Ted Cooks 19th Hole BBQ

2814 E 38th St
Minneapolis, MN
612-721-2023
http://www.tedcooks19thholebbq.com/

Category: BBQ

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 9
Service: N/A (pick-up only)
Ambience: N/A (pick-up only)

Recommendation: Excellent. This take-out only place is special, and one of our favorite restaurants in the Cities – you get serious BBQ at very reasonable prices.

To be honest, the idea of take-out BBQ didn’t appeal to us at first. We were worried about the food being cold by the time it reaches home and we’ve always enjoyed eating BBQ in a small family-run establishment that doesn’t offer much in terms of ambience, but just great food. Ironically, there’s no restaurant we’ve frequented more in the last six months than Ted Cook’s (we also catered our son’s first birthday party from here.) It all started when a group of ten friends were coming over to hang out – we didn’t want to go out so a little bit of research led us to Ted Cook’s. It’s located just off the light rail stop on 38th St. A non-descript building that you’d easily walk past if it weren’t for the smoky goodness of the BBQ (or the large crowd with growling stomachs.) Poke you head in and you see a limited menu, a few chairs to sit on while you wait, and a porthole that connects the front of the house to the kitchen. Don’t be surprised if one of the guys from the kitchen pokes his head out of the porthole to take your order. These guys are cool, relaxed and don’t have a sense of urgency or panic, regardless of how many patrons are waiting. Good BBQ takes time…and love.

The menu is standard BBQ fare with one omission – the brisket. We’ve tried everything on the menu and have been thoroughly impressed. The place to start is the Rib Tips ($12.50 for a dinner). Smoky, fatty, piled high, and full of flavor – at this price it might be the best value in town. Following closely on the heels of the tips is the BBQ Pork ($12.30) and the BBQ Beef ($12.30). The mouthwatering pork (with a dollop of coleslaw) makes for an amazing sandwich while the tender, thinly sliced beef, lathered with their spicy sauce does wonders to a piece of white bread. Needless to say, they also serve Ribs ($19.90 for a full slab), which are good but not as juicy as the tips. If you want BBQ Chicken ($9.60 for half), they have that too, but chicken just can’t stand up to pork when it comes to BBQ. You have a nice selection of sides to pick from. We can’t say a bad thing about any of them but we prefer the classic Coleslaw, Beans, and Collard Greens. If you order a “dinner,” a side of JoJo’s (fried sliced potatoes) comes with – these hot potatoes are the only thing that don’t transport well; they tend to get soggy pretty quick. We forgot to mention that you get to pick a sauce for your BBQ. The hot has a nice amount of heat and won’t work for everyone, so we’d recommend sticking with the medium that provides good heat along with the sweetness and smokiness (we usually get a side of the hot sauce to make it more interesting.)

This place can get busy at dinner so be prepared to wait or you can call in an order (with a minimum of four dinners). Lots of street parking is available.

$$. Great value for food. We catered a large dinner for around $12 per person.

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Five Guys Burger and Fries

3871 Gallagher Dr
Edina, MN
952-893-5490
http://www.fiveguys.com/

Category: American-Casual

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: N/A (its pick-up, but they serve it up quickly)
Ambience: 6

Recommendation: Very Good. Five Guys consistently serves juicy burgers and crispy fries. Don’t let anyone tell you, “its just a burger.”

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard people say “its just a burger,” and it usually leads to a heated discussion. Just like we don’t settle for less than average breakfast or smelly seafood, we need to hold the burger to the same high standards. And having had our fair share of amazing burgers in the Twin Cities, we feel there’s no reason to settle for average. Enough with the rant though…on to Five Guys. Tucked in a newly developed strip mall (with scant parking) in Edina, Five Guys is a small place that sees its fair share of patrons at lunch. The décor is the classic red and white diner look with a dozen tables packed closely together, an open kitchen packed with staff, and lots of action. You order first and then grab a table (we recommend having someone in your party grab a table while you order.)

The menu is simple – a hamburger or cheeseburger (single or double, with or without bacon), a couple of sandwiches/dogs, and fries. You get to load your burger with selections from over a dozen toppings ranging from the basic mayo and ketchup to grilled onions and hot sauce. You don’t have to wait long for the food, thanks to the small battalion of staff working the kitchen in a frenzy. While you’re waiting for the food, you can snack on the complimentary peanuts. The burgers at Five Guys are cooked well done, but don’t let that fool you – there’s nothing dry and tasteless about them. Seasoned to perfection to bring out the beefy flavor of the meat, these guys are as juicy as they come. A double provides a nice hunk of meat with a couple slices of American cheese and really hits the spot. It doesn’t require many toppings but we’ve done tried both the classic but also loaded it up with Jalapenos and Hot Sauce to make it nice and spicy. An order of large fries feeds three so go for the smaller one if it’s just you and a partner. The fries are also classic – crispy and substantial. You can usually get in and out of this place in a hurry (as long as you’re not in the middle of lunch hour and can find parking).

$. Burger, fries and a drink are less than $10. There’s not much parking in front of the restaurant so you’ll have to park a little further away.

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