Brunch off! (Part 2)

Time for brunch reviews from a little closer to home, and I even managed to fit in a third spot. It wouldn't have been right to do a Minneapolis brunch review without including the Seward Cafe, particularly since I get free coffee there forever.

So here's the run down: Hard Times Cafe, Birchwood Cafe, and the Seward Cafe.

Hard Times and the Seward are really similar, and both cater to old hippies and punk kids. Seward has a better ambiance, and Hard Times has longer hours, wireless, and a full menu all the time, so which one I go to depends on what I need to do there. Seward uses way more local and organic ingredients, gets a CSA share in summer, and has its own community garden in back, so that tips the scale quite a bit for me. Both are collectively owned and run, which is rad if you're not into table service.

The Birchwood is pretty different - the food is significantly more expensive (but not crazy expensive), they put more effort into plating and presentation, and there are far fewer vegan options. They also emphasize local and organic ingredients though, and they're only a few blocks from my house, so I still make my way there on occasion.

Hard Times

Vegan Helter Skelter (a bunch of veggies and potatoes and tofu and toast)



I don't remember what this was called - but it was corn tortillas, tofu, veggies, and salsa. It was kind of bland, really, and I wasn't wild about their salsa. I prefer their non-brunch stuff I think. Good falafel.



I don't recommend Hard Times if you're, say, looking for somewhere to take your grandparents.

Birchwood Cafe

Tofu scramble with toast and potatoes



Sometimes the one vegan brunch option (pretty much always a tofu scramble) comes with organic greens instead of toast, and I prefer that. The thin roasted potatoes are great, and the tofu is seasoned nicely though never browned. Usually it involves a combination of seasonal/local veggies. Once at the Birchwood I was sitting right next to Scarlet Johansen (sp?) and Josh Hartnett, and didn't even notice.

Seward Cafe

"Tofu scramble"



I like the tofu/tempeh stir fries (basically broccoli and carrots) at the Seward, even though they don't really put any kind of sauce on them. Just tamari. But I wish they wouldn't call them scrambles. It's not true, and it's confusing. They do come with tahini toast though, and you can dump on all the nutritional yeast you like.

Beans and Rice



Beans and rice at the Seward are only $3.00! Both are organic, you can choose between black beans and pinto, and it's always brown rice. They also have a huge list of sides you can add to your dishes, so beans and rice with kale, onions, rancheros sauce, or whatever you want is still really cheap. Caveat: they're supposed to come with sprouts, but every cook in the place seems to have a chronic sprout-forgetting problem.

I wish I had some Seward hash browns to post - they're made fresh from yukon gold potatoes, and they're usually great. Definitely a nice change of pace from oven roasted potatoes and immeasurably better than any frozen hash brown nonsense you find at most breakfast places. It's also a great spot for gluten free/wheat free options.

The verdict?

Vegan options: Portland
Righteousness and rejection of hierarchy in the workplace: Minneapolis
Creativity: Portland
Free coffee for me: Minneapolis
Brunch spots with full bars: Portland
Cheap options: Minneapolis
Most bikes outside the cafe: anyone's guess