Dara wrote a very nice review of the new Chef Shack Ranch location in Minneapolis that reminded me I needed to write a post about our visit last week. Located at 31st and Franklin near the Mississippi River, you need to pick your day to visit carefully, as they are only open from 5-10pm Thursday – Saturday and for Sunday brunch from noon-4pm. Oh, it’s much easier to park in the back too…

The Big Boy Ranch Plate was our primary reason to visit, although Colleen also wanted a bag of the famous mini-donuts that we usually get from the big red truck at the Mill City Farmers Market during the warmer and less snowy parts of the year. As Dara wrote in her review, the $25 meat plate contains “buttery and tender biscuits, baked beans, a bacon bratwurst, fresh cucumber pickles, perky red cabbage, and some combination of pulled pork, barbecued chicken and brisket.” It was amazing. All we added was a side of the excellent fries (makes sense now that I know the Barbette connection) and the mini-donuts.

The room has all sorts of cool stuff hanging on the walls. The line was non-existent on our visit, so we walked right up and paid via Square running on an iPad (still really like that service). We took the number on a stick to our table and didn’t have to wait long at all for our food to arrive. Service was attentive and friendly (including what I assume to be the owners) and we got a pitch to visit the Bay City location sometime after their winter break. Maybe a little Treasure Island – Red Wing – Chef Shack trip is in order once the snow melts. Gotta go back and try the wings too…