Acadia Cafe - Review

One of my goals for 2011 has been to widen my horizons. I tend to go the same places, eat the same foods, listening to the same music, watch the same shows. By nature I am a creature of habit. I like the comfort of an establishment where I know the menu and where the wait-staff knows me by name. Perhaps it is a curse left over from working at Cheers. Nonetheless, 2011 is about trying new things.

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of trying out several new bars, establishments because of their live music. Last night, it was the Acadia Cafe. 

The Acadia Cafe is a small bar/eatery/music venue located on Cedar Ave in Minneapolis. They have solid acoustics, a seemingly well training sound technician and the amount of taps and beer variety you would expect from a thriving Minneapolis location. They have a mostly traditional menu with a few hip twists on old favorites like the cleverly named GLBT. 

The tap selection includes my current favorite, Surly Furious. Their Swiss and Mushroom Burger was somewhat surprisingly cooked exactly as I requested. (Truly medium rare burgers are very hard to find). In keeping with their location and audience, they "hand-patty their burgers fresh each day from humanely grown, all-natural, hormone and antibiotic-free cattle." All nice and good from a feel good stand point but even better they tasted great. I was especially pleased with the onion bun, it really added a excellent touch of flavor. 

The wait-staff was quick and responsive and very focused on the task at hand. Not to a point of rudeness but just enough business-like focus to keep my drink full and my order correct. There was an almost Scandinavian sense of work and focus. Very little nonsense. Except for the dishwasher. From my spot at the bar I could see back into the kitchen and I'll admit that I really didn't need the sight of his pants sagging so low I could venture a decent guess as to his brand of boxers. My gratitude that he avoided the briefs. That said, he and the entire restaurant seemed very clean and did in no way impact my enjoyment of the food. Just his fashion. 

The main reason I went to the Acadia Cafe last night was to see Wasted Education. I have seen them at two different venues now, The Acadia and the well known Turf Club. I'm not sure if it was the acoustics, the sound engineer or simply the band having more time together but last night's performance was vastly superior in terms of sound quality. It's always a challenge to find a correct musical mix in a restaurant, considering all the challenges that come with food prep and service. Kudos to both the band and the establishment for making it eminently listenable last night. 

Overall The Acadia Cafe is an excellent venue to listening to live local original music, have a good beer and well cooked burger. 

Grade B+ (A if you catch the dishwasher's off night!)