Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

Red's Savoy Pizza ~ St Paul, MN (Coon Rapids, Hugo, and Uptown Minneapolis)

Cuisine: Pizza
Restaurant Features: Bar, Flatscreen TVs, On-Site Parking,
Location: St Paul, MN

Address: 421 East 7th Street  St Paul, MN 55101 651-227-1437
Hours: Mon-Sat 11a-11p  Sun 11a-10:30p
Links:  Google Map

 *Red's Savoy Pizza in Coon Rapids, Hugo, St Paul, and Uptown are all Delivery/Take-out Only

Atmosphere: Red's Savoy Inn is the original Savoy location, found just on the edge of downtown St Paul at the corner of 7th St. and Lafayette.  There are two entrances into Savoy's on the west side of the building, one near the parking lot in back and one one the side near the front.   The restaurant is divided into two sides, with the Bar Area being what you see when you first enter.  The bar stretches the length of the room, which has tables and booths as well.

The main dining room is adjacent to the bar area with an open walkway in between.  Also between the two rooms is a giant aquarium with live tropical fish.  It is quite dim inside Savoy, there are no windows and the only lighting comes from the soft yellow glass orbs overhead. 

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 Menu:  Appetizers at Savoy Inn include Buffalo Wings, Deep Fried Cheese Ravioli, Mozzarella Sticks, Jalapeño Poppers, French Fries, Onions Wings, Garlic Cheese Bread.

Sandwich options are the Meatball Dip and Hot dago with Cheese.

Pizzas come in two sizes, 10" or 14", Hand Tossed Thin Crust. Topping options include Sausage, Pepperoni, Hamburger, Mushrooms, Onion, Green Pepper, Green Olive, Black Olive, Sauerkraut, Pickles, Canadian Bacon, Banana Peppers, Jalapeños, Pineapple, Bacon, Shrimp and Anchovies.

Price guide: Appetizers $5-7  10" Cheese Pizza $8.45  Toppings $1-2/ea 14" Cheese $11.40  Toppings $1.50/2 ea (premium toppings more)
What We ordered: My companions and I started with an order of mozzarella sticks.  They were just as mozzi-sticks should be, crispy golden brown on the outside and hot melted mozzarella inside.  It came with a side of sauce.

 

Our group ordered a variety of pizzas.   The pizza has a very thin crust at the base of each creation, then covered with spicy pizza sauce, toppings and mozzarella cheese.  This was a 10" Pepperoni, Mushroom and Shrimp.  I have really come to enjoy shrimp on pizza over the past couple of years and this was the first time I had tried it at Savoy.  The shrimps were very little and there were plenty of them covering the pizza.   The not-too-thick-not-too-thin pepperoni had great flavor while not being too greasy.  We ordered our pizzas "well-done" so the cheese on all the edge pieces was browned and crispy.

 

Another pizza was a 10" Pepperoni, Banana Pepper and Onion.  Great combo of toppings! The banana peppers spiced it up a notch and the onion added a touch of sweetness, perfectly complimented by the zesty pepperoni.  The crust is very thin and crispy, but not at all chewy.  Overall the Savoy pizzas were a success and a few of my companions even declared Savoy pizza to be their favorite or "the best".

 

We also had a 14" Special Pizza with Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushroom, Onion, Green Pepper and Green Olive.  This pizza was loaded with ingredients and cheese.

 

One of my companions also ordered a side of Rigatoni with sauce.  I thought the portion size was just right for a side order.

Service:  It wasn't very busy on the late Wednesday evening of my visit, so we had no problem getting a parking place in the small lot in the back of Savoy's and easily found a table inside the restaurant.  Our server was nice but took her time checking on us even though there were very few other customers.  Food was prepared in a reasonable amount of time.
Overall Impression: Savoy pizza is one of the better thin-crust pizzerias around St Paul, especially if you like a spicier sauce and pizza loaded with toppings and cheese.  The prices are comparable to many other local pizzerias but you get a hefty amount of toppings for the money.

Tiffany's Sports Lounge ~ St Paul, MN

Cuisine: American, Bar & Grill 
Restaurant Features:  Sports Bar, Free Wi-Fi, Games, Happy Hour, Large/Flat Screen TVs, Live Music, Kids Menu, Patio Dining
Location: St Paul, MN (Highland Park neighborhood)
Address: 2051 Ford Parkway St. Paul, MN 55116 651.690.4747  (corner of Ford Pkwy & Cleveland Ave)

Bar Hours: Mon-Sat 11a-2a  Sun 11a-1a

Kitchen Hours: Mon-Sat 11a-11p  Sun 11a-10p

Links:  Tiffany's Sports Lounge Website   Google Map

Atmosphere: Located on the corner of Ford Parkway and Cleveland Ave, Tiffany's Sports Lounge is located in the heart of St Paul's Highland Park neighborhood and is close to many of the local Universities.  Tiffany's first opened in 1971 and has been a cornerstone in the area ever since.  "Lounge" is the perfect name for the big and open space that has a bar, pool tables and games on one side and tables and booths on the other.  It is a fun place with a friendly and energetic vibe.

One thing you will notice as soon as you walk in to Tiffany's is that there are big screen TV's mounted everywhere ~ I think I counted nearly 14 of them! Every seat in the house has a good view of one TV or another.  As you can expect, Tiff's is the happening place to be during just about any sporting event, including all local games. Tiffany's is also the St Paul headquarters for KU Jayhawks games.

Menu: Appetizers at Tiffany's Sports Lounge include Hand-Cut Fries, Quesadillas, Chicken Wings (Asian, Buffalo or Diablo), Chicken Fingers, Mozzarella Sticks, Beer-Battered Onion Rings, Sampler Platter, Chicken Nachos, and Mini Tacos.  Soups include French Onion, Chili, and a Soup du Jour.

Salads offered are Chicken Caesar, Salmon Caesar, Cobb, Buffalo Chicken, and Dinner Salad.

Sandwiches at Tiffany's include French Dip, Grand Avenue (turkey on foccacia), Club, Reuben, Italian Beef, Tiffany Dagwood (ham, turkey, bacon, swiss, cheddar), Ford Parkway (turkey with cranberry chipotle cheese), and Juicy Luigi (Italian sausage stuffed with provolone in marinara).  Specialty sandwiches include Fish & Chips, Salmon Sandwich, Steak Sandwich, BLT, Walleye, Steak Wrap, Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Grilled Cheese, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and Southwest Chicken Sandwich.

Tiffany's burgers are all made with fresh Black Angus and include Cheeseburger, Hangover (fried egg bacon and cheddar over beef patty), Tommy Burger (Cajun spiced, jalapeños, bacon, pepperjack and chipotle mayo), Ground Turkey Burger, Black & Bleu, Tiffany Melt (sauteed onions and melted cheese on toast), Highland Park Burger (loaded with everything!), and the Infamous Summit Slam (over 1 lb of meat and toppings served with fries and a 24 oz. Summit beer- eat it all and win a T-shirt!).

Tiffany's also has "Sliders" which are mini-sized burgers and sandwiches (3 to an order).  Sliders include Cheeseburger, Italian Burgers, BBQ Pork, Blue Gill Burgers and Fire Dogs (jalapeño sausage smothered in Diablo sauce topped with onions, peppers and pepperjack cheese).

Save room for dessert! Tiff's has Turtle Cheesecake, a Hot Brownie Sundae, Cheesecake and Root Beer Float.

Kids Menu includes Grilled Cheese, Chicken Fingers, Cheeseburger and Mac & Cheese

Price guide:  Appetizers $5-10  Salads $9-11  Sandwiches/Burgers $9-10

Happy Hour:

• Mon-Fri 3-6pm
• Half-Priced Wings (Buffalo, Diablo, Asian) and Mini Tacos
• Top Shelf 2-for-1s
• $3 Tap Beer (24oz) Miller Lite & Premium Grain Belt

Weekly Specials:
Sunday- Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar (10a-6p) $6  Free Kids meal with Adult Meal
Monday-  Double Cheeseburger w/Fries $6.95, MNF Miller Lite or Premo 20oz $3.75
Tuesday- Cubano Sandwich $8.95   Hot Ham & Cheese w/Soup $7.95
Wednesday- Wimpy Basket $6.95  Wimpy Platter w/Fries $18.50  Midwest Pint pf Beer $2.50
Thursday- Sloppy Joe Sliders w/Fries $8.95   Endless Mug of Miller Lite $8
Friday- Homemade Weekly Pasta $12.95
Saturday- Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich w/ Fries $8.95 Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar (10a-6p) $6

What We Ordered: My companion and I shared a bowl of the Soup du Jour which happened to be Cream of Chicken Wild Rice.  It was a hot and hearty soup, perfect for warming up on a freezing cold day like we have had all too frequently lately.  The soup was very flavorful with the chicken, vegetables, wild rice and and was also seasoned nicely.  It included a hint of some kind of pepper and just a little kick to it that I wasn't expecting but thoroughly enjoyed.  The breadstick was pretty good too; warm, soft and slighty buttered with garlic salt.

 

I love sandwiches and while there were many that caught my eye at Tiffany's, I ordered my favorite sandwich of all, the Reuben.  It seems that I am always on a quest for a really good Reuben and this one at Tiffany's ranks up there with the best! The corned beef brisket is cooked for 8 hrs. in Guinness and special spices and was very flavorful and tender.  The meat was sliced thin and piled high on top of the buttery-grilled, swirled rye bread.  The Swiss cheese was melted perfectly and the sauerkraut and thousand island dressing gave it the extra zip to make it a most delicious Reuben.  The hand-cut fries were also excellent, just like what you get at the State Fair except slightly thinner.

 

My companion had the Blue Gill Burgers, which were three "sliders" AKA mini fish sandwiches.  Each of the three sandwiches had a nice-sized sunfish fillet that was slightly battered with bread crumb's and Leinenkugel's, then pan fried to a light golden brown.  The batter gave it a little bit of a crispy texture but it was very light and the fish was tender.  Each sandwich was topped with a tomato slice, romaine lettuce and garlic aioli sauce.  Very delicious! It is a treat to see sunfish on a local restaurant menu such as Tiff's.

 

The desserts also sounded wonderful so I tried the Turtle Cheesecake.  The cheesecake was layered, with a thin layer of chocolate cheesecake at the bottom that slightly marbles into the main layer of cheesecake, which was rich and smooth and creamy.  The top was covered with a thin layer of caramel cheesecake and then topped with candied pecans.  So good! Too rich for me to eat by myself or in one sitting for that matter, but I would definitely eat it again :)

Service: We were able to get a parking space on the street and a table immediately upon our arrival.  I did not notice a host/hostess the night of our visit so I assume it might be seat-yourself.  Our overall service at Tiffany's was very good!  Our server was very friendly and had several recommendations off the menu for us.  Drinks were brought and refilled quickly, as was our food. 

Overall Impression: Great Sports hangout!!  The recent renovation to the kitchen allows Tiffany's to serve really good food at extremely reasonable prices.  It is a very fun place to get a bite to eat and watch a game or play a round of pool, which makes it a popular place for local college kids as well as for families (anyone would enjoy it at Tiff's!).  There are many other sandwiches on the menu that I would like to try, as well as the burgers and wings.  I will be back to Tiffany's Sports Lounge to eat again very soon!

Oak City ~ Brooklyn Center & Bloomington, MN

Cuisine: American, Bar & Grill, Fish & Seafood, Pasta, Steaks
Restaurant Features: Bar, Flat Screen TVs, Happy Hour, Kids Menu, Live Music, On Site Parking, Sunday Brunch
Locations: Brooklyn Center & Bloomington, MN
Addresses and Maps:
Bloomington- 5001 American Blvd Bloomington, MN 55437 (952) 746-8887
Brooklyn Center- 2590 Freeway Blvd Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 (763) 503-3561
Links:  Oak City Website

Atmosphere: The Brooklyn Center location of Oak City is located next to Country Inn & Suites Hotel, on the frontage road that runs along the north side of 694.  The building is a decent size (formerly TGIFriday's), with the dining room arranged into several distinct eating areas to allow for more privacy.  The section my companion and I sat in had several two-person booths, other sections had bigger booths and also some tables. The decor of Oak City is sophisticated contemporary, with gold accents and fun quotes throughout the restaurant (hanging on walls and also embedded into the backs of the booths).

 

Above the booths in the middle of the restaurant are these cool metal sculptures made to resemble Trees.

 

There is also a large bar area when you first walk into the Brooklyn Center location, with seating at the bar and also several high-topped tables.

Menu: Appetizers at Oak City include Walleye Fingers, Captain Crunch Chicken Strips, Mini Black Angus Burgers, Salmon Dip with Pita, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Mile High Nachos, Pot Stickers, Chicken Wings & Boneless Wings (6 sauces).

Oak City also serves Flatbread Pizzas including Margherita, Signature Sausage, Spinach & Artichoke Heart, BBQ Chicken and Traditional (sausage or pepperoni).

Appetizer Salads include House, Caesar, Candied Walnut and Spinach and Applewood Bacon.  Entree Salads include Chicken Caesar, Portabella, Peppercorn Tenderloin, Candied Walnut, Spinach & Applewood Bacon, and Cashew Chicken.

Specialty Sandwiches at Oak City include Chicken Ciabatta, Oak City Philly, Walleye, French Dip, Chicken Chipotle, Oak City Club, BBQ Chicken, and Smoked Turkey. 

Burgers include Portabella and Gorgonzola, Oak City Classic (roasted onion and tomato with provolone),Bourbon Teriyaki Bacon Cheeseburger, Hickory Burger (smoked gouda and chipotle bbq sauce), Cheeseburger and Basic Burger.

Entrees include Fajitas, Fish 'n Chips, Chicken Tenderloins, Baby Back Ribs, Herb Roasted Chicken, Choice Top Sirloin, Burgundy Peppercorn Steak, Tenderloin Medallions, Sirloin & Walleye Combo, Ribs & Chicken Combo, Shrimp Scampi, Tempura Shrimp, Canadian Walleye, and Sesame Crusted Salmon.

Pastas include Cajun Chicken Alfredo, Chicken and Pesto, Pasta Fresco, and Tortellini Baronessa.

Oak City's Desserts include Chocolate Lava Cake, Caramel Apple Pie Sundae, Turtle Cheesecake, Upside Down Sundae, White Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cake, and Cheesecake.

There is also a lunch menu served M-F 11am-3pm

Kids Menu includes Walleye Fingers, Fettuccine Alfredo, Grilled Cheese, Chicken Fingers, Macaroni & Cheese, and Mini Burgers.

Sunday Brunch:

• $10.95/ Adults   $5.95 Kids 5-12   Free/ Kids 4 and Under
• 10am-2pm
• Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, French Toast, Bacon, Sausage, Cheesy Hashbrowns, Mashed Potatoes, Pecan-Crusted Walleye, Tilapia, Shrimp Alfredo, BBQ ribs, Swedish Meatballs, Steamed Broccoli, Pork Tenderloin, Clam Chowder, Pasta Salad, Lettuce Salad, Cakes, Pies, Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse

Price guide: Appetizers $ 7-11   Salads $ 4-13    Sandwiches/Burgers $8-11  Entrees $10-25  Desserts $5-7

Happy Hour:

• Daily 3-6:30p & 10p-12a
• $2 Appetizers (Buffalo Wings, Rock Shrimp, Walleye Fingers, Mini Burgers w/ Fries, Fresh Tortilla Chips & Salsa
• $4 Flatbread Pizzas )margherita, BBQ Chicken, Oak City Signature, Spinacc & Artichoke, Traditional)
• $2 Rail drinks & 16 oz Domestic Taps  $3 Vodka Redbull  $4 Long Islands
• $1 off all other drinks

Weekly Specials served 4-9pm:
Monday- Any Burger on Menu $5.95 
Tuesday- Any Pasta on Menu $9.95 and 1/2 price bottles of wine  
Wednesday- All You Can Eat Snow Crab $19.95 (includes bread, soup or salad, veggie and choice of potato 
Thursday- All You Can Eat baby Back Ribs $12.95  
Friday- All you can eat Walleye Fingers $11.95 
Saturday- 12 oz NY Strip $10.95  
Sunday- Roasted Chicken $8.95 and Kids 12 and under eat free off Kid's Menu (one per paid adult)
What I ordered: I was really in the mood for a sandwich and the Chipotle Chicken looked perfect for me (and it was!).  The chicken breast had been marinated in chipotle spices so the juicy tender meat was very flavorful and also had somewhat of a smoky flavor to it.  The breast was grilled and topped with melted Manchengo cheese, which was creamy and also slightly smoky.  Large slices of fresh avocado and a spicy chipotle sauce complete this sandwich which is served on a fresh toasted bun.  The combination of flavors and textures in this sandwich were a big hit, my only complaint is that the bun seemd too small and the ingredients wanted to slide right out.  The shoe string fries were cooked a little too long (from frozen) and were on the hard side, with many small pieces of too-crispy-to-eat potatoes.

 

My companion asked for a suggestion on the Burger Menu and was told to try the Portabella Gorgonzolla Burger.  Fabulous creation of flavors and textures! The large freshly-made burger patty was made with 1/1 lb of fresh ground Angus beef and then grilled to order, with a giant sauteed protabella mushroom cap and a hearty portion of gorgonzola layered on top of the beef .  This burger was so big that it deserves a bigger bun.  Awesome choice!

Service: We were greeted by the hostess within a few minutes of arriving and were shown to our table.  The restaurant wasn't too busy after the dinner rush on a Tuesday, but it was at least five minutes before we were greeted by our server.  Our server was friendly and gave us great suggestions about the menu but wasn't always there when needed (refills, box, bill, etc).  Our food was served reasonably fast and overall the service was decent.
Overall Impression: Great sandwiches and burgers at Oak City! Prices seemed slightly high but comparable to other restaurants of the same caliber.  Would love to try Oak City's Sunday Brunch and the weekly specials look great too