Papa's Cafe

It had been a long time since we visited Papa's Cafe in New Hope. I am not really sure why though. The food is solid and the service is fine. We need to go back on a regular basis.

 generous portions! 

The pancakes are really quite good. They are light and fluffy with crunchy bits around the edges. They are really almost perfect pancakes.

Here is a link from a previous visit. Not much has changed, so everything still applies: http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2012/04/papas-cafe.html


Papa's Cafe
7181 42nd Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427
763.535.4887
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Papas-Cafe/147811451948391

DW's Diner

DW’s Diner is a little restaurant in New Hope off Bass Lake Road and Broadway in a strip mall. I’ve been nearby lots of times, but never would have found this place, unless seeking it out. It is a basic, but clean with efficient waitresses and ample parking.

We both had the basic breakfast with eggs, hash browns, toast and meat.

John had the hamburger patty as his meat.

I thought the hash browns were pretty good and my eggs were prepared as requested.

I added a single pancake, just to give them a try and we both thought they were above average. It was a large, thinner pancake, and it had nice flavor. It was huge too!

We found the food and service to be above average. For the price, I think we’d consider going back since it is pretty close to home and there was no wait to be seated.

Deals & discounts: We were drawn in by a buy one entrée get one free deal from the Metro Dining club punch cards, which is good for up to $7 off each month.


DW’s Diner
6028 W Broadway Ave
New Hope, MN 55428
Phone: (763) 561-0419
No website

Pub 42

We've been back to Pub 42 a few more times now and photos of all three visits are below. While I loved this place on the first visit, we've had mixed experiences since.

We went back for dinner and trivia night and had dinner before the trivia started. Our server seemed ok at first, but he brought out the entirely wrong burger. John had ordered a burger with provolone, and bacon, cooked medium and he got a well done burger with cheddar. It was sent back and he got another burger with cheddar, but it was cooked correctly this time. Still no bacon. Oh well. The manager ended up removing the burger from the tab anyway, so that was nice.

I had the pumpkin ravioli. The portion seemed rather small for the price of $13.95. The cream sauce was very rich and flavorful though. I'm not sure I liked the sausage on top of the ravioli though. It didn't complement the sweetness of the pumpkin very well.

cheeseburger with fries

 

We went back again for trivia a week later and sat at the bar this time, hoping things would go better and they did. No service issues at all. John really liked the char wings as they had a nice smoky flavor.

char wings

The filet sliders were good, but the meat was a bit chewy in spots. A decent appetizer though.

The huge side order of fries. Also, they have a great seasoned sour cream that tastes just like the Champps seasoned sour cream.

 

We had one last gift card won at trivia to use up, so we went back one more time. We sat at the bar again and the service was fine. No issues again.

chicken Caesar salad

The side of fries. this time the fires were really undercooked and most of them were soggy.

The chicken fingers were really good, with a light crispy breading.

Overall, we had mixed service at Pub 42 and the food seemed to be a bit hit and miss. Some things are better than others on the menu. And if you want good service I would recommend sitting at the bar.

Oh yeah and to top it all off, they have canceled trivia night. So much for that one. Time to look around for a good trivia night again.

Here is a link to our first visit to Pub 42:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2014/04/pub-42.html

Deals & Discounts: They have a happy hour! Both early and late. Monday – Friday: 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close and Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Here is a link to the happy hour page on the website: http://pub42.com/happy-hour/


Pub 42
7600 42nd Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427
(763) 278-4242
http://pub42.com/

Pub 42

We visited Pub 42 in New Hope recently and had a wonderful experience. The building was the former location of the Sunshine Factory and they recently moved to a new location in Plymouth. While the food at Sunshine Factory was always decent, it was nothing to get very excited about. It was your basic bar food. Pub 42 might be a game changer for this area of town.

We were not expecting it to be very busy as it was early on a Thursday night, but there was a wait for table both in the bar and dining room. (There is a separate wait list for both rooms.) We managed to find a seat at the bar and after a bit of a wait we were able to order a couple drinks to enjoy while we waited for a table. Right after we received our drinks our pager went off as the wait was much shorter than quoted. We were led to a booth in the new dining room. Our server was obviously new, but did a good job most of the time. She did disappear for awhile right at the end of the meal when we were paying the check, but other servers picked up the slack.

I had the double bleu burger with house chips. The burger had bleu cheese crumbles, bleu cheese dressing, crispy onion straws and bacon on top. It was very good and cooked as ordered. The bun was lightly toasted and substantial enough to handle the weight of the burger. The house chips were just ok. They were a bit bland.

John had the Millionaire’s BLT with fries. This sandwich is great. It was a BLT taken to a new level. It had brown sugar chile bacon, lemon aioli, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo on toasted white bread. The bacon was amazing. It was thick cut bacon with a nice spicy kick to it with a touch of sweetness from a glaze. If you love BLTs, I highly recommend this sandwich. The fries seemed to be house made as well and they were great. Very hot, fresh and salty.

We finished with a couple martinis. John’s had cucumber infused vodka or gin; we are not totally sure what it was. The waitress said one thing and the menu said another. I had a strawberry stoli doli, which was excellent. Just what we need, stoli dolis right down the street. This could be dangerous!

Pub 42 was unexpectedly great. The food was excellent and we were expecting average. The drinks were great and they have also done a good job remodeling the dining room with comfortable booths and more updated décor. They have also added a lot of taps, so the beer offerings are very extensive with lots of local choices. If our first visit is any indication, Pub 42 has a lot of potential.

Deals & Discounts: They have a happy hour! Both early and late. Monday – Friday: 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close and Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Here is a link to the happy hour page on the website: http://pub42.com/happy-hour/

Pub 42
7600 42nd Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427
(763) 278-4242
http://pub42.com/

Papa's Cafe

We've been thinking about trying Papa's Cafe for awhile now, if only because they have very creative advertisements that come in all of the coupon booklets that arrive in the mail. They change the ads with the seasons too. Tell me that ad wouldn't make you curious too!

I just had the eggs, bacon and pancakes. The bacon and eggs were fine. The eggs were cooked perfectly by the way. The bacon was ok, nothing great, but nothing wrong with it at all.

The pancakes were pretty good. I'm forever in search of someplace with pancakes as good as those at Al's Breakfast, and these were not quite that good. But they were light and fluffy and cooked just right. Quite good overall.

John had the scrambled eggs, home fries, sourdough toast and hamburger patty. The hamburger patty was pre-formed but he said it had good flavor. The potatoes were good, definitely hand cut and crispy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside. The sourdough bread for toast was a nice change from regular white or wheat toast.


The service at Papa's Cafe was very efficient. We had two different waitresses help us, it seemed like they shared all of the tables. It seemed like there were a lot of regulars there and the waitresses knew most of them. Overall, we had a good, inexpensive breakfast and I think we'd probably go back, especially since it is so close to where we live.


Deals & Discounts: Papa's always has coupons in the local mailers that come to our house, such as the Coupon Connection book and the Metro Super Saver. Both allow many coupons to be printed online and the deals are usually $2 to $4 off depending on the amount spent. We also have a Metro Dining Club monthly punch card for Papa's good for $5 off per month.


Papa's Cafe
7181 42nd Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427
763.535.4887
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Papas-Cafe/147811451948391

Fat Nat's update 12/10/11

I'm a little behind on posting....going to try and catch up in the next couple of weeks. I have a few good meals to share.

First, I wanted to post a Fat Nat's update. On our last visit I got the Eggs Bacon Avocado Benedict. This is a signature item at Nat's and it is a really good egg benny rendition. The benedict has an added layer of spicy avocado verde and this sauce is delicious! It is a tad spicy and hot but not overly so. I think it just adds to the benedict overall. I believe the sauce is freshly made at Nat's and I have not encountered anything quite like it anywhere else around the Twin Cities. I highly recommend this dish if you like avocado and eggs benedict.

 John had the two eggs with bacon dish again. I guess he really likes this selection a lot!

Discounts: They have a $5 off per month coupon in the Metro Dining guide. 

Fat Nat's Eggs

(763) 540-0234

www.fatnatseggs.com

3540 Winnetka Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427

Fat Nat's Eggs

We visited Fat Nat's for breakfast a couple weeks ago (October 16th). We live quite close to Nat's and it is a weekend breakfast favorite for us. Last spring they moved down a couple doors in the same strip mall to a larger location. This is a good thing, because it has greatly reduced any wait times fora table. The food is still the same quality and they have added some new servers. Nat's is a casual diner, so don't go expecting anything fancy. The food is all great though. Lots of homemade sauces and fresh salsas. The service is very quick and very competent. I like that when you order a pop some of the servers will give you a coke with ice and another glass of coke without ice so you have your refill ready as soon as you need it.

I had Mike's omlette. This was my first time trying an omelet at Nat's. It was very large and filled with ham, cheese and American fries with hollandaise sauce over the top. As you can see the portion was very generous. Their hollandaise is very good as well, quite light actually. I think the American fries inside (which are cut up new potatoes that are fried in seasonings) could have been crispier, but that is my personal preference. There was a lot of cheese and ham inside as well. I could only eat half of it.

John had the two eggs with bacon. This tends to be one of his favorites here. The bacon is good quality and the scrambled eggs are light and fluffy. It is a lot of food for the price. 

Fat Nat's has a great breakfast and I'd recommend it to anyone. I will have to post pictures next time we visit as they have some specialities that are really great. (Interesting egg Benedict's mainly.)

Discounts: They also have a $5 off per month coupon in the Metro Dining guide punch card set. 

Fat Nat's Eggs

(763) 540-0234

www.fatnatseggs.com

3540 Winnetka Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427