Hard Times Cafe — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Legit vibes here. Indoor artwork is beautiful and often for sale. Two visits so far. Two vegan helter skelters with vegan cheese and one falafel wrap. Great stuff with the helter skelters, and no hiding behind fake meats or meat language—a sincere favorite I look forward to having in the future. The wrap was bad: dry, not very flavorful patties of falafel stacked on top of each other, occupying much of the space inside the wrap. A chore to eat. We frequent a local gyro place, so I have accumulated a lot of experience with falafel. My wrap, at least, was poorly executed.

Hard Times has a bunch of vegan baked goods in a display at the order counter. They are great. It's really cool being able to get things like a vegan muffin, which is overwhelmingly unavailable in most places.

I eat plant-based. The few vegetarian options always feel, to people like me, like hypocrisy. There is milk. There is cheese. There are probably eggs, but it's been long enough that I don't recall exactly. It does take a bit of the enthusiasm away from my dining experience, which is all I can really comment on.

Speaking of enthusiasm, I have a pair of things that really impress me. A good hot chocolate, and a good cinnamon roll. Since changing my diet to a plant-based one, this has become extremely rare. They offer a soy milk option for hot chocolate, or an oat milk option for extra. To my knowledge, these are both store-bought solutions and I'm not impressed with that. Of the available baked goods, I didn't see a cinnamon roll. So, bummer.

No weird tipping stuff here. You order your food at the counter. They call your name when it's ready. You bring your dishes back when you're finished eating. There's a jar on the counter if you'd like to tip. That's as simple as it gets.

Do I wish it was a vegan-only joint with housemade milks and vegan cinnamon rolls? Yes. But it's still pretty good. I look forward to my third vegan helter skelter.

Cash only. There's...

Food was great, service was friendly and helpful. I’ve been back several times since my first visit. So grateful for a place that has late night food + room for laptop work in this area of Minneapolis.

I was hungry for a full meal, so I ordered a couple of cookies after placing a dinner order for their Korean Tofu Sandwich. Their orange cardamom cookie was so good! Perfectly sweet with subtle spice and citrus flavors. Delectable shortbread texture. I could eat five of them in one sitting! The Korean bbq sandwich was fire. I don’t love all tofu, but this was flavorful and unlike tofu I’ve prepared at home. The kimchi was a nice touch. The tomato soup I had was flavorful with the right amount of salt and herbs, and slightly chunky which I enjoyed. I appreciate the awesome food recommendations from the first person behind the counter I spoke with.

The second cookie I tried was their maple chocolate chip oatmeal. It was a good size with tons of chocolate chips. I bit into it and tasted soft baked oats with barely any flavor or sweetness. I’m a Cookie Monster so for me to not take more than two bites is unusual. I’m guessing the recipe got messed up for this batch (maybe the cook read the syrup measurement wrong) since there were a lot of maple oat chocolate chip cookies left in the case. Update: Most of the cookies I’ve tried since have been delicious. Some of them have been vegan which affects the richness, but you’ll likely be pleased if you have dietary concerns.

This place is a ten minute walk from me so I’ve since gone several times and enjoyed their food (can’t beat their prices). The people who keep the place running late at night at rad and great at creating a positive vibe in this grungy...

Here's the gag about Hard Times. If you're white, you're alright, if you're black, GET BACK. I can't even count the number of times I've heard or witnessed stories of staff treating patrons that don't fit their white-punk subculture lower than some dirt on their shoe. There is significant cultural tension between the edgy anarcho-punk subculture and students and guests of color, and for the 10+ years I've been living here it hasn't improved. While belligerent drunk white guests are allowed to loudly take up space as part of their grimy hipster backdrop- black people who break little rules like bringing in food are loudly confronted, given the boot, and in some instances threatened with police intervention. It's sad because I work in bars and understand health codes and house policies- but I also recognize the service to be TERRIBLE- I've only EVER gotten so much as a smile or vague welcome from one very small barista who wears a backwards hat so props to them- but if you're not in their scene they treat you like a hassle.......so I know what it is to feel completely unwelcome in a space that ironically has such a so-called anti-authoritarian vibe. I hear there is a sit-in tonight and subsequent boycott of the business that I will gladly join. There are places that are much more welcoming for us and we...