If Twin Cities diners could travel back 40 years, what names from today's dining scene would be familiar to them? Here's a walk down memory lane. This is by no means a definitive list:
Minneapolis
- Al's Breakfast has been helping Dinkytown wake up for 59 years.
- Curran's Family Restaurant started as a drive-in in 1948 before morphing into a full-service restaurant in the 1970s.
- Jax Cafe is a 76-year-old landmark with roots that go back to Stanley Kozlak; today Bill Kozlak Jr., his great-grandson, is at the helm.
- Murray's has been famous for decades for its 28-oz. strip sirloin for two, carved tableside.
- Nye's Polonaise Room has been a dining and drinking magnet since 1949.
- Oak Grill opened on the 12th floor of Dayton's department store in 1947 and, despite changes in ownership, is still there.
- Our Kitchen has been making morning brighter in south Minneapolis since 1941.
- Peter's Grill has been serving short-order favorites -- and fantastic apple pie -- to downtowners since 1914.
St. Paul
- Cecil's Delicatessen has been chopping liver since 1949.
- Cossetta Italian Market now serves fans pouring in and out of Xcel Energy Center, but diners have long headed there in search of pizza and pasta.
- Dari-ette Drive-In and the Fida family have been flipping burgers and stirring red sauce since 1951.
- DeGidio's Restaurant & Bar, which is still operated by founder Joe "Kid Bullets" DeGidio's descendants, originated in 1933.
- The Lexington, the grande dame that everyone shortens to "the Lex," has been at the center of St. Paul goings-on since 1935.
- Mancini's Char House & Lounge has offered charcoal-broiled steaks and back-slapping hospitality since 1968.
- Mickey's Diner has been slinging hash in its faux railroad car since 1937.
- O'Gara's Bar & Grill hails from 1941.
- St. Clair Broiler has been anchoring the corner of St. Clair and Snelling since 1956.
- St. Paul Corner Drug (240 S. Snelling Av., 651-698-8859) still has inexpensive ice cream cones and coffee on the menu at its old-fashioned soda fountain.
- Yarusso-Bros. Italian Restaurant, begun in 1933, is now the work of siblings David, Fred and Michael Yarusso.
The burbs
- Convention Grill and memorable burgers have been mainstays since 1934.
- Denny's 5th Avenue Bakery (7850 5th Av. S., 952-881-4445, Bloomington) started in 1969 turning out cakes, bear claws, fruit-filled turnovers and fritters, Bismarcks and other favorites.
- Fireside Pizza (6736 Penn Av. S., Richfield, 612-869-4040) has been laying on the pepperoni since John F. Kennedy was elected president.
- Lions Tap has been flipping burgers since the late 1950s.
- Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge (3746 Sunset Drive, Spring Park, 952-471-8513), Lake Minnetonka's longtime dockside favorite, opened for business in 1968.
- Wally's Roast Beef (2113 W. 90th St., Bloomington, 952-884-4349) served its first signature sandwich in 1969.
