The Blue Door Pub is a brand-new restaurant on Selby Avenue, in the old Puerta Azul space. They opened on Thursday, and we went on Friday—the earliest after opening that we’ve ever visited a restaurant.
I was a little bit worried that the Blue Door wasn’t located very well—every time we’ve driven by Puerta Azul the place looked dead to me. But when we drove up Friday evening the Blue Door was full and there was even a crowd on the sidewalk waiting for tables. I stand corrected, I guess. We put our names on the list and went outside to wait with everyone else. Periodically, a waitress would come out with baskets of Cajun tater tots or green bean fries, which was nice—although I wouldn’t expect the practice to continue past opening weekend. The tater tots were hot, crispy, and just a bit spicy, but I’ve never been a fan of the idea of green bean fries. The batter doesn’t stick to the beans very well, and the hot oil doesn’t really change the taste of the bean in any way—basically, it just tastes like a green bean covered with batter. Some people really seem to like them, though. Anything to get your vegetables, I guess.
The wait turned out to be a little long, but we got our seats eventually. Both Sarah and I decided to give Minnesota’s newest brewery, Stillwater’s Lift Bridge Brewery, a try with their Farm Girl Saison. They also have several wines to choose from for people who don’t care for beer. To eat, Sarah did a “Build-Your-Own” Burger and fries, and I went with a Hawaiian Juicy Lucy and tots. Correction: make that a “Juicy Blucy,” which is what they call them at the Blue Door. Both burgers were very good, cooked just right with a little bit of pink. My Lucy came filled with mozzarella cheese and pineapple, with a piece of ham on top. It was a nice combination—although it could have done with a little more pineapple. Sarah’s fries were obviously hand-cut, but a little bit floppy for Sarah’s taste: she likes them crispy. For me, they were just right, with just a little bit of saltiness.
Looking at the menu overall, it was easy to spot the influence of another bar not far away: the Groveland Tap. In fact, the owners of the Blue Door are former employees of the Tap, so that explains that. But the Blue Door seems to have one-upped the Tap in some respects. The menu offerings, while pretty standard for bar food, are just a little bit more interesting, with a couple different twists on the Juicy Lucy, and a build-your-own option for burgers, chicken sandwiches, and grilled cheese sandwiches. The atmosphere is also a little more classy than that of the Tap, so it’s really a good alternative in many respects. Hopefully these two bars will get some good competition going.
The only real glaring problem we had was the service, which was spotty at best. Opening week stuff, I guess. For instance, they don’t have a drink list. When I asked the hostess for one, she told me that there was a list at the bar and literally had us get out of our seats to check. Our drinks came out to us quickly, but then we sat there for a while without menus. Would our waitress give us menus, or would this be another “go get it yourself” situation? In the end, we spotted a pile of menus by the front door and decided to take matters into our own hands. All in all, it wasn’t a disaster, but I thought it was kind of tacky.
Sarah and Andrew’s Verdict: B-. With a nice atmosphere, good drink list, and more-interesting-than-usual bar menu, the Blue Door Pub has a lot of potential. They’ve also got a few kinks to work out. As it’s in our neighborhood, though, we’ll definitely be back to see how things progress—and we’d definitely recommend it for fans of good beer and greasy food.
October 5, 2008 at 12:36 pm |
Thanks for trying our beer. We are pleased to be on tap at the Blue Door Pub.