Shamrocks/The Nook

Nate and I love burgers. It is probably our favorite food to go out for. This past weekend we were definitely in a burger mood, but wanted to try something new. I suggested the Nook as we had seen it featured recently on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Nate pulled up their menu online and said, yeah, that sounds good. Our back up plan was the Nook's sister restaurant Shamrocks, which was just a little further down the street from the Nook.

The Nook is in St. Paul, on Randolph Avenue and Hamline Avenue. It's not too far at all from my old stomping ground near the St. Kate's campus actually. We headed over around 5:15 or so thinking the earlier we could try to get in the better as we knew it wasn't a real large place. Well with traffic and fun things like that, it was a little after 5:30 when we got there. Sadly, there were several groups waiting and they were standing outside. Nate poked his head in and said there really weren't all that many tables. So, we got back on Randolph and headed to Shamrocks which is at Randolph and 7th Street.

Fortunately, Shamrocks is much larger inside. It was just as busy, but there was a high top table available for us. It's more Irish themed inside, but the menu is essentially the same as the menu at the Nook. And let me tell you, it is quite the menu! Many appetizers, burgers, chicken sandwiches and other entrees were listed. The beer list is just ok, most of your standard, commercial beers. Nate and I have kind of become beer snobs, so the majority of the beer wasn't anything of interest to us. I chose the Summit Horizon Red Ale since it was on tap and Nate asked for a Newcastle Brown Ale.

We then ordered cheese curds as an appetizer and our awesome waitress (she was really great) asked if we wanted those out first (unlike at the Sunshine Factory) and we said "of course!" They came out shortly after we ordered them and they were definitely fresh and warm. They were not the best cheese curds I've ever had, but they were darn good. Good batter, lots of cheesy goodness. Would've liked a bit more cheddar cheese inside of them instead of mozzarella, but overall they were tasty.

The highlight of our meal was definitely our burgers though. Nate selected the "Juicy Nookie" which is what The Nook/Shamrocks is famous for, their version of a Juicy Lucy. I stuck to a simple cheeseburger. Each burger came with a side of fries, but I noticed on the menu you could also choose Cole slaw or chips.

The burgers are outstanding. Juicy, cooked to perfection. Heart attack on a plate I think, but oh man, they're just so good. I believe they get fresh bakery buns from a nearby bakery and they're fantastic. And then the fries....ok, there used to be a place in Northeast Minneapolis that was called Nan's. Nan's had the worlds best fries ever. But Nan's shut down in 2001 and we haven't had fries quite as good since. Well let me tell you - the fries at Shamrocks were pretty much as good as Nan's. Seriously outstanding fries. You can tell they were made from fresh, huge Russet potatoes and fried to just the right level and I just can't say enough about them. They are thick cut the way fries should be!

We both ended up pretty stuffed when all was said and done. We agreed that next time, we could probably skip the cheese curds and go straight to the burgers. Then if we feel like it we can maybe try dessert. I also could do without the beer, it was actually kind of spendy.

At any rate, we are definitely going to go back sometime and if you love burgers, you should really try to go there too!!