When a restaurant changes its name, logo, and decor to reflect a signature item on its menu, that dish had better be extraordinary. For the Atsidakos family, their meal ticket is the Minneapple Pie, a deep-fried, individual apple pie that inspired their restaurant in Rogers to shift from the Cottage Grill to Minne's Diner this spring.
"We never thought the Minneapple Pie would do so well we'd change the name of the restaurant," laughed George Atsidakos, who runs the diner along with his mother, Libby, father, Andy, and sister Joanne.
But in the two years since the pie first appeared at the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna, it has become almost a full-time job for George. It turns out that Minnesotans couldn't resist the flaky, non-greasy crust filled with savory apples and cinnamon and topped with vanilla and cinnamon ice cream as it made a circuit through regional fairs and festivals statewide in the summers of 2009 and 2010. Minneapple Pie fans can get their fix at Twins games, as well -- the State Fair Classics booth at Target Field features hot, freshly fried pies.
The hospitality business has been the Atsidakos family's ticket to success since Andy arrived from Greece in 1966 and began his restaurant career as a baker. After opening and running several area eateries, including the Crystal Steakhouse and the Foolish Steer in Spring Lake Park, he retired in 2003 and focused his efforts on the Steak Knife in Dinkytown. But Libby became restless and persuaded her husband to take over a former Embers off I-94 in Rogers, and a new family business was born. At the same time, George started dreaming about adapting his dad's much-loved apple pie recipe to fit the fair format.
"My dad and I would always watch the news when they'd talk about the new foods at the Minnesota State Fair, and he would say, 'I wish we could do baked apple pies there.' But the [full-size] pies take five hours to make," George says. "So I had this idea to make individual pies and deep-fry them."
"I said it was impossible," interrupts Libby.
"But my sister and I decided to experiment anyway. She tweaked some things and it worked," George says.
Though it took nine months of trial and error to perfect the recipe, Libby and Andy got on board with the idea and supported George as he pursued opportunities to sell the Minneapple Pie outside the restaurant. Last November, George and Joanne made a pitch to Delaware North, which manages the concessions at Target Field, and found themselves at the stadium on opening day. Initial sales have exceeded their expectations, with about 100 pies being gobbled up by hungry Twins fans at each game.
"If they're winning, people eat and drink more," George notes. "I think it's going to get better and better."
The churn
The third annual St. Paul Summer Beer Fest takes place Saturday at the State Fairgrounds. More than 70 breweries took part last year.
- The Heavy Table team writes about food and drink in the Upper Midwest five days a week, twice a day, at www.heavytable.com.
