Victor's 1959 Cafe ***3/5 stars

I had to ask for help on this one. My to-brunch list was running low and my parents were coming into town. I reached out on the Facebooks and found out that people get pretty passionate about their brunch. I mean, of course, so do I. I got some suggestions for places in St. Paul with cheap and veritably endless boozy drinks. Not really my parent's bag. My professional drinking team and I will get to those soon. When someone did mention a better, more rents-friendly alternative, Victor's Cuban Cafe, I perked up. Others jumped right in to argue that it's always too crowded and not that impressive, but I believe otherwise. Let me tell ya why...

So, this place is like, totes adorbs. A small, ramshackle building nestled in the quickly gentrifying Kingfield neighborhood, it's usually overflowing with peeps jonesing for a side of black beans with their eggs.

It was kinda chilly, so we opted for the patio and were seated within 10 minutes. The menu is pretty extensive, even includes some "americano" breakfast options in case you are afraid of ethnic foods.

 

First things first. Coffee and mimosas as big as your head. Mom says: one and done.

This whole place is tagged up, yo.

 

Like mother, like daughter, we both ordered the Dia Y Noche. Simple, but oh so lovely. Eggs OE, rice, beans, plantains. Tough to get fresh plantains here, but these are totally decent. I could seriously eat this for every meal.

 

Dad got the Ranchero Cubano, which is basically Juevos Rancheros. 

He's stoked. Can you tell? Maybe the coffee hasn't kicked in yet...

Here's the cuban toast, which I wouldn't recommend. You pay extra and it's basically a white bun cut in half and fried. You're not fooling me, ese.

The inside is tagged up as well... adorned with xmas lights and various ephemera. Cozy.

There's a reason why this place is always busy... Weekday brunch is definitely easier to get a table, otherwise pack your lawn chair and your sharpie and practice your 3D lettering and Castro caricatures while you camp out in the lot. Yeah, Pat.