“The most important meal of the day is breakfast.” This is a phrase I am sure many of us know and have often debated. Today’s post is not meant to take sides on this contested issue, but it will hopefully highlight some of mine and Sonia’s tasty breakfast finds from when we visited Minneapolis at the end of 2019.
Hen House Eatery
With a name like Hen House Eatery, it’s not hard to conjure up images of traditional breakfast fare like a egg platters, breakfast sandwiches, benedicts, and omelettes, but the menu here goes far beyond that. It was the diversity of the menu that first caught my eye when I started researching places to eat. Whether you want something hearty, healthy, baked or griddled, there is something for everyone.
Weekends appear to be busy days for the restaurant, so it is suggested to make a reservation. We went on a Saturday morning where most of the crowd were Golden Gopher fans catching a bite before the game. The wait was estimated to be 40 minutes to an hour, but thanks to our reservation, we were seated within minutes of arriving.
For our meal, I went with the Country Chicken Fried Steak, and Sonia had the Carnitas Hash. Both dishes had great flavor and were comforting breakfast classics. The chicken fried steak had a nice crunch and was topped with the perfect sausage gravy. To round out the meal was a serving of eggs and a side of hen potatoes, which was just the right amount of food to satisfy but not feel overstuffed. Sonia enjoyed the hash as well with her highlight being the apple pico de gallo accompanied the dish.
Angel Food Bakery
For those who prefer a baked good kind of breakfast, our Minneapolis pick is Angel Food Bakery. There bakery has 2 locations, one downtown and one at the airport. Sonia and I were lucky enough to visit both of them, and it should be no surprise that our orders each time were members of the donut family.
Both locations are similar in design and have open kitchens so that you can watch the magic happen. Separating the customers from the kitchen is a counter displaying all the amazing treats. While this counter can be a sight to see, don’t let it distract and confuse you from your order. Just remember that you can’t go wrong with anything here.
It should be no surprise that Sonia opted to get a variety of our favorite donuts. This included a cruller, an apple fritter, and of course a maple bacon donut. Each donut was unique in texture, quite memorable in taste and very filling. If you miss a chance to try these while sight-seeing downtown, make the effort to get to the airport early as you will want to grab a few before boarding your flight home.
Keys Cafe & Bakery
Our last restaurant, Keys Cafe & Bakery, is for those who love a non-traditional breakfast. We are fans for lunch for breakfast so having this cafe in our hotel lobby was a big plus. For those who still love traditional breakfast though, the menu here does not leave you out. We just can’t comment as to those items since we went with the burgers.
The burgers were nicely cooked and the fry options were another plus. Choices include wedges, shoestring fries, tots, and hash browns. You can also opt for sweet potato fries or sweet potato tots if you prefer. Sonia’s pick was the patty melt with wedges while I had the Texas burger sweet potato fries.
Sonia loved the wedges as they were the perfect potato-y pillow-y-ness on the inside with the ideal crunchy exterior. From the patty melt, her highlight was the freshness of the bread. This was definitely not your everyday patty melt.
My Texas burger had a nicely seasoned patty that fit perfectly with the crunchy onion ring and bacon. The burger and the toppings blended well with the BBQ sauce making for quite the delicious bite. Both entrees were exactly what we needed to satisfy our non-breakfast food craving.
Our trip to Minneapolis was memorable for multiple reasons, but all these amazing breakfast finds was probably the biggest surprise. Once we can start traveling again, I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself sneaking a quick trip in just to have another chance to try some of these yummy finds.
