Town Talk Diner: Minneapolis, MN

March 3rd, 2006 in Metro, Minneapolis, Restaurants, Reviews

Out at the Town Talk Diner with Kim and Aaron for dinner.

This restaurant has received a bunch of good reviews around the local “blogosphere” including Aaron on the Town Talk and Alexis in love with the Diner. These two accounts made me really want to try it out and Aaron was looking forward to getting back so we decided to meet up around 7 for dinner. After finishing up early running some errands I asked Aaron if he could meet us early. He was ready and waiting when we stepped off the Lake St LRT station. Good thing too, while the restaurant was fairly empty when we first arrived, it soon filled up with many eager patrons looking for a great meal.

We were greeted at the door by one of the managing partners, Tim, who remembered Aaron’s name and was thrilled to let us pick seats of our choice. I really enjoy warm, friendly, and personal treatment as it really makes me want to come back and enjoy it over and over again.

Our waitress was not as comfortable and knowledgable as I would have expected with the reputation that this restaurant carries but I was in no way disappointed with her. She was delightful and eager to please including making certain that Aaron was properly informed on his “top shelf” Manhattan. Nice touch.

I ordered a can of PBR as someone had to balance out Kim’s “Monkey Business” (Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bourbon) as well as Aaron’s top-shelf Manhattan. When the waitress came with our drinks she asked if I needed a glass… What self-respecting PBR drinker would not drink it straight from the can?! ;) Not this guy ;)

Kim *loved* her “Monkey Business” shake but Aaron didn’t agree with Alexis’ comment that the Town Talk Diner’s Manhattans nearly “knocked her out of her seat”. My PBR sure was tasty though ;)

I ordered their “Kitchen Sink Burger” solely on a challenge from Alexis that no one would be able to clear their plates after eating one of their monster burgers. I also grabbed an order of their onion rings for an appetizer. Kim and Aaron both went with the “new hip meal”, grilled cheese. Both of their orders came out with the garlic parsley fries (even though Kim didn’t order them) along with “lemon mayo” which reminded both Kim and I of tartar sauce so we asked for a side of ketchup and utilized that instead.

The onion rings were very good. Extremely greasy and not too tough to bite through (a common issue I have with restaurant style onion rings) these were just what I needed to compliment the PBR!

Soon after licking the plate clean our entrees were out. My burger was quite large and came with a skewer of peppers, pickles, and random other stuff. My burger was packed with cheese, bacon, and a huge pile of meat. I was pleased that the Town Talk Diner offers to cook their burgers all the way to rare. It’s not often these days that restaurants will do that for you and I always appreciate it greatly. My burger wasn’t exactly “medium-rare” as I ordered but it was close enough that I wasn’t about to mind.

Aaron and Kim’s grilled cheese sandwiches looked great. Kim had no problems finishing it off and then swapping my regular fries for her garlic parsley ones. Both Aaron and Kim did not seem to care for those at all and Aaron commented he would be sticking to their regular fries from then on. I didn’t have any problems with them and actually enjoyed them quite a bit but I don’t exactly consider myself a french fry connoisseur ;)

My burger tasted great! The peppers were not only a great touch but they weren’t your typical jarred/pre-cut jalapenos, nope… These were fresh, uncut, and scrumptions peppers that were absolutely awesome. They definitely brought out the flavor of the burger and reminded me of a really upscale DQ Flamethrower burger. Excellent.

Even though they sounded great, we opted to go without dessert this evening. With needing to win “the bet” I had to clean my plate so I was a bit full ;) Even so, the waitress came by and offered a small plate with three chocolate covered peanut butter balls sprinkled with more chocolate powder. These delicious treats were almost identical to the chocolate peanut butter balls my mother used to make at Christmas. Slightly crunchy and super tasty we thoroughly enjoyed them.

My overall impression of the Town Talk Diner is a good one. I loved the atomosphere, friendly service, and food. They had enough little touches that made me *almost* believe it could be a real diner. Thankfully one of those touches wasn’t a surly waitress ;)

If you’re looking for a nice casual night out while eating some pretty damn good food and drinking some interesting and exciting drinks, then the Town Talk Diner is definitey for you.

Check them out at 2707 Lake St E in Minneapolis.

See all the pictures from today here (mobile).