The Town House Bar

After our rich dinner at HOMI, we needed a beer and decided to stay on University Ave. I suggested the Town House at 1415 University Ave. W, 651-646-7087, probably the bar closest to my own house.

Since my bar hopping days have been over for at least the past two decades (pretty much since moving to the U.S.), I am not that familiar with the scene even in my own front yard. Our University Avenue project should give us some impetus to get acquainted with some of the fine drinking establishments along the Great Connector between the Twin Cities.

The Town House has a storied history, starting its days in 1963 as the Blue Horse as an upscale restaurant frequented by legislators, business people and those needing a place to celebrate a special occasion. I know that my spouse Lynn's grandfather, who owned a business on University selling semi trailers was a frequent customer. Like at some fancy places, patrons could select their cuts from a display cart prior to being cooked. Apparently, the Blue Horse had a hard time adapting to the changing tastes and ended up closing in 1991.

In its wake, the Town House established itself as a more down-to-earth place and as "St. Paul's oldest GLBT Bar." When Joel and I arrived, we were for the first time confronted with the troubles any business owner will face from now on: no more street parking. Barriers went just up today in preparation for the Central Corridor construction project. And while the Town House is flanked by large empty lots, these are fenced off and apparently not available to the public. We ended up parking on a muddy strip in the alley, next to what I am pretty sure were some other patrons' cars.

Joel and I had expected for the place to be quiet but we were proven wrong: a bingo evening was in full swing and most tables were occupied.  Posters on the wall displayed the calendar of events, a lively schedule of entertainment. The clientele looked mostly like folks from the neighborhood. I have to admit that neither Joel or I had any sense that we were walking into a GLBT bar and being there at the time we were there did not give us the slightest hint. I enjoyed my bottle of Blue Moon and Joel his well proportioned gin & tonic.

HOMI Restaurante Mexicano

About time that Joel and I hit another University Avenue eating establishment. I called and he was available and happy to follow my suggestion to visit HOMI Restaurante Mexicano at 864 University Ave, by Victoria and right next door to the Best Steak House, which is, as readers of this blog know, a BARF-SUAVE favorite.

Wedged between the Best Steak House and a beauty parlor on the SW corner
of University and Victoria is HOMI. Definitely worth a visit!

When we walked in, we were the only customers. I wasn't sure whether we should order at the counter or sit down, but after a couple awkward moments we took our seats at one of the tables. The interior is bright and cheerful, walls in orange and off-white and tiled floors. The furniture is simple diner, the whole place looks like many eateries in Mexican towns. After studying the menu, Joel decided on the chilaquiles verdes con carne al pastor (green sauce chilaquiles with pork in red (chile) seasoning shepherd style) and after initially setting my mind on ording three cheese and jalapeno empanadas and three chalupas, I dropped the chalupas when the very friendly waitress informed me that tonight's special was the empanadas with rice and beans.

The food arrived quickly and the portions were copious. I was glad that I had not ordered both the empanadas and the chalupas. The empanadas were deep-fried in a light vegetable oil. Delicious. The jalapeños provided just the right amount of spiciness to give some zest to the mild cheese stuffing.

While I was familiar with empanadas, I had never encountered chilaquiles. Cut-up tortillas in a spicy green sauce, our friendly server explained. She was quite concerned that the dish would be too spicy for Joel, but she should not have feared. Joel let me sample the dish and it was, like the empanadas, zesty but not overly hot. The meat was flavorful and its red color nicely contrasted the pale green of the salsa verde. The food was simple, hearty and good, home-style.

While we were dining more guests came in and by the time we were getting close to being done, four other tables were occupied. Our waitress stopped by to inquire about how we liked the food and whether this was our first time at HOMI. We told her it was and asked whether she was concerned about the Central Corridor Project. She went to get the chef for support and he thought that the construction was a ways off, yet. I later learned from the HOMI website that both had started the restaurant together and created HOMI from the two first letters of their names, HOrtencia and MIguel. They wanted to recreate the food they knew from their homes in Veracruz and Hidalgo. Based on our experience, they succeeded  beautifully!