Twin City Grill

Down in the cities yesterday for the sublime Nine Inch Nails concert, Jed and i went to the Mall of America in the afternoon for dinner and a movie. typically MoA visits are a yearly treat for me [usually around tax return time, to get something from Torrid], but since Jed lives five minutes away it'll be much more frequent, and less ceremonious. i was mildly interested in the Napa Valley Grill, but it looked a little too fancy, so we went for the Twin City Grill. we checked the menu outside to make sure it was affordable. after the snafu at Ruth's Chris, i suddenly feel like "no sit-down is safe." prices were what id call Applebees-average: $8-10 for a sandwich and fries, $12-14ish for an entree, $16 for a steak. im glad we read the menu beforehand, otherwise i wouldve freaked when i saw the interior, which looks pretty posh. now i have class anxiety!! wtf. but TCG offers its dark, cozy atmosphere and very professional service at very low cost. we loved the black leather booths and large vintage photographs, of early U of M crew teams etc. our waiter was polite, crisply dressed and very Harold-[of Harold and Kumar]ish. kind of adorable in a way that i was slightly embarrassed for him, giving his little schpiel about the specials and such.

I feel like i should start ordering steak. i really dont care much for steak, but i feel like im missing out by not enjoying it, and i also feel like a cheapskate for always automatically skipping over the most expensive portion of the menu. i was in a sandwichy sort of mood anyway, so i decided on the walleye sandwich with homemade tartar sauce and salt and vinegar fries [briefly considering getting a BBQ chicken flatbread with a side mediterranian salad].

We were served a round of onion bread, served wti ha cup of molten, semi-liquid butter. the bread was tasty, with golden onion bits baked on top, and the butter's dunkability was appriciated.

The walleye sandwich was an uncharacteristic order for me, but i made the right choice. the filet was huge, and gorgeously battered. the flesh was white, pure and tender, and the batter was the perfect thickness. the bun was nicely toasted. and O M G. the homemade tartar sauce. creamy [not chunky with pickle], and slightly dilly... FREAKING AWESOME. the salt and vinegar fries were really good... i love S V chips, but these were even better, and sublime dipped in the tartar. the only cons: the fish filet was a little TOO big, becoming unwieldy after awhile even after being cut in half. not that i let those errant chunks that fell from my bun go to waste, but id prefer if they stayed IN. the bun's texture, once you got past the cut edges' nice toastiness, was a little mismatched for the fish. too dense, maybe? too bready, you know. i have this problem often with fish sandwiches. i think Green Mill puts their parmasean-crusted walleye on ciabatta, which i think was good, although i remember "loss of filling" also. overall, AWESOME sandwich though.

Our waiter, "Harold," brough us a complimentary tomato-basil flatbread to try, which kind of mystified us. are we just that awesome? was it my cuteness, or jeds? ;) he did ask us if we'd ever been there before, perhaps they give newcomers a house specialty to try? odd are though, they probably just fucked something up in the kitchen and ended up with an extra pizza. warily, we tried it. meh. im glad i didnt order one. it was REALLY thin. i mean... ive had thicker crackers. it was... tortialla-chip thin. med. i ate a piece or two. WE DIDNT EAT IT ALL. WE DIDNT EAT ALL OUR FREE FOOD. wtf.

Jed ordered a french dip, which he said was ok. i kinda wanted to taste some, enticed by the menu's description of melted mozzerella and caramelized onions. nom. i didnt get any though... i had more fish than i could handle anyway.

we overheard another patron talking to a waiter [not Harold] about the quality of their flatbread pizzas [they had ordered two to split among several women]. i guess she had talked up the flatbreads to her friends as "the best," and was so embarrassed to find that they werent up to snuff. i didnt hear exactly what the complaint was, but i get where she's coming from. id have been disappointed if i had to pay for mine, but im not a complainer. i probably shoudl be, because they got their flatbreads taken off their bill, plus a free dessert. damn. want.

So. good food, great, low-key luxe atmosphere, excellent service, no wait on a weekday afternoon, but dont order the flatbread.

Twin City Grill [mall of america tenant profile]
130 North Garden, Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
952-854-0200