dinkytown, the Library has been an annual stop on a bar-hopping/walking tour through Minneapolis for many many many years now.  With a good sized room and bar on the main level, and a decent space upstairs with video games, pool tables, super-clean bathrooms, a grouping of video screens with sports, music videos, ESPN, CNN, blah blah playing and a second bar (Never in use during the hours we've been there). 

 

At 1:00 in the afternoon, the Library's patrons are few. On this day, however, there was a group of college guys hanging out and partying at a table on the upper floor. The pool tables were open though, so my friend and I ventured to our usual spot near the window and chose our cues for a couple of games.  The waitress ventured up the stairs, walked right past us, over to the partying table, flirted, took requests, and then ventured right past us back downstairs.  After about the third or fourth time she did this ( approximately 2 pool games worth ) we determined that we were either invisible, or just plain not going to get served.  We played one more game.  No service.

I'd love for this to have been a blog entry about an extraordinary bloody mary or heck, even a mediocre bloody mary would have been nice, no such luck.   More of a blog entry about poor service and an alumni-sized tip lost by a waitress.  Sad.  

This sign on the sidewalk outside the front door gave me a chuckle.   First off, what does "All You Can Fish Fry" mean?  Me thinketh they forgot a word.  This is a bar near the college campus.  Just saying.  Second, with the kind of service my friend and I got at this place, don't expect your $7.99 to actually get you very much.  HA!

On to the next location... I'm still thirsty!!!

End results:
Location : B
Parking: Street Metered
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: F
Bloody Mary Appearance: Who knows?!
Bloody Mary Extras: Who knows?!
Bloody Mary Itself: Who knows?!
Price: Who knows?!

Bloody Mary Review: Green Mill Restaurant & Bar

Place: Green Mill Restaurant & Bar  
Location: 2626 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, MN 55408

Day: Sunday, June 3rd
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Temperature: 65 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

 

In case this photo isn't suggestive enough, yes, this was a Sunday morning, working lunch.

 

I admit, I have not been to this Green Mill in a VERY long time. Not since my sister-in-law decided that it was just fine to scold my brother, informing him that he was a "BASTARD! Just like your father!" right in front of her three, grade-school age children when given the impression that he was saying that 'she' was just like her mother. (The actual situation was that he was telling their young daughter she was "just like her mother" as a compliment.  I can only imagine what the poor sucker my niece ends up marrying as an adult will have to go through if his statement holds true. )

But I digress ...


This place sets a fantastic standard for a clean, well managed establishment.  I was impressed by everything, from appearance, to the clean fresh smell of the place, to the well mannered and attentive staff.


Bloody Mary come hither ...


The 'extras' in this thing flooded the top of the glass.  Salami, cheddar, a green olive, peperoni, mozzarella, more peperoni, pickle, a lime wedge and a good size stock of celery.  Lunch in a glass.  YUM!  To be fair, I will tell you that I ordered the spicy bloody mary, as they have a less spicy option for the heartburn afflicted set.


The flavor was good without being too spicy or too alcohol strong (as a side note, we all–at my table– felt that while the taste of alcohol wasn't strong, the drinks had quite a bit of power to them ).   A good stir helped keep the drink equally as good from start to finish.
 

The only oddness came in the form of a beer chaser.  I wouldn't say that it was the best, but I wouldn't say it was the worst either.  Just not fantastic.  Still, it was brought to the table without request, so as an extra it garnishes an A+.  As for the price of this wonderous drink ... $3.99!  Yes, just $3.99!  Probably and early bird special, since my friends and I arrived 30 minutes before they even opened that morning, but if that's the case, I'm arriving early more often!   We accomplished our business goals and were off to enjoy the Sunday afternoon. 

End results:
Location : B
Parking: A ( A good sized lot & Street parking )
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: A
Bloody Mary Extras: A
Bloody Mary Itself: B-
Price: A ( $3.99 )

Bloody Mary Review: Aster

Place: Aster

Location: 125 SE Main Street, Mpls, MN 55414
Day: Friday March 16
Time: 11:19 a.m.
Temperature: 55 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Aster is a nicely located little restaurant/bar along the Mississippi riverfront area with a choice of indoor or outdoor seating.  

My friend and I happened upon it just at the right moment (they open at 11:00a.m.) and grabbed up a window table inside.

The wait staff were all exceptionally friendly and our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and flavor of the food. Bring on the Bloody Mary.

If this were a revue based solely on appearance, it would not bode well for Aster’s Bloody Mary. It’s extras were limited to a single lime wedge, though it did come with an 'offered' beer chaser.  The beer chaser was just ok.  Not great, but ok. The Bloody, however, was EXCEPTIONALLY good. There was a plenty of a spicy kick to it, but the fantastic tomato flavor was the big winner.  If all Bloody Marys had flavor like this, I think a larger amount of people would be drinking them.  Not too thick.  Not too loaded down with floss-your-teeth spice chunks.  A good flavor to the salt ring.  This Bloody is truly a case where you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.  Looks are not this Bloody’s best selling point. 


The price was a bit on the higher end at $7.85, so possibly the addition of an olive, a pickle or celery might not be too much to ask, but if it means sacrificing the flavor of the drink with an addition, it’s worth leaving them out.  Perhaps they could place those items in the beer chaser to give it the little something it needed.

I totally recommend Aster to anyone looking for a quiet adventure to a venue that serves up flavor in it’s drinks as well as it’s food. And yes, the food was amazing!


End results:
Location : B
Parking: C ( Street Metered and Ramp Parking )
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: C
Bloody Mary Extras: C
Bloody Mary Itself: A
Price: C ( $7.85 tax included )
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My friend ordered a Fulton Lonely Blonde Ale. (sadly, the revue was not recorded)

Bloody Mary Review: 8th Street Grill

Place: 8th Street Grill
Location: 800 Marquette Ave #107, Mpls, MN 55402
Day: Thursday March 15
Time: 3:27 p.m.
Temperature: 58 degrees
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor


This was the last stop on a three bar tour before heading to the Minneapolis Auto Show. Right away as we walk in, FREE POPCORN! Love that. Not quite as good as Lyon’s Pub popcorn, but hey, it was free, count that as a win.


The place was clean, the service friendly, knowledgeable and quick. The prices reasonable, So bring on the Bloody Mary.


OK, This thing has no issues with height. Makes it’s presence known when it arrives at the table. Total plus.


The extras included two olives, a pickle skewer, a lime wedge and a whopping stick of celery. At this point I’m hoping it isn’t all for show. Right off, a demerit for no beer chaser. Non offered, non delivered. In a place that has a really good variety of beers, this was a little bit of a surprise. CRUNCH! The celery. Not sure where they get it from, but it sure was fresh and tasty. This is a good start.

Sip. TASTE!

Yup. This bloody had taste. Not too spicy, but with a genuine tomato flavor. Has a bit of a kick in the beginning, but the flavor seemed to get even better the more I drank. Odd. Rare. Pleasant.

End results:
Location : C
Parking: D ( Street Metered and Ramp Parking )
Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A
Staff: A+
Bloody Mary Appearance: A
Bloody Mary Extras: A
Bloody Mary Itself: B
Price: B ( $6 )
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My friend ordered a Fulton ‘Sweet Child of Vine’ beer.


The review: Good. Not as hoppy as the Surly Furious but smoother than most beers. ($5)

Bloody Mary Review : Lyon's Pub

Place: Lyon’s Pub

Location: 16 South 6th Street, Mpls, MN 55402

Day: Thursday March 15

Time: 2:15 p.m.

Temperature: 57 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Okay, I admit that while I consider parking for The Lyon’s Pub to be horrendous—and even worse than normal on the day of this visit due to the sidewalk getting replaced—I’ve enjoyed this place since my very first visit, long, long ago. On this day, the front door was blocked off which led to a discovery of the inside, side door.

The door’s been there all along, just never had a need to know it, or use it. Now it could have been the hour of the day, or the fact that the front door was blocked, but either way, it was pretty near dead inside, The popcorn machine was active though, and they have mighty good popcorn. Time for another Bloody Mary.

The drink arrived looking pretty good for a mix. Sadly, looking good was the last “good” this Bloody Mary is going to get. The salt ring was seriously nasty giving me much thanks for the straw in the glass. The extras consisted of two olives, a lime wedge and a pickle skewer. Pretty simple on a bad tasting drink. I’m guessing the crowd they get at Lyon’s may tend to lean more towards heavy-alcohol/low-flavor watery drinks because this bloody had that in spades. On an unexpected twist though, the beer chaser was excellent. Sadly, my thoughts now are wondering whether it tasted so good by comparison to it’s counterpart or if it was actually as good as it seemed. I like to believe the latter. The bartender on duty said that the chaser was “Lyon’s Lager” by Schell’s Brewery. I’d say it’s worth giving a try to sometime without the inclusion of the nasty Bloody Mary. At $5.25, this bloody was way overpriced for what it delivered.

End results:

Location : C

Parking: D ( Street Metered and Ramp Parking )

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A-

Bloody Mary Extras: C

Bloody Mary Itself: D

Price: C ( $5.25 )

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For an added bonus, my friend ordered a Surly 'Furious' beer.

The quick review: Very hoppy. Good taste, but tasted more like a thick beer would. ($6)

Bloody Mary Review : The Loon Cafe

Place: The Loon Café

Location: 500 1st Avenue North, Mpls, MN 55403

Day: Thursday March 15, 2012

Time: 1:25 p.m.

Temperature: 57 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

The Loon Café is located in an area I’ve never been very fond of going to on an evening out, so I admit that I was apprehensive of going there mid-day on a Thursday as well. My friend and I made our way there by foot, so the displeasure of parking was eliminated. Street parking and ramp parking are your most likely options here, unless you walk or ride the light rail, both of which are far better options than trying to find a spot.

Mid-day ended up being a good time to hit this location. The place was pretty much vacant with the exception of some lunch-hour stragglers and a few others. We got seated right quick. The place was clean and the staff very polite and friendly. Bring on the Bloody Mary.

The flavor of the Bloody was spicy like crazy, not to say that it didn’t have flavor to coincide with the spice though. A beer chaser was assumed by the wait staff and delivered along with the drink, ( always a plus in my point-of-view ) though it was average in it’s flavor and didn’t seem to do much to accentuate the bloody mary. The extras were minimal, which is fine as long as the flavor of the bloody is present. Of the extras were a lime wedge, an olive and a pickle skewer. On a side note, I also ordered a cup of chili for a luncheon meal and discovered, while being unexpectedly small portioned based on it's somewhat higher price, it was pretty dang amazing in flavor. Highest recommendations for the chili.

End results:

Location : C

Parking: D ( Street Metered and Ramp Parking )

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A-

Bloody Mary Extras: C

Bloody Mary Itself: A

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As an added bonus, my friend ordered a Summit Maibock beer.

His review was that it was average. Good and refreshing with a lighter flavor than expected.

Bloody Mary Review : Darby's Pub & Grill

Place: Darby's Pub & Grill

Location: 315 N. 5th Ave. Mpls., MN 55401

Day: Thursday, February 23

Time: 5:15 p.m.

Temperature: Around 34 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Yet another try at Darby's Bloody Mary. Was the first one a fluke? Would this be just as good? You Betcha! The staff have gotten, if possible, even more personable. The pickle just as a-frickin-mazing! And the drink, another wonderful $3.00 surprise. The space looks empty in the first image below, but trust me, it took a while for me to get that shot as the rest of the place had plenty of patrons.

The extras haven't grown any since my last visit, and there wasn't any addition or inclusion of a beer chaser, but the $3 basket of fresh, hot french fries has grown in size to almost double my first trip. That had me smiling pretty wide. Makes it easy and nice to be able to share a basket with friends and put a smile on everyone's face.

End results: ( same as previously tested )

Location : A

Parking: B ( Street Metered Parking - but easy to find a space)

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A-

Bloody Mary Extras: B

Bloody Mary Itself: A

Price: A ( $3.00 + tax )

Sunday Morning Break: Buddy's Grape

Place: The LowBrow

Location: 4244 Nicollet Ave. Mpls., 55409

Day: Sunday, February 19th

Time: 9:10 a.m.

Temperature: Around 37 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Ok, so it's not a Bloody Mary, but it sure was dang good. Blend it with Bacon infused Pancakes, Ream Minnesota Maple syrup and a big plate of hash browns, Great customer service, Great ambiance. All in all, a Great experience. Nice break with an old friend for a Sunday. Price for the meal and a soda $13.07.