TTCCBB: Ike's Food and Cocktails

Today's cheeseburger (ok, I actually ate this burger over two months ago...) is from Ike's Food and Cocktails, in downtown Minneapolis. The place has a dark, old-boys-club sort of feel (they don't even have a website, as far as I can tell) and a great selection of burgers. My choice on this particular evening was their patty melt: it's advertised as ground Angus beef with aged cheddar cheese and caramelized onions, all served on, interestingly, a Parmesan bread rather than the standard rye. I ordered mine medium, as usual, and with a side of fries it was about $13 if I remember correctly (it was a while ago, after all).

The patty melt arrived already cut in half, showcasing the nice and even medium cooking level. The meat was clearly juicy (more on that later), the cheese was melted well, and the bread had a nice golden-brown grilled exterior.

The first bite showed that this was a great patty melt. The beef had great flavor, its seasoning was dead on, and the bread provided a great crunch. The parmesan bread was also a great choice, adding another layer of flavor on top of the standard patty melt flavor profile. The only downside was the juice -- because the melt had been cut in half, this allowed much of juice in the second half of the burger to drain out and soak into the bottom piece of bread while I was eating the first half. This typically doesn't happen with the burgers I cut myself (as in most reviews) since the time I spend inspecting and taking pictures allows the burger to rest for a bit and results in meat that holds on to its juice once cut. Sure, this is a minor nitpick, but when part of the appeal of a burger is the great texture resulting from grilled bread, I think it's a valid complaint.

Soaked bread aside, this is an excellent burger and I wouldn't hesitate to head back to Ike's if I'm in downtown and craving a good burger.

Ike's Food and Cocktails

50 6th Street South

Minneapolis, MN 55402-1540

(612) 746-4537

(Reposted due to funny date stamping issues)