Twin Cities 400 Tavern — Restaurant in Minneapolis

All I can say is WOW! What was Scalzo's Italian Grille (actually, it was the Itasca Room, but let's not split hairs) at the Ramada Plaza Minneapolis has been transformed into an amazing destination.

Now, many people have a bad connotation of hotel restaurants. Twin Cities 400 Tavern is not a restaurant in a hotel; it's connected to a hotel. I was lucky enough to attend a soft opening last week, and the food, as well as the service knocked my socks off.

There are so many choices to be had here. And it's not just bar food. This is quality stuff. While I'm not a fan of cheese curds (don't shoot me, Minnesotans), they were good. I also was able to sample one of the pizzas that was amazing. They have their own pizza oven on site, and it takes 7 minutes. No more having to order delivery pizza!

Next came my rotisserie chicken sandwich, and I just wanted to drink the accompanying au jus. I also had chicken noodle soup with the same rotisserie chicken. Notice the theme? And why not? They have their own rotisserie right on site! In fact, you can pick up a chicken to go. No more dried out rotisserie (last time I'll use 'rotisserie'. Oops.) chicken from Cub Foods!

Finally, we split a cheesecake. This is quality stuff. It's on par with that other big cheesecake place.

Make sure you take in the sights and appreciate the detail that went into the Tavern. The bar has actual rails from a railroad for footrests. The bar also has a counter top that is made from taconite. It's really cool. And look under the bar. There are hooks for your bags as well as outlets so you can recharge your device's battery while you recharge yours over liquid refreshments.

The Tavern also has a private space that is great for meetings or small groups. It seats up to 60 people. The noise level is just right and with only a few TVs in the bar, you don't have to yell while you're talking. It's a great place to relax and unwind. The former garden room makes it feel like you're sitting on a patio. But come next year, there will be a patio outside.

This location desperately needed a quality restaurant. Your choices were to walk across the street for fast food or to go to the gas station. The hotel will be undergoing further renovations on top of what has already been done, so the future is bright for them. Check it out. You won't be disappointed. They have an awesome happy...

AAAAAAAAAAAALL ABOARD!

I'm about to take you on a culinary journey thanks to the folks at TC 400 Tavern. Before we all hop on board the train, I must first say - job well done by the staff as well. Professional and polite every step of the way!

Stop number one on this journey included some appetizers to get our foodie engines going. The first to visit us was the T.C. Cheese and Meat Board. A selection of cheeses, all of which I wanted more of and some of us even wanted to take home. I won't say any names, Elizabeth... :) Hey, I did too! The Pimento spread was bar far one of the best cheeses I've put into my yapper. The Montamore is also a favorite of mine and have it in my home regularly. Meats were delicious as well.

That was followed up with their Winter Salad. This will be short. I'm not a beats fan, but I wanted to try the other flavors and ingredients within the salad and I added some blue cheese from the board. I enjoyed, what I tried.

Shortly their after came a Prosciutto Flatbread. We, as a small group, decided that it was a tad on the dry side. Not the whole thing, just after your initial bite where all the goodies were. What I was tasting was very appealing to my taste buds, but was a little dry. No worries though, there was leftover cheeses to add to the crust and continue to enjoy.

Stop number 2 on this journey included a fresh set of dinnerware and silverware which was a nice touch followed up with a main course - Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. Board of cut rotisserie chickens that were seasoned to perfection, some mashed potatoes that we collectively decided needed a little something extra to them to thicken them up and flavor them up as well. but, certainly still enjoyable - the plate was empty! And, finally some broccolini which I passed on and some chicken jus. Yes, chicken jus. Never had, but should be included with every chicken meal at every restaurant!

The final stop of our journey was some delicious dessert. Warm Apple-Pecan Crisp in a cast iron pan with some awesome vanilla bean ice cream. Not a huge crisp fan, more of a banana cream kind of guy or just some delicious ice cream, but this crisp was solid!

I hope you enjoyed your journey on the train as we explored the findings at T.C. 400 Tavern. Watch your step as you depart and enjoy the rest of your...

It’s restaurant week and Twin Cities 400 Tavern was on the list. This place did not disappoint. We started off with beer cheese soup. I’m not a huge soup guy but this was amazing. Nice rich flavor with a nice hint of beer flavor followed by a nice amount of bacon flavor. We also tried the crab cakes. Good flavor with a nice crust. I’m such a condiment freak that I also judge condiments and this tartar sauce was amazing. It has a hint of lime and is a must try and one of my favorites. We also got the pickle pizza. I love everything pickle, and this was the best part of the entire meal. Perfectly cooked crust with plenty of toppings. The sauce on this pizza was so delicious and lots of it! Great pickle flavor without being overly salty. We also sampled the cheese curds, nice crunch with rich Ellsworth cheese flavor. This also came with an amazing condiment, chipotle ranch! The onion rings were also delicious! For the main course we shared the fried chicken sandwich and fish and chips. The fried chicken sandwich is honey drizzle, pickles, slaw, cry baby craig's aioli. This was delicious just needs more of the honey and cry baby Craige’s. Great crisp on the sandwich and those pickles and slaw are the perfect sweetness. The fish and chips were delicious. Large portion of fish and again that tartar sauce made it perfect! Nice crisp on the fish! For dessert we got the cheese cake (they ran out of caramel sauce) and bananas foster ice cream. Both were delicious and flavorful. There was some hiccups with our service but the server and management made it right. Finally a place with great food and even better service. Thank you Tammy and the bearded manager that helped us last night. We...