Birdhouse Eat and Drink

We took Kelly and David to the Birdhouse last fall for an early dinner. It opened in early 2020 and due to all the recent events, it has taken us much longer than expected to visit this casual, close to home venue. It's a cute bar and grill with a couple TVs above the bar located on Robbinsdale's equally cute main thoroughfare.  

It wasn't busy on arrival and we were seated quickly inside. There is a small patio on the side of the building. (Online ordering is also available for take out.)

I had the turkey avocado sandwich that comes with turkey breast, avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese and garlic aioli with a side of seasoned fries. It was a solid sandwich, good portion and the aioli helped elevate a basic sandwich.  

John had the MN chop cheese sandwich with 100% steak grind beef, American cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli on a hoagie roll with french fries. 

chicken fingers for David, per usual

Kelly had the cavatappi and cheese with cheese sauce, pinko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. 

The service was friendly and helpful and our food arrived quite quickly. The prices are similar to other casual restaurants in the area.  The dining room was adorably decorated with fun and funky thrift store type finds. 

Birdhouse Eat and Drink
4153 W Broadway Ave
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
Phone: (763) 205-9668

www.thebirdhousemn.com

Marna's

I'm catching up on a bunch of posts from late summer and fall, when we were able to dine outdoors. I just wanted to clarify that these are not recent visits, but I figured I may as well go ahead and post them anyway since take out is still available from these same places. 

We made a reservation online in advance and were seated quickly once we found the host, which took a minute or two. 

John had the arroz con pollo, which was rice cooked with chicken stock, vegetables and pulled chicken and served with black beans and homemade potato chips. 

I finally tried the Marna's burger. I've read about it from a variety of local dining critics and the Travail guys have also shared how much they love it. It is a chipotle infused beef patty, caramelized onions, bacon, grilled pineapple, Swiss cheese and curry cream sauce on a brioche bun. I had chips and salsa on the side. It is definitely a rich, flavorful burger, if a little on the greasy side. It is somewhat spicy, but not super spicy. The cheese, bun and other elements do tame the spice a bit. 

The service was fine and it appeared they were following all of the safety protocols. We enjoyed our visit and would definitely return again. 

Marna's Eatery
4154 W Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55422
Phone: (612) 272-1370
https://marnaseatery.com

Travail - rooftop patio cantina - August 2020

Dining out in COVID times is certainly a different experience. We decided to give Travail another try in late August. Their new location was supposed to open right around the time COVID hit. In the beginning months they were doing make at home meals, groceries for your pantry and also carry out from Pig Ate MyPizza. They were doing dining on their rooftop patio with a cantina theme. It sounded interesting, so we booked reservations. We also added their alcoholic beverage pairing with the meal. 

I decided to just take photos and not take notes again. There is a picture at the end with all of the menu items and their descriptions. 

In additional to the two desserts we were served we got a box of sweets to take home. 

Here's the full menu items and descriptions. 

We had a great evening on the patio and enjoyed ourselves a lot. They even had a band performing throughout the meal. Travail took all of the expected COVID precautions and we felt very safe dining there. We would certainly go back and we look forward to checking out their indoor dining room once that is fully open. 

Travail
4134 Hubbard Ave N
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
(763) 535-1131
https://www.travailkitchen.com

Marna's Eatery

Note: I visited the establishment and wrote this post before the virus shut down everything. I've decided to go ahead and continue posting as it was a snapshot in time. Many places are still open for carryout. Be sure to visit your favorite places during this crazy time. Support what you love. Now is the time!


We finally tried Marna's in Robbinsdale. Boy, have we been missing out on a great spot. They recently expanded into the area formerly occupied by Pig Ate My Pizza, so the space is cute, bright and open. We were seated right away.

The corn bread with honey butter is amazing. The corn bread is served warm and very moist, not at all dry like some cornbread and this is truly an improvement. This is a must order item!

Gallo Pinto

We both had the Gallo Pinto with rice with seasoned black beans, sweet fried plantain, sour cream, egg, guacamole and a tortilla aliñad. This was great also. I'm not even all that crazy about rice and bean dishes, but both were very flavorful and the plantains really were sweet and perfectly cooked. The tortilla alinad is like a flat corn cake and is a nice change from standard toast.

The service was friendly and efficient and we enjoyed our meal so much. We will certainly be visiting again very soon.


Marna's Eatery
4154 W Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55422
Phone: (612) 272-1370
https://marnaseatery.com

Pig Ate My Pizza

We visited the new and larger location of Pig Ate My Pizza in Robbinsdale recently. They have a much bigger space (in the old Travail location) and they are also brewing their own beer now.

We stopped in on a Friday night around 6pm. It was busy, but we were seated at a large communal table pretty quickly. It had been ages since we went to Pig, so the menu has changed a lot.

We started with the wings with pho dry rub wings, mint, fresno, basil ranch. The skin on the wings was crisp, but they had very little flavor. The dry rub didn't have a lot of flavor. Very bland. I wasn't crazy about the basil ranch sauce either.

Next, the dry rub ribs with a side of pepper relish and basil ranch. The ribs were delicious. The dry rub had great flavor and the ribs were tender. They did not need the sauce really.

We had the Boomtown pizza with mushroom puree, roasted crimini and king trumpet mushrooms, arugula, chive, crispy garlic and Italian sausage. The pizza had a very rich and creamy taste, the crust was nicely crisp and held up well to the toppings on it.

The server seemed like he had a lot of tables and we had to call him over when we wanted to order our food and also more drinks. We were in and out in a decent amount of time though. The atmosphere is definitely loud and chaotic. The front area was very chilly as they have garage door type windows, which will be nice in the summer, but are freezing in the winter. Overall, we enjoyed the experience and would return.


Pig Ate My Pizza
4124 W Broadway Ave,
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
Phone: (763) 537-7267
https://www.pigatemypizza.com

Travail with beverage pairing July 2018

John and I wet back to Travail to celebrate his birthday in July. I don't have much to say that I haven't said in past posts, but I wanted to share the photos of the courses. We also did the somewhat new alcoholic beverage pairings with our meal, so those photos are mixed in as well. It was interesting to go during the summer time as many seasonal ingredients were used it seemed like. We loved the food and the overall experience just as much as we have before. It is always a fun environment and delicious food unlike anywhere else.

Travail
4124 W Broadway Ave
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
(763) 535-1131
www.facebook.com/Travailkitchen