Minn, Minn

Never would I have thought I would ever celebrate my favorite holiday – July 4^th – landlocked in the middle of the country with not a beach insight. But after having spent an amazing long weekend with old friends, I’m still laughing and reminiscing 2 months later.

OK – so it’s pretty safe to assume more liquids were consumed than actual solids that weekend – but if it weren’t for the libations, we wouldn’t have found this amazing breakfast stop.

A quick jaunt from our hotel was the most indulgent breakfast place I’ve ever been to – Ike’s. We knew we were at the right spot, when we walked up and found a line outside waiting for the doors to open.

So why is this Choo-Chew worthy? It’s simple: Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Any time you attend a sporting event downtown, you can take the LRT from Ike’s to the game and back for only 50 cents! John Candy would love it!

Jaime and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast with our guest diners Katie and Nicole. At the table behind us giving us the play-by-play of what to expect was Laura, Jen S., Kevin and Brianna. They were 5 minutes ahead of us on every bite, but even their advanced warnings didn’t help us pace ourselves.

Before you can even pull in your chair a cinnamon roll the size of your head lands smack in the middle of the table with 4 forks protruding out of its center. I love this place already! OK, I have to admit – we had heard about the cinnamon rolls, and it was really the only reason we were here. We could leave now and be completely content. (Notice the penny for scale.)

Breakfast is family style. You order your own eggs and then a plate of bottomless pancakes, sausage, bacon and hash browns just keeps coming. We actually didn’t even make a dent in our first plate and stopped dead in our tracks when Laura gave us a heads up that fresh baked cookies and dum-dums would come with the check!

OK – food, schmood. The drinks – the theme of the weekend – were amazing. Do-it-yourself mimosas and The Weekender Bloody Maries with 11 fixings – and a beer chaser! Absolutely incredible!