First Crack Cafe

Cheap. Simple. Meh.
The atmosphere was pretty mediocre, the food was slightly better than that. Nothing that really stood out much.
The staff didn’t seem to want to be there, which makes you question why you should bother.
In case you decide you do want to stop by, it’s inside the mall– hopefully that’ll help you find it. We struggled a bit.

Great variety of foods offered, reasonably priced, classic small café. Hubby enjoyed his chicken and waffles (although he’s not usually picky anyway). Our 3yo loved her parfait and biscuit with yummy orange butter and jam. I thought the lemon blueberry pancakes were… Interesting. They didn’t blend the ricotta into the pancakes like the recipes you’ll find online or those at Hells Kitchen. It was 4 blobs of ricotta put into the pancakes with some blueberries. If that’s your thing then great, but I like the blended version better so you’re not left with huge pieces of regular fluffy pancake without ricotta or blueberries.
Service was friendly but slow. We came during a busy time for the small café.
In the end I’ll probably not make the effort to travel there again, unless it was to go to the amazing Pig Ate My Pizza. :)

Yum! Vietnamese iced coffee is delish! Beignets are tasty little nuggets, and the French toast is sweet and fluffy! Great little secret spot, can’t wait to come back again and try something new.

I ordered the Cajun omelet and the beignets. The omelet was pretty good but the beignets were a HUGE disappointment.
I expected to get the beautiful pillows of dough covered in a mountain of powdered sugar as shown in pictures from previous reviewers. What I got was three little undercooked dough balls that were extremely solid.
Not sure I’ll be back. Certainly won’t order the beignets!

Brunch here hit the spot! Order up front and seat yourself place. They have a specialty drinks menu that includes Vietnamese coffee *heart eyes* and a cooler of various bottled drinks. Seating is sparse, but it wasn’t very busy for an Easter Sunday. I have passed this place many times through my whole life but it isn’t very noticeable. Glad I saw it on Unilocal.Loved their corned beef hash and buttery hash browns. Definitely will be back to try everything on the menu!

YAAAAS FIRST CRACK CAFE, YAAAAS. I think I’ve found my all-​time favorite breakfast spot in the Twin Cities y’all. I just had a good feeling about this one, and when you know, YOU KNOW. I came across this place while perusing breakfast pics on Instagram and when I saw the chicken and waffles, it was love at first sight. We drove to Robbinsdale on at Saturday morning and drove around the building a few times before finally figuring out where the darn place was located. For those of you wondering, it’s between the yarn store and the Greek Café, There is no obvious sign if you are trying to look for an awning or anything neon.
The café itself is quite small, maybe 10 tables tops. You order at the counter, and if you text their listserv, you get a free speciality drink. I ordered maybe 4 – 5 items for the BF and I and it came out to about $ 25. That’s cheap as hail if you ask me. The staff are very helpful and friendly.
Here’s what we ordered, or as I like to call it, what a little slice of heaven is like:
–Beignets: warm, chewy, powdered sugary, not too sweet, and perfect with the strawberry preserves. Not like Café Dumonde’s but a warm treat to start the day.
–Biscuits and Bacon Jam: Yes, homemade biscuits that were huge and fluffy and based magnificent with the bacon jam. Yes, jam made out of a bacon. Try this. On everything.
–Seoul Reuben: A reuben filled with kimchi. Thick pastrami between grilled marbled rye and sweet/​spicy kimchi and melted cheese. A marriage made in heaven.
–Fried chicken and corn waffle with chipotle maple syrup: my favorite. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside and the corn waffle was essentially cornbread in waffle form. The maple syrup pulled everything together and the peppers gave it all a good kick.
–french fries: think Minnesota state fair fresh french fries but shoe string and freaking amazing.
–Vietnamese iced coffe: creamy, sweet, and strong. Just the way it’s supposed to be.
You better believe I will be back.

Not a Bad Start to My Day
Came here for brunch on a Saturday and happily got a table before the rush (seating is somewhat limited, I’d say around 10 tables, varying between 2-​tops and 4-​tops). Ordering happens at the counter, where the staff is super friendly and quick to recommend their favorite dishes when asked, no «they’re all great» crud (as a frequent first-​time diner at different haunts, staff tips are invaluable).
I went for the veggie burger and my table mate opted for the bacon jam cheese sandwich. My choice was tasty, though on the next go around I’m going for fries and not the tasteless side salad. The bacon jam cheese sandwich was great but rich, I think we made it through half the sandwich together (but hey, that meant leftovers!!!)
Atmosphere was cute and comfy. I didn’t feel rushed, which is great for a lazy brunch.
All in all, a good local restaurant that I look forward to visiting again soon!

I love First Crack! Been there a few times now, the coffee is always good and fresh. They even put the time they brewed it so you know it wasn’t made six hours ago.
The girl at the front is awesome and always helps me out. I can be pretty indecisive, and sometimes I need a helping hand. I’ve been to a lot of cafes where the staff sucks so it’s nice to come to a place where they remember you.
Also, the French toast is really good. Like really good. Comes with fruit on the side, and it’s just really damn tasty. I want to try the cinnamon rolls but I’m never there Saturday, when they have them. I love cinnamon rolls.
Anyway, highly recommended!

My first (yet most likely not my last!) visit to First Crack was overall good. I’ll start by making the first crack at a joke and say that I got my crack up at the crack of dawn (or as other’s call it, «8am») to get here. I woke up starving, and craving the cream cheese and lox bagel I saw on their menu.
To my dismay, I got there and was told they don’t offer their (housemade) bagels in the fall, even though they’re featured on their website’s current menu a few times. But the chicken and waffles were a shoo-​in for my next choice. There’s something F’ed up with serving a chicken egg with chicken meat, and I like it. The service was super super nice — the dude at the counter was the coolest and sounded sooo friendly but not in the fake way. It made up for the fact that my coffee was forgotten.
The café itself is clean and bright, and I love hearing regulars come in and cheerily greet each other and the employees. My chicken and waffles took about 20mins to come up, and it looked worth the wait. The waffles were cornmeal based and more savory, which I REALLY enjoyed with the sweet butter and the spicy maple syrup. One piece of chicken was cooked well and crispy (boneless white), but the other piece (bone-​in wing) was a little burnt to the point of being bitter. But overall, I would recommend this to people I like.
I plan to come back and try other things on their menu… like those biscuits and gravy *drools like homer*.

Love this place. Kind of sit down, kind of not. Order at the counter, sit where u like and food comes our quit. Awesome Cajun Breakfast.
The perfect breakfast place.

I’m a «foodie». My Dad is a retired Master Chef and Culinary Institute of America grad. My daughter is a Chef and Culinary Institute of America grad. I’ve been around the «best of the best» my whole life. In the Twin Cities, there isn’t a close second when it comes to breakfast fare.
I highly recommend the Corned beef hash, chicken and waffles, or eggs Benedict.

A wonderful cozy breakfast/​brunch spot. Super easy to find. It’s about the size of an average strip mall coffee shop. The orange zest butter is delicious on their pancakes and popovers. The breakfast menu has a creative yet moderately greasy spoon theme to it. The avocado eggs Benny was so good, I cleared my plate. I over heard they have bacon jam as well but didn’t get to try it. Next time for sure.
Tips:
–you order at the front and get a table number which then they will bring you your order.
–payment can either be done before or after your meal.
–you bus your own tray. Super easy. Trash in trash and plates/​cups/​silverware in designated dish bucket.
–there was outdoor seating but it was literally just one table.
*** I gave 4 stars because figuring out how to pay was initially confusing until i simply asked how to pay. I recommend they make this more clear to future customers.

This place is a hidden gem. I can’t believe I almost passed it up! The food is amazing here. Prices are good too! Their chicken wild rice soup is to die for! Their burgers are fantastic. Omelette a are amazing too! We came in an hour before closing and the coffee is still amazing. I have no complaints here whatsoever! Eat in or take out. They clearly love Minnesota as most of their food is local. You are seriously missing out if you pass this place up.

Soggy French toast and undercooked hash browns. I sent the hash browns back to be cooked more. I should have done the same with the French toast.

EDIT 8÷15÷15. Thank you to Willie for the response to my review. Appreciate the explanations, clarifications and most of all your willingness to receive feedback. Raising my review one star just for that.
Not good. Which is really too bad and kind of baffling since this place has a whopping four and a half stars. As others have said, this place is a little deceiving at first. It’s in a strip mall and was a bit hard to locate because there is no big sign atop the business. I pulled into the parking lot and circled it twice before I even figured out that the business was indeed there and that my Google Maps had not led me astray. Once inside, I discovered that it’s the type of joint where you order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. Well OK. The girl who waited on us was patient as we read the menu and took our order fine, though she was slightly inattentive and wound up charging us for one coffee instead of two, which we then had to go rectify by paying for a second coffee, etc. etc. The coffee itself was actually good — I took it from some local beanery. But they don’t have any real cream available — just those stupid little Moos creamer things. Since they were kept on the counter at room temperature, the minute you dropped the creamer into your coffee, it curdled and you wound up with floaty things in your coffee. Not appealing especially since the coffee itself was actually better than average. Disappointing.
The young man who brought the food to our table was nice. My husband ordered the corned beef hash, and he had a hard time deciding whether it was out of a can or not. He thought yes, I thought no. The three eggs that come with the hash seemed generous but were badly poached — the type of poached egg where the yolk separates from the not-​quite-​cooked white and then inevitably splits open all over the place into a watery mess. The egg water was also clearly heavily vinagered, which showed up in the final taste of the eggs. And his toast was served bone dry — no offer of butter ever and jam only upon request. For me, I ordered the salmon benedict, which was OK but not wonderful. The muffin was fine, the salmon was fine and my eggs were better than my husband’s. The menu promised a citrus hollandaise, which sounded really interesting but was overwhelmingly orange flavored to the point where the orange drowned out all of the other delicate flavors. My hashbrowns were swimming in grease. We also ordered the beingets, which were dense more like a cake doughnut, but were properly covered in powdered sugar and tasted good at least.
Overall pretty mediocre.

This place is a gem. Excellent quality and creativity and very affordable. Big portions and small prices. In fact it’s too affordable … I checked my receipt to see if they forgot to charge me for something. (I would pay more to ensure they don’t go out of business.)
Each dish was made from scratch and came out to the table fresh off the griddle. We didn’t mind that the food arrived in phases because it was so fresh and delicious. Everyone at our table just started passing the dishes saying, «you gotta try this».
And … Delicious coffee.

This place had been on my mind for a while because I took a look at their page and I am a huge fan of benedicts. As soon as I was in the neighborhood over lunch break, I was there.
I expected a sit down diner, but actually you order at the counter and they bring it to you. The place was practically empty. Food came out fast. The guy working was friendly.
I got the turkey florentine benedict, sauce on the side, with a salad. Overall ends up being a very healthy lunch/​breakfast if you don’t use a lot of hollandaise. It came out so fast and was delicious and fresh. Eggs were poached to perfection. I’m happy with these people. I will be back.

I always come to this location when I’m nearby and I always get their chili soup with a popover. The owner Willie is very friendly and very willing to accommodate anything for you, if you just ask.
Their coffee is excellent and their food is made fresh to order (with some exceptions– soup etc). I’ve had a variety of things in the last few visits here.
The banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) is overstuffed with meats and pickled veggies which makes you feel better paying for their price. Their bread and meats are bought locally and their pastry and breads changes depending on what’s available and fresh with their venders.
I’ve also had their brunch option («salmon benny») or their eggs and hash browns. Along with multiple «daily specials» that are indeed tasty.
My only disappointment that I’ve had thus far were their beignets. I order one to go and it tasted a day order (or previously fried) and it was douse with powder sugar which made it overwhelming to eat.

I picked up the Unilocal deal to try out First Crack Café. It has been beckoning me since moving to NoMi about a year ago as it always shows up as a nearby option. The restaurant is in a small strip mall and easy to look over but the food is anything but!
You get a menu, order at the counter and then pick you seat. Spacious but still cozy. We ordered the Chicken and Waffles with a Chipotle Maple Syrup and Orange Honey Butter, the special for the month, which was a vegetarian Huevos Rancheros, a cup of the chicken and rice soup, and coffee. The buttermilk fried chicken was one of the best I have had. The chicken to batter ratio was perfect and the batter was perfectly crunchy. The Chipotle Maple syrup is what really set it off. The Huevos Rancheros had a wonderful black bean cake topped with eggs to order and a fresh chile verde. I really enjoy when a spot serves local coffee. First Crack proudly serves True Stone Coffee from St. Paul.
The service was fantastic, quick, and friendly. This will be a new spot for me on weekends! Delicious food.

I have been wanting to try First Crack since they took over Daily Grind’s space earlier last year (strange to say that for 2014 now). New Years Day, the girlfriend and I decided we’d give it a shot.
Very nice little café style front, couple of bar stools to sit on, some tables, and a little dining space around the back. Ordering style is get a menu, order, get a number and take a seat. Unlike most places that go this route though, they actually come out and clear off your plates when you’re done and check on you to see if you need anything. An appreciated old twist on a hated new style of ordering/​serving, in my opinion.
I opted for the salmon eggs benny with their Apple Walnut Pancake. The lady went with the first crack combo, french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon.
Coffee was Minnesota’s own True Stone, which was REALLY tasty. Not sure if I’ve had that one before, but, it was damn good.
Very brief wait as the food got cooked. Maybe 8 minutes or so. Food came out looking really good, and it didn’t disappoint, for the most part.
I’m normally not a benny fan, I don’t crave or go ape sh*t for Hollandaise like some others I know. But, this was a VERY good benny. Hollandaise had a slight citrus flavor to it, which wasn’t over powering, but was really tasty and unique. My gripe about the dish in general was the mix of citrus Hollandaise and the chives on top of the benny. Gave a very odd, strange, and somewhat off putting flavor when mixed. Not idea if it was just that combo or the mix of the salmon with it too, but, that deployed the parachute and made my few remaining brain cells chatter. Hash browns were crispy and very good. The salmon was very good. Great flavor, didn’t over power the dish and went well with the citrus compliment.
The pancake was very good and just ok. The bites with apple were really good. The bites without, were a total meh. The walnuts didn’t add the extra little salty bite I was hoping for to go with the sweet/​sour of the apples or syrup, just a different texture. I’d say spread the apples out a bit better next time, salt roast the walnuts, and then have a salty butter or cream for it. Otherwise, chalk it up to a miss.
Lastly, the first crack combo. I’m not sure what kind of bread they use for the french toast. I see milk bread, but have no clue what that is other than really god damn delicious. Thick, crisped up really nice, and because the woman is a fellow PB junky, she spread peanut butter all over the slice I got, which was amazing with the syrup. I’d definitely go FT over cakes at this place. Eggs were a bit overdone on the scramble side. Not fluffy, flat and kind of fragile and meh. The bacon though… oh my, the bacon. I was almost punched in the mouth for saying bacon too much in the morning it was that good. Grilled up nice and chewy. Hold on, give a moment, need time to bow in silence and remember… ok, moment over. Harness your inner Canadian and dip the bacon in some syrup, thank me and Canada later.
All in all, a solid local place with a solid menu. Very happy to have them in my neighboring town. Happy to support them.