A couple of weeks ago, we had our wood floors refinished after a refrigerator icemaker malfunction. This involved having to stay at a hotel for a few days--fun, right? Well, sort of. DH and I were both working, and the Teens both had school, and there was no nice shiny yellow school bus to take them from the hotel to school. And of course their school schedules aren't even remotely similar. And of course the Wifi at the hotel was spotty, and dependent as I am on the internets, that sent me out to coffee shops where occasionally I'd have a work call and have to shout over the din. Yeah, that's professional.
By the end of the week, I was a tetch crabby, and hopped in my car one day and determined that I'd have a nice lunch somewhere, preferably a place I'd never been. Not that that narrowed down my choices--lots of places I haven't been.
One can kill a lot of time driving around the Twin Cities, trying to decide which new restaurant to try.
Finally I drove by this place.
The Happy Gnome on Selby Ave. in St. Paul. The irony of the name didn't escape me, but it felt right to to challenge the so-named establishment by hauling my curmudgeonly self in for a bite.
All that driving around meant I was arriving on the late side for lunch, so it was quiet. I could appreciate that.
As I appreciated the Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison beer.
A lovely Minnesota beer. It made me happy, not in an alcoholic sense, but in a "hey I got to try a new-to-me Minnesota beer and it's really good" kind of way.
The server, also the bartender, was ready to answer my question about the menu, which amounted to: which should I order, the sweet potato burrito or the stuffed salmon BLT? He paused, then noted those are his two favorites, and he wasn't sure one was better than the other. I grumpily informed him he was no help and went with the burrito.
You know what? There was no room for grumpy after I ate this. A crispy burrito with sweet potatoes, corn and black beans, served with a mixed green and pico de gallo salad and some pleasingly spicy guacamole.
And I could feel almost virtuous about it. Yes, it was crispy, but lightly crispy, not drowned-in-oil crispy. Plus, sweet potatoes! Which I sometimes don't like, but when they're combined with black beans and spicy guacamole, it's an entirely different story!
When the burrito was served, the two women in the booth next to mine asked how it was. I took a bite and told them to order it. They followed my (excellent) advice, and by the time I left, they were happily chowing down and agreed that it was delicious.
So there you have it. The Happy Gnome can make you happy when you're not.
Plus there's an outdoor patio.
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