Brass Rail - Grande, MN

I’ve driven by this small restaurant and bar a bunch of times when headed up north to the lake. I wasn’t sure what it looked like inside (was it more bar-like or more restaurant-like?) but I knew they were known for their broasted chicken. I’m a fan of broasted chicken, but I haven’t had it in a long time. I finally convinced D that we needed to stop there recently, and it was a great decision.

 

The inside is decidedly more restaurant-like than we expected. It’s almost like a little country diner. Checkerboard patterns all around and lots of nick-nacks and history. All the servers are really friendly and the people eating there seem to be regulars, for the most part. Yet, we didn’t feel like outsiders when we walked in – sometimes, that’s a fear of these small-town establishments. 

 

The menu is really full of delicious sounding things. But we knew we wanted the chicken. I went with the ¼ chicken (dark meat) and D went with the ¼ chicken (light meat). Plus, we knew we needed some cheese curds. And because, I hadn’t seen it in liquor stores for a while, or on a restaurant menu ever, I got a lime-a-rita. Hahaha

 

The curds came out and were exactly what we expected. They came with some sort of dipping sauce – probably ranch or sour cream based, but we didn’t care. We were just shoveling them into our mouth holes. Super good.

All of the chicken dinners come with coleslaw, but I’ve never seen it served like they do at the Brass Rail. The server brings out a massive tray of coleslaw for what looks like the entire restaurant (as it turns out, everyone orders the chicken dinners here, so that makes sense). Everyone gets a cup (not a little cup, either) of coleslaw with a fork stuck in the top. Simple, but something you’ll remember – and apparently tell people about if you have a blog. Thankfully, the coleslaw is really good. I did think it was a little weird to have a coleslaw appetizer, but I’m guessing normal people wait for their dinners to arrive to eat theirs. 

 

The chicken is every bit as good as you’d expect it. Lots of people don’t even know what broasted chicken is, but it’s basically pressure-fried chicken. Pressure cookers are a dangerous kitchen contraption meat to seal in juices and then they fry it at the same time. I don’t understand the science behind it – I just eat it. The dark ¼ chicken dinner comes with a thigh and a drumstick, buttered toast and a side, which I got onion rings. It also comes with a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy, like a cereal bowl sized situation. This is a seriously heavy meal, in case you were wondering. The chicken is superb. Super crunchy and juicy, which is a hard combination, I understand. It’s really the star of the show. The rest of the stuff is solid, but the chicken is where it’s at. 

 

It’s clear these cooks know their way around a fryer, which I respect. Generous portions and a broad menu also help push this place up the ladder of places we’ll hit on the way up north again. Looking forward to our next stop at the Brass Rail.

Burger Dive @ Bay Street – St. Paul, MN

I’m not going to try to explain Burger Dive’s business model in detail, but I’ll explain it as well as I can. There’s a couple of guys that love burgers and they’ve set up some sort of burger operation in the kitchens of multiple dive bars. They’ve got one in Potluck in the Rosedale Mall and they’ve got another in Bay Street in St. Paul. I don’t know the ins and outs, but I do know they know their way around a burger. 

D and SalsaSandwich were having a sister day, so they invited me to come along and have a burger with them, since SalsaSandwich loves a monumental burger. The choices on the menu were challenging, so some decisions had to be made. To buy us some time, we ordered some jalapeno cheese curds, which ended up being the right call. Plenty of jalapenos on top, and potentially inside the curds, as well. Hard to tell since it was dark in the dive bar that is the lovely Bay Street Bar. These folks clearly know their way around a deep fryer, as well, so we had high hopes for the burgers.

 

Once I had decided, the server came back and told me about the special of the month – a grilled cheese burger. Well that ruined everything since now all I could think about was the burger he described to me. I caved and had to go with the special, mainly because any of the other burgers, I could just come back and get them whenever I wanted to. I made my decision and had to stick with it.

 

The grilled cheese burger is two smashed patties on buttered toast with American cheese, cheddar cheese, cheddar aioli, and sliced tomato. All of this served with a little cup of tomato soup to dip it in. This thing was killer. Crispy edges on the burger patties and the right amount of cheese – not even a sloppy amount – just nailed it. The soup was really quite delicious to dip the burger into and the whole thing really came together even better than I expected it to. If they ever offer this burger again, I’ll be the first in line to get one. Super good. 

My apologies for not taking any other pics of burgers, since as soon as they hit the table, they were smashed directly into faces (we were a little hungry this particular day). But the fact that SalsaSandwich ate absolutely every bite of burger and every french fry and didn’t bring anything home was a testament to how good these monstrous burgers were. We’ll be back!

Top 5 things about Burger Dive at Bay Street

1. Grilled Cheese Burger

2. Very robust menu

3. Jalapeno Cheese Curds

4. They have pull tabs!

5. Outside seating area for the warmer days

 

Bottom 5 things

1. It’s hard to explain that it’s a restaurant inside a dive bar, that’s called something different

2. It’s a dive bar, so set your expectations accordingly (it’s perfectly safe to go there, I promise)

3. There’s really not anything bad about this place, honestly

4. 

5.

 

www.burgerdivemn.com