Dubliner for lunch...Close to "We Are Nuts"

When you're at We Are Nuts shopping 'til you drop (well, closed until next Fall), it's only a short drive to the Dubliner Pub & Cafe (the old Bonnie's Cafe) on University Avenue in St. Paul.

We planned to eat at the cafe, but there was a meeting going on, so we sat on the bar side.  

Specials included a burger of the month (BBQ brisket), a wrap of the day (turkey bacon avocado) and a daily soup.    But we chose Shepherd's Pie and an order of the Reuben taytos.   We munched on some complimentary popcorn and ordered two drinks to wash it down.  John opted for a Coke, but there it was on the drink menu...cold brew...Bent Paddle Cold Brew Coffee Ale...from Duluth, on tap.   Had to give it a try!!!

The Cold Brew Ale was fabulous.   Smooth, great coffee flavor, a little sweetness.....a very, very nice ale.   And it's good that we had drinks and popcorn, because the food is made and delivered on a bar schedule...very slowly so that you want to get more drinks.

Taking the opportunity of quite a lull between drinks and food, we perused the walls covered with many JFK pictures and drawings, the bandstand, the prayer candle installation (not a common bar sight) and the other odds and ends of artwork, Irish beer and spirits items and lengthy bar backed by a large display of alcoholic temptations.

We started to think it might not be worth the wait, but turns out the food is pretty darn good.  The Reuben taytos were topped with tasty corn beef, kraut, and cheese on crispy potato chips.   We would have preferred the toppings on fries, but these were certainly good bar-food quality.   We would have liked to have some of the great topping ingredients layered into the chips--the goodies were all on top...leaving a big pile of bare chips at the bottom.   But the top layer was probably enough salt and fat to get us through the day.

A charming crock contained steaming hot Shepherd's Pie, with nicely browned and artfully displayed potatoes sealing the hot filling into a dish that stayed warm through our entire lunch.  Great flavor in the meat filling, plus peas, slightly underdone carrots, and pearl onions.  Except for the slight chewiness of the carrots, it was a well-constructed dish, just lacking a bit of salt in thee potatoes.

Not many lunch customers today.   It probably takes a little too long for folks on their lunch hour to order, get their meal, and actually have time to enjoy it.   Based on the quality, it has the potential to be a great lunch spot--if they could just get the meals out a little more quickly.

The bartender who took our order and handled bar traffic was really friendly with a great personality...great employee!!

So, we say cheers!   Stop by an enjoy a good quality bar meal at the Dubliner (3 stars out of 5...3.5 stars considering it's bar food).