Coffee Bene - Feels Pretty Corporate. Sad. Nothing Special.

Coffee Bene - Striving to be special.

A bit overbooked,  I was reluctant when Linda suggested a drive to Coffee Bene.  Perhaps recognizing that early morning fatigue could be offset with caffeine, I finally agreed.  Located near St. Thomas we passed a pretty big 'Tommie' backyard house party at 10 AM.  Well organized, we could see the iconic red plastic cups and a Satellite and a hundred enthusiastic college students.  I would have preferred hanging out with the college kids.

Parking is a bit of a challenge but we found a spot right behind the building.  Coffee Bene's website promotes their orginal maple floor, wood wainscoating, fireplace, paint, etc.  From an ambience perspective it was OK but nothing special.

Ordering at the counter we took a quick look at the pastry, baked onsite, looked at each other and without discussion put that on the 'skip' list.

A small placard on the counter described six or seven breakfast sandwiches.  We chose the Greatest Breakfast Sandwich Ever! and the Southwestern Breakfast Sandwich.

The Food

Greatest Breakfast Sandwich Ever!<<caution

The sandwich name is misleading.  The croissant was flakey and buttery.  The egg patty was wet.  The cheese was non-descript.  Somewhere in there was a small piece of red pepper.

Southwestern Breakfast Sandwich

It remains unclear what was 'southwest' about this sandwich.  The cibatta bread was nice, airy with a pleasant crust.

Generally we felt the sandwiches to be a slight step better than convenience store breakfast choices.

The Drinks
Espresso Con Pana  Fine, but the coffee was a bit bitter.

Cafe Mocha  Over the top sweet.

The Service
The drinks and food were prepared quite quickly.  When set on the counter they call out what it is and you go back up to pick them yourself.  No one seemed particularly interested that we were there; that set the tone for the experience.

Conclusion:  The Tommies lost today to The Johnnies but a nice tribute was paid to John Gargliardi.

Home Street Home Cafe ... Comfort Food on a Tough Day

Home Street Hone comfort food!

Psychologically difficult day (SCOTUS), so a good time to indulge in a fabulous locally-sourced dinner.

Home Street Home Cafe
Blue Stuffed Burger

I’m having the Banh Mi salad & John is splur (ging on the blue stuffed burger (made from wonderful beef ground in-house) with grilled red peppers & onions, havarti, & house-made ketchup. 

Home Street Home Cafe
Banh Mi Salad

My salad has mixed greens, slow-roasted pork, cilantro, jalapeño, cucumber, pickled carrots & daikon, & creamy cilantro-sriracha dressing.

Everything house-made here; love the lemony vinaigrette from this outstanding kitchen.

Great food and great conversation with Destiny and Elicia at Home Street Home Cafe turns a rainy night into a great evening.

Airport Food at MSP|MKT Humphrey Terminal

MSP!MKT at the Twin Cities Humphrey Terminal

MSP|MKT Humphrey Terminal

Airports have really upgraded food options.  Gone are the day of hot dogs and bad pre-wrapped sandwiches.  Terminal 2, the Humphrey Terminal, is the smaller of the two departure/arrival facilities at the Twin Cities International Airport.  On a recent morning we were headed out on a quick trip  to California to have dinner; that's another story.

Although cutting it a bit tight on time, the traffic was light and the TSA security went quickly despite John's 100% rate of being pulled aside for more scanning and patdowns.  This offered thirty minutes for something quick.  Away from the other food services, MPS|MKT offers 'anything between bread' ... or it might be 'everything between bread.'  At Marianne's Kitchen, Linda and Anne took the venture far beyond a basic egg sandwich setting a high standard.  The expectations for 'airport food' at MSP|MKT were low.

MSP|MKT Pastrami & Egg

The pastrami and egg sandwich reminded me of Marianne's Kitchen.  The friendly staff said it would be five minutes.  Obviously many customers cut things close in boarding.  Her question was very thoughtful and respectful.  The sandwich arrived in five minutes.  Bigger than I expected the egg was nicely fried and served with a totally adequate amount of pastrami on a lightly floured bun.  The only criticism was the lack of napkins which complicated the slightly too much sauce situation.

Grab and go sandwiches and salads, labelled 'made just before you arrived here' looked fine and fresh fruit and fruit cups were also available.  The flatbreads were enticing but it was morning and it seemed it should start with an egg.

MSP|MKT Flatbread

The egg and pastrami sandwich and orange juice was around $13, reflective of airport pricing.  The staff was friendly, it was clean and helped set the stage of a long day of sitting on an airplane.

MSP|MKT Humphrey Terminal