Bryant Lake Bowl is unlike any other place I've been. The front of the place is a bar/restaurant with a terrific beer list (including local favorite Surly and several Belgian beers) and some of the best tofu and egg scrambles in town. The back of the place is a terrific, old-school bowling alley, complete with squeaky
floors and a list of wacky ways to bowl like the One Eyed Jack, a potentially proprietary move that involves turning around twice and covering one eye.
The back-back of Bryant Lake Bowl is a theater, perfect for cabaret type shows, band gigs (I had a few of these back in the day), and random events. Last weekend, I was at the Bryant Lake Bowl theater for the Land Stewardship Project's discussion of Terra Madre. Did you get all that? It's a cool place. In fact, it's so cool, with its hip clientele, well-pierced servers, and super fun bar, that I sometimes forget how good the mostly local, sustainable food is, and how many good vegetarian options there are.
I corrected the problem with lunch there this week, an overflowing bison reuben made with Minnesota raised bison, tasty peppers, and a side of BLB fries (thinly sliced, greasy potatoes, extra delicious with Tabasco sauce on them). My friend Jim was pretty excited about his barbecue burger as well, although I'd hoped he'd go for the mushroom and blue cheese Moonstone burger, provided by Moonstone Farm just about 100 miles from Minneapolis. I've heard it's excellent.
Bryant Lake Bowl is owned by Kim Bartmann, Minneapolis local food expert and entrepreneur. Kim also owns Cafe Barbette in town, along with the Red Stag Supper Club, which I've raved about in the past. (Her sister Kari is also involved.) Bryant Lake Bowl is perfect for a night out with friends, Sunday brunch, a hip company bowling event, a drag show, or a good informal meal, made from tasty, sustainable, local ingredients. It's located at: 810 West Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 612-825-3737
Also, please check out Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday's, a great list of food posts like this one. The blog is consistently terrific, well worth checking out.
