Keith Harris and Andy Sturdevant have been meeting for brunch on Saturday mornings for over a decade. The tradition began when they pledged to work out at the Midtown YWCA every weekend, and decided they deserved a reward after that. Somehow, the workout portion of this arrangement fell by the wayside. But they kept eating, and have probably hit about 30 new restaurants a year since then. And yet, despite each man’s savvy business sense, they have never turned their friendship ritual into salable content. Until now. Welcome to Brunch Buds.
Brunch Buds Date 10.29: 8 Street Nourish
Something new is happening in the old Harry Singh's spot on Nicollet, and you know the Buds just had to investigate.
Keith: I first noticed this week’s Brunch Buds spot the old-fashioned way—I walked past it.
I was headed back from the M.I.A. a few weekends ago, down Nicollet, when I noticed a new cafe near the corner of 27th. It seemed like such a good future choice I texted you at once.
Andy: The "M.I.A."? What's that? The art museum? I think you mean Mia.
Also, replace "Nicollet" with "Eat Street."
You've got a lot to learn about branding, Keith.
Keith: I will maybe say Mia if someone twists my arm (they do advertise with us) but I'd sooner ask if you'd rather have dinner in WeDo or EaTo or even SoMi than say Eat Street.
Andy: Those were all certainly much more expensive brand identity jobs.
But yes, this is all to say, neighborhood branding initiatives ebb and flow, but wherever they may be located, the best way to learn about new restaurants is to walk past them.
Keith: And if you are a living adult while that branding initiates, it will never stop seeming false and tryhard to you.
Andy: 8 Street was a good choice, because you texted me the address and I couldn't call the exact corner to mind. No pre-suppositions or earlier associations!
Keith: My dentist is across the way at (alas!) Eat Street Dental (shout out to my dental hygienist Pat) so I know that area intimately.
But I wasn't sure what to expect from 8 Street, which we're guessing is a pun, right?
Andy: I think so. It took me a few minutes to realize it was a pun.
I thought maybe it was one of those things like the Loring Pasta Bar or Midway Contemporary where they'd been previously located on 8th Street and moved, and just kept the name. But I don't think that's it.
I am guessing it's a pun, and good for them for claiming the neighborhood name.
Keith: Maybe I'll start calling Nicollet "Eight Street"
Andy: I like it. It keeps the tourists confused and gives you that sense of townie insider knowledge.
Keith: Me to visitors when they ask where Eat Street is, speaking as though they are stupid children: "Oh, you mean Eight Street?"
The inside is very cute in a "Oh no, this is not going to be a cheap meal" sort of way. Though it wasn't exorbitant, as I recall. Nothing the ol’ company card couldn’t handle.
Andy: It is cute inside! There is going to come a time, many years from now, where millennials are going to be as intensely nostalgic for this school of restaurant interior design as I am for red pebbled tumbler glasses and fake Tiffany lamps.
Keith: How would you classify this style?
Andy: I guess you'd call it "Edison Bulb Grammable."
Keith: Elaborate?
Andy: Yeah, but elaborate in an unforced, "natural" kind of way. Succulents and pastel colors and light wood.
Keith: Oh, haha, I was using the verb, not the adjective there.
Andy: Ha! I inadvertently elaborated on the elaborateness. It's elaborate in the sense that there are lots of interesting objects around, little shelves on the wall, and everything is flattering as a backdrop.
Visual interest that looks good in a highly composed photo.
If I could remember the first place I ate in town that had this specific type of decor, I could pitch Racket on a retrospective piece. Francis and Giulia both to mind.
Baba's a little bit. The old Penny's Coffee downtown.
Keith: That triangulates 8 Street pretty well, I agree.
I am mostly off coffee these days (I make a cup of tea each morning and continue to refill it using the same bag until noon) but I splurged for a crème brûlée (way too many accents) coffee ($7).
Andy: I envy your resolve. I am still big on coffee to the exclusion of tea, but the matcha ($6) here seemed like a good idea. Mine was excellent. Very attractively served, too!
I think I missed your crème brûlée. How was it served?
Keith: It was in layers, similar to your matcha.
It was the kind of place where it seems insulting not to get a fancy drink.
Andy: I noticed they billed themselves as a "sober bar." So yeah, that puts a lot of emphasis on the drinks being the flagship product, both in terms of prep that goes into them and how they look when you get them.
Keith: I was drinking much cheaper coffees when I first got sober. Then again, that's back when coffee shops stayed open past dinnertime.
Andy: One of the great things about not drinking is I feel really good splurging on a sweet, pretty-looking coffee, tea, or fizzy drink, because it's still cheaper than a high-end cocktail. Or, uh, three high-end cocktails.
Keith: I could not afford today to drink the way I used to drink, that's for sure.
So, how was your breakfast sandwich ($10)?
Andy: It was good! It was a sausage and egg sandwich on a croissant, and it was like a real sausage patty. More like a hamburger thickness. The croissant was flaky like it should be. It was a good sandwich, but when your meal came out I felt sure I'd made a mistake. I'll let you divulge what it was exactly, but it did come in a dedicated, themed serving dish, which is always a good sign.
Restaurants should have an asterisk on the menu for meals that come out in their own special, dedicated, themed serving dishes.
Keith: It was a hot plate of beef served with an egg and a scoop of pate ($20)—enough protein for a week probably.
And it was served on a plate shaped like a cow.
Because that's where beef comes from, I'm told.
Andy: A cast-iron cow-shaped plate! To keep it sizzling!
Keith: A perfect marriage of form and function. And beef.
It was delicious, and it came with a roll to scoop up the juices, as well it should.
Andy: And a salad, too. They're not gonna let you drown in a sea of beef.
Keith: No. They have more respect for my body than I do.
Keith: Regular readers will have noticed by now that something—or someone—is missing from this installment of Brunch Buds.
Andy: Oh, right. Maybe this is why I was so attuned to sensory detail in my surroundings, and not starting out by regaling you with a review of the toilet facilities. Sadly, Redacto was not present for this particular brunch.
While I am sure 8 Street could handle some multigenerational action, this one did seem a little better-suited for an adults-only special edition of Brunch Buds.
Keith: We were free to discuss adult matters such as... well, I can't recall right now but I'm sure they were very adult. Interests rates and things of that nature.
Andy: Career goals, personal values, professional accomplishments, automotive maintenance, mutual funds. You know, adult dude stuff.
Keith: Just our little way of helping to end the male loneliness epidemic.
Andy: We're role models, really.
