Off the hook

     I arrived back at the hotel on Monday evening just in time to catch one of my favorite Food Network shows, Diners, Drive-ins & Dives hosted by Guy Fieri.  He narrates his nationwide tour of interesting places to eat as he chows down on some of the best meals to be had across our land.  Well what to my wondering eyes should appear but a segment on a local eatery right were I was in St. Paul.  Not only had he visited Caspar & Runyon's Nook in 2008, but had gone back and visited it again just last year.

     So before flying home on Tuesday my final stop on my trip out to the edge of the Prairie was the famous burger joint on Hamline Avenue in the Highland Park section of town.  The place is aptly named.  It's small, seating probably less than 50 people at a time, if you include the seats at the bar.

     The menu was extensive, emphasizing burgers, their specialty.  And of course they had their version of the Twin Cities iconic burger The Juicy Lucy, prominently featured, calling it the Nookie Burger.  It is a quarter pound of ground beef that encases an interior of gooey melted cheese.  While that was tempting to order I instead chose the Firehouse Burger layered with pepper cheese, raw onion, bacon and hot mustard, seen in the foreground:

     The burger was all that it was promised to be.  I enjoyed every flavorful bite.  And the accompanying slaw was tangy and sweet at the same time.  But as I sampled some of Al's fries I was disappointed that they were barely warm, having sat too long at the warming station on the kitchen counter.  Another discouraging discovery was that the bun the burger was served on turned into mush by the last bite.  While it was fresh and soft it lacked the fortitude to withstand the rigors of the hefty burger.

     Guy Fieri has proclaimed that The Nook is off the hook! And perhaps he is correct in his assessment.  But the rest of the meal needs some attention to score a strike with me.  And speaking of strikes, interestingly enough there is an 8 lane bowling alley in the basement!