We got there about 1:45, and asked for a table for 4. The hostess told us she would clear off a table for us. There were at least 10 empty tables right in front of us so I'm not sure why she needed to clean a table, but we waited...and waited. Several minutes later she finally came back and walked us to our table, doing the usual "how's your day going" chit-chat. Our table was in a cool little alcove, with big windows right behind us. About 2 minutes later a server came out and told us that our server, "Jeff" was just getting off break, so she would get our drinks and then he would be with us. She returned with our waters, and we waited...and waited...at least 5 minutes passed...still no Jeff, and the original server never came back. Honestly not sure if Jeff even exists. None of us had ever walked out of a restaurant before, but there's a first time for everything. As we walked out the same hostess who sat us said "bye, have a great day" like we'd been there for an hour! Not a single staff person recognized or acknowledged the crappy service.
The News Room is right across the street, so we decided that would be our next stop. Jared, Amanda and Jennifer met us as we left The Local, and we trekked across the street.
We were immediately seated, and our waitress came to our table within a minute. Already, the experience was tons better. The inside of the restaurant is really cool, with framed news articles all over the walls, and floor-to-ceiling sized articles positioned throughout the dining room. You kinda have to see it to get it, but it's really cool. We sat in the Travel Room, and the bar is made out of a 32-foot sailboat. Next to us was the Sports Room, with a huge bar in the middle, tables along the walls, and a bunch of flat-screen TV's.
We started with the Tres Hummus, which was flatbread with 3 types of hummus. It was delicious, and just what we needed to curb our ever-growing hunger. The menu is huge, and I don't do well with big menus, but I finally decided on the Tomato Basil Panini, with home fries.
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| Turkey, roasted red pepper, smoked tomato jam, parmesan basil aioli, on our house made foccacia bread |
Had I known the sandwich was going to be so big I would have split with Jared, since he got the same thing. I wish I could have eaten the whole thing though, because it was delicious! The homemade bread was awesome. I don't normally like chunks of cooked tomato, but the jam was the perfect consistency. The seasoning on the home fries was really good, and added just enough spice.
In the end, I'm so much happier we ended up at the News Room, and next time I'm in Minneapolis I'll definitely go back. They do breakfast every morning, so of course I need to try it out!
