Each month, in our “Restaurant Rumble” conversation, MnMo food critics Jason DeRusha and Joy Summers review two restaurants and pick a winner.
Jason: Wow! If you remember what The Rail Station on Minnehaha in southeast Minneapolis used to look like, you’ll be blown away by its replacement.
Joy: I remember this spot when it was an even divier prior incarnation—what a transformation! The Howe has beautiful wood-toned floors, an open dining room, and a lovely patio.
Jason: This is the kind of place you expect to see families eating alongside the neighborhood softball team after a game.
Joy: It has a community bar-and-restaurant vibe—what Applebee’s strives to be. The difference is that this is genuine, with a crowd-pleasing menu and great 40-tap beer list.
Broasted Chicken and Idaho Nachos
Photo by TJ Turner
Jason: You’d expect apps to be good and they are. Pretzel sticks come with a warm beer-cheese dipping sauce my kids inhaled. I loved the melted-Brie-and-bacon dip served with pita bread.
Joy: We started with the behemoth Idaho nachos: battered waffle fries topped with guacamole, sour cream, carnitas, and salsa. Ours had a lily-gilding bit of gravy on them that wasn’t listed on the menu. Intentional or not, it worked. It was gluttonous in a good way.
Jason: This isn’t the place to try to eat healthy. Ordering the deviled egg Caesar salad was a big mistake.
Joy: Yes—waaay too much dressing and flavorless deviled eggs with a squeaky, rubbery texture.
Carnitas Tacos, Pomegranate Margarita
Photo by TJ Turner
Jason: The deviled egg/Caesar combination made no sense. The broasted chicken was a much better choice: slightly crispy skin, juicy inside, very well executed.
Joy: Our burgers were cooked as requested, but the cheese inside their Juicy Lucy oozed out the back end. Making a Lucy sounds easy, but the cheese containment can go splooshy wrong.
Jason: On Mondays, burgers are half-price with purchase of a beverage, and the ghost-pepper cheese and jalapeño bacon on the Station 21 burger is a good combo. Almost everything I tried at The Howe, including fish & chips and carnitas tacos, was good. Not great, but good.
The Howe Exterior
Photo by TJ Turner
Joy: The Rail Station was beloved enough that neighbors lashed out on social media when they announced this change, but I think it’s change for the better. Especially when you factor in the terrific Manhattans.
Jason: Totally agree. The same team owns Stanley’s in Northeast and Pub 819 in Hopkins. They can proudly add The Howe to their roster of solid restaurants that you’d be lucky to have near your home.
The Howe Quick Tips:
Menu Choices: Stick to decadent—the more gravy the better
Parking: Plenty on site and on street nearby
Drinks: Not too highbrow, not too silly: just right
November’s “Restaurant Rumble” pitted Costa Blanca Bistro‘s inventive tapas against The Howe Daily Kitchen & Bar’s elevated bar food. Find out which restaurant Jason and Joy chose as the winner in the November issue of MnMo.
3675 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-729-3663, howempls.com
