While looking for breakfast options in Minneapolis, I came upon a Facebook post from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who had recently visited the city on her Isa Does It book tour. She said that she'd be hitting up Modern Times Café and Jasmine 26 multiple times while she was there.
With that, I knew where I was going to be eating that day… (And read about my visit to Jasmine 26!)
Modern Times
I saw that Modern Times opens at 9 am on the weekends, has a small dining area, and often requires a wait for brunch.
So we got there at 9:10. The dining room was already completely full with what ended up being a 45 or 50 minute wait.
After putting in our names, one of the servers asked if we'd like a cup of coffee while we waited.
Oh, yes, please.
It was a nice touch. Servers regularly came into the hallway, where people were waiting in groups, to refill coffee cups.
The place was really busy. The few servers who were working were buzzing around feverishly.
However, they were all really friendly and pleasant. It's not easy to keep a smile on your face at 9 am on a Saturday when you're constantly moving, but they made it happen.
Modern Times has a 70's, greasy spoon aesthetic.
They had a display of zines available for reading and a notice about their Doodle Club that meets there to make collaborative zines. (How fun does that sound?) While people waited, they read through the zines, sometimes aloud to others in their group.
There was also a notice board with an advertisement for a Green Arts Fair that weekend at the nearby Midtown Global Market (but more on that to follow!)
Curiously, amongst the group of people waiting was a guy who had brought in his own jar of nutritional yeast flakes and bottle of hot sauce. I found my people!
(Although, I have to mention, the diner offers three different kinds of hot sauce - Tabasco, smoked Tabasco, and Sriracha. I should have asked the guy about his hot sauce that he needs, even with three already on offer. It must have been something special!)
After the long wait, we were finally seated.
The diner focuses on using a large amount of organic foods in their dishes. They offer a variety of vegan and non-vegan options, which are all clearly labeled. I'd already looked through the menu online and had narrowed it down to a couple of options.
I had a hard time deciding between the Johnathan Richman, a sandwich made with veggie sausage and grilled tofu on grilled sourdough with a slathering of basil Vegenaise or Not Your Mother's Migas. After much deliberation, I sided on the Migas.
Not Your Mother's Migas certainly lived up. First of all, it was huge. They only offer one size on it. So I easily could have shared it with David.
The tortilla wedges were deep fried and crisp like my fried nachos recipe. They were covered in a spicy homemade ranchero sauce and topped with vegan cream.
They were served alongside black beans and garlicky cabbage salsa. The salsa was a wonderfully cool respite from the runny-nose-burning-mouth caused by the Migas. With the single degree weather outside, it warmed me up all over.
TVP chorizo can be added to the dish for a dollar more. But I can see why our server said that it really wasn't necessary when I asked about it. There was no threat of me leaving hungry!
David ordered a pancake and a half order of the Southside Hash.
The hash was made with hashbrowns obviously and also onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and roasted jalapeños. It was topped with TVP chorizo, tofu, and poblano tofu cream.
It was incredibly flavorful. And even just a half order was very generously sized. The pancake was fluffy and light.
Midtown Global Market
After lunch, we headed to the nearby Midtown Global Market, which as I mentioned was having a Green Gifts Fair that day.
I'd never heard of the Global Market before. Even if they hadn't been having an event, it's such a cool place.
They have vendors from all over the world with a mixture of crafts, clothes, and knickknacks. There are also international food vendors selling things to eat while you're there. There are a couple of grocery areas as well for buying foods to take home.
I bought a pack of 5 injera from the Global Market, which I'm very excited to use for a future Ethiopian dinner night. There was a mariachi band playing music and a play area for kids. It had the feeling of an outdoor marketplace, but inside away from the bitter cold.
For more vegan highlights from Minneapolis and beyond, check out my Minnesota travel page.
Chelsea
That’s an old Korean 10 won coin! Yah, random trivia. I will definitely be visiting Modern Times when I go to visit friends there next spring (really late spring). Thanks for the heads up.
Cadry
Excellent! Thanks, Chelsea! The mystery has been solved. I’m sure it will only be a matter of time until someone asks about the origins of the coin, and now I’ll know!
I hope you enjoy your trip to Minneapolis with your friends! You’ll have to let me know what you order.
veganmiam.com
Wow, all these dishes look fantastic and tasty! I love saucy toppings! Minneapolis seems like a fun place to visit, I would love to check it out sometimes!
Cadry
Minneapolis is a fun city! I used to visit it fairly often in college, and so I have a soft spot for it. It has a lot of city-style amenities (restaurants, bars, theatre, museums, live music) without being overly large. I can’t imagine living there, though, because Iowa is already way too cold for me. I can’t foresee myself moving somewhere even colder! I’d recommend visiting in July! 🙂
Hannah
Maybe his hot sauce was secretly meth.
(Wait, is meth a liquid? Heavens, I do not know drugs.)
Cadry
I haven’t looked it up, but I think meth is dry and smoked in a pipe. Can you imagine the look on the guy’s face if I would have walked over and asked, “Is your hot sauce secretly meth?”
Maggie Muggins
Love the idea of having zines for people to read, that’s so fun! I can’t get over those plates of food, they look drool inducing, I totally want to go to Minneapolis now.
Cadry
Isn’t that hanging zine idea cute? It would even be fun to do in the office of someone’s house. I loved how many people were actually grabbing them and looking them over while we were there. It definitely wasn’t just decoration alone!
Minneapolis doesn’t have as many fully vegan restaurants as one might expect for that size of city, but it has a wonderful array of vegan friendly restaurants!
Grace
I often go to Modern Times for breakfast. My go to breakfast place. So very glad that you enjoyed your stay in Minneapolis!!
Cadry
How lucky for you! There were several restaurant options for brunch, and I had a tough time choosing. Do you have any other favorite breakfast places in Minneapolis with great vegan options?
Grace
For Breakfast, I could suggest French Meadow Bakery. I do enjoy the food there but it can get very busy and noisy especially during brunch. I have tried Triple Rock Social Club. I wasn’t very impressed. The Birchwood sometimes has vegan breakfast options, check the menu first before you head there. 🙂 I did just think of another option for breakfast, The Seward Cafe. I love the hash browns and black beans! And they have vegan desserts.
The only all vegan restaurant we have is the Ecopolitan. I think they are open for brunch. They are all raw also. The May Day Cafe also has vegan options, but I believe there is not a lot of seating options.
Cadry
I’ve been to French Meadow for lunch & dinner, but never for breakfast. I was tempted to go there, but then I noticed that they don’t offer any savory breakfast options for vegans. I’m much more of a tofu scramble or breakfast burrito person than I am a pancake person. (Although, I do enjoy them every once in a while.)
I’ve been to Ecopolitan one time, and I liked it. If only it hadn’t been so cold out, I would have been up for some of their raw options!
Thanks for all of the breakfast suggestions! I’ll keep them in mind the next time I’m in the Twin Cities!
Susmitha - Veganosaurus
Oh man! That Modern Café breakfast looks fantastic! I want to reach into the screen and grab a spicy tortilla chip. *slurp*
Cadry
Sometimes you can’t beat a messy, indulgent breakfast! If you happen to nab a chip, you’re definitely going to need some napkins afterwards! 🙂
flickingthevs
This made me chuckle – I always look up the menu before I go somewhere to try and cut down my deciding time at the restaurant! What are migas, by the way? I’m pretty sure I would love a bit plate of them!
Cadry
Why am I not surprised that you also review menus ahead of time? When I’m traveling, I always weigh my restaurant options by scoping out menus first. I’m glad I looked over the menus. We’d thought about visiting French Meadow Bakery, which we’d enjoyed in the past, but they didn’t have any savory breakfast options for vegans.
Migas are a Spanish breakfast, typically made with scrambled eggs and a spicy tomato sauce. For vegans, they’re made with scrambled tofu instead. What makes migas special is that corn tortillas are sliced and scrambled with it for one gloopy, delicious mess. In this case, they actually deep fried flour tortillas first. I think you would love them.
Randi (laughfrodisiac)
Wow I want to go to there! It looks amazing! I’ve never had migas, actually, but they sound really good. And that poblano tofu cream on David’s dish sounds spectacular. I might have to try making that next taco night or something! Great stuff!
Cadry
Before I made the migas in Viva Vegan, I’d never had them either. (Do you have that cookbook? It’s totally worth checking out. It’s one of my very favorites.) The migas at Modern Times differed from the ones in VV, though, in that the tortillas were deep fried. A very indulgent breakfast indeed! 🙂
Becky Striepe
How fun! I don’t recognize that coin, but I would have happily helped you eat those migas!
Cadry
How very generous of you, Becky! 😉 You would have been more than welcome!
Shell
I love the ring! I wish I could make an intelligent guess about where it is from, but I can’t. The food looks great too, as always.
Cadry
Thanks, Shell! I really like it too. It’s fun to think about how many hands that coin must have passed through and all of the places it has been.