Yesterday, continuing our staycation, we headed down to Austin, MN to visit the Spam Museum. My wife asked to go a long time ago and being that we really had nothing else to do, I agreed. She enjoys eating Spam when we’re camping but other than that we really don’t ever put it in our mouths and certainly don’t think about the history of it. Well, that all changed yesterday…
The Spam Museum opens at 10 AM so we left the house just after 8:30, ignored Google Maps’ suggestion that we should take I-35 to I-90 and did something a bit more scenic. We arrived at 10:15 and were greeted by the friendliest parking guy ever. He directed us to park nearby and then enter the museum through the double-doors. We followed his instructions and were in.
When you walk in, a museum greeter meets you and directs you to look over the door at the huge wall of empty Spam cans. An impressive display to be sure, but I was really disappointed that they weren’t full. As my wife said that if the nuclear apocalypse ever came, at least we’d know where to go. Now we’d have to find a Twinkie factory instead! We were handed a Spam Museum tour booklet and had our picture taken with Spammy and we were off.
Our first stop was to watch a video about Spam. My wife was extremely excited to see that the next one was starting in less than two minutes so while she hung out, I walked over to check out a nearby display of long forgotten Spam products and some new varieties, currently sold, which I had never before seen! After demanding that my wife come see the Hot & Spicy Spam, we wandered into the theater.
The movie was an overview of Spam’s history and was not only interesting but it was so hysterically awesome that I laughed out loud several times–especially when watching the quartet of ladies, affectionately named the Spamettes, singing about their love for Spam. After the movie was complete my wife leaned over and said her life is now complete and that the day was already made by this single stop on our self-guided museum tour. I couldn’t have agreed more.
The rest of our time at the museum included dressing up like Hormel employees, learning about the evolution of Spam marketing, taking the Spam Exam (and losing to my wife), and eating free samples of Spam served on pretzel skewers! After that we ended up in the gift shop where we gladly paid for our free admission with the purchase of a Spam hat, a beer bottle coozie, and a magnet (something which we generally collect from everywhere we’ve been and then hope the dog doesn’t eat them).
Overall, the Spam Museum comes highly recommended by my wife and me. We had a blast in Austin yesterday and I honestly believe that we’ll go back again sometime in the future, just for fun. Maybe then we can check out the restaurant across the street that advertises Spam menu items. Mmm, mmm! Have you ever been to the Spam Museum in Austin? If so, what did you think? Do you have any plans to get down there to check it out? Do you actually eat Spam? Perhaps you have some favorite recipes you’d like to share if you do? Whatever you have to say about the Hormel Spam Museum in Austin, MN go ahead and comment on below!
Address:
Spam Museum
1101 N Main St
Austin, MN 55912
Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday: noon – 5 PM
Phone:
1-800-LUV-SPAM
See all the pictures from the Spam Museum on Flickr here.
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July 30th, 2009 at 8:12 am
I must confess that I’ve never had Spam. When we were in Hawaii a few years ago, we found out that Spam is HUGE there. Apparently it hit big there during WWII. They even had a Spam breakfast sandwich on the menu at McDonald’s. I’m glad you guys had a good time. We’ll have to take the fam down there some time.
July 30th, 2009 at 8:21 am
I’ve never had Spam before but I will definitely put this museum on my list to see. What else are you doing on your staycation!? Sadly, I’ve lived here for over 10 years and have yet to venture outside of the metro area . What are some good day trips????
July 30th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I remember putting together a lot of advertising propaganda for the SPAM Museum for its grand opening (2001 I believe). I even lived about five blocks away for a while and still never went inside. I don’t think it’s something that the locals can appreciate but it has definitely, for better or worse, made Austin what it is today and put the town on the map. Were there any more Austin adventures to be had?
July 30th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Today there’s some freebie day at the Zoo and since we got married there, and my wife loves it for some reason, we’ll probably do that if it’s not too miserable out. I’d prefer to go and sit by the pool and do a workout but who knows if the weather will be ok for that. Tomorrow I’m going geocaching with a friend in Stillwater and then visiting some old coworkers and then heading out to lunch with a good friend at Margaux in White Bear Lake. Saturday I’m going to a birthday party at Minnehaha Falls and eating at Sea Salt. Sunday I’m going geocaching all day with another buddy from Faribault to New Prague. Should be a nice way to end my vacation.
Day Trips:
Stillwater, Duluth, Minnesota’s Iron Range, Red Wing, Pepin Wisconsin, Winona’s bluffs, etc, etc, etc :)
July 30th, 2009 at 8:42 am
No, we thought we had to be about 35 miles North for a meeting between 2 and 2:30 which never came about (no e-mail or call back apologizing either, boo) so we stopped in Mantorville at the Hubbell House for a late lunch before driving back home.
I did get some shots of a windmill farm and a random rural road that the GPS decided to take us down though: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_roehl/sets/72157621762548587/
July 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
No don’t get grossed out, but SPAM in homemade macaroni & cheese is really good! My mother used to use SPAM in Kraft [krap] Mac & cheese, but I only make homemade, I never do the boxed stuff.
July 30th, 2009 at 9:55 am
How did you enjoy the Hubbell House? The Mrs. and I have been there a couple of times many years ago. This history of the place, the presidents that would frequent the place was interesting. Probably been 15 years since we were there so I am curious to hear what you thought.
July 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Growing up we always had homemade Mac and Cheese, and I was really jealous of the kids who were lucky enough to get Kraft Mac and Cheese! I was also jealous of the kids who got to eat at McDonalds. I thankfully outgrew both of those delusions.
We did however eat spam as a family when I was a child, and while I dont love it, its ok on a hot spam and cheese (think grilled cheese with a slice of fried spam.)
Sounds like the museum was really cool.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:18 am
We started going there back in 2005 and have been back a couple of times since. I ordered the Reuben special yesterday and my wife got a Hubbell Burger. The burger was large (1/3 lb I’d guess) but it was way overdone for me (think medium-well) but it still had some ok flavor once you bit through the char.
My Reuben was good. The corned beef wasn’t deli-sliced shit, the cheese was nice, but the sauerkraut could have used a little more zip. The portion was large and that’s probably part of the reason why I gained 7 lbs in the last few days–back to the treadmill I go.
I usually go there for the beer on tap and they didn’t disappoint there. They had Stagecoach Smoked Porter ($4.50), Bells Two Hearted and a couple of others I didn’t bother to go with because I chose the local porter instead. The Stagecoach Smoked Porter wasn’t as good as the traditional ale but it was drinkable.
We’ve only eaten in the bar any time we’ve been there and we’ve always loved it for its “charm”. It is a piecemeal building where you can see differences in the ceiling, floor, walls, etc. We also love the history of the entire area (not just the inn/restaurant) and we’ve spent some time in the past exploring all over the immediate area.
It’s definitely a nice day trip to take down there (it’s about 55 minutes South of the 55124) and during the fall it would be a great trip to enjoy the colors.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am
[...] dinner at Richard’s in St. Peter — and plans to stop back for lunch soon, Bill visits the Spam Museum in Austin, has a rollicking time, and leaves with lots of Spam paraphernalia, Chris Eats scoffs at beer in a [...]
July 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Hot and Spicy Spam? Do they have any …. Ghost Spam by chance? No? I didn’t think so. They’re missing the boat.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I must confess I’ve lived a very limited-Spam-consumption life. That being said, The Blue Door (burger joint in St. Paul) has some wonderful Spam bites! Spam, pickles & cream cheese breaded and fried. Even the most Spam wary of types just might dig ‘em.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
WTF – NEVER eaten Span??? How deprived!
Here’s a little secret –
Open the Spam, diagonally score it many times so the the whole top is diagonal lines making 1/4 inch diamonds, then take whole cloves and stick them in the Spam where the lines cross, . . . bake at 300 for 15 minutes, open the oven and put 2-3 teaspoons of maple syrup over the top, return to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes – remove, slice and serve. Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!
Eating Spam always reminds me of my military days, we’d eat C-Rations when I was in a foreign country a bit East of here – this was just before the freeze-dried LRRP rations which were really very good.
When the rations, which came in small 8″x8″x4″, were passed out, the bargaining began. “Hey! I got pound cake, anyone wanna trade for chocolate?” “Yo yo yo – I got (Sp)ham and lima beans, anyone got beans with franks?” All of it came in small cans – and of course all were painted OD – Olive Drab – that’s the military designation for puke green. If you were “lucky” you got a P-38 – a small can opener – which would tear the top of the can, producing flecks of green paint falling into your Spam and Lima Beans – we called that military parsley. Also included – 4 cigarettes, condiments, round crackers in a small tuna can shape, and TP.
Ahhhhhh – but the best was the ambiance – Spam in the Jungle.
Cheers
Irving
July 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Ooops – Make that Spam, not Span!
July 30th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I will add to the hearty recommendation that everyone should visit the SPAM museum at least once. It is a truly fun time. I love all of the history and goofiness.
We were fortunate enough to be there during their Spam Festival! *i don’t know that they still hold it* They had Sam Choy, a well known Hawaiian chef, in town making spam sushi for sample, as well as kids activities and an entertainment tent with gymnasts and dancers.
And my favorite Spam incarnation as a kid was pan fried spam mixed into cheap boxed Mac n Cheese (I am sensing a theme).
July 30th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
If you haven’t tried the Spam Bites at the Minnesota State Fair, they are awesome. I met the owner of that food stand and he was super excited because he’ll be in a bigger space this year, in a more enclosed area somewhere near the Education Building. He’s even going to have a little museum area and will also have Spam stuff for sale — including those Spam flavors that are not available in stores. And he gave me a recipe for the Spam Bites — dredge the chunks in beaten egg, then coat with Shore Lunch and fry them up. Very easy, very yummy!
July 30th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
“and a magnet (something which we generally collect from everywhere we’ve been and then hope the dog doesn’t eat them).”
…funny you should say this. My mother-in-law was less than stellar in her treatment of her daughters-in-law.
When hubbyand I were on our honeymoon, we bought some family gifts, one of which was a puerto vallarta magnet for his mother. We brought it home and stuck it on the fridge until next we would see her.
Come winter, one of us knocked the magnet off of the fridge and the actual magnet detached from the decorative whatever. Our lovely dog Basil, aware of every dropped item in the kitchen, scrambled in and gulped the magnet down. Yum.
Come spring, hubby was in the yard picking up doo-doo with a shovel, and heard a KLINK!! The magnet had “passed”.
Now, Norma hated our dog even more than she hated me. So, old Basil and I cooiked up our plot. Hubby washed the magnet, glued it back together, and we gave it to his mother. She never knew. Revenge is sweet.
July 30th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
The above post was from me – I’m using hubby’s computer. Oops.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
I’m a 3-time visitor to the Spam Museum (or is that 4?), and love it! My usual itinerary is to stop in Northfield and also visit Nerstrand State Park on the way back. I have eaten at the restaurant across the street, and wasn’t impressed. Also, the Spam musubi recipe that was in the recipe booklet you likely picked up is good! I have actually purchased a musubi mold. This is the most common way for me to eat Spam. It also gives you a reason to go to United Noodle and pick up furikake and eat in their deli. Here’s the Serious Eats recipe: http://bit.ly/SpamMusubi
July 31st, 2009 at 11:19 am
Ok, the Spam Bites are on my list of must-haves at the Fair. Thank you for that (I think).
July 31st, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Spam was on my list of things that caused me to sit at the kitchen table until bedtime so I didn’t have to eat it. Ish.
August 2nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
[...] week my wife and I headed down to Austin to the Spam Museum. We both eat Spam and usually enjoy it, especially when camping, but a few of the readers posted [...]
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
[...] museum and one of the best I’ve ever been to. Many of the exhibits reminded me of the Hormel Spam Museum. We both look forward to returning soon to check out the rest of the exhibits that my pregnant [...]