Park Diner Slider

Name: Park Diner

Location: St. Cloud, MN

Meal: Breakfast Sliders, batter bit potatoes, and coffee

Type: Diner

St. Cloud offers its visitors a number of different things. The Granite City has the Mississippi River, solid Midwest character, and some great company. I was happy to be taken to Park Diner; on the west side of town this throwback diner is a silvery slice of Americana. As any good diner should, they serve breakfast all day so I was more than happy to oblige them at noon, on a Monday.

They seemed to be on a slider kick so I opted for the breakfast slider with a pun for a name. I was encouraged to opt for the batter bit potatoes instead of regular home fries. Eating in a diner almost requires that you drink a cup of coffee which was good and plentiful (diner coffee should never be strong). The sliders were quite nice starting with a homemade, slightly sweet roll, butter grilled and stuffed with egg, cheese, sausage, and Canadian bacon. The batter bit potatoes were good; imagine home fry sized potatoes accidentally taking a trip through the Arby’s curly fry batter machine.

To me, the Midwest is a vastly under explored (and ofter under appreciated) part of our country. With the majority of the population pressed to the edges, few really have a chance to spend time exploring the inside. Brace yourself for full-blown food analogy. The best foods have distinct parts. Pizza has a crust, a solid outer ring and gooey floppy innards; a cookie is a much the same. When it comes to America and its food, we need all parts. To me, the Midwest is the warm gooey center of America; not greater or lesser than any other part just a different. Few things are quite as nurturing as taking in a late breakfast with someone you care about in a classic American diner. If you find yourself passing through St. Cloud (and being a transportation hub of Minnesota you’re liable to) take a few break to stop in for a meal at the Park Diner, you’ll be glad you did.

Park Diner Coffee, not the 371 Diner

Breakfast

Batter Bite Potatoes

Park Diner

Mini Burger

Name: Snow White Grill

Location: Winchester, VA

Meal: Two Mini Burgers, French Fries, and a Chocolate Shake

Type: Hamburger Joint

It should have been obvious to me that Winchester, VA would be home to good restaurants; it was settled in the 1700s and has long been a working town. I was quite happy to come across the Snow White Grill tucked between two larger buildings off of a sleepy pedestrian walking mall in downtown Winchester. The 60-year-old Snow White has been serving up their menu for decades. The Snow White’s claim to fame is their mini burger. The entire restaurant holds a counter of maybe 10 seats with a walk up window for anyone opting to get theirs to go. Not wanting to squeeze me and my camera gear in during the busy lunch hour I opted to get mine to go.

I started with the fries since they were on top of the bag and still hot as can be despite my walk to the car. Placed in a small tray and wrapped up in paper they were nicely crunchy with almost a creamy aftertaste. The star obviously is the mini burger though it couldn’t have been more than two and half inches across. The burgers are made from fresh ground beef and then grilled over thinly sliced onions. A complete burger is served on a steamed bun with a pickle, no condiments; they’re not needed. For being tiny, the burger has good beefy taste and the acidity of the pickle balances out any sweetness of the roll.For the sake of argument I ordered one burger with just cheese and one deluxe (lettuce,tomato, and mayo). On a normal burger those toppings are just fine, they have room to move around and create different bites, on a mini burger they just get in the way. I’ve learned that on a mini burger every bite becomes precious. Last but not least, the milkshake was a wonderful compliment to the whole meal, texture and temperature were dead on.

As I was eating my burger I very quickly came to the realization that this Snow White Grill burger was what the owners of White Castle probably think their burgers taste like. It was beefy with just the hint of onion, the roll was steamed approaching collapse, and it was over before you wanted it to be. The chocolate milkshake was another fast food idol, it was everything a McDonald’s chocolate milkshake isn’t. It started out as real hand scooped ice cream, it had a discernible flavor besides cold, and its texture was perfect. Sure it would be great if White Castle and McDonald’s could match the quality of the food at Snow White Grill but deep down I don’t want them to. They are good for what they but they also help highlight those restaurants that really are able to take a simple meal, work it well, and elevate it to a rememberable level.

French Fries

Deluxe Mini Burger

Chocolate Milkshake

Snow White Grill