A few things to note. The service here is mad slow and it wasnt even that busy. The server was not awesome and was semi rude. The place is totally overpriced for a small venue down on leary way which is serving you home cooking. I had a chicken sandwich which was o.k. I honestly dont remember much about it at all except that the chicken breast was small and straight from costco.
L. had a burger which I dont think he thought was that good. And K. got down on a veggie sandwich which by the time she got done picking out the veggies from some dry ass white bread looked like a hot mess. All of our sandwiches came with a side of pringles, which just made the $10 wack sandwich entertaining. Other menu items included green bean casserole, wings and a bunch of pizza. I am still trying to figure out how all of the items fit the minnesota mold and I still feel lots of them are a huge reach. Its almost like lots of signature things from the midwest are all wrapped up in the disguise of minnesota, since lots of people here wouldnt know the difference. Boo.
The decor is interesting, lots of beer signs, dark wood booths and some random nods to the midwest. The lighting needs to be dimmed to create a better ambiance because it felt like you were in an airport bar.
Highlights were the deep fried cheese curds, but I still dont know why they served them with marinara...they aren't mozzarella sticks. They came out perfectly hot and not that greasy. Kinda hard to fuck up deep fried cheese though...I am not sure if they are enough to take me back there but maybe I could be convinced.
Also, this place boasts a unique bar serving up a variety of midwest beers and then some. They also have a creative cocktail menu (that makes up drinks that are not from minnesota) with a pretty good bloody mary, complete with a cheese curd on a stick and the small light beer on the side. This is one thing I do love about the midwest!
Overall, I am still interested in trying the pizza because I do happen to like thin crust. However, I have continued to read several reviews about this place and most of them still unfavorable even though they have been open long enough to work out the kinks. I also read that the people who own this are the same people who run Top Pot....come on guys.
Ironically, I am off to the midwest tomorrow and am planning to indulge in some authentic regional fare. Damn, I love chesse.
Zayda Buddy's
5405 Leary Ave NW
2 comments:
this place sounds wack! anyone know how much a can of pringles cost when on sale at either Walgreens or Rite Aid....$1. I love pringles and will always buy them for a $1, but not when I'm paying $10 for what sounds like a poorly put together sandwich with a weak midwest theme.
I'd be curious about this Minnesota pizza, but I just spoke w/ a buddy of mine from there and he doesn't know any MN pizza. But I do like pizza.
Thanks for the heads up White Pepper. Keep it hot.
CrumbYum
this damn place. w.p. and i had fashioned such high expectations off of the urbanspoon recommendation, but were sorely disappointed. i mean, don't tater tot casserole, fried cheese curds, and cheesy poutine fuel excitement??? unfortunately, by the time we got there, i wasn't hungry enough to order pizza, which is what i was most curious about. so i went "light" and got the veggie sandwich, which was a hot mess of sweet red pepper feta spread, hummus, spinach, eggplant, and zucchini, and provolone slapped between two sheets of toasted "sourdough" which was neither sour nor hearty. dammit, i must have had too much chex mix at w.p.'s crib.
however, the cheese curds were BOMB. i love cheese curds...that shit is like classis MN state fair fare. salty, hot, cheesy. if i lived in ballard, i might head down here for some cheese curds during happy hour, but they're not drawing me back.
last but not least, the $7.00 Ten-dollar Bloody Mary. That, my friends, was expert. the menu didn't lie when they said it was more of a meal than a drink. it was perfectly peppery, and spicy; garnished with a pickle wedge, olives, cheese curds, and a pearl onion. that pearl onion shit is so midwest to me. good call. and then i came with a short beer of old milwaukee. i'm not much of a carbonated bev person, so l-bear took mine down.
all in all, this place is not compelling. the idea is great, but since it's a family establishment, the lights are bright, and it's more of a disneyland take on the midwest (ala metropolitain's eurodisney). if they dimmed the lights, and let the booths fall into more disarray, it would feel more authentic...at the very least, inviting.
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