On Friday night I had dinner with my friend Amy. We went to the Town Talk Diner in Minneapolis. It was a beautiful day so we grabbed a table outside.
I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and she got the diner's twist on a Manhattan. It was made with bacon-infused bourbon and cherry bitters. Being the bacon-crazed girl that I am, I had to try it. I have to say it wasn’t my thing. Interesting, but ultimately too strange for me. It was actually garnished with a sliver of bacon (you can barely make it out, to the left of the cherry).
For dinner I ordered Garlic Parsley Potato Fries (yes, french fries for dinner; there have to be some perks to being a grown-up). The fries came with a side of lemon mayo/aioli, but I preferred plain old ketchup as a dipper. (The restaurant also makes its own bacon ketchup but I didn’t try that.)
I love garlic—I really, really love garlic—about as much as I love bacon, but the fries were a teeny-tiny too garlicy to me. We’re talking pure, raw garlic. Still, I didn’t have too much trouble polishing off most of the basket. The fries were perfectly done: Crunchy on the outside; soft on the inside and piping hot.
Interestingly, the diner also serves Adult Malts/Floats. There’s the “Dreamsicle,” made with vanilla, orange juice, triple sec and Grey Goose vodka, and the “Silly Rabbit” made with Trix, Marie Brizard; parfait amor, raspberry and backberry. We didn’t try one, but I think it’s a perfect excuse to go back.