Eating Out Sunday: Grandview Grill and The Malt Shop

It's been a while since I've allowed myself to do this, but today I ate out twice. Yup, both brunch and dinner. Brunch was at the Grandview Grill, a popular Grand Avenue breakfast spot in Saint Paul. Not surprisingly, it was packed full of college students and the after-church crowd (I no longer fall into the first category unfortunately).

I ordered the "Everything Omelet," which comes with hash browns and toast. As you can see below, the serving was enormous as most Grandview meals are. The omelet was filled with bacon, sausage, cheese, broccoli, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and probably a few things I'm forgetting. Although I barely ate more than a third of it, the omelet was decent, with the wide variety of ingredients keeping it interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn't big on the hash browns. Both stringy and crunchy, neither of which I like. I will say this though, if you're in the mood for a no-nonsense, quick service, greasy spoon breakfast, Grandview is the place for you.

Next up for dinner: The Malt Shop on 50th and Bryant in Minneapolis.

The moment we walked in, I fell in love with the decor. A little bit over the top - just the way I like it. Twinkly lights, Halloween decorations and stained glass galore.

Adding to my childlike eagerness, there was a live pianist. She barely took a break the entire time we were there with tunes running the spectrum from "Piano Man" to "We Are the Champions."

The service at The Malt Shop was great: quick, friendly and efficient. And while the dinner crowd wasn't huge, there was a steady stream of diners during our time there. When it came time to order, I knew immediately I wanted a chocolate malt. I'm happy to report that it didn't disappoint. Then again, I've never had a malt I didn't like.

For the main course, I went with the interestingly titled "Mergatroid" sandwich and fries. Baked on an open-faced white hoagie, the Mergatroid features turkey, smoked bacon, tomato, mayo and cheddar cheese. Altogether pretty tasty. The fries were your standard - nothing to write home about but not bad either.

I definitely enjoyed my first trip to The Malt Shop, and I'm sure I'll be back again. And, undoubtedly, the Grandview will come through the breakfast rotation again. Best of all, I brought home leftovers from both restaurants, stretching two meals into four.

Another interesting tidbit from this fine Sunday: I spent approximately two hours at the Mall of America this afternoon and didn't spend a dime. Can't say that happens very often.