Shaws Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Minneapolis

This is the epitome of a "neighborhood bar." It seems to have been on University and 16th, Norttheast forever. It is fairly small but people are friendly and they are of all ages and backgrounds and ethnicity. The bar food it typical bar food, just as you would expect. There is no pretense here. What you see is what you get and what you hear is phenomenal.

THE BLUES MUSIC, at least on Monday evenings, IS WAY BEYOND WHAT MOST BARS PROVIDE. Every Monday evening there is an Open Mic event. It is the GREATEST BLUES MUSIC I HAVE EVER HEARD and that includes Bebe King and any great bluesman you can name. The only big name bluesman in the group is Jellybean Jackson, a suave, young, elegantly dressed guitar player who has played with Prince. The basic group is made up of Prime Time, the lead guitar, and the organizer who is a lawyer in real life who has never introduced himself to the audience. The other regular is the keyboard player, Virgil, who is in his 70s, but plays the blues like he has really experienced them.

The other members of the group are drop ins, several of whom are semi-regulars, who may play bongos, drums, guitar, washboard, tambourine or do vocals. All of them fit amazingly well into the group. How a musician can choose a song and just mumble the key they will play in and then play so together and so well is incredible. One night the legendary 84-year old Twin City bluesman Cornbread Harris dropped in to do a great set on keyboard. On several evenings a 10-year old kid named Owen played guitar. He was amazing to watch and could be another Johnny Lang.

My only fear is that reviews like this will make the small venue...

I researched this place before we headed to Minneapolis and it looked very interesting and had bands playing regularly. When we arrived, we weren't sure if we went the right place. It was in an older building that looked like it wasn't updated since the 70's and when we got inside it was like an old 70's bar and grill minus the cigar and cigarette smoke. The people inside were also kinda of similar but we decided to give it a shot. I ordered a Shaw burger which was pretty decadent and amazingly messy (great choice) and the wife ordered a selection of chicken wings as it was wing night. I like to try local craft beer when I travel so I was happy they had 3 different types (all good) and the wife had a Long Island ice tea which she enjoyed. One thing to mention is that they free pour their drinks so it may be stronger which is great value but can hit you faster than you'd expect. The band came on at about 8:00 and was fantastic. They were called the New Primitives and play there every Tuesday night. Look them up on any music streaming service as they are a suprising threat band. If you get the opportunity visit this place, you wont be...

I finally got around to eating at Shaw’s. It was lunch on a Saturday and hardly anyone was there. The kitchen was open though.

I had heard about the Sun burger as really good reproduction of the old Sun drive in burger. The Sun drive in was shut down well before I moved to Minneapolis, but I figured I’d give it a try. It was delicious. Messy and delicious.

The onion rings were perfect. I may come back in just to eat the onion rings.

Next up on the list is the Shaw’s burger. The menu says it’s a “3 napkin” burger, and I imagine it’s true. I’ll be trying it soon.

They have live music here on most weekends and other dates. The lineup is on the wall in the back if you’d like to plan ahead to see a band in particular.

Small, cozy, NE bar with a great menu. I’ll certainly be back. Thanks for...