Plate 52, Week 3: The Bulldog, N.E.

The Bulldog in Northeast Minneapolis has received a lot of accolades for its bar menu, so last Tuesday when new opera friend Jamie Nieman suggested we go there – “the one in Northeast, not Uptown” – I was more than thrilled. I tried going to the Bulldog back in February on a Saturday but the wait was over an hour and no place is worth that wait-time, especially if you are hungry!

Now, about the food; the food is exactly what you except it to be: comfort food in a bar. However, it had a good variety of appetizers, a long list of burgers to choose from, some delicious-sounding hotdogs, and lots of cupcake, however, if I remember correctly, the waitress said they only made three cupcake flavors each day.

Jamie and I started with the bacon scallion wontons, which were fun. (Sorry, no pictures. I wasn’t comfortable using the flash on my camera but I got over that for next week’s post.) They were served with a sweet and spicy sauce, which really wasn’t spicy, but as my step-uncle says, “Minnesota spicy is so spicy you can almost taste it.” Ha! The cream cheese in the wontons was all kinds of goodness but the deal clincher was really the bacon. Everything is better with bacon, and I know Jamie really enjoyed them since she posted about them on her Facebook status!

Next I had the Rooster burger based on the recommendation of the waitress (who was just super friendly and looked like Carrie Underwood). The Rooster was served with a sriracha glaze, housemade sweet pickles, roasted garlic aioli, and pepperjack cheese, and instead of French fries I opted for Tater Tots and a side of mayo (I know, you probably need some Lipitor now after reading that, but that’s how I like my fried sides). The Tater Tots were good but that was expected; Tater Tots are usually always good unless you burn them, and even overcooked Tater Tots still have the potential of tasting good. The Rooster, however, well, that’s a different story. The condiments were on point but the burger was overcooked (I asked for medium) and the bun was too thick and substantial that it dominated the potential juiciness of the burger.

I ordered a Boston cream pie cupcake for dessert but it was average. Having said that and in the Bulldog’s defense, I think cupcakes are overrated and in general not worth the calories, so I was biased from the start.

All in all, I’d say the plates were good for what you would expect. I am taking my San Francisco friends there this Friday to fulfill their craving for Midwestern comfort food (unless we come up another place). However, I think this time I will try the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Anyone who has known me long enough knows I love Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, and “love” may be an understatement.

- Hadley

P.S. – Other restaurants I tried for the first time were the Craftsman and Aster Café.