Walkin’ Around Checkin’ Stuff Out. #40

We love finding dive bars and interesting places to eat and this week we’ve got a couple good ones. I’m not one to give advice, but I will say you gotta get yourself a partner in crime. I’ve got the best. Always ready to hit a dive bar or eat ribs on a paper plate. Can’t ask for more than that.

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Pullman Club.

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This place hardly looks like a bar from the outside. The inside has clearly seen some less than desirable updates over the years, but the bar still stands, and it’s pretty cool. Complete with regulars that have worn out their fair share of bar stools sucking down Miller High Life’s over the years.

I love a good small town dive bar, but some can give off a rough, militant right-wing vibe. That was the case on the day we stopped in. Lots of Trump talk, liberal bashing and the Constitution printed on shirts…at least from a few of the regulars. But they did have free peanuts, which I don’t see often enough. Beers were 2 for 1, which I never need 2 beers at once, but we didn’t turn it down, and we got a Heggie’s pizza for dinner and waited for karaoke to start.

The crowd got noticeable younger and hipper as karaoke hour approached. Surprising, the first person up to sing was a regular who’d been sipping High Life’s the whole time we were there…a 70 plus year old wearing a “VETERAN” hat. He gave off some pretty tough guy vibes and than proceeded to sing a sappy country love song. I didn’t see that coming and wondered if he sang that same song every week as a dedication to his deceased wife. Don’t know if it’s true, but it made me feel sort of bad for the guy.

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Marine Landing.

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Marine On St. Croix, MN

This is as cool and down and dirty as a restaurant can get. A hidden gem if ever there was one. The kind of place you’d have to know about to ever find, tucked back down a small dead end road that leads to the St. Croix River.

Friday night is the night to hit the Landing because it’s rib night. And they are damn good. Served on a paper plate just as they should be. The couple that run the place are super cool as well. You won’t find any Michelin Stars on the door, but you will get great food, made by and served by great people.

Sitting on a deck on a beautiful summer night overlooking the river eating ribs on a paper plate with homemade key lime pie is about as good as life gets if you ask me. (This is where that partner in crime really comes in handy.)

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4th Of July Fireworks.

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Excelsior, MN.

We had the good fortune of spending the 4th on Lake Minnetonka watching the fireworks. But even better than the fireworks was seeing the fireworks barge float into position, loaded-up like a war ship with enough firepower to take down a small country. I’ve seen fireworks before, but never one of these things. Pretty cool.

‘’

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