Best of Restaurants
Choice Eats
By Alyson Fleming, Megan Malugani, Steve Lange, and Greg Sellnow
BEST RESTAURANT
City Café
216 First Ave. SW, 289-1949;
www.city-cafe.com
The owners of Henry Wellington, one of Rochester’s oldest restaurants, embarked on a bit of a gamble when they decided to update the popular eatery four years ago with a new name, new decor, new menu, and an entirely new identity. It went from an historic, highly revered 25-year-old restaurant that featured many of the same tried-and-true menu items for most of its existence, to an au courant, sophisticated eating establishment offering everything from chocolate haze and caramel espresso martinis to grilled fresh scallops with apple cider beurre blanc.
The gamble has paid off with packed tables and a third consecutive Best Restaurant award for City Café (owned by Creative Cuisine Company, which also owns Newt’s, Broadstreet Café, Redwood Room and City Market). Diners enjoy its old-money atmosphere—exposed brick walls, antique school lights, oak floor and a bar top made of ancient eucalyptus wood. The exotic and playful martini menu and extensive wine and beer selection also add to City Café’s appeal. But, for us, it’s the food that keeps us coming back. We’re especially fond of the seafood, flown in several days a week from Florida, and its inventive, bursting with flavor salads.
RUNNER UP: Prescotts
BEST NEW RESTAURANT
Avocados
1190 Sixteenth St. SW, 282-7318;
www.avocadosworldbistro.com
Rochesterite David Van Eijl opened Avocados World Bistro in June with the goal of creating a restaurant that is “fresh and fun and exciting.” Apparently, our readers think he’s succeeded. “If there’s anything we can excel at, it’s being innovative with food and willing to go out on a limb,” Van Eijl says. Items on Avocado’s Caribbean-inspired menu include a wide variety of seafood, and the restaurant’s signature ingredients include avocados (natch), chorizo, plantains, and yucca root. “Caribbean food is fun because the Caribbean is the melting pot of the world. Everything from European to African to East Indian to Vietnamese and Thai flavors have been brought to the Caribbean. There are so many fun ingredients we can use, like papayas, pineapples, and mangos,” he says.
Van Eijl says one of the highlights of his first year in business was watching his youngest customers try (and like!) new foods. “Seeing kids and teenagers eating good quality food and not the usual McDonald’s or food from a box makes me feel good,” he says. Van Eijl’s four children, ranging in age from one to 13, have raised their own expectations of food, he adds. “It’s become a little more expensive to feed my own kids,” he notes.
RUNNER UP: Sontes
BEST SERVICE
Michaels
15 South Broadway, 288-2020;
www.michaelsfinedining.com
You’d be hard pressed to find a more experienced, dedicated, and knowledgeable waitstaff than the one at Michaels. Many
of the employees have worked there for years, even decades. And it shows. Ask them for a recommendation from the dessert menu, for example, and they will tell you with dead-on accuracy that the Pappa’s bread pudding in raspberry sauce is to die for.
RUNNER UP: Prescotts
BEST ITALIAN FOOD
Victoria’s
7 First Ave. SW, 280-6230;
www.victoriasmn.com
One classic interior. Two hundred and twenty menu items. Three o’clock dinner service. Four-time winner of the Gourmet Diner’s Society of North America’s “Golden Fork” award for best Italian food. Five private theme rooms. Six-thousand-plus square feet. Seven days a week. Eight veal entrees. Nine straight years as Rochester Magazine’s Best Italian Food.
RUNNER UP: Macaroni Grill
BEST BARBECUE RIBS
Roscoe’s
4180 18th Ave. NW, 281-4622;
www.roscoesbbq.com
603 Fourth St. SE, 285-0501 (opens for season the end of March or early April)
It all started in 1981, when Steve and Barbara Ross bought an old A&W stand on Fourth Street Southeast. Twenty-seven years and dozens of national “Best BBQ” awards later (including four “Best Of” awards from the Twin Cities Ribfest), Roscoe’s Barbecue, Root Beer and Ribs is a staple in the city’s competitive BBQ scene. The numbers don’t lie: Roscoe’s cooks between 1,700 and 2,400 of the 2-1/2 inch pork ribs daily (and sells 800 pounds of pork per week).
RUNNER UP: Famous Dave’s
BEST APPETIZERS
Oyster Bar at Green Mill
2723 Commerce Dr. NW, 282-4222;
www.greenmill.com
One French poet described eating oysters as “like kissing the sea on the lips.” Apparently, Rochester Magazine readers really like kissing the sea, since they voted the Oyster Bar at Green Mill as the best appetizer option in town. Ostreaphiles—oyster lovers—can slurp the slippery critters out of the half shell, or down an oyster shooter with tabasco. (A Green Mill worker says the shooters “basically go down like a shot—real quick.”) And for those Rochesterites who are not quite ready for the oyster experience, they can start out with another item from the chilled seafood bar, like calamari or peel-and-eat shrimp, before working their way up to the exalted oyster.
RUNNER UP: Nachos at Newt’s
BEST PIZZA
Bilotti’s
304 First Ave. SW, 282-8668
The flaky, crispy crust, mild tomato sauce and choice meat and vegetable toppings are tantalizing in their own right, but it’s the one-quarter inch of mozzarella cheese—and rectangular-cut slices—that has set Bilotti’s apart from the rest since 1954.
RUNNER UP: Mr. Pizza
BEST PIZZA (TAKE-OUT)
Papa Murphy’s
3932 Highway 52 N, 285-4996:
410 Crossroads Dr. SW, 536-0630;
www.papamurphys.com
With take-and-bake pizzas as their specialty (with 1,000 restaurants, they are the largest take-and-bake pizza company in the world), it’s no wonder Papa Murphy’s excels in the art of take-out. Whether you’re looking for a classic favorite (cheese pizza) or a more diverse concoction (the cowboy pizza features pepperoni, Italian sausage, fresh mushrooms, black olives and herb and cheese blend), you can bring Papa Murphy’s prepared-daily dough, fresh ingredients, and all-natural, whole-milk mozzarella right to your own oven.
RUNNER UP: Mr. Pizza
BEST SANDWICH PLACE
City Market
212 First Ave. SW, 536-4748;
www.cccrmg.com
From Sandwich #1 (Pastrami And Swiss On Rye with herbed mayo) to Sandwich #33 (The Veggie Panini with jack cheese and chipotle mayo), City Market’s New York deli-style sandwiches have your number. Though we tend to go for Sandwich #18 (Roast Beef and Smoked Gouda) or Sandwich #20 (Turkey Ranch Club).
RUNNER UP: Panera
BEST PLACE TO EAT OUTDOORS
Whistle Binkies on the Lake
247 Woodlake Dr. SE, 424-1227;
www.whistlebinkiespub.com
The patio at Whistle Binkies on the Lake—which seats almost 200 and overlooks tiny Wood Lake—is “the first choice for seating for almost all our customers on a nice day” in the summer, says owner Randy Lehman. By day, patrons like to watch the sand volleyball games taking place on two outdoor courts near the patio, and by night customers can enjoy bonfires in a fire pit and bands on a trailer stage. To make outdoor seating even more enticing, Lehman says that “bugs have never really been a problem [on the patio]. I don’t know why.”
RUNNER UP: Dos Amigos
BEST RESTAURANT TO GET A FINE GLASS OF WINE
Prescotts
1201 S. Broadway, 536-7775;
www.prescottsgrill.com
With 30 to 35 labels by the glass and more than 100 labels by the bottle, Precotts has a wide variety of choices that are hand selected by their in-house sommelier (and co-owner), Jenna Rohe. When tasting and choosing wines, Rohe keeps their menu in mind. “Most of the wines I’ve selected are chosen because they complement the food,” Rohe says. “Obviously, if the wine makes the food better and the food makes the wine better, then that’s great. The ultimate goal is for them to enhance each other.”
RUNNER UP: Sontes
BEST COFFEE PLACE
Dunn Brothers
120 Elton Hills Dr. NW, 285-4991; 1340 Salem Rd. SW,
424-3086;
www.dunnbros.com
Brothers Ed and Dan Dunn opened the first Dunn Bros. in 1987, deciding on the Twin Cities area because it “matched the demographics and ambiance of the Portland area” (where Ed had gone to college) and because “the Twin Cities has a large coffee drinking population and a prolonged ‘hot coffee drinking’ season.” Two decades later, the business model of local ownership (there’s no boilerplated blueprint for decór—owners design the store as they see fit) and fresh brew (coffee in most stores is roasted in-store on a daily basis) has turned Dunn Bros. into one of the top-ten largest coffee chains in the U.S., with 65 Minnesota locations alone.
RUNNER UP: Caribou Coffee
THE ONE DESSERT THAT MAKES YOUR MOUTH WATER JUST THINKING ABOUT IT
Creme Brulee at Broadstreet
Broadstreet Cafe & Bar; 300 First Ave. NW, 281-2451;
www.broadstreet-cafe.com
Creme Brulee is a French term meaning “burnt cream,” which doesn’t sound particularly appealing. But once you’ve tried it at Broadstreet, you won’t care what the term translates into. From the top-of-the-line ingredients (Madagascar Vanilla Bourbon Paste instead of vanilla extract) to the care in preparation (the dessert is baked in a water bath for an hour-and-a-half), Executive Baker Craig Rasmussen says it’s the details that make the difference. “Baking is a science,” he says, “and you have to get creme brulee just right.” With vanilla as a staple, the Creme Bruleee Trio includes two other flavors that are replaced on a regular basis for the $6 dessert.
RUNNER UP: Chocolate Cobbler at McGoon’s
BEST BAR
Whistle Binkies
3120 Wellner Dr. NE, 289-9200;
247 Woodlake Dr. SE, 424-1227;
www.whistlebinkiespub.com
Best Happy Hour + Best Place to Eat Outdoors (at the south location) + The Sit-Down Restaurant You Go To The Most + Best Bar Popcorn + more than 200 kinds of beer = Best Bar. For the fifth year in a row. ‘Nuff said.
RUNNER UP: Newt’s
MOST ROMANTIC PLACE FOR A SNUGGLY DATE
The Redwood Room
300 First Ave. NW, 281-2978;
www.redwoodroom.com
No matter what we call this category—Most Romantic, Best Ambience—Redwood seems to win it. Set in the lower-level of an old grocery warehouse-turned bistro/coffeehouse, Redwood’s candle-lit tables are backdropped by dark wood wainscoting in a brick basement motif combined with understated live jazz gives it all a speakeasy feel. And one pertinent tidbit from past years: More marriage proposals have occurred at The Redwood Room than at all the other Creative Cuisine Company restaurants, including sister restaurants Broadstreet Cafe, City Cafe, and Newt’s. And the selection of straight malt scotch, for some reason, makes it seem all the more romantic.
RUNNER UP: Lord Essex Tavern
BEST NACHOS
Newt’s
216 First Ave. SW, 289-0577;
www.newtsbar.com
Newt’s—home of the city’s best burger for five years in a row—is now also home to Rochester’s best nachos. Homemade chips topped with cheddar and pepper cheese, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, black olives—all baked together and served with sides of homemade taco sauce, sour cream, and jalapeno peppers. Or add the spicy beef and refried beans. Or the diced chicken breast. Or, if you’re looking for a meal for about four people, go for the Mucho Big Nachos, which are “one-and-a-half times” the size of the regular, already-big-enough-for-two people order.
RUNNER UP: Dos Amigos
BEST PLACE TO GET DINNER AFTER 10 P.M.
Perkins
432 16 Ave. NW, 288-1996;
1818 S. Broadway, 288-9400;
www.perkinsrestaurants.com
Perkins’ has everything you need for late-night dining success: Two locations. Three dozen breakfasts served anytime. Six pancake dishes (the Pigs in a Blanket features three sausage links, each wrapped in a pancake). Seven omelets. 24 hours. 500 restaurants in 35 states.
RUNNER UP: Redwood Room
BEST SIT-DOWN MEAL WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE $10
Hot Beef Sandwich at Cheap Charlie’s
11 Fifth St. N.W., 289-7693
Sure, the restaurant recently got its first makeover in nearly 40 years, when owners David and Janna Tran decided it was time to replace the torn red booth seats, match up the formerly mismatched chairs, and repaint and repaper the walls. But David, who began his career as a dishwasher at Cheap Charlie’s, knew better than to mess with the no-frills feel that has defined the classic eatery since Charlie and Vi Clark opened the 14-stool Ideal Cafe in 1955. So the Trans kept the restaurant’s rooftop landmark pig—that larger-than-life cement swine that stands like a Midwestern gargoyle on the roof. And they didn’t touch the menu, which is filled with comfort food classics like that Hot Beef Sandwich, which still runs just $5.25 with a scoop of gravy-smothered potatoes.
RUNNER UP: Soup, Salad and Breadsticks at Olive Garden
BEST STEAK PLACE
Michaels
15 South Broadway, 288-2020;
www.michaelsfinedining.com
Any beef connoisseur will tell you that it’s a crime to mask the robust flavor of a perfectly aged, prime or choice, butter-knife tender cut of meat with a heavy wine sauce. Season it lightly with salt and pepper and perhaps a quick brush of garlic butter, as Michaels does, and let the meat become the star of the evening.
RUNNER UP: Outback Steakhouse
BEST SALAD
Greek Salad at Victoria’s
7 First Ave. SW, 280-6230
Skyway location (next to Home Federal Bank)
Strips of chicken breast, artichoke hearts, red peppers, red onion, feta cheese, kalamata olives, pepperoncinis, and Victoria’s famous homemade house dressing. We get it to go ($6 with a roll), from Victoria’s Express (the skyway location next to Home Federal Bank). The lines always look long, but they move fast.
RUNNER UP: Oriental Chicken at Applebee’s
BEST TAKE-OUT
China Star
1505 U.S. Hwy. 14 SE (across from Cub Foods), 285-5924;
2808 41st St. NW (near Super Target), 281-3905;
405 First Ave. SW, 281-0014
China Star’s three locations (southeast, southwest, and northwest) and three-pronged secret to success (prepare every order fresh, cater to the customer’s individual tastes, and package the food so it will be hot when you get it home) has led it to five straight wins in our Best Take-Out category. And it’s statistically impossible to not find something you like: China Star has 82 menu items, 27 dinner combinations, and 27 lunch combos.
RUNNER UP: Hunan Garden
BEST HAMBURGER
Marvin’s Burger at Newt’s
216 First Ave. SW, 289-0577;
www.newtsbar.com
All dozen of the burgers on Newt’s menu are great (the restaurant has won best burger honors for five years now), but readers have chosen one as the absolute greatest. It’s Marvin’s Burger, named after the cook, (Marvin Billings) who created it out of a secret blend of seasonings with cheddar cheese, hardwood smoked hickory bacon, and a tangy chipotle mayo. (People love the Marvin’s Burger because “it’s juicy and has just the right amount of heat,” says David Carrie of Newt’s It sits atop a mammoth homemade kaiser bun, and is accompanied by one pound—one pound!—of fries.
RUNNER UP: ButterBurger at Culver’s
THE ONE BREAKFAST YOU COULD EAT EVERY SUNDAY MORNING
Eggs Benedict at Canadian Honker
1203 Second St. SW, 282-6572;
www.canadianhonker.com
“The key to our Eggs Benedict,” according to co-owner Cris Powers, “is our homemade hollandaise sauce.” Canadian Honker’s morning shifters are in at 5:30 a.m., making the egg-and-butter based sauce as well as numerous other of the day’s “family recipes,” like their signature soups and chicken salad and Bunnie’s famous Coconut Cake. At $7.25, the Eggs Benedict is the second-most expensive item on the breakfast menu, though the sliced ham and two poached eggs over an English muffin or croissant comes with homemade hashbrowns or American fries. Despite repeated attempts using every interviewing technique we know, Powers wouldn’t divulge any of the hollandaise ingredients above and beyond the basics (“You might as well be asking me for the recipe for Bunnie’s Coconut Cake,” he says).
RUNNER UP: Pannekoeken at Pannekoeken
BEST MIXED DRINK
Mojito at City Café
216 First Ave. SW, 289-1949;
www.city-cafe.com
The popularity of City Café’s mojito has skyrocketed in the past few summers. Made of fresh mint, Bacardi limon, club soda, fresh lime juice, natural sugar, and a little bit of triple sec, the drink is “really refreshing,” says Jennifer Beech, a part-time bartender at the restaurant. In the summer, City Café sometimes offers the also-popular pineapple or strawberry mojitos. The City Café’s mojito is pretty, to boot, and spawns copycat orders. “It’s a nice drink [visually] when it walks through the restaurant,” Beech says. And although it’s primarily a summertime drink, customers order them in the winter, too. “Maybe it’s that the mint helps [counteract] all the garlic” in the restaurant’s food, Beech says with a chuckle.
RUNNER UP: Martini at Michaels
BEST VEGETARIAN SELECTION
Backroom Deli
1001 Sixth St. NW, 289-9061;
www.backroomdeli.com
The Backroom Deli’s fan base has steadily grown since it opened in the back of the Good Food Store Co-op in 2003. The deli, one of the few all-vegan restaurants (they serve no animal products or byproducts) in the state, expanded in the last year to provide seating for 18 customers and to serve breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Popular menu items include buckwheat pancakes, cajun tofu sandwiches, and oat pecan burgers, says manager Rosalind Blackwell. Recently, the deli also began offering raw soups, salads, and other raw items. Customers come from near and far, Blackwell says. “We have more meat eaters coming aboard,” Blackwell says. “People say ‘this is good for you and it tastes good, too?’”
RUNNER UP: India Garden
OUTSIDE OF ROCHESTER, BEST RESTAURANT WITHIN A 30-MINUTE DRIVE
Hubbell House
502 N. Main St., Mantorville, 507-635-2331;
www.hubbellhouserestaurant.com
Visiting the Hubbell House is like taking a step back in time. The restaurant is located in an old hotel and saloon that was built in 1856 and was a popular resting spot for travelers. Since 1946, the restaurant has been in the Pappas family, and it is now operated by Don Pappas, who has retained the elegant Victorian touches of the historic hotel (soft-colored wallpaper, subdued lighting, polished wood, etched glass, antiques, and memorabilia). Diners should expect an impressive array of seafood and steaks (like the filet mignon and the legendary two-pound T-bone) and exceptional service. Be sure to try the legendary garlic toast, which is served with every entree.
RUNNER UP: Fisherman’s Inn, Oronoco
BEST BAR POPCORN
Whistle Binkies
3120 Wellner Dr. NE, 289-9200;
247 Woodlake Dr. SE, 424-1227;
www.whistlebinkiespub.com
Owner Randy Lehman knows how important Whistle Binkies’ “buttery, rich-flavored” popcorn is to customers. “We’ve had the machine break down a couple of times and it becomes quite an issue when we don’t have the popcorn when they walk in the door,” Lehman says. The two Whistle Binkies combined go through about 400 pounds of popcorn a week, Lehman notes. The key to making popcorn customers can’t stop popping? It’s all in the butter-flavored oil, which, incidentally, is more expensive than the popcorn itself.
RUNNER UP: Beetles Bar & Grill
BEST SINGLE FOOD ITEM
Filet Mignon at Michaels
15 South Broadway, 288-2020;
www.michaelsfinedining.com
The French translation is “dainty filet.” But Michaels’ 10-ounce portion, with zero visible fat, is anything but. The chef sears in the generous cut of beef’s moist, ultra tender, ultra-flavorful flesh under a thin, crisp, lightly seasoned crust. Please don’t ask for steak sauce. And please, please, please don’t ask for it to be cooked well done.
RUNNER UP: Butternut Squash Ravioli at Shady Hill Grille
BEST CHINESE FOOD
Hunan Garden
1120 Seventh St. NW (Northgate Shopping Center), 285-1438
Of the more than a dozen Chinese restaurants in Rochester (a half dozen of which start with the word “Hunan”), Hunan Garden has managed to separate itself from the pack, winning our Best Chinese Food category eight of the last nine years. Maybe it’s the longevity (the restaurant was opened in 1985 by Thai immigrant Jim Wang) or the variety (Hunan Garden’s 125-plus dishes highlight China’s four cuisine regions) or the freshness (orders are cooked on demand using fresh veggies). Or those crab rangoons. Oh, god, those crab rangoons.
RUNNER UP: China Star
BEST SANDWICH
Rochester Special at Nelson Cheese Factory and Deli
210 N. Broadway, 288-1888
Fresh slices of roast beef, spicy pastrami and pepper cheese served on pumpernickel bread with lettuce, tomato, onion and “special sauce” is what you can expect on the winning Rochester Special sandwich at the Nelson Cheese Factory and Deli. Other favorites include the Town of Nelson (sliced turkey breast, ham and Wisconsin swiss cheese on seven grain with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and Monterey Jack cheese) and the Reuben (lean corned beef topped with melted Wisconsin Swiss cheese and sauerkraut served on pumpernickel). With a list of 18 sandwiches to choose from, this family owned business from Wisconsin has enough variety to cure your craving.
RUNNER UP: Turkey Ranch Club at City Market
BEST HOT DOG PLACE
Chocolate Twist
23 West Center St., 529-2922
“The noblest of all dogs is the hot dog,” said educator Lawrence Peter, “it feeds the hand that bites it.”
Chocolate Twist owner Ira Becker couldn’t agree more. Since moving from Miracle Mile to downtown in August of 2007, Becker has refocused on his food fare and has seen his sales jump from “50 or so” to “300 to 400” hot dogs and sausages per week. Becker’s 1,200 square foot store features everything from gourmet gift baskets to 20 flavors of hand-scooped ice cream, although he especially revels in his hand-dipped chocolate-covered potato chips and his homemade recipe of white chocolate popcorn. “The white chocolate popcorn has my three favorite food groups—sweet, salty and buttery,” Becker says. But the real draw, for us anyway, is the Chicago-based Vienna hot dogs (steamed in an old-fashioned hot dog cart set on the counter) and the make-your-own Chicago-style hot dog bar (with bright green relish, kosher dills, sport peppers, onions, tomatoes, and celery salt). Becker, a Chicago native who moved to Minnesota in 2001, uses only Chicago-based ingredients, right down to the classic poppy seed bun.
RUNNER UP: Hot dog cart at Peace Plaza
BEST OTHER ETHNIC FOOD (GREEK, INDIAN, THAI, ETC.)
Zorba’s Greek Restaurant
924 Seventh St. NW, 281-1540
Start with the Greek appetizers, like kalamari (lightly battered squid) or saganaki (flaming kasseri cheese—“Opa!”). Then it’s the Greek specialties, such as suvlaki (charbroiled beef, pork, chicken or lamb shish-ka-bobs) and moussaka (layers of eggplant and potatoes with seasoned ground beef). Then it’s the Greek desserts, like galaktobouriko (egg custard) and baklava (a honey, cinnamon, and almond pastry).
RUNNER UP: India Garden
THE SIT-DOWN RESTAURANT YOU GO TO THE MOST
Whistle Binkies
3120 Wellner Dr. NE, 289-9200;
247 Woodlake Dr. SE, 424-1227;
www.whistlebinkiespub.com
It seems readers just can’t get enough of Whistle Binkies. It’s a great bar, of course (see their win for Best Bar), but now it’s a winner in the sit-down restaurant category, too, as the go-to eatery for many Rochesterites. The fact that Whistle Binkies was honored as a restaurant tickles owner Randy Lehman. “We haven’t been recognized enough for our food. We were fortunate to get an outstanding chef (Mike Byers) who has brought our food up to a level that people don’t necessarily associate with just a pub.”
RUNNER UP: City Café
BEST ICE CREAM
Cold Stone Creamery
2650 S. Broadway, 424-3717;
3780 Marketplace Dr. NW, 424-3374;
Apache Mall, 424-2990;
www.coldstonecreamery.com
Kudos to the talented and strong workers at Cold Stone Creamery. They have to use all their muscles to hand-mix their fresh, premium (and sometimes hard) homemade ice cream together with goodies such as white chocolate chips and Oreos on a frozen piece of granite (it takes strength!). They also have to sing a song if you leave them an ample tip. The creamery’s workforce, and the creative concoctions they produce—from the “banana caramel cream” cone to the “cookie doughn’t you want some” sundae—deserve our readers’ accolades.
RUNNER UP: Culver’s
BEST BREAD
Great Harvest Bread Company
706 N. Broadway, 286-1101;
www.greatharvestrochester.com
Great Harvest hasn’t changed its formula for winning bread-making much since it won this category last year. Owners Dan and Bridget Sweeney use about 300 pounds of freshly ground whole wheat flour and 100 pounds of white flour each day when preparing 300 to 400 loaves of bread. Honey whole wheat is still the store’s signature bread, but also popular are specialties like cinnamon chip and challah, a sweet, braided white bread. The store has expanded its seating and now serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
RUNNER UP: Bread Baker
BEST HAPPY HOUR
Whistle Binkies
3120 Wellner Dr. NE, 289-9200;
247 Woodlake Dr. SE, 424-1227;
www.whistlebinkiespub.com
On Mystery Mondays, you pay $2 for whatever random beer is named on a slip of paper you pull out of a Guinness hat. On Tropical Tuesdays, you can get Coronas and margaritas at bargain prices. Walleye Wednesdays discounts everything Minnesotan. You get the idea: there’s a different themed deal every day at Whistle Binkies, giving the much-deserving 9-to-5 drones of the world a different (and valid) reason to stop by Whistle Binkies multiple times a week. “Our daily themed specials appeal to people, but so does the atmosphere, which is very warm, like a neighborhood pub, says owner Randy Lehman.
RUNNER UP: Paradise Pete’s
BEST SEAFOOD DISH
Grouper at City Café
216 First Ave. SW, 289-1949;
www.city-cafe.com
The grouper looks like an oversized bass. But it tastes nothing like bass. When cooked to perfection, as it is at City Café, it has the texture of a very tender pork tenderloin, but with more flavor. It’s an excellent foil for fresh herbs, subtle cheeses, and acidic marinades. City Café chefs serve it either pan seared with a lemon caper sauce or parmesan encrusted in a basil cream sauce.
RUNNER UP: Crab Cakes at Chardonnay
BEST PLACE TO TAKE A BUSINESS CLIENT TO CLOSE THAT BIG DEAL
Michaels
15 South Broadway, 288-2020;
www.michaelsfinedining.com
Michaels’ central downtown location makes it an obvious choice for a quick business lunch. Add to that the impeccably prompt, accurate and friendly service, and quiet, understated, nicely lit atmosphere and you’ve got the perfect place for a serious conversation. Its expansive menu makes it a safe bet for those who don’t know a thing about their client’s palate.
RUNNER UP: Broadstreet
THE ONE RESTAURANT ROCHESTER NEEDS IMMEDIATELY
Chili’s
Will someone please bring a Chili’s to Rochester? If only so someone new can win this category. This, according to Chili’s website, is all you need to fulfill Rochester’s dreams of a Chili’s franchise:
1. At least 5 years experience as a multi-unit restaurant owner/operator.
2. Personal/business liquidity of approximately $1 million per restaurant to be developed.
3. Personal/business net worth of at least $5 million.
RUNNER UP: Cheesecake Factory