tastes like memories
About Polly’s Slow Food Location:Saint Paul, Minnesota Status:Permanently closed Dates active:1979-1989 Polly’s Slow Food served comfort food in Saint Paul for just over a decade. Owner Polly Sidney’s restaurant was the antithesis of the fast-food joints crowding out independent, sit-down eateries across the country. Polly’s Slow Food felt like you […]
When Frank Theros opened his first restaurant in the 1920s, he couldn’t have known that he was setting up a legacy that would last nearly a century. He opened the King’s Inn in 1964 with his two sons. This dish was served there in the 1970s.
Charlie’s Cafe Exceptionale operated out of a two-story Tudor-style building at 701 4th Avenue S in Minneapolis. The restaurant was more than just a place to eat downtown, it was, in fact, a place where locals and celebrities alike gathered to enjoy good food and great company. Its owner, a gregarious up-and-comer, transformed it into an award-winning Minneapolis institution.
For almost forty years, Bernadine Blader ran the Antiquity Rose Tea Room, which began as an antique shop and evolved into a charming dining and shopping spot. Housed in the historic Bardwell house, the establishment offered homemade soups, salads, and desserts alongside a variety of antique items for sale. The couple made adjustments to the layout of the old house, including adding a commercial kitchen and an enclosed dining area. In January 2015, Bernadine and Bob closed the tea room to pursue other interests.
About Ah Sa Wan Location:Minneapolis, Minnesota Status:Permanently closed Dates active:1994-2021 Chinese restaurants have always been popular in Minneapolis, dating back to the early twentieth-century, when John’s Place and Nankin opened their doors with exotic fare that Minnesotans literally gobbled up. It wasn’t long after the skyway opened in downtown Minneapolis […]
About Northwest Airlines Northwest Airways, the precursor to Northwest Airlines, took its inaugural flight on October 1, 1926. Founded by Col. Lewis Brittin, the airline was initially a mail hauler from the Twin Cities to Chicago for the U.S. Post Office Department, based at Speedway Flying Field (Now Minneapolis-Saint Paul […]
About the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Location:Chaska, Minnesota Status:Open Dates active:1958-present In 1907, the Minnesota Horticultural Society successfully petitioned the University of Minnesota to establish a new fruit-breeding and testing farm within the Horticulture Department. The farm was located about 5 miles west of Excelsior, spanning 78 acres. Additional land was […]
About Donatelle’s Supper Club Location:Mounds View, Minnesota Status:Permanently closed Dates active:1966-1998 The Irondale Inn began as a roadhouse serving burgers, steaks, and ribs before co-owner Tony Donatelle introduced a Wednesday night Italian Smorgasbord in the 1950s. For $2.25, guests enjoyed an all-you-can-eat feast of Italian appetizers, handmade pastas with various […]
In the heart of Saint Paul, at the corner of Fifth and St. Peter streets, a building has witnessed the evolution of the Twin Cities for more than a century. This historic corner has been home to the St. Paul Hotel since 1910, and its dining room continues to be a beacon of elegance downtown.