From friendly neighborhood joints like Matt's Bar (home of the Jucy Lucy) to perfectly authentic, stopped-in-time places like Nye's Polonaise Room and Delmonico's Italian Foods, the independent proprietors of the Twin Cities are serving up tasty food, interesting wares and, sometimes, a slice of the past.

Here's a guide to the best retro drive-ins, mom-and-pops and legendary dives.

Diners, Cafes & Coffee Shops

 
Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar
Maybe it’s due to the fact that it shares a building with an art gallery and an artist’s cooperative, but creativity seems to spill out of the Black Dog. Inside you’ll hear political conversations, art discussions, live music, even psychic readings. Whether you join in or play wallflower, the atmosphere is guaranteed to make the coffee taste better. { 308 Prince St. / St. Paul }

The Uptowner Café on Grand
What’s that? You’ve already had the Cajun breakfast at the Uptowner Café? Well, then I guess I don’t have to tell you how good it is, or how amiable the staff is, or how the place always seems to have just enough customers to make it feel busy, but not so many that it feels crowded. What about the pancakes? Can I tell you about the pancakes?
{ 1100 Grand Ave. / St. Paul }

This classic diner has been serving hearty portions of its giant farmer’s breakfast, delicious homemade vegetable beef soup and a robust turkey dinner for more than 20 years. And the banana cream pie is to die for. You can’t beat the style, friendly service and low prices—and there’s always enough food to take home for leftovers. { 1446 Rice St. / St. Paul }

Diamonds Coffee Shoppe
Diamonds is one of the coziest, most user-friendly coffee shops in town. Nestled in the ground floor of the arts-minded Thorp Building, Diamonds offers delicious coffee drinks and grills a mean tuna melt. Other notable features: wireless, live music on weekends and a famous pancake breakfast (served outdoors on the loading dock in summer) the second Sunday of every month. { 1618 Central Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Our Kitchen

How do you like your eggs? With hash browns, a side of neighborly disposition and close quarters? At Our Kitchen, cozy’s an understatement. Eleven stools, one counter, a couple of regulars and an overhead fan: welcome to Our Kitchen, which happens to belong to Dan Ziegler, who happens to be a master of the hash brown. { 813 W. 36th St. / Mpls. }

Caffetto
Coffee shops abound in Uptown, but Caffetto teeters on legendary status. With its comfy, beat-up chairs and deep booths just right for quiet reflection or conversation over a board game, the shop strikes all the right notes. Though the hipster element is apparent, it’s by no means prohibitive. { 708 W. 22nd St. / Mpls. }

Ideal Diner

Ideal Diner is one of the Twin Cities’ original greasy spoons. The cracker box café opened in 1949 and has been serving up breakfast standards such as eggs, hash browns and buttermilk cakes ever since. With only about a dozen counter seats, Ideal stays full throughout the day. A time-weathered sign sums it up nicely: “The Ideal Diner: where regular people feel special and special people feel regular.”

{ 1314 Central Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

There’s always a reason to snag a table (be quick, there are only 11) at Victor’s 1959 Café (pictured left), which is what we imagine a perfect Havana cafe might be like. Between the fried plantains and the sautéed shrimp with garlic and lime, you’ll probably end up staying longer than is strictly polite. Definitely try a scoop of Victor’s coconut ice cream, served up in a chocolate-dipped waffle bowl. ¡Buen provecho!

{ 3756 Grand Ave. S. / Mpls. }

The Little Oven
Though its specialty is Italian, The Little Oven also offers Norma’s Texas Size Rise & Shine Breakfast, which includes three eggs, two biscuits, corned beef hash, a half-pound slice of ham, a sausage link, bacon, two pancakes and a side of peaches. If that’s not enough to drag you out of bed on a Saturday morning, then try a stromboli or one of the 20-plus pasta entrées for lunch. { 1786 Minnehaha Ave. / St. Paul }

Chiapas Restaurant
Chiapas Restaurant has been an ethnic anchor on Central Avenue for years. The vast menu offers an assortment of Mexican fare, from homemade tamales, fajitas, burritos and enchiladas, to specialties including sopa de mariscos (Mexican bouillabaisse), tacos de nopales (marinated cactus salad), mole (a sauce made from ground chile peppers, nuts, spices and chocolate) and pozole (hominy corn soup). Lots of beverages (fresh squeezed orange juice and Jarritos) and desserts (flan and tres leches cake) round out the menu.
{ 2416 Central Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Pineda Tacos
If Chipotle is to burritos the size of your head, then Pineda is to burritos the size of your thigh. Watching the boys build my tortilla actually incited that elusive emotion of giddiness in me. No expense is lavished on frills around here, but no matter, they’d rather offer up what has got to be the best food value in town. Seven dollars for an unbelievable love torpedo. Two locations:
{ 311 Lake St. E. / Mpls. // 1304 Robert St. S. / St. Paul }

Marino’s Deli
Pizza you bake at home, fist-size  meatballs, crispy pizzelles and toasted garlic bread heaped in a basket. Marino’s Deli is the kind of mom-and-pop that feels like it hasn’t changed in 30 years—in a good way. Marino’s will also cater your PTA supper, your traditional lasagna family dinners or your high school graduation party. Stop by and spend a minute appreciating that a place like this still exists.  { 1944 Johnson St. N.E. / Mpls. }

Crescent Moon Bakery

Just a block from the Holy Land Deli, Crescent Moon Bakery is an understated gem that offers familiar dishes such as gyros and kabobs. But the real star is its one-of-a-kind spicy beef Afghani pizza. Owner Meerwais Azizi, who hails from Kabal City, Afghanistan, says his culinary inspiration comes from his mother—so thanks to her for setting her son on a path that intersects with Northeast. { 2339 Central Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Retro Drive-Ins / Ice Cream Shops

Porky’s

More famous in recent years for the American Graffiti thing it has going on, Porky’s is the vintage drive-in of your dreams. Once part of a mini-chain of local carhops, this ’50s-era drive-in still serves up great burgers and rings, but you have to drive through or head inside to get them. Beware the summer weekend nights, when classic car aficionados descend, some with visions of dragging on the Miracle Mile dancing in their heads—hence the obvious presence of St. Paul’s finest. It’s a show that’s too good to miss. {1890 University Ave. W. / St. Paul }

Dari-ette Drive In
It’s long been the symbol of summer on the East Side, and when cars start pulling up to order spaghetti and malts carhop-style, we know cabin season is on its way. A stop at Dari-ette is the season’s ritual for St. Paul kids. Its Italian-flag-colored neon and giant creamy cone are the stuff warm-weather dreams are made of. { 1440 E. Minnehaha Ave. / St. Paul }

One-Note Wonders

Uncle Franky’s
In the ongoing quest for the perfect Chicago dog this side of Soldier Field, Nordeast offers up Uncle Franky’s, where they ain’t shy with the beef (a 1/6-pound of Vienna’s finest), or stingy with the fixin’s (mustard first, then pickle, tomato, onion, relish, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt on a steamed poppy seed bun). Franky’s also features coney dogs, sandwiches and burgers, plus shakes made with Izzy’s ice cream. Two locations:
{ 728 Broadway St. N.E. / Mpls.  // 10160 6th Ave. N. / Plymouth }

Chris and Rob’s Chicago’s Taste Authority
Even though it went through a name change—so long, Joey D’s—ownership is still the same at Chris and Rob Dubnecay’s neighborhood spot. Authentic Windy City classics, like hot dogs on a poppy seed bun, are the culinary lures. And just to prove that they’ve succumbed to Minnesota’s charms, the duo offers arguably the best cheese curds inside state lines.
{ 3101 E. 42nd St. / Mpls. }

Mac’s Fish & Chips
Everything in this five-tabled room with linoleum floors looks as though it’s been rubbed down with a deep-fried filet. Better to minimize your time in the hazy air, thick with fryer grease, and take your immaculate pillows of white halibut, encrusted in crisp golden love, and make your way down to nearby Como Park. Also serving fried shrimp, clams and chicken sandwiches. { 1330 Larpenteur Ave. W. / St. Paul }

Red’s Savoy Pizza
It’s in places like this that I miss my salt-of-the-earth grandma the most. A good greasy pizza, a glass of cheap wine, “if floors could talk” carpeting, a quick-witted barman and, until just recently, a lot of cigarettes. Cocktail conversation about the merits of a church basement bar and low, low lighting. Pretense has never set a pinky toe in here. Known best for its cheesy pies, “Savoy’s” is an East Side institution.
{ 421 7th St. E. / St. Paul }

The Stuff of Legends
With all the holes-in-the-wall, one would think the Twin Cities weren’t structurally sound. These holes, however, have risen above obscurity and become load-bearing pillars.

Matt’s Bar
What hasn’t been said of this, the home of the beloved Jucy Lucy? Matt’s is a burger-and-beer lover’s dream: wood-paneled walls, a decent jukebox, some cheap suds and a menu six items long, posted on a greasy board behind the bar. But you came here for one thing only: the cheese-packed Lucy. Comes in a white paper wrapper, sans plate.
{ 3500 Cedar Ave. S. / Mpls. }

Little Tijuana Restaurant
“Little T’s” is a wise stop after a long bender to help stave off the impending hangover. Nothing like a plate full of mystery nachos to help soak up those martinis. Draw comics of what you remember of the night on the paper-topped tables (crayons provided).  { 17 E. 26th St. / Mpls. }

Al’s Breakfast
You have to respect a place where hungry would-be diners are willing to wait, back to the wall, for a coveted stool at this real-deal lunch counter. This sliver of a place offers an authentic diner experience, complete with short-order slinging and 30-year regulars, but manages all of it without a hint of grease factor. Buy a “yellow book” and prepay for as many breakfasts as you’d like. { 413 14th Ave. S.E. / Mpls. }

Mickey’s Diner
Mickey’s is all it’s cracked up to be and more. It’s possibly the most theatrical place to eat eggs in the state, and clichés abound here. The seen-it-all waitress, the grizzled grill man, the regulars, the grease-caked everything bursting out the cracks of this diminutive dining car. 24-7, never-ending, round-the-clock Midwestern drama. { 36 7th St. W. / St. Paul }

Nye’s Polonaise Room
Ah, Nye’s. The Polish pride of Northeast. A swingers’ lounge, a hipster hangout, a working-man’s watering hole. Nye’s was born in 1949 near the banks of the mighty Miss. Part supper club, part piano bar, part polka lounge, this local treasure has enjoyed national fame (Esquire magazine named Nye’s the Best Bar in America in 2006) and endured tragic loss (rest in peace, Billy Walsh). For more than 30 years, Lou Snider has tickled the ivories, while Ruth Adams and “the world’s most dangerous polka band” have kept folks dancing in the back bar since 1967.
{ 112 E. Hennepin Ave. / Mpls. }

N.E. Dives

331 Club

It hasn’t been around that long in its new incarnation, but the 331 in Northeast already feels like an old friend. It’s reliable (live music every night), friendly (don’t be afraid to talk to the person at that table next to you), fun (hosted trivia) and doesn’t ask for much in return (there’s never a cover). If you haven’t been, go see a show at the 331. If nothing else, you can always stand to gain another friend.

{331 N.E. 13th Ave. / Mpls.}

Stasiu’s
Stasiu’s (Polish for “Stanley”) is a friendly bar with good beer, live music and killer karaoke. It even has a foosball table and free ping-pong on Sundays. But there’s one distinct feature that sets this watering hole apart from its neighbors: the men’s urinal. Plucked from the old West Hotel (Minneapolis’s first luxury hotel built in 1884, demolished in 1940), this porcelain masterpiece found its final resting place at Stasiu’s when the bar opened in 1975. An oddly opulent fixture amongst the more pedestrian decor (the dark wood paneling exudes a ’70s rec-room vibe), it is undoubtedly one of the most famous urinals in the Twin Cities.
{ 2500 University Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Tony Jaros’ River Garden
Google “Tony Jaros” and you’ll find statistics for Anthony (Tony) Joseph Jaros: born Feb. 2, 1920, played for Edison High School’s basketball team before signing with the Minneapolis Lakers in the ’50s. Today, Danny Jaros owns the bar named after his pop which is famous for its “Greenies.” Jaros’ sells buckets of this neon concoction (vodka, lime juice and sour mix), and its popularity spawned a companion drink, the Pinkie (add grenadine). Jaros’ atmosphere is hard to beat—well worn and comfortable, a well-balanced blend of hipsters and old-timers.
{ 2500 Marshall St. N.E. / Mpls. }

Dusty’s Bar
Northeast bars like to brand themselves with a signature sandwich. At Dusty’s, it’s the Dago. A steal at just $4.50, the Dago layers an Italian sausage patty with sweet red peppers, caramelized onions and mozzarella on a soft white bun. For entertainment there’s darts, pull tabs and the occasional hit-or-miss acoustic act. Dusty’s is a no-frills bar, and that’s just how the regulars like it. { 1319 Marshall St. N.E. / Mpls. }

Shaw’s Bar & Grill

Ask any Nordeaster about the Sun Burger and they’ll wax nostalgic about the ’60s-era Sun Drive-In that served the dreamiest burgers in town. Well, the Sun Burger has found a new home at Shaw’s, a true neighborhood joint with live music and a serious pour. Or go for the Shaw Burger, a three-napkin sandwich dripping in sauce, onions, mushrooms and a half-dozen other choice ingredients. { 1528 University Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Musical Notables

Whether it’s alt-country or rock ‘n’ roll, Lee’s always delivers live music in the way that makes you want to tap your foot and tip back a beer at the same time. Filled with good ol’ boys and girls of all shapes and sizes, Lee’s seems to bring the rowdiness out of its customers in a way that even your mom would approve of—well, as long as you don’t wrestle in the house.

{ 101 N. Glenwood / Mpls. }

Palmer’s Bar

Palmer’s celebrated its 100th birthday last summer—quite an accomplishment for a little Cedar Ave. watering hole. During the musical heyday of the ’70s, Willie Murphy, Spider John Koerner, Dave Ray, Tony Glover, Papa John Kolstad and Pop Wagner could all be found at Palmer’s. Even Bonnie Raitt came to “the Palm Club” when she was in town. As Ann, a regular since the mid-’80s, explains, “Palmer’s is a place for misfits, artists and musicians. Everyone there has a story.”

{ 500 Cedar Ave. S. / Mpls. }

Schuller’s Tavern
Zeina Jacob met her American-born husband, Ray, in 1980 when he was visiting his father’s homeland, fell in love and moved back here with him. Now, in addition to this charming bar and grill, they own Arone’s in Northeast and Ray Jays in Woodbury, and make everything from scratch. “We don’t open cans,” Zeina says. Stop by to try Zeina’s specials, which include fusions of Lebanese and American classics.
{ 7345 Country Club Dr. / Golden Valley }

Specialty Shops

Crafty Planet
“Saving the world, one stitch at a time,” is the motto here. The go-to place for crafty hipsters, the store carries retro reproduction fabrics, yarns, patterns and DYI kits by brands such as Subversive Cross Stitch (Homo Sweet Homo). Crafty Planet also offers classes in knitting, sewing and quilting, as well as in-home instruction and kids’ parties.
{ 2318 Lowry Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Pete’s Como Barber Shop
Pete’s is exactly what you think of when you think of old-fashioned barber shops, complete with the red, white and blue spinning barber pole. And the friendly service of an era gone by is what you’ll get at Pete’s. After 35 years in business, owner Pete Kish knows many of his customers by name and is more than just their barber; he’s a friend.
{ 1508 Como Ave. S.E. / Mpls. }


Eagle Magic

At the Eagle Magic store in downtown Minneapolis—which, having existed in one incarnation or another since 1900, is the oldest store of its kind in the country—you’ll find everything you could possibly need to mesmerize or mystify (plus some fake vomit to boot). Definitely an insider shop, most days at Eagle Magic you’ll find longtime owner Larry Kahlow (pictured right) and magical cohorts sitting (or levitating) and talking shop.

{ 301 4th Ave. S. / Mpls. }

Delmonico’s Italian Foods
Delmonico’s is the quintessential mom-and-pop. It’s the kind of shop you’d expect to find in an east Jersey neighborhood, yet here it sits, a stalwart anomaly in a lazy, residential part of Northeast. Delmonico’s specializes in delectable homemade sausage, pasta and marinara sauce, as well as olive oils, cheeses and an inexhaustible number of packaged goods.
{ 1112 Summer St. N.E. / Mpls. }

Tuthill’s Balloon Emporium
At Tuthill’s—a family-owned business now in its 28th year—you’ll find everything from standard party fare to singing balloons and sparkling candles. Just ask owner Meg Tuthill, who’s more than happy to help (apparently being surrounded by flutter-fetti and helium tanks does wonders for your enthusiasm). “I love what I do, and I love our customers! I think they’re the best in the world!” says Tuthill (exclamation hers).
{ 2455 Hennepin Ave. S. / Mpls. }

Schatzlein Saddle Shop

Schatzlein opened its doors in 1907, back when roads were dirt and the closest thing to a practical automobile was a mid-size pony with a “my other horse is a Clydesdale” sticker. One hundred years later, Schatzlein is still in business, run by the grandchildren of Emil, the original Schatzlein. And though the saddle and tack have been moved to the back and the repair shop isn’t as busy, you can still wrangle up a hat and some nice cowboy-cut Levis.

{ 413 W. Lake St. / Mpls. }

PPL Shop
You think it’d be hard to miss a 30,000-square-foot warehouse, yet many people have never heard of PPL. The store is a repository of surplus merchandise donated by companies like Target, discounted 50 to 70 percent. Inventory changes regularly, but you’ll almost always find staples like candles, books, clothing and used office furniture. The PPL Shop is a job-training center for Project for Pride in Living, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income families become self-sufficient. 
{ 850 15th Ave. N.E. / Mpls. }

Nicollet Village Video
With carpeting, which is taped in place, that no shop-vac could return to its original color, and a random assortment of empty DVD box sets and haphazardly hung posters functioning as décor, Chris Becker says of his store, “We’re scruffy because we’re not about presentation, we’re about product.” And with the largest collection of foreign films in the Midwest, along with fully stocked specialty genre sections including cult, documentary, television and videos tailor made—ahem—for adults, that couldn’t be more true.
{ 1601 Nicollet Ave. S. / Mpls. }

Ax-Man Surplus Store

So you’ve got half the parts for a small motor you’re hoping to use to power that boat you fashioned from recyclables, are looking for the other half and are also in the market to buy, say, a traffic light. Where could you go? Easy: Ax-Man Surplus. A sensory overload, in which just reading the various handmade signs and witticisms could take an afternoon, Ax-Man offers all oddities in excess, for the artistic, eccentric or electronic.

{ 1639 University Ave. / St. Paul }

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