Foodhoe's Foraging

413 14th Av. SE. Minneapolis, MN 55414 | 612.331.9991 | Mon-Sat 6am to 1pm; Sun 9 am to 1 pm

Mr. K and I took the red-eye from SFO to MSP which meant we arrived in Minneapolis at the uncivilized hour of 6 am.  We stumbled off the plane and followed the delicious smells of freshly brewed coffee to a nearby Caribou Coffee kiosk.  Soon we were in the rental car and on our way to Dinkytown, a small and vibrant neighborhood on the northside of the University of Minnesota to a tiny cramped diner that serves delicious breakfast to just 14 people at a time.  The restaurant is very narrow.  There’s just enough room for the kitchen, a counter with wobbly stools and barely enough room behind for people to stand in line.

Al’s Breakfast won a James Beard Foundation award in 2004 for the America’s Classics Restaurants category. The award hangs on the wall behind the counter at Al’s, somewhere in the chaotic display of knick knacks, foreign currency and memorabilia that exuberantly covers every surface.

We sat near the front of the diner for most of our meal where we could watch the griddle chef at work.  There are two cook stations, one at each end of the restaurant.  The griddle in the front made the pancakes, waffles and hash browns.  Eggs and omelets are made in a tiny kitchen located in the back.

The buttermilk pancakes are the specialty of the house and following Michael Stern’s recommendation, I ordered a Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake with Corn, which was served topped with a generous chunk of melting butter

I loved the texture of the succulent sweet corn kernels mixed in with the blueberries wrapped up in the tangy chewy and dense buttermilk batter.  Amazing with the rich salty butter and maple syrup drizzled over top.

In addition to the pancake, I had to try the Bacon Waffle ($5.80), which was topped with at least a quarter of a stick of butter on top.

I don’t know how it’s done, but there were strips of crisp salty bacon cooked into the middle of the waffle.  Delicious!

Especially delicious drizzled with maple syrup…

Mr. K loved his scrambled eggs topped with sauteed spinach and mushrooms.  The hashbrowns were amazing with a beautifully crisped and crunchy griddled exterior and are best described as kill-me-right-now-for-I-will-never-eat-anything-else-this-good. The previous phrase was found on the excellent zine Breakfast, which vividly describes the dining experience at Al’s.

The fellow next to me ordered a Jose, which has a base of hash browns topped with poached eggs, melted cheese and salsa.  I later noticed many of these passing by and was jealous…  I wanted to come back for this particular dish and I’m chagrined that I later changed my mind to eat at the Birchwood Cafe instead.  That was a mistake, unless you like bland healthy food.  Anyways, partway through our meal, we were asked to slide down a couple of seats to make room for a party of three.  I slid down to a newly wiped clean counter, a slight change of scenery and new neighbors.  I like that about Al’s, it’s part of the fun.