The Buttered Tin ****4.5/5 stars

This Minnesota fall just keeps rocking our faces off with gorgeous weather. Because of this rare gift from Mother Nature, we were able to saddle up and do a ride to Lowertown St. Paul. Yes, St. Paul. It's what the cool kids are doing these days.

What cool people look like...

We were headed for The Buttered Tin off of Wacouta and 7th, near the lovely Mears park. Our route was a solid 5 miles of greenway followed by a solid 7 miles of sprawling estates with perfectly manicured lawns and topiaries. Mr. Fox quickly rebutted Sarah's exclamation "It smells like fall!" with "No, that's the smell of old money."

We pit stopped at Sweeny's lovely back patio for beverages...

Then Summit spit us out at the feet of our very own state capitol building (whose facade was under heavy construction.)

Petts loves democracy.

The Tin (I can call it that cuz we're buddies now) is a cute corner spot across from what I can only assume is one of the best dive bars in the neighborhood. Shame it wasn't open.

Gophers and Liquor and Coney Island - What more could you ask for?

The info.

Inside is a sunny, sweet-smelling space. Baked goods beckon from every direction. It's busy. We're about to find out why this place is so popular.

Homemade cornbread twinkies. Yup.

The menu, posted above the kitchen and in hand-held form, boasts a really great variety of brunchy designs. Bennies, hashbrowns, pancakes, french toast, soups, salads and sandwiches. They do coffee, beer and wine as well. I opted for the fresh squeezed orange juice, which was chewy and delicious. All you pulp haters can shush your mouths.

Mimosaville

Somehow it took us three hours to get to this table. St.Paul is very far away, so most of us were ravenous. We pounded down some cookies and nutella-filled pastries... AND, la piece de resistance, the Bananas Foster French Toast. F my life.

Brunchitizer™ Award of the Year

Suprisingly, no one got stabbed.

On to the main courses. We weren't extremely diverse here, but we got some variety. One of the most popular orders was the Huevos Rancheros Benedict, two of my most favorite things in the whole world. With corn cakes and avocado, this was pretty damn tasty...

But not even as tasty as the TBT Hash with sausage and seasonal veggies. Look at that effing adorable little skillet and that perfect goddamn egg. The flavor in this sucker was unreal.

Here's the Crab Cake Benedict, which Brandon now says is the best in town. I wonder if he meant St. Paul or MPLS? I'll assume both.

These are the loaded hashbrowns with a poached egg. There's meat and cheese up in there...

Annnnd....a tuna melt. Because it's brunch. And you can do that.

Satisfied customers.

Ok Cupid 68% match?

And in true Bad Eggs fashion, we closed the place down. Happily stuffed with almost five-star food, we rolled our distended bellies over to Mears park for a piece of sun.

Because we love public transportation, and the Union Depot was only a few blocks away, we decided to take the new Green Line back to MPLS. We got harrassed by some Detroit Lions fans, but other than that it was the perfect day.

Peace out.