Burger Best Practices: 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: