Holding Hope
Lest you think I am a curmudgeon who holds new-ish restaurants to impossibly high standards, let me discuss our list to Hope Breakfast Bar, which just opened last week, for Patrick's birthday tonight (they serve breakfast all day). Hope just opened last week, and their cocktail menu debuted tonight.
Hope is located in former Saint Paul Fire Station #5, the city's oldest fire station that the neighborhood worked HARD to keep, despite every developer in town saying it could not be done. it's charming and bright and lively; all the staff seems happy to be there, and they have already developed some regulars.
It's a slightly Southern-inspired breakfast menu, a little meat-heavy, but still plenty that I could eat. Patrick had the shrimp and grits, which he loved and felt they lived up to NOLA standards. Beatrix had the waffle, with a whole berry in custard cream topping (served on the side, so you can mix it up how you like. I went with the theory of measuring a place by the basic standard, so had eggs, hash browns, and toast, which was lovely. Patrick's old-fashioned was tasty (and in a pretty glass); they did not have the beer taps up yet and were out of lemonade, but they are brand new so I expect some glitches, and they were very gracious about it. The whole space was a very cozy place to spend a rainy night.
On our way out we checked out the event space upstairs, an incredibly lovely space with a lot of the original firehouse artifacts displayed. I am hoping sometime soon I can talk them into letting me order a cocktail and take it upstairs to hang out by the front windows.
Hope is located in former Saint Paul Fire Station #5, the city's oldest fire station that the neighborhood worked HARD to keep, despite every developer in town saying it could not be done. it's charming and bright and lively; all the staff seems happy to be there, and they have already developed some regulars.
It's a slightly Southern-inspired breakfast menu, a little meat-heavy, but still plenty that I could eat. Patrick had the shrimp and grits, which he loved and felt they lived up to NOLA standards. Beatrix had the waffle, with a whole berry in custard cream topping (served on the side, so you can mix it up how you like. I went with the theory of measuring a place by the basic standard, so had eggs, hash browns, and toast, which was lovely. Patrick's old-fashioned was tasty (and in a pretty glass); they did not have the beer taps up yet and were out of lemonade, but they are brand new so I expect some glitches, and they were very gracious about it. The whole space was a very cozy place to spend a rainy night.
On our way out we checked out the event space upstairs, an incredibly lovely space with a lot of the original firehouse artifacts displayed. I am hoping sometime soon I can talk them into letting me order a cocktail and take it upstairs to hang out by the front windows.
Comments