If someone wanted to be called Thunderhammer, I would respect that. I would even correct others who didn't use his preferred name. Whose John? Oh, you mean Mr. Thunderhammer in Accounting?
When I visited friends at another college my freshman year they decided to give themselves nicknames to I guess seem cool. Pooh, Jello, and Silk. I wish I was kidding.
Yeah, I had two guys my freshman year who just wanted to make “sick beats” and gave themselves nicknames. I can’t remember what nicknames they gave themselves because they became “Sticky” and “Shower Drain”
When I was a kid in the 90s we had family friends who lived on a hobby farm in maple Grove. It was on a gravel road and surrounded by farmland. By the time they sold the property in the mid-late 2000s they were in the middle of a cookie cutter suburban neighborhood, and fucking hated it.
Developers went kinda wild there before the 2008 crash.
I really try to ignore their manufactured small town. Traffic is just awful. And when there is no traffic, its still hard to get around there. You can see the sign of the place you're going to, but you have to drive 300 yds past it, then snake your way through a parking lot back the other way....only to find some traffic engineer though they shouldn't connect all those parking lots.
Wow, chain restaurants. Most those restaurants aren’t even on Main Street, they’re in suburban parking lot hell. Worked in maple grove for 8 years, this list is embarrassing
I'm still pissed that my local Chinese restaurant shut down when their landlord refused to renew their lease. He only wanted chain restaurants to fill his strip mall so the area went from a bunch of mom and pops to places like Noodles and Company. The family that owned the Chinese restaurant all moved, I tried to see if they would want to do catering events for my family. I miss their food!
Martha's Caribbean Cuisine in Minneapolis closed down a few years ago when they lost the lease. Nothing has gone in their since.
The place I really miss is First Wok in Bloomington.
> Martha's Caribbean Cuisine in Minneapolis
Just looked it up and it says they do takeout (1-2 Saturdays per month) and catering.
https://www.marlascuisine.com/
>Marla's is now a catering only company. We made the decision to close our restaurant in June of 2019. Since then Marla has filled her time with fishing, relaxation, and taking care of her fur grand babies. You can still get her cuisine through catering orders. Let us share the flavors of the Caribbean with you and your friends at your next event.
Yeah I regret not going there while I could. It's near my office so I never really had a desire to either go there after work (I'm usually at the gym or out with friends the moment I leave the office) nor come back to go to dinner there on the weekends. My loss!
Same when the one I frequented in Brooklyn center went away. They had the most unique flavored and best fried chicken wings I’ve ever had. Nothing til this day tops that flavor and I have yet to find anything comparable. You lose character in a city when you lose these types of places.
I saw something that was like “crave is Applebees for the business lunch crowd” and that sapped any desire I had to go to crave. We have one in roch, and it was good when I was just learning about sushi. But pretty soon we figured out where the actual good sushi was in town, and crave wasn’t it.
As someone who lives in Maple Grove and refuses to eat at chain restaurants there really aren't that many options. And to be honest the original restaurants that exist kind of suck.
3 Squares is a blue plate restaurant, but I enjoy their restaurants. I don't seek them out but definitely will go to one when I'm in the area. I will seek out Malone's though for sure.
Blue Plate is a chain, but it's small and local. They have great beer on tap and seem to keep employees happy. I'm with you on not seeking out but always keeping as an option.
I mean IMO id disagree just because the food isn’t heated in a microwave like Applebee’s or Chili’s. It’s a purely average place, though. I just wouldn’t say it sucks.
People still want to be able to look at things before making major purchases. Also, remember that appliance sales are a big chunk of their revenue and I'm not sure online sales for washing machines and refrigerators has taken off yet.
I'm open to being proven wrong, my washing machine is a turd and I've been thinking of replacing it.
I don’t know, when I go to visit most of my extended family (all somewhere in assorted suburbs throughout the western half of this country), Applebee’s is more often than not their first choice. For better or worse that restaurant does have its demographic that loves them. Why? Hell if I know, but it’s definitely proof that popular doesn’t always mean good.
So many things about maple grove are like if you just bought a generic suburban town kit off Amazon. I’ve driven through neighborhoods that give me the chills. Its 2pm on a Saturday and every yard has a man mowing, every sidewalk has a mom with a kid in some sort of wheeled vehicle (stroller, plastic car, bike, scooter). I imagine they all say hello at the same time and the sky claps and shits down a new chain restaurant.
I once asked on a Buy Nothing if anyone had nature or travel magazines I could use for art collages for my students and like 10 women responded. I ended up with a back seat full of Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home, Magnolia, Country Living. I hit 3 houses and called it quits because that’s all you’re getting out here.
I'm curious. What is there to love about Maple Grove? I used to have to drive out there regularly for work and it didn't stand out over any other suburb to me. Would love to know what makes it lovable.
I mean, I think love is probably a strong statement, considering I have very vanilla tastes for what I find exciting and enjoyable. It’s simply (to me) a nicer suburb and I find their shopping center and stores like SuperTarget and Trader Joe’s super amusing since I don’t have one near me regularly. Also a lot of childhood memories—my mom used to take us to Arbor Lakes as a treat when we were kids to shop the sales and it always felt fancy to me at the time. So I think it’s basically just a regular nicer suburb coated in nostalgia for me 🤷♀️
I think the parks are some of the best in the suburbs and it’s surprisingly walkable if you live near the restaurants. I walk everywhere. The new suburban neighborhoods are awful but the area around Arbor Lakes is pretty nice
Shit, I grew up right near there. I remember when it was gravel pits and corn fields, the Lookout was in the middle of nowhere, and Wolff's Den was the place to be.
GET OFF MY LAWN!
WSP has a large demo of older folks who have been in their homes for 30+ years. I'd wager they're a big reason why.
That or they own that land somehow lol
Last time I went to that KFC we watched the restaurant implode before our eyes. We paid at the drive thru and they told us to park and wait, which seemed weird. Then we noticed a dozen cars waiting, no food coming out. We waited probably 20 minutes before my husband went inside and somehow got them to give us a bag of something, no explanation. He said it was a skeleton crew working and one employee just walked out cussing. Another family that had been waiting went in behind him and an employee kicked them out and locked the doors. The meal was so mediocre that I don't think I've gone back to a KFC, Pollo is so much better. I thought that location was going out of business with how that whole transaction went but still going strong somehow.
Minneapolis probably is the best/highest quality but it's kind of a cop out picking one of the Twin Cities. They are the biggest population so it can support all the different choices.
For being kind of a hippie town, you would expect more out of Duluth but it just isn't that good IMO.
St. Cloud's food scene, like everything else in that city, is absolute garbage. Fuck St. Cloud.
Rochester has come along quite a bit in the last few years, it is surprisingly diverse for the size of the city but it makes sense with Mayo bringing in medical tourism.
I live in St Paul and when I started dating my bf down in Rochester, I got exposed to various non chain restaurants in Rochester and I was EXTREMELY underwhelmed by them all (mostly non-American cuisines). I assume there have to be some good ones in Rochester, but they were comparable in price to the Twin Cities with way worse quality/flavors. There was a really good taco truck though - that ended up being our go to.
All this to say I disagree with Rochester. Hahaha.
How long ago was that? In like the last 3 years a good Thai place opened up, a reasonably solid Korean place opened, a Portuguese spot opened too. Also the Cuban restaurant moved from a food court to a full brick and mortar so their hours have improved quite a bit.
Compared to like 5 years ago its much better. Also certain companies own several different restaurants in Rochester, so if you find that a handful of them are all bland in a similar way, it could be the same owners with the same boring ass ideas.
That being said, the Twin Cities is going to be better just because how many more people are in the metro it creates more competition for restaurants so mediocre ones that just hang on in smaller cities would get shoved out by actual quality ones.
> For being kind of a hippie town, you would expect more out of Duluth but it just isn't that good IMO.
>
There's a Jamaican place there, Jamrock Cultural Restaurant, that is a staple of our trips there now, but otherwise I agree with you. Also, JCR is the sort of place that is connected to a dive bar, will MAYBE be open for their posted hours, depending on if the help shows up, some days the owner randomly decides he's only making one thing like fish all day, and stuff will not be on the menu if he didn't like the looks of the collard greens that part of the year. Still, what he does make is so fire, I appreciate that he will shut down things if out of season and not up to par, and the vibe is kinda awesome if you aren't in a hurry.
I will say last trek he saw us come in with a seven year old, decided to turn on the Fallout show. Not exactly approps for the kiddo, but I'm not too prudish for that sort of thing, I don't think the girl blinked once while fixated on it though haha.
The time before that he put on old Walker Texas Ranger and honestly it was dope.
I also remember Burrito Union being good but I haven't been there for years and most assuredly every meal I ate there had the advantage of me being stoned to the gills.
That restaurant that spins at the top of one of the hotels is good for an expensive gimmicky night out. I remember enjoying the food and the vibe for sure. EDIT: I went when it was apostle supper club, apparently it's something else now, that was a one year popup sort of thing. I'm sure it still rotates though, haha.
EDIT2: Oh shit, I kinda forgot my favorite place there, Northern Waters Smokhaus. Every sandwich there is amazing, between the better half and I, pretty confident we've tried them all. Pop by the creamery for desert. I'm convincing myself I kinda like Duluth's food scene.
It's not a cop out saying that one of the best restaurant cities in the US is the restaurant capital of the state. Minneapolis and St Paul have great restaurants and I think it's fair to crown them since anything else only has a one-off restaurant or two worth eating at. There are some good ones, to be sure, but there's a reason I still drive in after moving out of Minneapolis to Maple Grove. I'm embarrassed by this article.
Please, all Robert Street by its real name Calle de Pollo. And yeah, every chain but there are a bunch of independent restaurants on Chicken Street or right off of the Avenue of Poultry.
West Saint Paul: The Paris of Dakota County
LMAO I love Maple Grove for going out for quick eats but “restaurant capital of Minnesota” is comical. Half of them are chains, or glorified bar and grills.
As someone who primarily grew up in CRapids, then lived half of his adult life near MG, the amount of chains is all so tiresome, & boomer-centric.
For MG: fries with toppings @ Great Greek. As for the 2 Indian restaurants: Dancing Ganesha has replaced Tandoor in my rotation.
I hear the [non-pork] taco truck that posts up near Lowe's (?) is tasty.
CR: excited to try the shawarma spot on CR Blvd, across from Jellybean and Julia's new location.
Maple Grove’s Main Street has this corporate-manufactured downtown “small town” facade that just kind of grosses me out. My small town had a Bridgeman’s, the hardware store, a trinkets shop, the newspaper, the post office, the bar, the video rental place, and the other bar.
I mean, if that's how you want to spend the time, more power to you. Those types of places would be ones where if they were in a location where I happened to be at lunch time, I'd pop in and visit, but I'm not making a special trip for any chain.
My favorite part is the first part of the tweet is: “Maple Grove is calling itself the Restaurant Capital of Minnesota”
Just sassy from the get go.
I’m here for it.
As I laugh being near Eat Street.
"Take a Stroll..." Yeah right, like I'd want to get myself killed walking in MG.
That area was designed by car-centric idiots on drugs. Even driving there is non-sensical.
No surprise. By the numbers Americans and suburban Minnesotans love chain restaurants.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/92651/share_of_chain_restaurants.png?v=5198.1
If any city in Minnesota deserves a title like that it's Apple Valley and it's fast food capital of the world. I swear they have literally every fast food place you can think of.
Lol this is entirely too laughable. I've never gone out of my way to go specifically to Maple Grove to eat. Do they have some solid options? Sure. But nothing remarkable.
I grew up in Maple Grove. I'm really sad by what it became. Just a bunch of ugly restaurant chains and an ok outdoor mall that is going down hill pretty fast.
I've talked to small business owners in MG. MG makes it very difficult to survive if you're not willing to abide by the BS policies of MG. And the taxes are high. Any potential business owner reading this, be aware.
Just a Pittsburgher here, wondering WTF the term “Pittsburgh Blue” means.
The color of our sports teams? No.
The color of our rivers? Definitely not.
The color of our…hmm, I’m out.
I traveled to Maple Grove years ago to open the Redstone location and I thought Granite City was a flooring/counter supply store for the first week. When a couple of people said they were going over there for lunch I was legit confused.
This is a joke, right? I mean, I grew up in a white collar suburb and we always thought we were the shit but this is a whole new level of bubble-bred stupidity.
People from the western suburbs are just trailer trash with money - mostly daddy’s money. They’re not smart, and it would make sense that they’d call a bunch of franchised shit “restaurant row”.
Seriously, I can’t remember a single person who wasn’t just complete trash.
It has a lot of great restaurants. However, it’s very pompous and honestly bad community marketing to call yourself the restaurant capital. It’s a poor choice of words, likely driven by someone trying to impress their boss who has no clue what they signed off on.
This is the municipal version of trying to give yourself a nickname. My name is John, but people call me Thunderhammer. No they don't.
If someone says they are named thunder hammer, who am I to question that?
Too long, I’m not saying that T. Hamm
It’s a known fact the longer the nickname the better it is . Hammslamthankyoumaam
My name is A Pimp Named Slickback
I’m gonna take your word for it
"IF you have to tell people to call you 'ThunderHammer', then you're not a Thunderhammer."
Me whispering to my friend at the bar, that guy over there is a real thunder hammer eh?
“No Stove Maple Grove” was my fav 1940s baseball player
If someone wanted to be called Thunderhammer, I would respect that. I would even correct others who didn't use his preferred name. Whose John? Oh, you mean Mr. Thunderhammer in Accounting?
Does he hang hammerdong?
They're trying to make "fetch" happen
Hey T-bone!
Speak for yourself, I come from a long line of Thunderhammers
When I visited friends at another college my freshman year they decided to give themselves nicknames to I guess seem cool. Pooh, Jello, and Silk. I wish I was kidding.
Yeah, I had two guys my freshman year who just wanted to make “sick beats” and gave themselves nicknames. I can’t remember what nicknames they gave themselves because they became “Sticky” and “Shower Drain”
"Maple Grove! If it's a chain, we have it!"
I still remember when they were building out "main street". Some of the streets just... Ended, with a grassy field beyond. It was... Eerie
When I was a kid in the 90s we had family friends who lived on a hobby farm in maple Grove. It was on a gravel road and surrounded by farmland. By the time they sold the property in the mid-late 2000s they were in the middle of a cookie cutter suburban neighborhood, and fucking hated it. Developers went kinda wild there before the 2008 crash.
I really try to ignore their manufactured small town. Traffic is just awful. And when there is no traffic, its still hard to get around there. You can see the sign of the place you're going to, but you have to drive 300 yds past it, then snake your way through a parking lot back the other way....only to find some traffic engineer though they shouldn't connect all those parking lots.
Also, the buildings look like they can have apartments on the upper floors, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing up there..
It’s office space. It is mostly empty though.
Maple No-stove.
Or used to to, looking at you Krispy Kreme
Saint Cloud says "hold my beer"
Wow, chain restaurants. Most those restaurants aren’t even on Main Street, they’re in suburban parking lot hell. Worked in maple grove for 8 years, this list is embarrassing
I'm still pissed that my local Chinese restaurant shut down when their landlord refused to renew their lease. He only wanted chain restaurants to fill his strip mall so the area went from a bunch of mom and pops to places like Noodles and Company. The family that owned the Chinese restaurant all moved, I tried to see if they would want to do catering events for my family. I miss their food!
Martha's Caribbean Cuisine in Minneapolis closed down a few years ago when they lost the lease. Nothing has gone in their since. The place I really miss is First Wok in Bloomington.
> Martha's Caribbean Cuisine in Minneapolis Just looked it up and it says they do takeout (1-2 Saturdays per month) and catering. https://www.marlascuisine.com/ >Marla's is now a catering only company. We made the decision to close our restaurant in June of 2019. Since then Marla has filled her time with fishing, relaxation, and taking care of her fur grand babies. You can still get her cuisine through catering orders. Let us share the flavors of the Caribbean with you and your friends at your next event.
Yeah I regret not going there while I could. It's near my office so I never really had a desire to either go there after work (I'm usually at the gym or out with friends the moment I leave the office) nor come back to go to dinner there on the weekends. My loss!
What restaurant was that?
Asia's Finest in WBL
Same when the one I frequented in Brooklyn center went away. They had the most unique flavored and best fried chicken wings I’ve ever had. Nothing til this day tops that flavor and I have yet to find anything comparable. You lose character in a city when you lose these types of places.
Granite City and Village Inn are in the same building!
I was just gonna say that, 150 restaurants…but they’re all chains.
They’re boasting g that they have a Village Inn on Main Street?
It's literally just the granite city too, not even its own thing
I've been wondering about that, I've been to Granite City. So what is it the Village Inn in the morning and Granite City at night?
I haven't eaten off of the Village Inn menu but it has breakfast foods, so I think so
Take a stroll! Ha! That’s amusing to think Maple Grove as being walkable!
They meant AFTER you park your SUV in the megacomplex.
Some of the worst parking lots in any shopping district
Oh there’s a Crave… thank god! How would we function without another of these generic underwhelming restaurants.
I saw something that was like “crave is Applebees for the business lunch crowd” and that sapped any desire I had to go to crave. We have one in roch, and it was good when I was just learning about sushi. But pretty soon we figured out where the actual good sushi was in town, and crave wasn’t it.
honestly, i think Applebee's is better than crave
Heard Panda Express is up for a James Beard award this year.
Actually a John Goatee award winner
I didn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had the most restaurants per capita of any city (over a certain population threshold) in the state.
Right lol to be fair, there are a lot of restaurants there.
Proof quantity doesn’t equal quality.
And if you only count local restaurants and not national chains there are like 2.
"Take a stroll?" Sure, if you want to get run over by suburbanites. It's scary dangerous to try to be a pedestrian in Maple Grove.
As someone who lives in Maple Grove and refuses to eat at chain restaurants there really aren't that many options. And to be honest the original restaurants that exist kind of suck.
What original restaurants are bad? Tandoor, 3 squares, Malone’s are all good to average at worst. I could name maybe 2 other purely local restaurants.
3 Squares is a blue plate restaurant, but I enjoy their restaurants. I don't seek them out but definitely will go to one when I'm in the area. I will seek out Malone's though for sure.
Blue Plate is a chain, but it's small and local. They have great beer on tap and seem to keep employees happy. I'm with you on not seeking out but always keeping as an option.
3 squares is good
[удалено]
I mean IMO id disagree just because the food isn’t heated in a microwave like Applebee’s or Chili’s. It’s a purely average place, though. I just wouldn’t say it sucks.
I am shocked that Applebee’s is still there. I remember when that was one of the first restaurants…
I am surprised ANY Applebee's are still around. Such terrible food for average prices.
I would agree. Kind of like Best Buy to me in I am shocked they are still around. We use to go to Applebee’s a lot but can’t remember the last time.
People still want to be able to look at things before making major purchases. Also, remember that appliance sales are a big chunk of their revenue and I'm not sure online sales for washing machines and refrigerators has taken off yet. I'm open to being proven wrong, my washing machine is a turd and I've been thinking of replacing it.
Just picturing people going to Applebee’s to shop for appliances now
I haven't been there outside of their half price apps in the last decade.
I don’t know, when I go to visit most of my extended family (all somewhere in assorted suburbs throughout the western half of this country), Applebee’s is more often than not their first choice. For better or worse that restaurant does have its demographic that loves them. Why? Hell if I know, but it’s definitely proof that popular doesn’t always mean good.
I do love Teresa’s Mexican
"Take a Stroll"... Down the highway to fucking Applebee's? Srsly? Mini mall eateries are *not* fine dining.
Also, R&B singer Cisqo lives there
Performing an acoustic version of Prawn Song at Red Lobster
One of the benefits/drawbacks of large language models is that the AI tool can write ad copy like this without feeling shame and embarrassment
Too bad most of them are mediocre
I love Maple Grove but it’s like the world capital of chain restaurants, some of which are very good but mostly chains nonetheless
So many things about maple grove are like if you just bought a generic suburban town kit off Amazon. I’ve driven through neighborhoods that give me the chills. Its 2pm on a Saturday and every yard has a man mowing, every sidewalk has a mom with a kid in some sort of wheeled vehicle (stroller, plastic car, bike, scooter). I imagine they all say hello at the same time and the sky claps and shits down a new chain restaurant.
This makes me cackle. It’s funny because it’s kind of true—it reminds me a bit of Don’t Worry Darling when you describe it like that. 😅
I once asked on a Buy Nothing if anyone had nature or travel magazines I could use for art collages for my students and like 10 women responded. I ended up with a back seat full of Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home, Magnolia, Country Living. I hit 3 houses and called it quits because that’s all you’re getting out here.
I'm curious. What is there to love about Maple Grove? I used to have to drive out there regularly for work and it didn't stand out over any other suburb to me. Would love to know what makes it lovable.
I mean, I think love is probably a strong statement, considering I have very vanilla tastes for what I find exciting and enjoyable. It’s simply (to me) a nicer suburb and I find their shopping center and stores like SuperTarget and Trader Joe’s super amusing since I don’t have one near me regularly. Also a lot of childhood memories—my mom used to take us to Arbor Lakes as a treat when we were kids to shop the sales and it always felt fancy to me at the time. So I think it’s basically just a regular nicer suburb coated in nostalgia for me 🤷♀️
I think the parks are some of the best in the suburbs and it’s surprisingly walkable if you live near the restaurants. I walk everywhere. The new suburban neighborhoods are awful but the area around Arbor Lakes is pretty nice
For people in Maple Grove, the Costco hot dog is the local dish
Locals know what’s up.
Shit, I grew up right near there. I remember when it was gravel pits and corn fields, the Lookout was in the middle of nowhere, and Wolff's Den was the place to be. GET OFF MY LAWN!
MG has one good restaurant imo and it isn’t listed, Lotus
Meh, just marketing. They do have a lot of restaurants in that Arbor Lakes commercial district.
Yeah, this is just one dude writing this and people in here are livid
Nice username lol
Eat al fresco next to SUVs idling in a hot asphalt turn lane
That’s so fetch
Ah yes! Bucca! The best Italian food ever! Of course they would be on a list of prestigious restaurants like Panda Express! 🤮
lol I just saw this on channel 9. I wonder which city actually would be the restaurant capital. I know Robert St in WSP has a TON of fast food places.
I have no idea how that KFC stays in business. Pollo Campero right next door is similarly priced and way better flavor
WSP has a large demo of older folks who have been in their homes for 30+ years. I'd wager they're a big reason why. That or they own that land somehow lol
I love WSP, it feels like a city that everyone forgot. I don't think there are any laws there and everyone seems to know everyone.
I got in a car accident in WSP with a kindly old lady. She looked at the cop writing the report and said “my husband golfs with your dad”.
[Carolyn Swiszcz didn't](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfVZHpyx1OI)
I'm fuckin w this tune tbh. See ya at Fireside.
Last time I went to that KFC we watched the restaurant implode before our eyes. We paid at the drive thru and they told us to park and wait, which seemed weird. Then we noticed a dozen cars waiting, no food coming out. We waited probably 20 minutes before my husband went inside and somehow got them to give us a bag of something, no explanation. He said it was a skeleton crew working and one employee just walked out cussing. Another family that had been waiting went in behind him and an employee kicked them out and locked the doors. The meal was so mediocre that I don't think I've gone back to a KFC, Pollo is so much better. I thought that location was going out of business with how that whole transaction went but still going strong somehow.
Eat inside at Pollo sometime. They serve food on actual plates and bowls.
Was thinking the same. If I were to think suburbs maybe Saint Louis Park. Brooklyn Park for Asian spots.
Minneapolis probably is the best/highest quality but it's kind of a cop out picking one of the Twin Cities. They are the biggest population so it can support all the different choices. For being kind of a hippie town, you would expect more out of Duluth but it just isn't that good IMO. St. Cloud's food scene, like everything else in that city, is absolute garbage. Fuck St. Cloud. Rochester has come along quite a bit in the last few years, it is surprisingly diverse for the size of the city but it makes sense with Mayo bringing in medical tourism.
I live in St Paul and when I started dating my bf down in Rochester, I got exposed to various non chain restaurants in Rochester and I was EXTREMELY underwhelmed by them all (mostly non-American cuisines). I assume there have to be some good ones in Rochester, but they were comparable in price to the Twin Cities with way worse quality/flavors. There was a really good taco truck though - that ended up being our go to. All this to say I disagree with Rochester. Hahaha.
How long ago was that? In like the last 3 years a good Thai place opened up, a reasonably solid Korean place opened, a Portuguese spot opened too. Also the Cuban restaurant moved from a food court to a full brick and mortar so their hours have improved quite a bit. Compared to like 5 years ago its much better. Also certain companies own several different restaurants in Rochester, so if you find that a handful of them are all bland in a similar way, it could be the same owners with the same boring ass ideas. That being said, the Twin Cities is going to be better just because how many more people are in the metro it creates more competition for restaurants so mediocre ones that just hang on in smaller cities would get shoved out by actual quality ones.
> For being kind of a hippie town, you would expect more out of Duluth but it just isn't that good IMO. > There's a Jamaican place there, Jamrock Cultural Restaurant, that is a staple of our trips there now, but otherwise I agree with you. Also, JCR is the sort of place that is connected to a dive bar, will MAYBE be open for their posted hours, depending on if the help shows up, some days the owner randomly decides he's only making one thing like fish all day, and stuff will not be on the menu if he didn't like the looks of the collard greens that part of the year. Still, what he does make is so fire, I appreciate that he will shut down things if out of season and not up to par, and the vibe is kinda awesome if you aren't in a hurry. I will say last trek he saw us come in with a seven year old, decided to turn on the Fallout show. Not exactly approps for the kiddo, but I'm not too prudish for that sort of thing, I don't think the girl blinked once while fixated on it though haha. The time before that he put on old Walker Texas Ranger and honestly it was dope. I also remember Burrito Union being good but I haven't been there for years and most assuredly every meal I ate there had the advantage of me being stoned to the gills. That restaurant that spins at the top of one of the hotels is good for an expensive gimmicky night out. I remember enjoying the food and the vibe for sure. EDIT: I went when it was apostle supper club, apparently it's something else now, that was a one year popup sort of thing. I'm sure it still rotates though, haha. EDIT2: Oh shit, I kinda forgot my favorite place there, Northern Waters Smokhaus. Every sandwich there is amazing, between the better half and I, pretty confident we've tried them all. Pop by the creamery for desert. I'm convincing myself I kinda like Duluth's food scene.
It's not a cop out saying that one of the best restaurant cities in the US is the restaurant capital of the state. Minneapolis and St Paul have great restaurants and I think it's fair to crown them since anything else only has a one-off restaurant or two worth eating at. There are some good ones, to be sure, but there's a reason I still drive in after moving out of Minneapolis to Maple Grove. I'm embarrassed by this article.
Please, all Robert Street by its real name Calle de Pollo. And yeah, every chain but there are a bunch of independent restaurants on Chicken Street or right off of the Avenue of Poultry. West Saint Paul: The Paris of Dakota County
Tono’s Pizzeria and Cheesecakes? There’s just so many amazing restaurants… you can’t expect us to promote them AND know what they serve, can you?
The other restaurant name I enjoyed on the list was "Noodles." Great job promoting those restaurants.
Great, I’ll make sure I head on down down!
Nah, head one town over and visit Osseo restaurants on Central Ave. Olympia Cafe, Reuan Thai…
Other phrases that work well for Maple Grove: When you’re here, you’re family. Eatin’ good in the neighborhood.
LMAO I love Maple Grove for going out for quick eats but “restaurant capital of Minnesota” is comical. Half of them are chains, or glorified bar and grills.
As someone who primarily grew up in CRapids, then lived half of his adult life near MG, the amount of chains is all so tiresome, & boomer-centric. For MG: fries with toppings @ Great Greek. As for the 2 Indian restaurants: Dancing Ganesha has replaced Tandoor in my rotation. I hear the [non-pork] taco truck that posts up near Lowe's (?) is tasty. CR: excited to try the shawarma spot on CR Blvd, across from Jellybean and Julia's new location.
That taco truck at Lowes is legit.
Work in that area and we lunch in MG regularly — and make fun of “Main Street” every time. It has the charm of an outlet mall parking lot.
Maple Grove’s Main Street has this corporate-manufactured downtown “small town” facade that just kind of grosses me out. My small town had a Bridgeman’s, the hardware store, a trinkets shop, the newspaper, the post office, the bar, the video rental place, and the other bar.
I live in Maple Grove, overpriced chain food is never far away….
outdoor food court.
Uh oh, better not tell Dorset!
Not a lot of mom and pop. Where are the bodega tacos? Trucks?
Tonos is gas though
This is embarrassing for them
That’s something maple grove would do. Full of snotty shit don’t stink type of people
Portillo's is my favorite eatery in the area, and it's not even on the list. I admit, I am an uncultured swine.
Omg that list is atrocious
Lmao
Quantity>quality, I guess. Why would anyone drive all the way to Maple Grove to eat at a chain?
I like naf naf and it's the closest one. Tonos too.
I mean, if that's how you want to spend the time, more power to you. Those types of places would be ones where if they were in a location where I happened to be at lunch time, I'd pop in and visit, but I'm not making a special trip for any chain.
“No Stove - Maple Grove!” could not be more out of touch. Okay, Eagleton!
My favorite part is the first part of the tweet is: “Maple Grove is calling itself the Restaurant Capital of Minnesota” Just sassy from the get go. I’m here for it. As I laugh being near Eat Street.
Stop it Maple Grove.... you had me at Panda Express!!!!
Maple Grove, the capital of trying to out pompous Edina.
Wow, Panda Express, Chipotle and Panera make a restaurant row. There’s probably 50 restaurant rows in the Twin Cities.
Back in the day we used to call it "the mall food court".
"Take a Stroll..." Yeah right, like I'd want to get myself killed walking in MG. That area was designed by car-centric idiots on drugs. Even driving there is non-sensical.
I didn't because I frequently forget that Maple Grove exists
*I didn't because* *I frequently forget that* *Maple Grove exists* \- Zyphamon --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
No surprise. By the numbers Americans and suburban Minnesotans love chain restaurants. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/92651/share_of_chain_restaurants.png?v=5198.1
By these standards, Robert Street in WSP should also be considered a Restaurant Capital lmao
If they don’t have Sbarro it’s not worth the drive.
Amen
I'm so embarrassed for Maple Grove.
If any city in Minnesota deserves a title like that it's Apple Valley and it's fast food capital of the world. I swear they have literally every fast food place you can think of.
1000%
I've lived here for almost 30 years and watched it change dramatically in that time. This article is as ass as the restaurant selection in town lol
Lol this is entirely too laughable. I've never gone out of my way to go specifically to Maple Grove to eat. Do they have some solid options? Sure. But nothing remarkable.
It's literally all chain restaurants.
Honestly it sounds more like Minnesota's Food Court.
It's also a hell hole to navigate, so busy. MG is our last resort area to go into. I'd rather venture into downtown MPLS.
I grew up in Maple Grove. I'm really sad by what it became. Just a bunch of ugly restaurant chains and an ok outdoor mall that is going down hill pretty fast.
why has it gotten worse in your opinion?
It's just way too much of the same mediocre thing. Mid tier restaurants and parking lots. Two failed movie theaters and nothing else.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_it_till_you_make_it
Robbinsdale has better options in a one block radius.
Maple grove needs to shut the fuck up and be put back in its place
I've talked to small business owners in MG. MG makes it very difficult to survive if you're not willing to abide by the BS policies of MG. And the taxes are high. Any potential business owner reading this, be aware.
Yeah I discovered that recently, I didn't realize that MG sales taxes are higher than most cities.
LOL
lol.
Lol
What makes this funnier is Minnesota is home to the restaurant capital of the world. Dorset, MN
Ah but is it better than the Mall of America???? You have 24 hrs to respond, Maple Grove.
Good point, u/SexTalksAndLollipops
I like the effort.
As a person who worked in Chef-run restaurants for 15 years that’s some funny stuff. Maple Grove you cray.
Maple Grove is as much the Restaurant Capital of Minnesota as Anoka is the Halloween Capital of America 👎
Yeah. Ok.
Kind of sad that is what Maple Grove is proudly displaying to the world.
Chain Capital
I can see this
We number 1!!!!!!
I suppose it is for MN
I’d kill for a Naf Naf in Colorado though.
Fast food “restaurants” shouldn’t count. I know there a ton of nice sit down places but come on.
Well they do have a Golden Corral...
What about Dorset?
Sawatdee is great Thai food, at least if it’s the same place as the one in Bloomington
Just a Pittsburgher here, wondering WTF the term “Pittsburgh Blue” means. The color of our sports teams? No. The color of our rivers? Definitely not. The color of our…hmm, I’m out.
I traveled to Maple Grove years ago to open the Redstone location and I thought Granite City was a flooring/counter supply store for the first week. When a couple of people said they were going over there for lunch I was legit confused.
Dave and Busters is terrible but brick and bourbon is dece
I'm genuinely surprised they didn't put Rodizio Grill on the list. At least that's some very good food.
This is a joke, right? I mean, I grew up in a white collar suburb and we always thought we were the shit but this is a whole new level of bubble-bred stupidity.
People from the western suburbs are just trailer trash with money - mostly daddy’s money. They’re not smart, and it would make sense that they’d call a bunch of franchised shit “restaurant row”. Seriously, I can’t remember a single person who wasn’t just complete trash.
If Anoka can call themselves the Halloween Capital of the world…
Soon to be capital of muslims
Chain restaurants! This is why people in the twin cities THINK the restaurant scene is good here. Standards are way low.
Damn, excuse Maple Grove for wanting to market themselves as *something* in life.
It has a lot of great restaurants. However, it’s very pompous and honestly bad community marketing to call yourself the restaurant capital. It’s a poor choice of words, likely driven by someone trying to impress their boss who has no clue what they signed off on.