Minneapolis - The Wienery

I love Food Network. I don't love hot dogs. But, in trying to reconnect with my midwest roots I figured I need to eat a hot dog and brat, or three. So, when we went to Minneapolis and decided to try one of Guy Fieri's Dive locations, I opted for The Wienery instead of Talk of the Town Diner. Needless to say, my husband was quite ecstatic.

The Wienery is just outside of downtown Minneapolis in what I would refer to as the Somalian neighborhood. I say this being as PC as possible, but truly the street and shops could have been found in Mogadishu as easily as Minneapolis. It was very safe and we parked our car on the street at a meter. The inside of the Wienery was quite a different place. Formerly a hippie hangout in the 1960's where people brought in whatever they could share a la potluck style, this diner had its original bar with barstools and a few tables. It is fairly small (probably 20 seats total) but there was no wait at noon on a Wednesday.

As you can see from the menu (linked above) there are a million ways to eat their hot dogs. I decided to take the waitress's suggestion and had the Mr. Sunshine and it was delish. I actually made it a combo and shared the single potato fry with my husband. He had a Red Dago (a mixed beef and sausage burger topped with onions and mushrooms) which was awesome and as messy as one would hope for in such an establishment.

Don't go to The Wienery for fine dining. Go to The Wienery because its so genuine. And it's cheap. And it's something you can't find everyday.