This week we started our day off at the Flat Earth Brewing Company in St. Paul. They are a local brewery that opened their doors three years ago. Flat Earth has a tour twice a month on Saturdays at 4pm. I highly recommend checking them out and supporting a local brewer. Its a small brewery in a little warehouse but they brew some awesome beers. The tour itself lasts about 20-30 minutes depending on questions asked by the audience. They give you a sample as you walk in and then after the tour you are allowed to try several samples and go back as many times as you want. The tour is free! When I say tour I mean standing in the warehouse while the owner tells you about the brewing process and how the company began. I am very jealous of him, it would be sweet to own a brewery. You can get Flat Earth beers at several restaurants around the twin cities including The Nook and Sweeney's.
After the Tour we drove over to Sweeney's Saloon also in St. Paul. Its about a 10 minute drive from the brewery. I was joined by a rather large group this week including Jason & Tarsha Rice, Nate
& Brooke Pischke, Jesse & Brenda Goerts, Alice Snorteland, Leena Haugland, Eric Prose, Lynn Fussy, Ben Bauman, Chelsea Jordan and Kelly Wallenfelt. Sweeney's is a very hip and trendy bar with a huge patio area and a giant bar with 20 beers on tap. There is ample seating with several different rooms. Its a great place to go with a large party like the one we strolled in with. The only problem was that on this particular occasion they had already reserved a part of the restaurant. This happened to be the only part of the bar that had room for our large group. We arrived at 5:30pm and were told we needed to be out of there by 6:45pm. No problem right? I mean there was only 14 of us. The server seemed a little apprehensive at first. I think he thought we were just there to have a beer and then leave. When we told him that we had all planned to eat as well he seemed to doubt that we could get the feat done in a little over an hour. But we did it and that is one of the reasons I gave them a 5 out of 5 for wait time. I was pretty impressed that they could get good quality food out to the table for 14 people in like 15 minutes which allowed us to enjoy the meal and feel slightly less rushed.
This week I ordered my first specialty burger. The Santa Fe burger which had pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, fried onions, chipotle mayonnaise and a freshly toasted bun. It was a great combination that worked really well together. With each bite you could taste the hotness of the jalapenos and the chipotle mayo contrasted by the sweetness of the fried onions. The burger itself was huge and it came with an order of fries for around $9. The fries were nothing special but I would highly recommend stopping in for a burger. My only negative comment is that they give you a little cup of ketchup which is not enough for the fries nonetheless the burger. A few of the other burgers were also tried such as the chili burger, ultimate cheeseburger and Greek burger. Not one bad comment was made by anybody about their burgers.
Sweeney's is a great place to gather with your friends, knock down a pint or two and have a great burger. They have a giant outdoor patio that was rated one of the 10 best in the twin cities. Currently the men's bathroom is under construction and is located out on the patio in the form of a port-o-pottie. I am sure that will be fixed by the time the patio opens up in the spring. The patio also had an enormous wood burning fireplace which would be awesome to sit around on a chilly Minnesota evening. I look forward to stopping back in one of these days when the weather gets a little nicer.
Santa Fe Burger
Greek Burger
Chili Burger
SWEENEY'S SALOON
96 NORTH DALE ST
SAINT PAUL, MN 55102
Phone: 612-396-0701
Email: None Available
Website: http://www.sweeneyssaloon.com/
FLAT EARTH BREWING COMPANY
2035 BENSON AVE
SAINT PAUL, MN 55116
Phone: 651-698-1945
Email: info@flatearthbrewing.com
Website: http://www.flatearthbrewing.com/
Specialty Burger Rating: 1-5
Atmosphere (4)
Presentation (4)
Bun (4)
Flavor (4)
Juiciness (3)
Value (3)
Side items (3)
Wait time (5)
Originality (4)
Total Score 34 out of a possible 45
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