Growing up in the 60s, there were lots of local places where you could
get chicken, a simple burger, hot dogs, maybe ribs...with fries, coleslaw, and other assorted side items. There were a few places to grab a
Coney Island, each with a slight variation of
what you found on top. The Twin Cities weren't into Chicago dogs in
those days and there weren't gourmet burgers either containing
interesting mixture of ingredients or topped with hundreds of kinds of
'fixin's'.
Most of these places have gone to their final rest...replaced by 'newer concepts'.
But, then there's the Coop. Going back to 1963, this place has written
its own history.....and longevity. And you need to make your annual
pilgrimage to South St. Paul, both to experience the foods that
were all treats for us in the '60s and the great
personalities of the staff of the Coop.
The Coop Staff: Fun & Efficient
We were greeted by Chelsea.....quick enough to play along (and maybe
outsmart) John in his 'cleverness.' She took our order with a big
smile and bigger personality...all underplaying her superior abilities
to skillfully deliver our orders flawlessly, with
a great sense of humor...and the ability to 'one-up' each of John's
'one-ups'--the most most fun-loving approach. What a gem she is.
Anna efficiently made order after order of fries, while switching places
with Chelsea taking orders, and they each juggled an array of customers
and items, eat-in, take-out, humor the 'difficult' ones (would that
include John--not for me to judge!!!), and then
teamed the delivery of food and utensils to our tables....all with the
kind of cheerful demeanor that are so often missing in food
establishments, but that add tremendously to the experience.
We took a brief tour of the menu and went with two combo baskets. John
opted for the BBQ chicken sandwich with fries and selected slaw as his
option. I opted for a Coney, made their way, with fries and a Coke.
We grabbed a table near the window (this
place is mostly take-out, so only a few tables inside), where we opted
to skip playing the tic tac toe wooden game on the table in favor or
perusing the magazine rack...which inspired me to
think about new food spins. The Reinhardt food service magazine was in the rack....looking pretty unread...so I decided to crack the spine and take a look. It was page after colorful page of spins on traditional 'Mexican' food. There were beef cheeks and new flavors of tortillas and page after page of drool-worthy photos. So, in a few minutes, when our meals arrived, I was ready to chow down.
think about new food spins. The Reinhardt food service magazine was in the rack....looking pretty unread...so I decided to crack the spine and take a look. It was page after colorful page of spins on traditional 'Mexican' food. There were beef cheeks and new flavors of tortillas and page after page of drool-worthy photos. So, in a few minutes, when our meals arrived, I was ready to chow down.
Bottom Line on The Coop Food: Yeah!!
Giant baskets overflowing with fries...each with an 'entree' nestled in
the basket. Plus, John's had a portion cup of creamy slaw to fill out
his basket space...which was generous, to say the least.
The fries (from a pretty standard frozen bag) were perfectly fried.
They arrived hot, very lightly salted (I watched Anna salt a couple of
batches in a stainless tray)...crispy on the outside and hot and tender
on the inside. If you're going to eat 'old-style'
fries (and they should probably exist only as part of an annual
pilgrimage), these will fill the bill. And, of course, the Coop has red
squeeze bottles of ketchup, to use to fill any corner you can find in
your overfilled basket, with a big puddle of ketchup
that looks perfect against the backdrop of the black and white checked
basket liner.
I loved my Coney. The meat on top reminded me of things I ate in the
last century...well, maybe a ways back in the last century. The creamy
textured 'sloppy joe' meat was just as I remember it...kind of a thick
paste of ground meat that holds together (think
of a loose meat sandwich that isn't 'loose'..but held together in a
finely chopped meat 'slurry') crowning your chopped onion and mustard
topped dog on a soft as a cloud hot dog bun. Yup, a really fun Coney.
John's BBQ chicken was a breaded fried chicken patty smeared with a
slightly sweet BBQ sauce on a traditional burger bun. He was
skeptical. But he was quickly convinced that this was also fun food
(not 'fan food'--he worked at the DQ as a kid---what exactly
is 'fan food' other than a marketing slogan for 3 week old chili????)
with pretty darn good flavor...the flavors of our childhoods. The piece
of chicken was perfectly cooked, with great texture, just enough BBQ
sauce to come through but not overpower, on
a fresh bun that held together for the duration.
The slaw was creamy and had a pretty traditional creamy slaw texture and flavor.
This was a really fun stop. The staff made this 'an
experience'....delightful, but grounded in traditional, great-quality
service....finely honed over years as a family business, we think. The
food was a throw back to decades of menu items that used to be
common but are now a little harder to find. The prices are downright
cheap (a $3 hamburger!). The 'atmosphere' was perfect.
And, thanks Chelsea for playing along...I'm sure you can 'make Renee
remember John' even after all these years (of never having met him).
The Coop in South St. Paul: Truly a memorable experience...family fun at it's best!
Details:
Website: http://thecooprestaurant.com/
Directions: Google Map