All 24 pages of the March 1, 1978, edition of Taste were devoted to a Q&A format: Readers asked questions, and Taste answered. Mrs. Edward Brogan of Edina wrote, "Where do you go after theater, after concerts, after the symphony, for a late supper?"
Given today's not-huge late-night dining options, it wouldn't have been surprising if, 32 years ago, the most accurate response would have been, "Home."
But no, staff writer Ann Burckhardt rattled off eight post-curtain dinner and dessert suggestions. They included apple pie with Cheddar cheese ($1.20) at the Black Angus and baked Alaska for two ($2.50) at the Radisson Hotel's Flame Room. Crossroads Restaurant and Lounge in the IDS Center was known for its hot ham-and-cheese sandwich ($2.95), and the Lincoln Del was the place for cheese blintzes (two for $2.65).
Onion soup ($2) and a pita stuffed with vegetables and cheese ($2.75) were the items to order at Dudley Riggs' Café Espresso, washed down with a then-exotic espresso (50 cents). The splurge dish? An open-faced sandwich topped with crab, water chestnuts and green pepper from the Little Prince. Cost: $5.95, which is roughly $20 in 2010 dollars.
But it was the Magic Pan Crêperie that seemed to capture Burckhardt's attention. "[The restaurant] offers so many toothsome-sounding desserts that manager Dick Atkinson is hard put to name the top three," she wrote. Her favorite: "Crêpes Beignet," a concoction of "hot, toasted, cinnamon-sugared crêpe strips to be dipped into brandied apricot sauce, raspberry sauce or chocolate sauce." A serving for two was $2.95.
RICK NELSON
