8th Street Grill

8th Street Grill


800 Marquette Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 349-5717

Meals:

The Park Cafe $9.59 (Bacon Cheeseburger)

8th Street Burger $8.99 (Hamburger, Cheese 0.60 extra)

Tip:

The bacon cheeseburger and a cheeseburger cost the same. If you want free bacon go with the Park.

An old flame used to drink at 8th St. We'd head over after work and down a few Captain and Cokes while reliving that day's events. Not that there was much to relive. We both worked in eponymous office jobs, the only excitement coming from the empty lives of those around us. Better to talk about them than about myself though. Or about us. When it was unavoidable we'd look each other in the eyes and then quickly glance away. How often do you hold eye contact with someone for more than 5 seconds? It's intimate. More intimate than the motions we went through every Friday night. I did not want to admit that to me ours was a relationship of convenience, destined for nothing. For them we were building something for the future. Something good. In between drinks and gossip I would silently cringe about the inevitable. One day I paid my tab and left. I never looked back. I never went to 8th St Grill again. Until now.

8th St Grill is a place for power lunches for people who dress well and have have important things to discuss.The waitstaff expects a decent sized tip. So a departure from our usual fare. The atmosphere is nice, the waitstaff are nice, the burgers are nice and our tip was average. The burgers are 1/2 pounders cooked to order with quality toppings and fat ketchup bottles on the table. The fries were good.

Perhaps it is my history with the place, but I expected more. With tax and tip the meal comes to double what you pay for a burger at The Burger Place. And to be honest, the burgers taste better at The Burger Place. It's not just the different collars of the clientele. It is the food. You get a 1/2 pounder cooked to order, sure. But what do you sacrifice for that? I'd downgrade to a quarter pounder if it meant that I left satisfied and a little less poor than I was when I left my cube.

Rating:

Big Ups
Good burger, good fries in a nice atmosphere

Under Surveillance
I just felt like it could've been so much more

Final Word

A decent place to go with a big crowd as there is plenty of seating.

RIP Ginelli’s

Today marked the end of an era. Ginelli’s has discontinued their two for one deal on Thursday mornings. There was a time not long ago that office workers lined up throughout the skyways for a change to purchase one piece of pizza and get a second free. It was a right of passage for many who just started working downtown. I should have been suspicious by the drastic reduction in the number of people waiting this morning. We all overlooked the new sign. Instead of “Thursday 10:30-11:00 2 Slices for the Price of 1,” the new sign read, “2 Slices for $5.” Each slice normally cost $2.75. Do you think we don’t know basic math Ginelli’s workers?! I’m not eating two slices of pizza at 10:30 in the morning to save 50 cents. I am eating two slices of pizza at 10:30 in the morning because it is my right to do so as an American! An unfortunate soul from India was first in line. When he was charged $10 for 4 slices instead of the usual $5.50 he became belligerent. “I in America. I eat 4 pizza for slice of 2 pizza!” A nod to the new sign and a reference to the economic times left him downturned and helpless. Welcome to America, amigo.

The Burger Place

The Burger Place

501 Marquette Ave, Minneapolis

(612) 338-1213.

Credit cards accepted

Meals:

Cheeseburger with ketchup and mayo, and fries

Cheeseburger with everything and fries

Monday Special: $6.56
Regular Price: $5.45 for Burger and fries not including tax and beverage.

Review:
I wake up at 6:45 AM every day. It is usually dark outside and lately has been nuts cold. Monday mornings are the worst. I don’t care if it is cliché. Listening to my clock radio blare a static laden report on NPR I lay in the dark; Consciousness comes to me slowly, painfully. One thing and one thing only propels me out of bed on this day; a visit to The Burger Place a scant 5 hours into the future. If I am ever in a coma I really hope I have plans to eat out somewhere otherwise I fear I will always be lost in the abyss.

The Burger Place is festooned with award after award. So what if the City Pages is the only one giving out the Plaques? The Burger Connoisseurs arrived at 12:15 to find that there was no line. Surprising given that Monday is the day of the $5.95 special which consists of a cheeseburger, medium soda, and your choice of fries or salad. Our recommendation is to go with the fries, but then again, we aren’t paying your medical premiums. The set up of The Burger Place is cafeteria like in the very best, efficient, sense of the word. You walk in, grab a tray and shuffle through the assembly line. At the beginning you order and are given a number. At the end you pay and fill up your drink. What happens in-between depends on how interesting your thought life is. Oftentimes by the time you sit down your food will arrive at the same time you do.

In our case the lack of a queue was deceptive. Everyone was already sitting down. What’s nice about the way the space is set up is that if you are dining alone, one whole side of the room is bar style seating that looks out past the light rail and to a courtyard with some optimistic statues. The rest of the seating is Spartan and compact. Although the tables are spaced out by a few inches you can’t help but feel like you are part of a power lunch if a couple of business looking types sit at the table next to you. Sometimes I like to offer my own opinion on what the business types are discussing. “I’d foreclose, for sure,” I tell them between fries. “You know that a-hole Harris”, I continue, “He gives fuck-all about the interest rates in China.”

Today the place was packed tight. We squeezed into a table and waited all of three seconds for our burgers. The City Pages does not lie; These are some good burgers. Although the patty is a little on the thin and dry side, it is delicious. The slight tang of the mayo along with a slightly toasted bun complements the freshly cooked burger perfectly. The fries are crispy but need salt. The only complaint is that the lettuce is shredded iceberg rather that a whole leaf and if you say you want everything on your burger, everything does not include onions. Minor complaints overall. If you want a good burger fast you need look no further. The Burger Place delivers in ways I didn’t think were legal.

Rating:

Big Ups
Great tasting burger delivered quickly.

Under Surveillance
If you like privacy while you dine don’t go during peak hours.

Final Word

Award winning burger that delivers.