A picky eater with lots of allergies and her husband visit The Pillbox Tavern.
The Pillbox Tavern
Monday, 5:00pm
Closed for Business
Dan recently had a business trip to St. Paul, Minnesota, so I decided to tag along. The plan was for him to work and me to write, but since we landed in the Twin City on the Monday before his conference, we decided to explore a little. The first stop was Landmark Plaza, a park dotted with Peanuts characters and interesting quotes etched into the concrete sidewalk. I immediately went into content mode and began posing. Dan happily obliged as my photographer. Next we wandered into the Landmark Center which we quickly realized was not intended for public wandering and hastily made our retreat before being spied by any of the crew preparing for the evening’s event. We headed back toward our hotel located in a lovely square along with a library, theater, arena, and museum. I can’t pass by a library without going inside, but it was closed. We walked over to the theater. Closed. The arena. Closed. We crossed the street to check out the Science Center. Closed. Even the Mississippi River Visitors’ Center was closed. We later learned that most activities and attractions in Minnesota are closed on Mondays.
Open Trails
Instead of being discouraged, we padded on and discovered a footbridge crossing the Mighty Mississippi. However, mighty is not quite the right word to describe the famous river at this point. Beginning as a trickle from Lake Itasca, just a four hours drive north of St. Paul, the Mississippi River is no wider than any New England river I’m familiar with. At the end of the footbridge was a path leading to Raspberry Island which housed a private Boat Club and not much else. But, as we ventured a peek just over the grassy mound to the right, large fantastical creatures rose from the earth and I skipped right over to make friends with these colorful, magical beasts.
Inside Out
Weary from traveling since 3:00am and walking eight miles of sidewalks and trails, we meandered over to The Pillbox Tavern. Garage doors made of glass opened up into a cacophony of wood, metal, and neon. Despite happy hour being in full swing as young professionals enjoyed beer and conversation, we found the perfect table – not quite inside amid the noise and blasting AC, but not quite outside either with the bugs and 85* temperature. It was right on the edge, which perfectly matched our mood and hunger level.
Click the meal to read all about it
Dan – Beef Stroganoff
Lis – Pillbox Burger
Sign up for Lis Blanchard’s Newsletter below
so you don’t miss a Burger Adventure!
