Al's Breakfast

Al's Diner is located unobtusively, quietly and mildly in the heart of Dinkytown, on 14th. On any given day however, the lines outside, for breakfast are anything but quiet and unobtrusive. Is it because Al's serves up the best pancakes I've ever had in my entire life? Or is it because the patrons who frequent Al's are restricted to a total of 12, yes count them 12 seats in the ENTIRE restaurant. But wait, before you balk and say "What? Not even a bakers dozen?", know that it's Al's unassuming, somewhat beatnik & refreshingly bygone aura that makes it as popular and wildly fun as it is From the counter you can watch the cook fix up your order, and feel just like you're at some roadside stand, on Route 66, trucker hat and all. The pancakes are without equal, sorry grandma, but it's true. They are a bit crispy on the outside, but inside theyre all tangy buttermilk and melty, floaty cake. They're not overly huge so that you feel you're chewing on a tire, but are just right medium size, and very delicate. If you're nice you can ask for blueberries and sometimes get them to go with. Line up early, because the breakfast at Al's is worth fighting for a stool over. more

A breakfast diner/counter just slightly wider than a Mini Cooper, Al's breakfast 12- spinning stools line up with customers quickly. Those waiting must stand in a row behind the stools or out on the sidewalk. You need a fisheye lens to great this picture. This isn't the place you want to come with a large group or family breaksfast. It's a place for self-educated loners and grifters, self-absorbed poets and long-shot politicians, drummers to a different rythym, one-eyed lumberjack philosophers, firebrand unity seekers, out of work blues musicians, and seasoned malicontents. Americans best! This is a hash-house where almost everything can be had for $6 and you can watch the grill-cook sling hashbrowns and eggs to make sure nothing is thinned with unusual substances or watered down with sorrow and self-pity. You might find this a perfect setting for Tom Watis and it was probably visited by Bob Dylan, Guy Noir and Allen Ginsberg. If you think privacy is being alone in your thoughts and the only company you keep are the voices in your head, this is the place for you. Recently, WCCO TV used Al's railroad-car styled space to set their commercial for the evening news program, with news anchor Angela Santaniello barking orders to fry-cook Don Shelby serving up plates to a hasty crowd. Al's Breakfast is a Minneapolis institution not to be missed. more