Reader Mailbag

Dear Girl Friday,

I saw your blog about Arzu and Grumpy's (the one on Washington, I assume) and was wondering if you could tell me how Karaoke at that bar was?  How is their song selection (new r&b, 80s?) and what is the crowd like (snooty, blase, rowdy)?  My girlfriends and I are looking for a place to go.

Carrie

Dear Carrie,

I highly recommend Arzu's Staraoke at Grumpy's Downtown.  She and David have one of the largest CD selections I've ever seen, and the music is mostly all your favorites from the 80s and 90s.  What's the crowd like?  Fun and friendly.  Grumpy's is a place where anybody fits in just fine.  And might I suggest having dinner while you're there?  Try the Stuffed Olive Thingys, Beer-battered Onion Rings, Mock Duck BBQ Sandwich, or the Grilled Cheese (ask for marble rye instead of white or wheat and you'll get the best grilled cheese sandwich in the city).

Dear Girl Friday,

Your blogs [sic] annoying because you only complain about restarants [sic].

R

Dear R,

Thanks for writing!  Do I, really?  I hadn't noticed, I guess.  There are plenty of places around town where I love to eat.  Sundays are better known as Italian Sundays around here, so today I had the always great spaghetti marinara at Buca.  For dinner, I tried the wild mushroom lasagna at The Loring Grill.  Oh, except the lasagna was originally baked too long ago, so the reheat made the bottom layer rock-hard and impossible to penetrate with fork and knife.  Also, the center had turned to mush, so I just kind of scraped around until I found some bites with texture.  There was a spray of grilled asparagus on top, though, and that was tasty.

Oops, I guess I'm doing it again.

But hey, I did want to mention something a while back, so here's the perfect opportunity.  I went to the Twins game with my family 2 Sundays ago, and we were looking for a place to have brunch beforehand.  My sister suggested Famous Dave's, to which I reluctantly agreed, but was very pleasantly surprised.  My glowing recommendation goes to the cream cheese-stuffed french toast.  Skip the maple syrup and go for the praline sauce.  Delicious.  There was an impressive-looking omelet station, but by the time I noticed it, I had already tried the scrambled eggs.  Next time, next time.  There's also the brunch staple bloody mary bar, and other things you'd expect to find at Famous Dave's like chicken wings and BBQ rib tips.

Take note: there was no line and no waiting at noon on a Sunday.  And, for a brunch buffet, I dare say the food was pretty damn good.  We were at the Uptown location, so we were also treated to live music.  Some guy was singing blues and playing piano at a very hangover-friendly volume.

 

Comments

[lunch]

Don't forget the Grumpy's tator tots.

[Alexis]

Right on. So much better than that cheap imitation, Psycho Suzi's.