I have had Junior’s Grill on the infamous todo list for a long time, at least as far back as when we visited nearby Sambol but was reminded to give it a try by a reader who sent me an e-mail asking what I thought of Junior’s. I didn’t feel like cooking tonight so we drove over to Eagan to check this place out.
As we walked in I immediately noticed their great eleven seat counter with old style stools mixed with a more modern wide granite counter top. One of the stools is not an option as a small TV/VCR combo sits on the counter there to offer a background buzz and a temporary distraction for the cook as he fries onions rings and grills the meat. There are less than ten tables instead and another six outside and tonight at 6pm most of those inside were filled with no one braving the afternoon humidity and sun. The grill was crackling and the fan hoods were loudly sucking the grill’s smoke up and out. I liked the feel of the place and if this wasn’t located in a suburban Eagan strip mall I would have thought I was tucked away in some small town diner. Good work there!
When we sat down I grabbed menus from another empty table and we looked it over. Junior’s doesn’t seem to have any web presence at all so I couldn’t look at the menu ahead of time and can’t link you to it now. If you happen to have a link to them that my lame Googling skills couldn’t find please let me know below. A quick look showed that they offer 19 breakfast items listed between $4.49 and $9.99, 5 very large salads for $8.49 each, 5 burgers for $5.99 to $7.99, 11 sandwiches for $6.49 to $7.99, 6 Chicago Favorites (hot dog, polish sausage, roast beef, etc) for $2.99 to $8.99, 4 Steaks $6.99 (for chopped beef) to $15.99 (steak of the day) and 10 Blue Plate Specials between $6.99 and $7.99. I probably should have just taken photos but that would have been way too easy, eh? Anyway, Kim was in the mood for a burger which is why we ended up here in the first place so that’s exactly what she ordered… Junior’s All American Burger which is $5.99 and which the menu says is garnished with lettuce, tomato and red onion with the option to add cheese for $1.29. She went with the cheese option and ordered it with fries. Figuring this was a diner, I wanted an open face sandwich. The last item on the menu before you get to the sides, desserts, and drinks is the Hot Roast Beef which includes tender roast beef piled high on white bread and topped with red pepper gravy for $7.99. All dinner come with mashed potatoes/gravy and vegetable of the day. Did they save the best for last?
I was pretty hungry but I didn’t have to wait long to eat as our orders were up fast! Nothing fancy here. Kim’s burger was served in a plastic basket with paper and mine was a pile of meat loaded with gravy on a simple plate. Good stuff so far. I spent a few minutes taking photos and then let Kim dig in before I got around to mine.
Kim’s burger was so big I could barely fit it in my mouth and I know Kim was having problems herself. It was loaded with toppings and was cooked just about medium rare without Kim being asked how she wanted it done. While that’s fine for us you may want to specify if you like to ruin the flavor of your burgers by having them overcooked until they are shoe leather. Kim said, “this is an excellent burger…we will be back.” When I asked her if it was better than the burgers at the now defunct Bucky’s Diner, she was unsure but honestly, from the two bites I had I would have to say that this burger was indeed better all around. The fries, on the other hand, were completely over-seasoned with salt. You could literally see the crystals protruding like rock candy from the fries. Kim wasn’t sure but she believed she overheard the man at the table next us mention that his was salty as well.
While Kim’s burger was pretty damn good, my open faced, hot roast beef was on the low end of the scale. I won’t say it was terrible but it was definitely below par. The meat was overrun with fat and gristle and it honestly felt like I ate more of that than beef. The gravy was extremely salty and reminded me of something grandma would have made with the heavy salt shaker hand that seemed to prevail all those years ago — this is fucking 2008, people don’t eat salt like that anymore — ease up! The mashed potatoes were flavorless without the gravy and while they seemed homemade, I wasn’t at all impressed. The corn on the cob side was quite starchy and tasted frozen. While I finished it all, it won’t be a meal I will repeat ever again. I’m not quite sure what diner worth its salt (no pun intended) can have an open faced sandwich that’s so terrible. Yuck.
Kim also ordered a chocolate malt and when it came out it also came with the mixing cup 3/4 full. This was a big malt and it tasted great. I don’t normally care for ice cream in any form but this was an amazing milkshake for $3.89. I saw the pineapple upside down cake on the menu and thought it looked good but didn’t order it until Kim brought it up later that she wanted to try it. After we got the bill I asked for them to bring out a piece for me. At $3.99 the size of the piece was certainly worthy of the price as it was obnoxiously huge. I took bite after bite of the dessert and then asked Kim if she tasted any pineapple. We both decided that this was nothing more than yellow cake mix and a metric fuckton of brown sugar caramelized on top. While that’s great and all, it wasn’t what I was looking for and I left over 50% of it on the plate. When the waiter came back around to ask about it I said there wasn’t any pineapple in the cake and he asked if I wanted some extra pineapple now… Uhh, no, it belongs in the cake but thanks anyway.
The bill came to $24.71 before tip and wasn’t astronomical for what we ate tonight. The service was fine and Kim’s burger was excellent but aside from that, this place is a salt-induced heart attack waiting to happen. When we return I will stick to the burgers, sans fries, and avoid nearly everything else.
If you have eaten at Junior’s please share your comments below!
Address:
Junior’s Cafe and Grill
1340 Duckwood Dr #7
Eagan, MN 55123
Phone:
651-686-5100
See all the pictures from Junior’s Cafe and Grill on Flickr here.
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August 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
This place looks pretty good; I wouldn’t have known about it were it not for your review. I will definitely have to check it out, as I am a sucker for places like this.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I’ve been to Junior’s many times as I used to work nearby. They, and Sambol are really standouts in an otherwise wasteland of ubiquitous chains.
I haven’t had the experience with the salt, but it’s a good, solid source of no-nonsense blue collar food. I appreciate that most things at Junior’s are made from non-frozen, scratch ingredients. If you sit at the counter at lunchtime, you’ll see them pulling out the various fresh items prior to cooking.
Since they always have gravy available, I give the fries a good dousing and make chips-and-gravy out of them. It’s a good way to turn frozen-grade fries into a culinary delight.
The salads are gargantuan and also fresh. I sometimes like horking down a 3-pound cobb salad and Junior’s is a good place for that.
I never did make it over for breakfast, but supposedly it’s even better for that.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:17 am
While I mentioned “very large salads” perhaps the words were lost in a sea of many menu descriptions. While I didn’t order one, I did see one being delivered and found it to be humongous — definitely well worth the menu price.
While I didn’t sit at the counter, I could see the grill from where we were seated and the burgers definitely looked fresh and hand pressed. They were big monsters and I agree that they are one of the few places where you know you aren’t getting some prepackaged meal.
We will be back — for burgers and I’m looking forward to it. I just wish I didn’t have to drive to Eagan to get a nice non-chain breakfast or burger :(
August 4th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Well, you’re only about 8 miles from the House of Coates which is an OK place for a burger.
About the same distance to Jensen’s Cafe for a good breakfast.
I forget if you’ve mentioned either. Like your Kramarczuk’s person, I’m too lazy to do a search today.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
MSPD,
While I haven’t been to the House of Coates for a burger, I have been to Jensen’s (and it is on the site) for breakfast. Jensen’s is great for a nicer breakfast but I was talking more like a dirty diner breakfast instead :)
August 4th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Give House of Coates a try, especially if you’ve over by the UMore area. You’ll probably find it similar in quality to Juniors for a burger.
Have I ever mentioned the Windmill Cafe before (over in Savage along Highway 13)? It meets your need for dirty, although it’s a cafe, not a diner in the east coast sense of the word. The Buckboard in Lakeville is in the same mold. Both are popular breakfast joints among those that drive dump trucks and are likely to work with motor oil in some capacity.
Those are the places I head prior to a day of splitting firewood or doing some other type of heavy labor.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
While I used to pass the Windmill daily, I figured it wasn’t the type of place that takes credit cards and since I almost never carry cash, I haven’t graced the establishment with my awesome presence.
I know of the Buckboard as well but haven’t hit it either — I was talking more about a place in Apple Valley, like Bucky’s used to be, for a cheap and dinerish breakfast. Honestly, I never thought I’d miss Bucky’s as much as I do :(
August 4th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Yeah…I hear you on AV.
The Windmill does take credit cards. The Spur Cafe a little bit to the west (also very good breakfast cafe, although with weird hours) is a cash-only operation. And the nearest ATM is a LONG way away I discovered (corner of County 42 and Highway 13!)
August 5th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
We have been to Juniors several times, although none recently. In years past, the food was better than decent and the service so-so. The place was normally pretty busy, and while the food probably is not the healthiest in the world, I think thats kinda the motto of diner food.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
While I don’t expect it to be healthy, I also don’t expect to taste heavy amounts of salt in my food while noting that I eat hot sauce on spoons and sunflower seeds like I’m a seedbank so take this for what it might be worth :)
August 5th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I dont use salt on my food or on our table, so I am pretty averse to huge amounts of salt. I simply thought it amusing to complain about the health risks of salty fries/food while eating a greasy burger the size of a frisbee at a place that specialized in artery clogging sausage gravy.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Just a warning to those readers that might not be as diner savvy as you are ;)
August 5th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Haha
August 6th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
[...] Hot Sauce Taste Test Challenge. It’s been a couple of days that have been filled with Thai, a diner that could give you a heart attack, and BBQ and so I finally got around to the 5th installment in this series of posts. Sorry about [...]
August 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I liked Junior’s. We went in for breakfast on Saturday and the place was packed. All of the inside tables as well as the outdoor seating were full. We did find two open stools at the counter however. I sat right next to the TV with a great view of the Olympic equestrian events. The food was OK, I had the Cajun breakfast with andouille sausage. The thing I liked the most was how it reminded me of diners I loved back East. I will be in again for lunch one of these days to give the salads a try.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
[...] burgers available to those of us south of the river. We’ve already been to Bucky’s, Junior’s, and the House of Coates. I have plans to get to some others but for tonight’s adventure I [...]
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
Took the family to Junior’s last night. I had been there once before, but several years ago. I had forgotten all about the place until I had read your post here recently.
My wife had the burger and I was only allowed one bite, it was great – perfectly cooked. The fries were salty, but I personally don’t mind. It would probably be a good idea to leave them lightly seasoned and let the customer salt the hell out of them if they desire.
I ordered the “Italian Combo” which is a HUGE sandwich with Italian roast beef and a large Italian sausage. The sandwich was good, but the roast beef was a bit dry and tough. The cup of Au Jus certainly helped.
Overall it was a good meal in a great funky old diner atmosphere. Although next time, I’ll stick with the burger.
August 31st, 2008 at 4:26 pm
[...] taking photos and watching them grill burgers with heavy iron keeping them on the grill, much like Junior’s Grill, while toasting the buns as the fryer did its thing. Our order was up in less than 10 minutes and [...]
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I’m currently sitting at Junior’s counter watching Kim finish her enormous burger. I ordered the meatloaf and while it looked like they double their meatballs as meatloaf because my meal came out in three balls covered in their red pepper gravy.
The food was much better for me this time and I didn’t notice any of it being over salted including Kim’s onion rings. I’m guessing something just happened that paricular day we showed up the first time.
April 10th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Juniors is a great breakfast place. I have had breakfast there many times and it never disappoints. Have eaten there only like 3 times for dinner though. the burgers are good. I had the meatloaf once but wasn’t particularly thrilled. The chicken friend steak, however is very tasty. The chili is also very good and you actually get a very large portion for the price – rather than pay $5 for a smallish cup like most places.
July 16th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I have eaten at Juniors for breakfast, Luch and Dinner, my food and service has been great every time. I have not experienced the salty fries and I do not do gravy. The breakfast is great and large servings. I would go back.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
bb stacker and I were there for breakfast. For $6 I ate like a fucking king. Suzie’s Kitchen claims that they’re the only place around but man, Junior’s is the place to go if you want a great breakfast.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
the plate was at least the size of a hubcap from a 1928 Hispano Suiza!! had to be 14″ and no open space left on the plate. we each got a basic breakfast, sunny side up with the white thingies looking right back at you, awesome ‘taters. the only issue was awesomebill soaked his hashbrowns in some un identifiable red shit that made my eyes water! i’m better now!
if you’re on a mission for the best of the break! you’d have to go a ways to top this:)
bb
November 27th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I miss being close to Juniors, I moved from Eagan last month. May have to find an excuse to go back out there for breakfast sometime.
January 21st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I just got back from Juniors grill, after a twitter recommendation from Bill.
I was the only one there when I walked in at 4:15, so I grabbed a seat at the counter, right next to the tv, was was really loud and playing Judge Judy or something like that. I didn’t mind the TV being on since I was the only one there, and it gave me something to listen to.
After a quick glance at the menu I decided to get my standard burger – the mushroom swiss – and a chocolate malt. The burger was a typical diner style burger, something I really enjoy. I just love the juicy burger with the hot melted cheese. It was a mess to eat, but it didn’t last long!
The malt was way too much for just me, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and so I ate the whole thing. I think I’m regretting that already :)
I only have two very small complaints, and one was my own fault.
1. While I was eating, one of the workers was sweeping the floor right next to me. I understand that it was a good time to clean up, but give me some space.
2. Since I was the only one there, and both of the workers kept cleaning while I was there, I wondered if they were closing soon. I didn’t think that would make any sense, but figured maybe they do more of a lunch crown since it’s by so many businesses. So I looked at the sign on the door and it looked like it was only open to 5. No one else was coming in, so I figured they were just waiting for me to finish up. I wasn’t rushed or anything, but I did eat my malt a lot faster then I had intended to just to get out of there.
But when I walked out, I looked at the sign again, and it said they were open to 8. Not sure what I had read, but I felt a little stupid, and bummed that I had eaten so quickly.
Oh well. I’ll definitely go back for lunch someday soon to try something else. There aren’t that many independent restaurants in that area of Eagan, but I’ll add this to my other common lunch stops of Carbones, Italian Pie Shoppe, and El Loro.
January 26th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Just stopped by today after reading this article, and having a large craving for a good burger. I’ve been working in Eagan for over a year now, and didn’t know about this place. What an excellent little burger joint. The bacon was cooked perfectly, never had that happen on a burger anywhere before. The bun was toasted well, and the beef was full of flavor. My only complaint about the burger, was it was a little more well-done than I normally like. But still very, very juicy. The fries weren’t over-salted by any means.
The service was good, and we got in about 1:00, so we missed the lunch rush and were able to get a table. It sucked to sit by the door, that cold air was brutal.
It was a little spendy for my taste, so it won’t make my regular rotation of lunch establishments, but I will be back when the craving happens again.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:35 am
[...] be. If we’re going to spend that kind of money on burgers we’re better off at nearby Junior’s Cafe where they at least have real waiters (rather than Culver’s like delivery) and the burgers [...]
July 27th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I think just about every time I’ve frequented I order the 10 oz sirloin steak for only 10.99 with a substitute onion rings. Included in the meal are a large (for a dinner salad) dinner salad, chili or, if I remember correctly, soup? Also included are a choice of the normal potato choices. Finally a big piece of Texas toast with parmesan cheese. I needed a box and had the rest of the steak the next morning. It was cooked correctly as were the fries and I very much enjoyed watching my meal being made right before my eyes.
The staff has been absolutely terrific and the second time I ate there I had the same server. He remembered what I ordered during the last visit and double checked with me just in case he was incorrect. It might have been the substitute onion rings that he really remembered but, regardless, he did remember.
Yes, the overhead fan is quite loud for my sensitive ears so when we eat there tonight I’ll let Father know he does not require his hearing aid. I have a fairly severe visual impairment and noticed that the lighting was excellent and I could actually see what I was eating – and that is much better than the typical darker restaurants that charge an arm and a leg for the same size sirloin.
I’ve not had a bad experience yet and tend to get out there once every week and a half or so. I guess I miss the nook and cranny ice cream and burger parlors that were more numerous in the ’70′s. It may be possible you caught the cook on an off night.
July 27th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Junior’s is one of the few places in Eagan with dog-friendly outdoor seating. Two paws up! Try the reuben.
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:21 pm
i did! the reuben was great. the mrs had 1/2 a basic burger, perhaps i’ll get the 2nd 1/2 tonight:)
bb
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Anyone know the status of location 2 in Burnsville?
October 4th, 2010 at 6:55 am
[...] Sports Cafe. The sister restaurant of Eagan’s most famous burger and breakfast joint, Junior’s Cafe & Grill, this restaurant replaces Applewood Rustic Grille which closed up shop in October of [...]
February 19th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
I finally got around to trying this place today for lunch. Overall, I’d say it was decent. It’s a place I’d go back to if I was in the area running errands or whatever, though probably not a place for which I’d make a special trip (unless I was really craving diner food).
I had the chicken fried steak blue plate special, which, along with the steak, came with mashed potatoes and gravy and the vegetable of the day (in this case, green beans) along with a piece of cheesy Texas toast. The price was somewhere between seven and eight dollars. I don’t like green beans, and thus didn’t eat them, but it was my fault that I didn’t ask the server first, so I’m certainly not going to hold that against them.
The steak was good. It’s hard to mess up chicken fried steak, admittedly, but is doable, and fortunately this wasn’t one of those times. It was pretty big, too; probably larger than you’d find at a place like Perkins or IHOP. The gravy on it was bland, though, and there was way too much of it on the plate — the steak and mashed potatoes were both drowning in it. I like gravy and all, but not that much. As for the potatoes, they had a good texture, but there again it seemed like they could have been more flavorful. I liked the toast as well, though it could have had a little more cheese if it is going to be presented as cheesy toast; it was on the spare side. This was a massive plate of food, all in all, and even without eating the green beans I was very full when I was done. Certainly a good deal for the money.
So, yeah; not blown away but definitely satisfied. I’ll probably try one of the burgers and a malt next time I’m there.
February 3rd, 2012 at 7:02 am
[...] I have never eaten at Cahill Diner but their menu seems fairly straightforward and appears to be a holdover from when the owner of Valley Diner sold out to them (such as the Cajun Breakfast). The space seems fairly small but probably no smaller than nearby diner Junior’s Grill. [...]
December 26th, 2012 at 9:40 am
I have yet to come here (in the morning) and have a good experience. Both times the server gal seemed put-off by us, slamming down water, snatching menus away. We chalked up the first time to her having a bad morning and tried again (about 4 months later) but the second visit was a repeat of the first. We’re not *special order* people and being a former server myself, I’m always polite. We gave no reason for her being rude to us, and not sure why the attitude. We always tip well.
We haven’t been back since which is a shame since the food was pretty good and Eagan is really lacking for good b-fast places. Hopefully lunch or dinner will either have a different staff or an improved mood?
December 26th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
We eat at Junior’s 1-2 times a month and have for several years. I’ve never had the type of service you described.
December 26th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
That’s a good thing. I’m hoping it was just a strange fluke, you know?