While driving around looking for another nearby restaurant I noticed a sign in the window of the strip mall which houses several other stores including Desi Foods and a Pizza Man which indicated a new diner would be opening up in March.
According to the information available on the sign, Ze’s Diner is related to the Cahill Diner in Inver Grove Heights. While the inside is still under construction (someone was paint in there last night), the architecture and interior design is being done by HAF Architects and Interiors out of Stillwater (single pic from their Facebook page here).
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.
There are a number of restaurants in the immediate area there including one fairly popular diner. Do you think there is room enough for yet another similar restaurant even with the stream of business traffic that is likely to head in there at lunch time? Have you ever eaten at the Cahill Diner in Inver Grove Heights? If so what did you think of their offerings? Any bets on whether the business will actually open in March (less than two months away)? Do you have any other details on the Ze’s in Eagan? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Address
Ze’s Diner
3448 Denmark Ave
Eagan, MN 55123
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February 3rd, 2012 at 8:30 am
I have never been to the Cahill diner, but if the menu here is similar it is probably worth a try for a weekend breakfast one day.
Re: Cajun Breakfast
I have always been a big fan of that item at The Uptowner on Grand in St. Paul. They serve a andouille sausage patty that is pretty good and a big meal so greasy that you need to drive straight home after you eat it.
But if you go to the local diners, Junior’s, Valley, the Cahill menu, the three of them have what appears to be an identical “Cajun breakfast” with a sausage link (much inferior). Would be nice if they tried to differentiate a little to give me a reason to pick one over the other.
I could probably make the same comment about the “Tex-Mex” and the similarities on all these menus, but since the Uptowner puts Pace picante sauce on theirs, I have never bothered to try it.
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:38 am
IIRC the Uptowner was also owned by the guy who now owns Valley Diner.
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:53 am
I know the Uptowner changed hands 2 or 3 times in the early 2000s if I am remembering the timeframe, and each time it got worse until whoever owns it now brought it back to the what it was before.
It is a nice guilty pleasure to eat at that greasy dump every so often for breakfast, and the service is always really friendly. If they had good coffee, that would make it ideal.
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:18 am
Nice! I just drove past there last night, and didn’t notice this.
February 3rd, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I wish them the best of luck.
I like Juniors, although I am not sure it ever really translated to the new larger place. Certainly though the original Juniors will be tough competition. Possibly the success of Juniors is what drove this opening?
February 6th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
This is sort of an odd-ball spot since parking in that strip mall is so bad. I hope for their sakes that they do well, but I still find it a bit of a strange location choice given all of the available strip mall real estate in Eagan currently.
Good luck to them.
February 7th, 2012 at 7:55 am
More from Eagan Patch here: http://eagan.patch.com/articles/cahill-diner-owners-opening-new-restaurant-in-eagan
February 7th, 2012 at 8:22 am
Town Square must be desperate for tenants if they are “reaching out” to fill space. I wonder what deals they are giving.
That place has lost a lot of business’s in the last few years since Walgreens pulled out and built across the street.
Is that stupid Genghis Khan restaurant still open over there?
February 7th, 2012 at 8:25 am
N52, it has less vacant spaces than Apple Valley’s Central Village does. I didn’t think it seemed all that depressed.
And FWIW, lots of retail locations are offering deals to those businesses already on premises. Many of them are months behind on rent but it’s better to not be getting paid than to have a vacant corner location.
February 7th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Yes, Genghis Grill is still there but Ze’s Diner is not in that strip mall. It’s across the street by the new Walgreens.
February 7th, 2012 at 10:31 am
I wonder where all the fatties in Eagan are going to go now that the awful CiCi’s Pizza shut down.
I have never actually eaten at a CiCi’s mind you, but there is no way in the world that they could possibly serve good food with that business model.
February 7th, 2012 at 11:30 am
I ate at that CiCi’s twice. Mostly because it was quick.
It was literally the worst pizza I’ve ever had. Worse than Pizza Hut. I question whether they used real cheese and if the pizza sauce wasn’t imitation, maybe some water with food coloring and salt.
The first visit was a couple years ago, and I felt like crap the rest of the day, you know, the McD’s feel.
Apparently I forgot about it because I was convinced to go again, and it was just a rinse and repeat. Yuck.
I actually was at that strip mall the day after they shut her down. Noticed a sign on the door saying “closed permanently” when I was walking over to Eric’s. haHA(Nelson’s laugh on the simpsons) I thought. I still think it.
Lefty I think the fatties run across the street to KFC now for their cheapo buffet.
February 7th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Cici’s was awful. Might be the only pizza that I would intentionally avoid.
Ate at Ghengis Grill once. It didn’t seem like he fired the grill up very hot, and he left the vegetables very crisp. Then dumped the sauce on at the end. Very different from everywhere else I’ve had it. I haven’t been back.
February 7th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
A few years ago, my daughter asked me to take her to the tanning place in that mall. Because she only tanned for less than 15 minutes, I would park closer to CiCi’s since I didn’t want to look like The Pervert Sitting in His Car In Front of the Tanning Salon For Fifteen Minutes.
On this occasion, it was right around 11:45 on a weekday and CiCi’s was getting the lunch crowd lathered up.
By the time I left, there was a line out the door and this group of people were made for videotaping the segments on the news they have once in awhile that are titled “Obesity in America”. There were maybe two people in line that looked to be in shape. I can only assume it was JTL and Seppuku.
February 7th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
How many failed businesses does it take until restraurateurs (I use the term loosely) figure out that a space doesn’t work? That CiCi’s space is DEATH to restaurants.
February 7th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Rick Nelson at the Strib did a positive review for CiCi’s some time ago, reducing my already low opinion of his ability to critique restaurants. Someone really needs to tell him that loving EVERYTHING is not useful to his readers.
March 15th, 2012 at 1:38 am
According to Ze’s Diner Facebook page, they will have “a daily buffet with a Mediterranean twist.”
Someone posted the opening date is March 20 but that might just be wishful thinking.
The front of the house looks ready to go. Their color scheme is apparently ketchup and mustard.
March 18th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Bill, I know you like to stay on top of openings. Ze’s has announced on Facebook that they will open March 20.
April 5th, 2012 at 10:04 am
My family ate here last night. It is spacious for how small it looks from the outside. There’s a little counter and plenty of well spaced tables. The menu is huge with all the home cookin’ standards.
The buger was overdone and the fish sandwhich was pretty blah. Fries were nice and hot but somehow limp at the same time.
There were several greek items on the menu. I would probably only go back to try those.
If you like Junior’s there’s probably not much reason to go here.
Also there’s a totally random picture of Batman in the men’s room.
April 5th, 2012 at 10:12 am
JTL, we’ve eaten at Ze’s for breakfast but will be reserving full judgement until we try their dinner menus. However, as a little taste of what’s to eventually come, our breakfast experience was very similar to yours and we reached similar conclusions.
April 5th, 2012 at 10:41 am
Well, The Gyros with stuffed grape leaves looked interesting. I’m not saying you have to order that, but I’d be curious…
We both ordered sandwiches but I like that all their entrees come with vegetables, so I’d also be curious to know if those are any good. Maybe the entrees are the way to go? Kind of like how I’ve figured out that the pasta at Andiamo is surprisingly good and the entrees are expensive and not that great.
My 2yo was playing with a creamer cup and it exploded all over him. It was one of those stern “now you learned your lesson” while hiding your simile moments.
July 11th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Ate here with the family. Started with the hummus appetizer. Very good and made fresh there. The boy had peanut butter on toast and a scrambled egg. The wife and daughter shared a club sandwich and fries. I had the Falafel with coleslaw. For desert, the wife and I split a piece of baklava. The total bill was about $35.00 with tip. Pretty reasonable. The boy’s dish was exactly what it purported to be, and egg and toast with peanut butter. The wife and daughter seemed to enjoy their sandwich just fine. I really liked the falafel. I had asked them to add some feta cheese to it, which they did without problem. The falafel was nice and crispy. the lettuce and tomatoes on it were nothing spectacular, but I wouldn’t say they were bad either. The pita was soft and warm and tasted good, but was certainly not made on site. I also liked the no frills coleslaw. I was told they make their own baklava and have no reason to doubt it. It was very good. Light flakey crust and plenty of filling. Drizzled with just the right amount of honey. Service was prompt and courteous. I will be back.
October 1st, 2012 at 10:06 am
Yet another diner is opening in Eagan, according to Patch.
New 1950s Diner and Pie Shop Opening in Eagan
Betty’s Cafe and Pies will open on Oct. 18 along Silver Bell Road in Eagan.
http://eagan.patch.com/articles/new-1950s-diner-and-pie-shop-opening-in-eagan
Note the Comment section regarding the name.
October 1st, 2012 at 5:29 pm
I had wondered about the Two Harbors Betty’s Pies when I went past there.
October 1st, 2012 at 5:41 pm
A while back the Heavy Table reviewed a bunch of different regional pie makers and Betty’s were the worst by far.
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:47 pm
I read with great interest the various Heavy Table pie tasting reviews. They seem to have done a pretty good job, but didn’t give enough attention to the crust, IMO. They gave the top award in one category to a pie made with purchased Pillsbury crusts – that’s enough to almost turn me off on the entire article!
Too bad about Betty’s. Maybe they’re outlived their usefulness. Riding on reputation.
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:06 pm
I’ve never been to Betty’s but, at least back in the day, it’s not like they would have had a lot of competition.
November 1st, 2012 at 7:02 am
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