Address:
The Original Broadway Station (Broadway Bar & Pizza)
2025 West River Rd.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
612) 529-7745
The Dish:
2 Diet Coke’s
1 Kid’s Milk
1 Kids Spaghetti
1 Medium Island
1 Small Buffalo Chicken
$32 (Tax and tip included)
Grade:
1 Fork, 1 Knife
Another opportunity to visit Broadway’s came when we bought Bengals Vikings tickets. At least the pizza was good! (Shortest intro ever?)
Ambiance:
Having been exposed to this establishment prior by my cousin who knows I am somewhat of a choo choo fanatic (a foamer as the real railroaders call us), made this a must visit as Chloe was with us and she is a “foamer” in training. The building is not far from the former lines of the Northern Pacific and Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroads right along the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis. There is a themed “Caboose” outside and inside that you can eat in if you so desire (we did :)). In the bar area and the entry area there is a non stop model train going the heads of patrons. There are plenty of Railroad relics about the place but I think my favorite is the old brake wheels used for door handles.
Menu/Price:
If you do not want Pizza you can get a sandwhich or other item as well. Pricing for these types of items is pretty standard between $6 and $11. Pizza is a bit more expensive and may thwart people from getting it for the price, but it is what you are used to paying. For instance I can get a large Casey’s single topping back home that is awesome for about $10 (which has gone up mind you), here a large single topping (depending on crust) could be closer to $20. Should you choose the pizza route you can order a favorite combo or create your own masterpiece (they say build) with choice of toppings, crust, and sauce. No matter what your tastes are, it would be hard to not come up with a pizza for even the pickiest of eaters, unless your name is Rich Farmer Gravy Johnson. There is a buffet but we arrived to late to partake in that.
Meal:
Chloe was still in the teething stages and spaghetti was about all she would eat. I tried a bit to make sure it was not too hot, and it was decent. The pizza however was awesome! The cheese was piled high for deep dish and it was not a pizza that could be eaten with your hands, well cleanly that is. The dough they use deffinenatly makes it for me. I think the only thing that would have been nice would have been to try the Island with the Garlic Alfredo sauce instead of the original red sauce. Still very good though!
Service:
As mentioned prior we arrived a bit late for the noon hour. The indoor caboose is closed either before the dinner hours or in between busy times as there was a sign that said “Section Closed.” Our cousin asked very politly if it would be possible for us to sit in the caboose (for the foamers). The host thought about it and I think wanted to say no but his superior kinda looked at him and nodded giving us the nod to get in. The downside to this was we did not get frequent visits by our waitress to make sure that refills and everything else were ok. I am not holding this against them at all, because after all we were in the caboose and the caboose comes last.
Overall:
I said the first time I visited that if I am ever in the area again I would visit again, and I did. A great family outing if you live in the area or if your flying through. They do have other locations but this is the one I will probably choose just because of the appeal to a foamer like me.