Aster Cafe ****4/5 stars

I might be feeling generous lately...maybe it's the weather...but damn, do I love St. Anthony Main and the precious gem that is the Aster Cafe. For you hopeless romantics like me, St. Anthony Main is the perfect date spot. The old MPLS "downtown" with its cobblestone streets (not good for scooter incidents, ask Nicki), the old movie theatre, the view of the Mill City ruins and the Guthrie, and the cool mist that floats off of the raging falls of the Mississippi, makes you feel like you could go for a good make-out sesh...or otherwise stuff your face with food. It's the perfect destination for a leisurely bike ride with friends, which can turn into a struggle if your back wheel wasn't put on correctly (Sorry, Steve, my bike maintenance skills are in development...) Which can also turn into a 3-hour brunch, because, well, this place is just so darn charming.

When you step into Aster on a Sunday, be prepared. It will be over-run with an enthusiastic old-timey dance squad. Wagging their fingers in the air and swinging around the tiny floor like total weirdos. In times like this, I always opt for the patio. The interior is, however, quite charming when it's not packed with dance nerds.

The menu options are excellent here, in my opinion... Waffles, hashes, quiches, burritos, sandwiches... a nice variety. But the drinks have a special place in my heart. The infused vodkas are a dream. My favorite cocktail being the Whippet: Pomegranate green tea-infused vodka, grapefruit juice, sugared rim. It's light, citrusy and not too sweet. And the green tea gives you a boost. There's also a 5-pepper bloody (infused vodka as well). It's not as spicy as you would expect, but still totally decent. Plus you'll want to put the mini caprese skewer in your pocket, call it George, take it home and keep it as your pet, but then you'll decide you'd rather just eat it. You can get Campari and Pimms and all sorts of lovely apertifs as well, Fancy Pants.

Beer snobs will like the selection.

Adorbs

Whippet Good

Slobodan Mimosavic (©2014 Ben Davies)

Let's talk about the food some more... This is the standard Croques Madam (ham and cheese with egg and hollandaise.) Sauce looks a bit on the thick side...

The burrito... I don't know that I can get too poetic about this, but let's just say it's good.

A lovely, lovely pesto and roasted veggie hash...

This dish was a bit odd. It was called a torta, but it was more like a Perkins bread bowl full of cheese with some avacado on top... Hey, you can't get everything right... There were some eggs in there somewhere... **BTW No disrespect to the Perkins bread bowls. They have gotten me through some hard times...

We outlasted the band and the crazy dancers. You could say it was a major success, aside from the incident where Alyssa was touching a stranger affectionately, thinking it was her fiance, Paul. Love is in the air, people. Find it at the Aster.

Mighty Mighty

Nightengale ****4/5 stars

Today I'm happy to say that I can bring you a higher review than 3 point something. People, Nightengale is just so effing charming. A little deco, a little mod, with super comfy bar stools and booths. I've spent several late evening hours here, sipping half-priced bottles of sparkling rose and beautifully crafted whisky cocktails, listening to vinyl and then stumbling home, blurry-eye'd and happy. But we're here to talk about things that happen in the daylight. Brunchy kinds of things.

What if I told you that Nightengale has a DJ during brunch, spinning smooth soul and r&b. So delightful. What if I told you you can fit about 6-7 people comfortably in their big, luscious booths. Can you dig?

Let's get to the drinks. The bloodies, while totally regular, come with a baby Miller Highlife. Something about a tiny beer (it's like seeing puppies or babies for normal people.) Nicki raved about the coffee. It's Peace and they brew it really right. 

The menu's got good stuff. A hash, a benny, a scramble, shrimp and grits. If you have a sweet tooth, you might not be satisfied with the only sweet option, yeasted flap jacks. We did not try them. They might be amazing?

Say hello to the hash. Pretty, isn't she? Although, the little cubed chunks of pork were weird. I get weird about meat in weird shapes. But the flavor was fantastic.

The Benny (above) is better than average. The Scramble (below) was smaller than average...

Holy pile of mushroom, ham, egg heaven. I want to crawl into these biscuits and gravy and die. Portion is a little out of control, eh?

And finally, meet the pork shoulder with sunny side eggs and masa cakes. Giddyup.

Let's recap. Nightengale = great style, great ambiance, average bloodies, tiny beers, great coffee and super savory food. Plus, the owner's name is Jasha (yes, like Saisha with a "J"). Must be fate. So anyway, grab six or seven of your closest buds, slide yourselves into one of those great big booths and prepare to get down. Or if you only come out at night (the lean and hungry type) try Thursdays. The DJs are salty and so are the fries.

Nighty, night y'all.

Ice House ***3.5/5 stars

Live music is perhaps one of the best enhancements to any brunch. I'm noticing this trend more and more around town, and now I don't want to go anywhere without. Ice House makes mornings seem enchanted. The space is open, yet warm. The lighting is glowy. The acoustics are perfection. I want to stay forever, but I can't afford it.

I totally stole this photo. Forgot to get a good image of the whole space.

Live folk. Perfect for brunch.

The food menu here has your standard snobby fare. It contains words like duck and brisket and truffle and brioche.

The drink menu contains words like Wangdangsupertang and Chesty Larue. Both of which I consumed. The Wangdang tastes like Tang, which my dad started drinking after his stomach couldn't handle real OJ. I hope I don't inherit that fate. Tang is fake orange juice. An there ain't nothin' right about fake OJ, especially with vodka in it. Reminds me of that one time in college when we bought a 2-liter of orange soda and a liter of Phillips, emptied half of the 2-liter of soda and added the entire liter of vodka. Buh bye.

The Chesty

Pretty regular bloody.

So far we're just floatin' along with our cocktails and The Graduate soundtrack. Waitin' for the fabulous-sounding food to arrive. But first, our Brunchitizer™! Savory eu claire with bacon and fried egg. Actually, wished it was a little more sweet a little less savory...

Here it comes. Mushrooms Crepes were...okay. Something off about the texture and flavor.

The Crispy Pork Biscuit with gravy. Al liked it. As always, looks like vomita to me.

The Salmon Benedict. Wish I would have had this instead of the Crepes...

The breakfast burger, yo, on english muffin, see. Fantastic.

While Ice House wasn't the best food or best service, the atmosphere alone wins it major points. Ladies, make your OK Cupid date take you so you don't have to pick up the check. Otherwise, we could all get second jobs working the overnight at SA.

The ice isn't off yet...

Peace out from Bad Eggs.

Mickey's Diner **2.5/5 stars

Oh, don't look at me like that. I know you think Mickey's deserves more stars. But it's already had its share inside these crusty, narrow walls... Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilo Estavez, Garrison Keillor and the great Lindsay Lohan...speaking of crusty...

This is your typical dining car setup. And they've been serving breakfast 24/7 for over 70 years. It shows. The servers have been there almost as long. They're over it. Like, wayyyyy over it.

The table-side juke boxes don't function, but the song collection is pretty killer.

Menu is what you'd expect. Omelettes, meats and potatoes. Cakes. Burgers. Malts. Hypertension.

Our server tossed this plate at me. Denver with hashbrowns. The browns here are actually pretty rad. Super chunky and crunchy.

A well-balanced breakfast. Good cakes, yep.

They will gladly serve those who behave. Those who don't they most likely won't. You take your chances when you roll in all buzzed up on Mike's Hards after a Nickleback concert at the Excel. Just sayin...

Eli's East ***3.5/5 stars

Juli, Kel and Nick joined me on the northeast side of town this fine afternoon for late brunch, or as Kelly likes to call it, alcoholism with a side of toast. If Eli's second location is half as cool as the first, we're in for a treat.

The layout here is pretty great. Comfy booths, warm wood and good lighting. 

Unlike the south side, the bar has craft taps, wine and all the liquor your little drunken heart desires. The menu here is pretty fun. Chipotle Cheesesteak Omelet, Brunch penne (mac and cheese with bacon and egg), Turducken Benny (turkey sausage and duck confit hashbrowns...what??!!) Beef Stroganoff Omelet...Huh??!!

Drinks first. Mimosas, screw ups and coffee with baileys...no espresso here. Baaaaw.

 

They have a tomatillo bloody I was wanting to try, but I accidentally ordered the house. Fine choice.

The lovely pastrami hash...if you think pastrami is lovely.

The spinach salad. #hbusa It was a bit over-dressed, and I wish it had fresh mozz instead of smoked.

One of the two things Nick orders regularly. A breakfast sammy. Featuring gouda, tomato, applewood smoked bacon. Rarrrr....

The atmosphere was good, the service was good, the company was good. Two thumbs up for Eli's East!
 
NOTE: the women's restroom door needs to be messed with in order to get it to lock. Juli learned this after she busted in on some dude with his pants down. Why he was in the women's room, we can only assume... 

Now if you're not finished yet, and you know we're not, head over to Legend's across the street to drink away the afternoon...

Cheers from Bad Eggs.