Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

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!

Sak's Sport's Bar ~ Vadnais Heights, MN

Cuisine: American, Burgers, Wings, Pasta
Restaurant Features: Bar, Games, Happy Hour, Pull-Tabs, Sports Leagues ( Volleyball, Broomball, Boot Hockey and Dodge Ball)
Location: Vadnais Heights, MN
Address: 1460 Co. Rd. E. East Vadnais Heights, MN 55110  651.484.6119

Bar Hours: Sun-Thurs 11a-1p  Fri-Sat 11a-2p

Kitchen Hours: Sun-Thurs 11a-10p  Fri-Sat 11a-11p

Links: Sak's Sports Bar Website     Google Map

Atmosphere: Located on County Road E just a block from Hwy 61, Sak's Sports Bar is in the location formerly known as Bentley's restaurant.  The space is pretty big, with a couple of different seating areas.  Pictured below is the gaming side of the restaurant, with dart boards, pull-tabs, several large  flat-panel TVs and bar-height tables.  The other side of the restaurant has a large bar separating two additional seating areas, one of which is the main dining room and the other is a row of booths running parallel to the bar.

Sak's is also known for its Outdoor Sports.  Leagues are available to play Volleyball, Broomball, Boot Hockey and Dodgeball.  Sporting areas not pictured.

Menu:  Appetizers include Buffalo Wings, Ranch Wing's, Crispy Chicken Wings, BBQ Ribs, Spicy Pork Sliders, Boursin Sliders (green chile ketchup, boursin cheese and fried onion strings), Hot Dago Sliders, Classic Sliders, Slider Platter, Pulled Pork Quesadillas, Fried Chicken Quesadilla, Nacho Bar (chips with melted cheese and all other ingredients on the side to make-your-own), Garlic Cheese Bread, Bucket of Fresh-Cut Fries, Walleye Fingers, Onion Rings and Tator Tots Bucket, Warm Chips with Charred Corn and Black-Bean Salsa.  They also have Chicken with Wild Rice soup and a Soup du Jour

Salads offerings at Sak's include Asian Chicken, Chopped Cobb, Cranberry Almond, Chicken Club, Red, White and Blue (red onion, bleu cheese), Beef and Garden Salad, Bird of Paradise, and Side Salad.  Any salad can be halved during lunch M-F.

Sandwiches include Hand Craved Butcher Sandwiches (beef brisket, ham or turkey breast), Italian Chicken Hoagie, B.A.L.T., Crispy Chicken, Grilled Chicken, Battered Walleye, Twisted Tuna (on English muffin with guacamole, bacon and melted Swiss), Honey Mustard Chicken Salad, Cucumber Chicken Classic, Grilled Vegetable Melt, Chicago Hot Dog, The Cuban, Buffalo Chicken Wrap, California Turkey Wrap, Chicken Gyro Wrap, The Monster Club and Millionaires Steak Sandwich.  All sandwiches and burgers come with kettle chips but you can upgrade to fresh-cut fries, onion rings or tator tots for $1.59

Burger options are the Classic Ground Chuck, Cowboy (bbq, bacon and cheddar), Bleu Cheese Lover's, Ranch Burger, Cheeseburger, Shrooms and Swiss, Juicy Lucy, The Big Sak (two patties), and The BMFB (18 oz patty with all the classic fixin's!)

Pasta Specialties include BBC Pasta (broccoli, bacon and chicken with penne and chipotle cream sauce), Chicken Al Fresco and Pasta, Big People Mac and Cheese (caramelized shallots and four cheese sauce), Blackened Chicken Pasta, Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti.  Half-sized pastas available for lunch M-F.

Entrees at Sak's are the BBQ Ribs, Grilled Top Sirloin, Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast, Beef & Beach (sirloin and walleye), and Beer Battered Walleye Fillet.

Price guide: Appetizers $ 5-9  Salads $7-10  Sandwiches/Burgers $7-9  Pasta $9   Entrees $13-20
Weekly Specials:
Tuesday- Sliders 3 for the price of 2

Wednesday- $.25/wings

Happy Hour M-F 3-6pm  7 days 9-11pm ~ 2 for 1 on all drinks  Select half-price appetizers

What We ordered: My companion and I visited Sak's during Happy Hour and opted to go with a couple of the half-priced appetizers from the Happy Hour menu.  We started with 2-for-1 Blue Moon draft beers and the pork quesadillas which turned out to be an awesome choice!  The shredded pork was tender and flavorful, nestled up with melted cheddar cheese and sauteed peppers and onions.  In addition to the filling being great, the crisp and flaky, buttery flour tortilla was browned to a beautiful, dark golden brown.  It was drizzled with sour cream and cilantro and served with a unique black bean and charred corn salsa.  Delicious!

 

We ordered another half-priced appetizer (why not at that price?), the Alley Cat's Ranch Wings.  The ten wings were fried then tossed with melted butter and ranch seasonings, and served with ranch dressing on the side.  These wings were pretty good if you like ranch flavor, which I thought was a unique but very smart way to season the chicken.

 

There were a number of sandwiches on the menu that sounded good to me, but I decided to order my standard Reuben from the Daily Specials menu.  I thought the Reuben was very good.  The deli-style corned beef was sliced thin and piled high with tangy sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a lightly toasted rye bread.  It came with a generous serving of crunchy, seasoned kettle chips.

 

My companion ordered the Juicy Lucy with fresh-cut fries.  Juicy indeed! The beef was cooked perfectly and inside was a hot cheesey mixture of American cheese, cream cheese and green onion.  The generous helping of fresh cut fries were also very good, not too greasy but just salty enough.

Service: We were able to get a table for mid-afternoon lunch without a problem and were seated at a booth in the bar area.  Our overall service was decent.  The hostess who sat us was friendly and the male server we had was nice but he didn't seem very personable or outstanding in any way.  Drinks were filled as needed and food came reasonably fast.
Overall Impression: Another great sports bar to try in the Vadnais Heights/White Bear Lake area .  Wide selection of appetizers, sandwiches and burgers on the menu all at very reasonable prices.  Great Happy Hour specials!

Sneakers Bar & Grill ~ Duluth, MN

Cuisine: American
Restaurant Features: Sports Bar
Location: Duluth, MN
Address: 207 W Superior St, Duluth, MN‎ - (218) 727-7494
Hours: Opens 11am Daily

Links: Website   Google Map

Atmosphere: Located within the Holiday Inn complex in downtown Duluth, Sneakers Sports Bar can be accessed on the 2nd floor of the adjacent mall area.  Like its name implies, Sneakers is a Sports bar that has tons of local UMD and professional Minnesota sports team memorabilia.  The bar take a main portion of the restaurant space, with bar-height tables surrounding it.

Menu: Appetizers at Sneakers include Quesadillas, Mozzarella Sticks, Chicken Fingers, Potato Skins, Chicken Wings, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Super Nachos, Onion Rings and Chili.

Salads offered are Caesar, Buffalo Caesar, Team Captain (chicken breast, egg, bacon, etc), The Driver (ham, turkey, egg, etc) and  Taco Salad.

Sandwiches at Sneaks include Grilled Chicken Breast, French Dip, Fiesta Chicken Pita, Gyro, Ham & Cheese, Turkey Cranberry Panini, Ham and Cheddar Panini, Roast Beef and Gouda Panin, Tuna Melt, Reuben, Chicken Cesar Wrap, BLT Wrap, and Fire Cracker Chicken Wrap.  Burgers are build-your-own.

Entrees include Ribeye Steak, Ground Sirloin topped with Mushrooms and Onions, Fish & Chips, Chicken & Cheese Enchilada, and Chicken Fingers.

Price guide: Appetizers $7-9  Salads $7-9  Sandwiches $8-10  Entrees $9-12

What I ordered: I was in the mood for a sandwich and followed the server's suggestion of the Roast Beef and Gouda Panini.  While the description sounded good to me, this ended up being a poor choice.  The roast beef tasted like it had been sitting around for way too long, to the point of almost tasting "bad".  The smoked gouda and horseradish mayo conglomerated into thick globs of tasteless creaminess.  I honestly couldn't get past more than 2-3 bites and I was starving.  The fries were good and helped ease my hunger.

My companion ordered the Ribeye Entree which turned out to be a much better experience than my Panini.  The steak was only 8 oz but was flavorful and somewhat tender.  It came with a side salad that I shared and the fries that were hot and crispy.

Service: There was almost no one in the restaurant on this Sunday during lunch time, which I can attribute to the fact that 1. The Vikings were not playing that day, but rather the following evening for Monday night football and 2.  Another of the Holiday Inn restaurants, Porter's, was also serving their popular Sunday Breakfast.  Our waitress was nice and meant well by giving her suggestion for the sandwich and only charged me half price when she discovered that I did not care for it.  Drinks were sometimes slow to be refilled.

Overall Impression: Avoid the Roast Beef Panini unless you know the meat is fresh.  I am leery to ever go back for the food but it seems like a cool place to have a drink and watch a game.

Mad Jack's Sports Cafe ~ Vadnais Heights & Brooklyn Park, MN

Cuisine : American, Steak, Chops, Ribs, Fish & Seafood
Restaurant Features: Sports Bar, Patio, On-Site Parking, Happy Hour

Locations:  Brooklyn Park & Vadnais Heights, MN
Addresses & Maps:

Brooklyn Park- 8078 Brooklyn Blvd. Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 ( 763) 424.9919

Vadnais Heights- 953 County Road E Vadnais Heights, MN 55127 (651) 287.3900

Link: Mad Jack's Website

Atmosphere:  The Vadnais Heights location is just off 35E and Co. Rd E in a large building outside a long strip mall, Festival Foods and Target complex.  The restaurant is divided into two main area, the dining room and the bar area.  There is a nice double-sided fireplace and lounge area between the two dining areas.  The kitchen is also open so you can watch the cooks work their magic.

 

Here is a peak at the mini lounge area between the main dining room and the bar area.  The bar area is very large and has several tall tables in addition to ample seating at the bar.

 

One thing that is easy to notice about Mad Jack's is that there are a LOT of TVs throughout the restaurant.  Each high-backed booth in the dining room also has its own personal TV.

Menu: Appetizers include Sirloin Tips, Coconut Shrimp, Crab Cakes, Jacked Up Nachos, Hash Browns, Filet Tips, ** Spinach Artichoke Dip, **Bruschetta, **Calamari, **Jackadilla, **Szechuan Green Beans, **Wings, **Cornbread, **Chicken Tenders, **Garlic Cheese Bread, **Potato Skins, **Onion Rings, **Cheese Curds, **Chili Cheese Fries, **Sweet Potato Fries, **Homemade Potato Chips, and **Chips and Salsa, and **Flatbread (choice of Margherita, Caprese, Rotisserie Chicken, Sun Dried Pesto, and BBQ Chicken). Appetizers with ** are 1/2 price daily from 3:30-6:30pm and Sun-Thurs 10pm-12am.

Soups include Chicken Wild Rice and Chili.  Salads offered are Jack's House Salad, Chopped, Buffalo Chicken, Taco, Caesar, Strawberry Feta, Greek, and Thai Chicken Peanut.

Sandwiches offered at Mad Jacks include Philly Beef, Old Fashioned Club, Meatball Sub, BBQ Chicken, Pork Loin, Cuban, Artichoke Chicken, Fish, Veggie, Hawaiian Chicken, Reuben/Rachel, Turkey Melt, and Grilled Ham and Cheese.  Wraps include Asian, Chicken Caesar, Club, or Southwestern.  There are also several specialty burgers.

Handmade Pizzas can be made-to-order, or choose from Garbage Pizza, BBQ Chicken, White Delight, or Mad Meat. 

Pastas include Spaghetti & Meatballs, Baked Ziti, Fettuccine Alfredo, Sausage Tortellini, and Tilapia Farfalli.

Entrees offered are Lumberjack Salmon, Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Scampi, Walleye Fillet, Grilled Pork Loin, Fish & Chips, Filet Mignon, New York Strip, Jack Kebabs, Open Faced Chicken, Rack of Lamb, Rotisserie Chicken, Rack of Ribs, and Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry.

Desserts include Creme Brulee, Cheesecake, Apple Crsip A'La Mode, Vanilla Ice Cream, Milkyway Mousse Cake, and Bread Pudding.

There are also a couple of weekly specials: 1/2 price Spaghetti & Meatballs with garlic bread on Wednesdays! ($4.50 for a huge helping!)

Price guide: Appetizers $7-12 Salads $4-10 Burgers & Sandwiches $8-11 Pasta $9-15  Pizza $9+ Entrees $12-22  Desserts $3-8
What we ordered:  Since it was Happy Hour, we started with a couple of half-prized appetizers, Calamari and Hot Wings.  The Calamari was a combination of rings and tiny squids, both cooked perfectly so that the breading was crispy with calamari cooked perfectly tender.  Served on the side was a chunky sweet marinara sauce and also spicy mayo, both very good.

The Hot Wings were huge and seemed to be just a little more spicy than other buffalo wings (I like that!), with a fair amount of sauce.  Bleu cheese and celery on the side for dipping.

 

I had the meatball sub for my entree, which came with homemade potato chips.  The meatball had tender but firm texture, seasoned with pepper, fennel, rosemary, onion.  Very good! The meatballs had a light amount of marinara and then provolone baked over the top, served on a somewhat soft French roll.  It was too huge and messy to eat with my hands, so I cut it into smaller bites and dipped it in a side of marinara.  The potato chips were crispy but I wasn't very interested in them.

One of my companions ordered the Flatbread Caprese Pizza, which consisted of a very thin, flat crust with melted gorgonzola cheese, fresh basil, roma tomato slices, and balsalmic vinegar.  The crust was nice and crispy and the flavor of the ingredients blended together rather well.

 

Another companion ordered a Mushroom Swiss Burger with French Fries.  The burger patty was quite big, and the bun it came on was thick and substantial.  Fresh mushrooms were sauteed and then swiss melted on top.  The giant portion of homemade fries were fresh-cut of varying sizes and fried to a crispy golden brown.

 

I chose to go back to Mad Jack's later the same week as my first visit and ordered The Reuben Sandwich.  The first two bites were awful! The corned beef was very tough and I couldn't even bite through it.  The server offered another sandwich, but the rest of it was actually pretty good.  I think those first couple of bites of corned beef should have been removed by the cook before it was served, but the rest of it was  tender and flavorful.  The sauerkraut was mixed with the 1000 Island dressing and on the mild side.

Service:  The service at Mad Jacks was exceptional.  The servers were very attentive and when our food was ready, it was the cook himself who served it to the table, wanting to know if there was anything else he could do.  The responsibility of serving staff seemed to be somewhat shared, as we seemed well taken care of.
Overall Impression: Thought it was great! The Happy Hour specials are a great deal, the food was quite good, and the service was exceptional.  I'll be back soon

Champps Americana- Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Brighton, Richfield, St Paul, & Woodbury MN

Cuisine: American,
Restaurant Features: Banquet Room, Bar, Sports Bar, On-Site Parking

Locations: Burnsville,  Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, *Maplewood, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Brighton, Richfield, St. Paul, Woodbury
Addresses & Maps:
Burnsville- 1200 W. County Rd. 42 Burnsville, MN 55337 952-898-5050
Eden Prairie- 8010 Glen Lane Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952-942-3331
Maple Grove- 13521 80th Circle North Maple Grove, MN 55369 763-494-4515
Maplewood-1734 Adolphus St  651-487-5050
Minneapolis- 100 N. 6th St. Minneapolis, MN 55403 612-335-5050
Minnetonka- 641Plymouth Rd. Minnetonka, MN 55305 952-546-3333
New Brighton- 2397 Palmer Dr. New Brighton, MN 55112 651-639-0339
Richfield- 790 W. 66th Street Richfield, MN 55423 612-861-3333
St Paul- 2401 W. 7th St. St Paul, MN 55116 651-698-5050
Woodbury- 8418 Tamarack Village Woodbury, MN 55125  651-735-5050

Links: Champps in Maplewood Champps Corporate Website

Atmosphere: Known primarily as a Sports Bar/Restaurant, Champps in Maplewood has Neon Signs and Memorabilia adorning the Logos of our Minnesota Sports Teams throughout the building.  The main dining area has a mix of round wooden tables and booths.  The building is very large, with a banquet room on the lower level and two large parking lots on either side of the building .

The bar area has a number of tall tables in addition to seating around the bar.  There is also an enclosed patio area with multiple windows that wraps around one side of the building.

Menu: Although Champps is a national chain, each restaurant is individually franchised and has control over their own menu.  Here is a link to the Champps Corporate Menu.  The menu that I am going to review is that of Champps in Maplewood, the site of my review.

Appetizers include Garlic Cheese Bread, Chicken Fingers, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Santa Fe Eggrolls, Buffalo Wings, Asian Pot Stickers, Merlot-Grilled Sirloin, Quesadillas, Nachos, Potato Skins, Mozzarella Sticks, Onion Rings, Cheese Curds, and Waffle Fries.

Champps also has a large selections of salads including Southwestern Chicken Caesar, Caesar, Greek Chicken, Cobb, Buffalo Chicken, Oriental Chicken, Crispy Chicken Tender, Bleu Steak, Chopped, Taco Salad and Pasta Salad.  Soups offered are French Onion Au Gratin, Chicken Noodle and Soup du Jour.

Sandwiches at Champps are served with choice of chips, potato salad, cole slaw or cottage cheese.  Selections include the Mediterranean Tuna Melt, Mile High Turkey, Chicken Cyn, Gyro, Adobe Turkey, Muffaletta Hoagie, Buffalo Chicken, BBQ Pulled Prk, Spinach and Artichoke Chicken, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Champps Clubhouse, Hawaiian Chicken, 3-Cheese Chicken, Reuben/Rachel, Grilled Cheese, Cajun Chicken, French Dip, Walleye, Turkey Bacon Ranch, Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Ranch Chicken Wrap, Club Wrap, Southwestern Chicken Wrap, Philly Cheesesteak Wrap, and the Texas Fajita Wrap.  There are also a large selection of Specialty Burgers.

Specialty Pizzas that are offered are Margherita, Spinach Artichoke and Pepperoni, and Meat Lovers.  You can also build-your-own pizza. 

Pasta Specialties are the Fettuccine Alfredo, Cajun Chicken Fettuccinne, Baked Mostacioli, Roasted Artichoke and Grilled Chicken Penne, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Jambalaya.

Entrees include the BBQ Rib Platter, Lemon Pepper Walleye, Grilled Fajitas, Kung Pao Chicken, Fish & Chips, and Sirloin Steak.

Desserts include Cookie Espresso Sundae, Brownie Sundae, New York Cheesecake with Berries, Hot Fudge Sundae and Chocolate Cake.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-10  Salads $9-12  Sandwiches $7-9  Pastas $11-15 Entrees $12-19
What I ordered: I ordered the Taco Salad, which came in a fresh, crispy tortilla bowl.  The bowl itself was on the small side, and was packed full of lettuce, seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, onions and fresh jalapeños, with sour cream and salsa on the side.  It was so packed full of ingredients that there wasn't enough room for me to mix the salad, but I thought it was really good.

One of my companions ordered the sandwich/soup combo, a Grilled Cheese with potato salad and side Caesar salad that they happily substituted for the soup. The bread was thick and buttery, grilled to a nice golden brown.  The salad was a generous portion for a side salad.

Another companion ordered sandwich/salad combo with Grilled Turkey, Potato Chips, and Garden Salad.  The chips they serve are of the kettle variety; crunchy and salty.

Another companion ordered a BLT with Waffle Fries and Seasoned Sour Cream.  The BLT isn't actually on the menu, but the restaurant was more than willing to accommodate the request since they had the necessary ingredients.

Service:  My party arrived at the beginning of the lunch hour, immediately after the restaurant opened and we were seated promptly at our choice of table.  The staff was friendly and more than willing to accommodate a couple of minor changes to the menu, such as substituting a side salad for soup in the sandwich/soup combo, and making a BLT which was not on the menu at all. 
Overall Impression: Decent food with huge portions for the price.  Service is prompt and friendly, great place to watch any of our local sports games.

Majors Sports Cafe ~Albertville, Apple Valley, Blaine, Bloomington, Golden Valley & Inver Grove Heights, MN

Cuisine: American,

Restaurant Features: Bar, Sports Bar, On-Site Parking

Locations:  Albertville, Apple Valley, Bloomington, Blaine, Golden Valley,  Inver Grover Heights,

Addresses: 

Albertville  5651 Le Centre Avenue NE Albertville, MN  55301 P: 763.497.7629
Apple Valley 14889 Florence Trail Apple Valley, MN  55124 P:  952.432.4787
Blaine 10950 Club West Parkway Suite   101 Blaine,   MN  55449 P: 763.746.2774
Bloomington 8301 Normandale Boulevard  Bloomington,   MN  55438 P: 952.835.8308
Golden Valley 6440 Wayzata Boulevard  Golden Valley,   MN  55426P: 763.746.2280
Inver Grove Heights 5639 Bishop Avenue Inver Grove Heights, MN  55076P: 651.451.3838
 ******This review was originally written for the Vadnais Heights location, which was closed 1/08 and will be re-opening as Mad Jack's Cafe Spring 2008.  The Roseville location has also changed ownership and is now Grumpy's Restaurant.*****

Links: Majors Sports Cafe    Google Map

Atmosphere: Two decent sized dining rooms, with a large bar in the center.  Also a large double-sided fireplace in the entry way.  Very bright during daylight hours!

Menu: Appetizers include pepper jack spinach dip, walleye fingers, barbeque sliders, Wimpy sliders, boneless wings, nachos, quesadillas, cheese curds, Thai beef tidbits, and baked sausage pizza dip. 

Besides a variety of salads and soups, Majors also has a large selection of sandwiches including BBQ chicken wrap, roast beef wrap, honey mustard chicken wrap, walleye, The Cuban, The Hell Raiser,  hot beef,  tuna melt, tuna salad, grilled salmon BLT, prime dip, Philly cheese steak, clubhouse, Reuben, Buffalo Chicken and a variety of grilled chicken breast sandwiches.  Majors also has a selection of specialty pizzas and burgers, or custom order your favorite toppings! 

Entrees include meatloaf, stuffed salmon, top sirloin, pork enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, St Louis style ribs, chicken parmesan, stuffed walleye and prime rib.

Majors also offers pasta and rice dishes including jambalaya, manicotti, chicken penne carbonara, chicken pesto fettuccine, and southwest chicken penne.

Price guide: Appetizers $5-10  Sandwiches $6-9  Entrees $10-20

What I ordered: Although this was my first-ever visit to a Majors restaurant, I ordered the Reuben.  This is my standard sandwich at most bar & grill restaurants, but you would be surprised at how much this sandwich can vary! The Reuben at Majors was quite disappointing :(  The corned beef was so tough I could hardly bite into the sandwich, and the grilled bread had become very soggy on the bottom before it ever arrived at my table.  I definitely recommend trying a different sandwich next time.

My companions ordered the Cajun Chicken Alfredo.  This was a big hit! A nice sized portion of pasta covered with tender and flavorful chicken breast.

Walleye sandwich.  Nothing special about this walleye.  The breading was not very crispy and the roll it was served on dominated the experience.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. One look at this thing and you can tell it is going to be very MESSY to eat. Break out the silverware for this sandwich or ask for an over-sized bib!  Waffle fries and seasoned sour cream are an upgrade for $2 more.

Thai Beef tidbits (Marinated tenderloin cubes are pan seared and served with cream cheese dipping sauce.) This was actually very good! The beef was tender and had a sweet flavor to it.  The portion size was not very big, but it is offered as an appetizer rather than a meal.  Also served with fried wonton chips.

Service: The service was decent.  There were not many customers dining at lunch on the Saturday we visited, but restaurant seemed appropriately staffed. Host staff and servers were all very friendly.

Overall Impression: The atmosphere was very nice, but the food seemed just average.  I would be willing to try it again but will try food options other than the ones we tried on this particular visit. One favorable thing I have heard about Majors is their late-night Happy Hour specials are really good. Several of the Majors locations also offer trivia competitions and they give out free gift cards to be redeemed at any Majors location.

Jimmy's Food & Drink- Vadnais Heights, MN

Cuisine: American

Restaurant Features: Banquet Rooms, Bar, Games, On-Site Parking, Sports bar

Location: Vadnais Heights

Address:  1132 County Road E E, St Paul, MN (651) 482-1100

Hours: Drink:  10AM - 1AM (Everyday)  Food:  10AM - 12 Midnight (Everyday)

Links: Jimmy's Website Google Map

Atmosphere: There are actually three main parts to Jimmy's: The Restaurant, the Bar, and the Banquet Center.  The restaurant itself is  smoke-free area with several booths and wooden tables, with several large flat-paneled TVs on the walls tuned in to various sports programming.  The large bar area is a very popular happy-hour hangout, with pool tables, dart boards, pull-tabs and other video games.  The banquet area accommodates up to 500 people and is available for wedding reception, conferences, etc. 

Menu: Jimmy's has a large selection of Appetizers including 13 flavors of chicken wings, southwest spring rolls, Italian dunkers, spinach & artichoke dip, walleye fingers (beer-battered or Cajun), coconut chicken fingers, and quesadillas.  Check out the happy hour specials. Sandwich selections include BBQ pork sandwich, chicken Caesar wrap, Beefeater, French dip, Monte Cristo, California chicken, and walleye.  There are also nearly 15 varieties of burgers.

Dinner entrees include walleye prepared 5 different ways, batter fried chicken, champagne chicken, lasagna, alfredo,  seafood linguine, lasagna, spaghetti, battered shrimp, grilled pork chops, New York Steak and baby back ribs.  Jimmy's also has a selection of thin crust pizzas.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-9  Sandwiches $7-10 (fries $1.50 extra) Burgers $6-8  Entrees $12-19

What I ordered: My companion and I took advantage of Jimmy's Happy House appetizer specials.  One thing we tried were the Cajun walleye fingers.  I've had the regular walleye fingers several times, but this was the first time I tried them Cajun-style.  I enjoyed the additional spiciness combined with the crispy batter and fresh tartar sauce.

We also wanted wings but I was debating whether I wanted the delicious teriyaki wings that I've had before or if I would try the spicy sesame.  The waiter recommended the sesame, so we tried those.  They were not at all what I expected, which was something more "Asian" inspired.  The "spice" in these wings tasted very much like their buffalo sauce, which I don't particularly care for, topped with sesame seeds.  Won't be ordering this flavor again, I will stick to the sweet, rich teriyaki.

Our other companion ordered the grilled chicken breast sandwich, served with honey mustard dressing and thought it was pretty good.

Service: Friendly, prompt.  There are usually free games going on for discounts on food or drink.

Overall Impression: Good happy hour specials, good place to meet with friends for happy hour or to shoot a game of pool.

NBA City ~ Minneapolis, MN

Cuisine:  American, Fish & Seafood, Steak, Ribs, Chops

Restaurant Features: Bar, Games, Sports Bar, Target Center

Location: Minneapolis (Downtown)

Address:  Target Center 600 First Avenue North  Minneapolis, MN 55403    P: (612) 767-2960

Links: NBA City Website Google Map

Atmosphere: As one would expect, NBA City is a restaurant themed around Basketball. Have you ever wondered just how big the hands and feet are of some of the NBA Superstars like Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, or Yao Ming? Check out their shoes and hand imprints on these bronze basketballs!

Or buy the jersey of your favorite Superstar in NBA City's Retail Store....

Or maybe you're more in the mood to have a seat at the Courtside Bar where you can watch a variety of NBA games on any of the many flat-panel plasma TVs that hang over the bar....

NBA City also has a private VIP seating area called the Wolves Den.

Menu: The Chef's at NBA City take great pride in their freshly-prepared dishes.  Appetizers include Chicken Wings (4 sauces), Pecan Chicken Fingers, Crab Rangoons, Mediterranean Flat Bread, Coconut Shrimp and Chicken Quesadillas. 

Pasta dishes include General Jin's Ginger Chicken, Chicken Bleu Cheese Pasta, Grilled Salmon and Bowtie Pasta, Lasagna and Angel Hair Pomodoro. 

Entrees include Grilled Mahi-Mahi, Sesame Crusted Grilled Walleye, Jambalaya, Baby Back Ribs, and Steak.

Price guide: Appetizers - $7-10, Salads- $7-11 Pastas-$10-16, Entrees- $15-22

What I ordered: Crab Rangoons.  Spring rolls filled with a mixture of snow crab, cream cheese, herb and spices lightly fried until crispy.  Served with a sweet Thai dipping sauce.  Love them!

General Jin's Ginger Chicken.  Chicken tenders sauteed in sesame oil, teriyaki, ginger and garlic, served with Asian noodles and vegetables in General Jin's mildly sweet and tangy sauce.  This was heaven! The flavor was wonderful and I especially loved all the fresh cilantro.  There were many more noodles than what it appears in the picture!

Service: My visit to NBA City happened to be on a night when there were no events happening at the Target Center, so the restaurant was almost empty.  We waited at the host stand for approx. 5 minutes, but no one was available to help us, so we sat ourselves at the bar.  The bartender was very friendly and was happy to answer any questions that I had about the menu and the restaurant.  The restaurant gets PACKED on game nights, so make sure you make your reservations early... even days ahead of time.

Overall Impression:  Fun atmosphere, excellent food.  Awesome Happy Hour specials!