Food Courts, Pickles, and wait...more Pickles

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Chipotle Turkey Burger from The SkyRoom Macy's Minneapolis

Chipotle Turkey Burger from The SkyRoom Macy's Minneapolis

This past week I rendezvoused with blog regular Baby Mama.  We recently vowed to try new downtown Minneapolis eating establishments when we lunch together.  So naturally we chose to eat at the Macy's 12th Floor Skyroom where we have dined dozens of times before. 

But for good reason.  Baby Mama was pressed for time. She works for a world famous coffee organization (you can figure this one out) and needed to stay close to the cube in case of a coffee emergency. 

Above is one of the best burgers I've ever eaten. The Chipotle Turkey Burger (with Fries of course) is available at The Grill Window located behind The Million Dollar Salad Bar (you really have to enjoy a salad bar to pay for this one).  

Back to the food. Having been employed by Macy's for many years you may think, "Benjamin, are you just pushing some retail fast food agenda?" I am not. Behind the large red neon star lives a bright green sign that still shines and created some of the best food one can find at a department store. 

Marshall Field's/Macy's Culinary Team holds their own on a few signature items.  If you ever find yourself wandering around the Downtown Minneapolis or State Street Chicago store treat yourself to The Oak Grill or The Walnut Room. I normally go for the Chicken Pot Pie or Chop Salad.  The real selling point are the amazing popovers that mysteriously arrive at your table shortly after your drink. What better way to prepare your mouth for what's to come than with a warm popover doing the backstroke in honey butter?

The second best (see popover for first) part of this food on the go experience is that many of the tastiest delights can be found in the basement of Macy's (if you ever see me standing in line at Leeann Chin I will deny knowing you like Karen Walker at Taco Time).  The Chop Salad from above can usually be found in some form of wrap or salad to go.  You can build your own sandwich.  Or, like me for pretty much a year's time, you eat nothing but the turkey/brie/honey mustard on sourdough chased with a fountain Diet Coke (14 days off the liquid crack folks!).  After you've enjoyed your lunch/dinner you can woof down any one of the many sweet confections that Marshall Field's/Macy's still makes on site (I hope they still do?)  If not just go for the Godiva counter by the escalator. 

I have a busy week ahead.  I'm assisting on a food styling gig up north (which means it's outside of Minneapolis proper and there is actually a corn field next to the studio) and between commuting and watching what I eat (in a good way) I should be back later in the week with some gory details about a possible Thursday night happy hour.  

I'm leaving you with this image.  Baby Mama likes her condiments.  So much so she waited in line for 5 mins longer than she had to and had a total stranger score her some extra pickles.  

Sweet Juicy Cow Meat

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Nacho's By Millers - Charlottesville, Virginia

Nacho's By Millers - Charlottesville, Virginia

This month has been rather busy and so I have not been in the kitchen as much as I would like.  However, I have been fully unhinging my jaw to try my share of food since my last post.  I am dedicating this post to food by others. 

The month started off by enjoying a lunch with Baby Mama.  You may recall her from such great kitchen stories as Meatloaf Football (see earlier post).  At one point in my brief near 2 decade career of working retail I found myself in downtown Minneapolis scouring the skyways (above ground and enclosed sidewalks for those of you still braving the elements of weather) for a cheap/filling/good lunch.  One day revealed to me, like the tablets to Moses, was The Burger Place.  It is literally called The Burger Place. Hidden in east downtown Minneapolis above the lightrail this very clean dive has a cornucopia of burgers, the most amazing fries, fountain soda and little to no turnover on staff (always a good sign).  My burger of choice is the Triple Cheeseburger.  Before you start chanting "two by four, can't fit through the kitchen door" it is not three patties of sweet juicy cow meat, but three tastefully chosen varieties of cheese and one pattie of bessie.  Topped off with lettuce, pickles and some secret sauce I like to call mayonnaise you too wouldn't hesitate to unhinge your jaw to consume.  Pictured above you will see Baby Mama and love of the french fry.  My apologies for not getting the camera out before we both inhaled out lunch.  We had to eat at lighting speed due to Baby of Baby Mama being ill and needing a pick up at the nanny's. 

My second venture out for food this month was to a little dive called Miller's in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Boyfriend and I braved the South this month. 

And by braved the South I mean we stayed in North Carolina for two days, got spooked and ran North to Charlottesville seeking shelter at our friends Phil and Sarah's.  Nothing against North Carolina.  Beautiful state.  We really just wanted to see Phil and Sarah. 

Back to Miller's.  According to Miller's web site if I was inclined to Hoover down a whole pan of nachos in one hour by myself said nachos would be free.  Not one to turn down a food challenge (I have a t-shirt to prove it) I made the group head straight to Miller's.  Sadly the food challenge no longer was being offered.  Thankfully the nachos were still on the menu.  Wonderfully layered in a stainless steel skillet the nachos were just enough to fill the four of us and potentially all the other bar patrons.  There was one ingredient that stood out beyond the rest in that skillet.  At one scoop of tortilla chip I was taken back to my childhood of Dortito's and shelf stable nacho cheese dip (you know the kind you buy next to the chips with the sardine like pull off top...I won't judge).  There found beneath the lettuce, jalapenos and sour cream was a layer of processed cheese.  And because this is something I would not normally buy in my sojourn to the grocery market it was like manna from Heaven.  

Other notable foods for during out trip:  Sarah's Purple Cabbage Sweet Potato Thai Soup which I am sure she will email me the recipe now that I have put the request out on the Interwebs.  Dunkin' Donuts.  That's right.  Dunkin' Donuts.  Back in the dark ages Minnesota drove all Dunkin's out of our state.  We are a donutless state and therefore Dunkin's was visited every day of our trip.  And finally Pizza Hut.  Now you can judge.