Bar area

Primebar isn’t just another bar that has been added into the Minneapolis Uptown area bar scene. This isn’t a Friday’s, a Ruby Tuesdays or an Applebees.  Primebar is an upscale bar and eating establishment.

Primebar is not a stand alone location, it is a chain, with other locations in Chapel FL, Chicago IL and Dallas TX.  Even though it’s a “chain”, it is going to focus on being “local”. One was it’s doing this is by it’s beer selection of beers. They have a selection of over 60 beers, so your sure to find one that matches your unique palate.

The Minneapolis location is in the former Il Gatto space in Calhoun Square.  It has great wall of windows facing Lake Street, sure to be a great place to eat and people watch. Another seating area that it has is a more dimly lit and intimate eating area. Both areas surround a very large bar area in the center of space. You won’t see “Norm” chatting at the bar with Cliff Clavin here.

Besides the broad selection of beers, featuring local beers as well, they plan to feature local food also, with plans to feature some locally farmed grass-fed beef.  Executive Chef Sean Sherman has a great deal of experience opening restaurants.  Having lived and having been a cook in Minnesota for several years, he brought his cooking skills with him as he traveled to different areas of the world, assisting with various restaurants as they developed. His most recent stint was in Montana, opening a few restaurants there that focused on locally sourced foods.

As with any new restaurant, primebar will grow and develop to meet the needs and tastes of those that frequent it. The next time that you are in the Uptown are of Minneapolis, give it a try.

The “Knife and Fork Reuben”

There has been a growing expansion of Bistros in the Twin Cities. There’s also been large growth in the sandwich and frozen yogurt sectors.  One area though that has not been built up or seen any kind of growth really in the Twin Cities, is the genuine deli sector. In 2011, an addition was finally made, and it came in the form of the Rye Deli.

The Rye deli in in the uptown area of Minneapolis, near the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Franklin, at the address of 1930 Henneapin Ave.  It has a parking lot, which is pretty unusual for most uptown eateries, but it does help get some vehicles off of the street.

The Rye deli has the feel of walking into a well aged deli, smack dab in New York City.  The owner, David Weinstein, grew up on the East Coast, and went to law School in New Orleans. (To get more of David’s story, check out my interview with him from January of 2012.)  You can tell that he worked hard to come up with the right look and feel for his restaurant, as well as coming up with a menu that would reflect a genuine New York style deli.

Display case and sandwich making area.

The building that the deli is located in was formerly a restaurant, but when David took over the space, they made sure to open the space up more, get more light and decorate it in the appropriate deli style. There are darker cozy areas and then there are brighter areas near the windows, as well as an outdoor patio area for when the weather in neither too wet or too hot.

They open during the week at 11am to offer lunch and on the weekend, starting at 7am for brunch that is served until 2pm. They also offer a Happy Hour that runs from 2pm – 7pm and 10pm – 12am.  They cure and smoke their own meats, offer fresh bagels and made-from-scratch food. Doesn’t that sound like a place that you just want to try?

Looking for something unique and different in the Twin Cities? Give the Rye Deli a try.

When a person generally thinks of eating somewhere in the uptown area of Minneapolis, they probably think of something exotic and unusual. That is NOT the case at The Lowry.  The Blue Plate Restaurant Co.  has been making and supplying trendy comfort foods for the Twin Cities for nearly 20 years, and they’ve done it again with The Lowry.

Near the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Franklin Ave, this former Hollywood Video store has been converted into a very masculine/lawyer-lounge with some wonderful options for eats. They serve what they call “4 meals”, breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night. They bring some of their menu from their other establishments like the Edina Grill, the Longfellow Grill and the Highland Grill, but then they also bring some different options that are unique to The Lowry as well.

With this being my first visit to The Lowry, I got some advice from others who had been there before, so I tried the Peter’s burger. It was named in honor of a gentleman that one of the co-owners knew in Australia.  This man had a simple restaurant on a beach in Australia, and a large development company was buying up the property around him. He wouldn’t sell his land, so they built their development around him instead. Great story! The burgers at The Lowry are generally a 1/3 lb burger, so not a little burger but not a gluttonous mass of meat either. :) The Peter’s burger has caramelized onions, a fried egg and a mustard pickle relish on it. It was very good! I then had a few side options to choose from, and so I choose their sweet potato fries. They were cooked well and tasted good, but I prefer my fries to be a bit crispier.

Peter's Burger with sweet potato fries

They also have some other options for you to try like the salad that Stephanie Shimp, one of the co-owners ate, it was the Tuna & White Bean salad. The salad consists of tuna, tomatoes, olives and grilled ciabatta.

Tuna & White Bean salad

The staff were all very friendly and seemed to really enjoy the work that they’re doing. That says a LOT about a restaurant, if the staff is enjoying themselves. The row of windows on the north and east sides of the building bring in a ton of light inside The Lowry. For myself, being able to sit on the Hennepin Avenue side of the restaurant made for a fun time to be able to eat, relax and watch the busy traffic go buy, while I was able to enjoy my time eating my burger and talking with Stephanie Shimp about restaurants and the local food scene.

No matter the time of day that you’re awake and hungry, The Lowry will most likely be open and will definitely have something to fill your hunger cravings.