D. Taylor's Food & Travel

During my recent visit to Minnesota, I was able to try the breakfast at the Ole Piper Inn in Blaine. We arrived at the end of the breakfast rush and before the lunch service began (about 10:30) . We were seated quickly and were able to order coffee right away.  I was surprised to see that a spoon was not included in our silverware set, which consisted of a knife, fork, and a smallish paper napkin. After the coffee was brought, I used my knife to stir my cream into the coffee. The waitress didn’t ask me if I wanted a spoon for my coffee, finally, when she refilled the cups asked for one. I was hungry and ordered the Chicken Fried Steak with eggs, I added the cheese and onions to my hash browns and substituted “biscuits and gravy” for the 3 pancakes. My friend ordered a sausage omelet (actually, it was a “Ham and Cheese” omelet with sausage substituted). As a side, he too opted for the “biscuits and gravy.” Food arrived in a reasonable time for breakfast. Food My

Restaurant Review When I lived in Minnesota, I probably drove past Keys Café & Bakery every week and I never stopped there for a meal.  There are nine Keys Café restaurants in Minnesota/Wisconsin area and although I had heard of them before, I had never eaten at one. Was that ever a mistake – I wish I had eaten there many times before. My friend, Doug, said Keys was very good, so we went to the Spring Lake Park location for breakfast one morning while I was visiting Minnesota recently. We arrived at the peak of the breakfast rush, about 10 am on a Sunday morning. The place was packed and had a waiting list. We were told it would be about a 10 to 15-minute wait. I was pleased when we were seated in about 10 minutes. The person apologized for seating us in a smaller two-person table and assured that we were okay with the smaller size. We were. Service at Keys was top notch. After being seated, our waitress, Lauren G., asked what we would like to drink and gi

Hy-Vee Market Grill I often say, “I love good food that is reasonably priced and great service which makes a meal truly enjoyable. With that in mind, I may have a new favorite restaurant – Hy-Vee Market Grille. During a visit to Minnesota, a friend suggested eating at the restaurant associated with a Hy-Vee grocery store. I had never been to a Hy-Vee, as they came into Minnesota after I moved out of state.  I was skeptical, but I trusted my friend and said, “Sure. Let’s try it.” Arrival I was immediately impressed when we arrived and saw they had a very nice bar area. The restaurant was clean and bright. We were immediately greeted and taken to a booth. Although we didn’t have drinks, my friend said they make great drinks, and I believe him. Pre-ordering We ordered two coffees plus one water with lemon and one plain water and reviewed the menu.   Ordering When the drinks we ordered arrived we placed our food order. My friend decided on two eggs, hash browns,