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 Date 10.4: Milton's Vittles, Vino, and Beer
The thing about Brunch Buds is, Andy and I are very busy men. Not important men, mind you, but busy. So sometimes it takes us—yikes, a month and a half?—to file our reports. Like this one from Milton's.
Keith: So a while back I asked Racket supercommenter Taco Mike, a man of many opinions, for his favorite brunch spots. And recently we visited one: Milton's in Crystal.
Andy: Yeah, Mike’s suggestions were very north metro-centric, which is great, because we don't get up that way very often. And when people have many opinions about metro geographies we don't know anything about, all the better.
Keith: I couldn't tell you the last time I was in Crystal.
Andy: I have a great uncle in Crystal, and there's a very nice 1970s library at Rockford Road that recently had all of its brutalist features remodeled out of existence. But otherwise, yeah, not much.
Keith: But now we know Milton's.
Andy: We do! Maybe we know the type? Inner-ring suburb family hangout. I got the sense most of the clientele lived relatively close by.
Keith: Yes, it seemed to have its snug little place in the community there. But for a minute I worried that this piece would become an accidental farewell to Milton's.
Andy: I snapped a QR code on a flyer taped to the entrance that called on people to "keep Milton's in the community." Clicking through, it said they were doing a fundraiser with an October deadline, and if they didn't meet it, they might have to close their doors by... October 31?
Keith: Good news. October 31 has passed, but Milton's is still open. Here's an update from Facebook. Their (ongoing) fundraiser has been a success so far.
Andy: We Brunch Buds try to live in the present, but the fact that we've been having regular brunches for so long (off the record, at least) means that a lot of places where we've eaten have ceased to exist. It's easy to tip into elegy.
Like, do you remember the six months or however long it was when the Turf Club had brunch service? I can’t believe it’s true, but that is still one of the best biscuits and gravy I’ve had anywhere. I have a Google Sheet from about 10 years ago titled “Saturday Brunch Matrix,” and listen to this roll call of the fallen: Funky Grits, Fig + Farro, the Mill Northeast, Cook, Monello, Grand Cafe, Third Bird…
Keith: [Pauses in respectful silence.] But yes, back to the present, our brunch that day. I had a perfectly enjoyable sausage scrambler with toast ($14.95).
Andy: And I had shrimp and grits ($18.20). Redacto had a bowl of fruit ($3) and some french fries ($2.75). Your platonic ideal of an inner-ring suburban brunch.
I mean that in a positive way.
Keith: Yes, this is the sort of breakfast that should be within a five-minute drive of anyone's home.
Andy: Right, if I had Taco Mike's life, I would also come here regularly and recommend it to people.
Keith: Ah, who among us could live Taco Mike's life?
I'm usually a little "hmm" when it comes to restaurants crowdfunding to stay open. If your business isn't working, is a one time cash infusion really gonna help?
Andy: If I knew the answer to that, I would be a highly successful restaurateur, instead of a fitfully successful brunch columnist.
Keith: But I feel a little different in this case, because a restaurant closing in Crystal has a much bigger impact than a restaurant closing in Minneapolis. Especially a nice family-run place.
Andy: Yeah, I think this kind of crowdfunding rightfully leans a lot on feelings of a business's third-placiness, which is understandable, given how shredded the social fabric is generally.
But you're right, in this case, the geographic specificity makes a stronger case for that.
Like, I grew up in a suburb that while not in Minnesota was very much like Crystal, and people do rely on these places for social connection.
Keith: Same. When I was a kid we went for dinner once every week or two to the place where my parents had their wedding reception. RIP Tony Cal's.
Andy: I got married at Moon Palace Books for that same reason.
Keith: RIP Geek Love Cafe.
Andy: If you don't want to join a megachurch, and there aren't any bowling leagues left in your immediate geography, you can go out for brunch or happy hour with your family.
I mean, this is a lot of pressure to put on a brunch place, but... well, that's kind of the reality they're describing in the crowdfunding campaign!
Keith: Yeah, what crowdfunding addresses in these cases is, not only does our system not provide the free services and places we deserve, but it doesn't even allow the businesses we value to stay open.
Andy: Brunching Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
Keith: We're doing our part.
Andy: People make such good use of the comments here on Racket. I'd be curious for other suburban readers to chime in about their local spots.
Keith: On that note, here’s what Taco Mike had to say about Milton’s:
The food’s always good, but what I’ve always enjoyed over the years is the staff will often just... chit chat with you, tell you all about themselves, ask about you, next thing you know you’ve been there for ages.
One time me and my buddy went there for brunch and it was such a nice day (they had some tables set up outside) that our brunch became our lunch, and then our supper. A top five brunching experience, though both of us messed up our plans for the day in the process.
Andy: Ha, brunch expanding into lunch and then dinner; clearly recalling a time before Taco Mike had kids. Besides the service, I do want to identify my favorite thing about Milton's, which is not food-related at all.
It's the back hallway to the restrooms!
It's really long, and you have to (or "get to" might be a better word choice) walk past the kitchen and the freezer, and you really experience in passing the full sweep of the inner workings of a restaurant! It's like your own little GoodFellas "And Then He Kissed Me" steadicam shot homage.
Keith: Except you wind up at the bathroom instead of a front table.
Andy: Well, right, you're doing it in reverse.
And Redacto had to use the bathroom a bunch of times so I got to experience it a few times.
Keith: That kid loves the bathroom.
Andy: Who can blame him? This anecdote may humiliate him in years to come, but he actually became fully potty-trained on a Brunch Buds outing. Creekside Supper Club was the first place he actually got up and did it all on his own.
So it's a part of the legacy.
Keith: The server at Milton’s was very good with him, as I recall.
Andy: Yes, like Taco Mike mentioned, it’s all true. Full marks to the server for her kid engagement.
Keith: They should put a plaque up there.
Andy: They should. Brunch has been an important part of his development. Look at this photo of how he spelled FRY using french fries! I mean, if that's not pre-K educational development praxis in action, I don't know what is.
With your help, of course.
Keith: And now we are in his "I gotta wash my hands" era.
Andy: They really drill down on that in preschool. I don't know if I should say this, but I think his preschool teacher reads this column, I think, so if indeed they are reading this now, they should know that the “wash your hands as often as possible” message is getting through.
Keith: I think that's vague enough to fly. No one has been doxxed. Including Redacto.
Andy: You never know who your fellow Racket readers are.
