Victory 44 ***** 5/5 stars

The only reason I go to North Mpls is to buy fully-automatic weapons and/or crack cocaine... Kidding, kidding. I no longer will perpetuate the idea that North is a scary ghetto. Well, parts of it are, but Victory Memorial Parkway has to be one of the most gorgeous areas in the city, even coated in the colorless blanket of early spring (dare I utter the word, spring). Luckily my good friends who live in this lovely "up and coming" part of town coaxed me into a 20-minute drive this morning that I would not regret. This is going to be a long one...you might want to grab a drink...

So here's Victory 44. What a lovely building! Right across the street from Dominos pizzaria...you may have heard of them...



And here's inside. That's Joey, Kelly, Molly, Josh and Brandon...the early crew. I called a half hour ahead and they were able to ready a table for eight, no problem. Jen and Nick arrived fashionably late...






Notice the pig photos everywhere. This is the only thing that creeps me out about this place. I don't want a live pig staring at me whilst I dine on pork sausage and bacon. Kinda ironic, huh? "It's like freeeee baaaacon when you already ate, it's a deeahd pig on your breakfast plaaaate..." Too much? Moving on...



Ok, first things first. They have beer and wine only, so we ordered mimosas. They consisted mostly of prosecco, just how we like them. So far so good...



Oh, god, the coffee!!! They pour your espresso drinks tableside, and they use Dogwood coffee...who supposedly roasts coffee where unicorns dance...so delish. B got a french press and they brought a timer to remind him to press it. Seriously??!!





Atmosphere is bright and comfy and roomy. The music selection featured Ben Harper, Bob Dylan, Ray LaMontagne and the likes... perfect for a mellow Sunday morning. That dude in the cowboy hat is sweet!



Now I'm gonna let you in on a brunch-time ritual that we often enjoy. Everyone writes a random fortune on a slip of paper and throws it into the middle. Then, we all draw one to help guide us on our life journey. They're usually very profound...well ok, not always, actually mostly they're really dumb, but if you want to find one for yourself, visit this awesome site that our friend DP created from them: Super-magic Teller of Wondrous Fortunes. Note: fortunes may contain foul language and sexually explicit material that may be disturbing to some readers. Sorry, mom.





Okay, it's time to talk food. Victory completely nailed it. We had a variety of dishes on our table ranging from eggs to waffles to burgers... yes, burgers qualify for brunch, especially when they come cooked exactly to your specification and embellished with homemade pickles...





The benny. Yow! Runny yolks! Lemony hollandaise! Homemade tots! I die.



Biscuits and gravy...gorge.



Croque Madame (a grilled ham and cheese with a sunny egg)...and those fries were made with bacon grease...are you dying yet?



Banana nut waffles...mmmmmmm...



Our dishes were dropped almost simultaneously by several servers/chefs (yes, the servers are all chefs) just as you would expect in fine dining and the service as a whole was outstanding. Most dishes were $8; for what you get, this is a steal.



People, Victory 44 does dinner just as well so don't hesitate to hit them up any time of day. They have a great beer/wine bar area and an adjoining coffee bar.



Victory = winner, winner, winner. I might consider buying a large guard dog and some pepper spray and moving North...