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Now that people are aware that I'm collecting Famous Dave's experiences, I am being treated with even more respect than when I was an anonymous customer--and that's saying a lot. I have always found the staff at every Famous Dave's to be friendly and generous. What follows is my best (or most typical) experience at every Famous Dave's I have visited. Scroll down for my experience with the St. Cloud opening. |
Location | Date Visited | Experience | | | Michigan | | Grandville | March 19, 2008 | Pleasant staff, calm afternoon. | | | | | | | Minnesota | Apple Valley (1,3) | July 29, 2007 | The Apple Valley people gave me a Wilbur cup! They were all friendly and interested in my trek. 
Wilbur | Baxter | summer 2006 (often) | I've been a regular since Baxter opened, as it's the second-closest to St. Cloud. I always get good service and excellent food. | Bloomington | August 10, 2005 | This tiny Dave's was the one where I introduced a New York friend to pork barbecue. She was very impressed. | Burnsville (1,2,3) | July 29, 2007 | The Burnsville people found my story interesting and kindly gave me directions to Apple Valley. They have a charming little restaurant with outdoor seating. | Coon Rapids | April 1, 2007 (no joke!) | I wanted to be here for Opening Day, but I missed it. The guy at the bar was good fun, and as it's close, I'll be a frequent visitor. | Cross Lake | May 2004, but it closed | I got to use a birthday card here, and I won a dessert. I loved the setting, but the location was a challenge to find, and it closed and moved to Baxter later. | Duluth (1) | September 2003 | I have visited the Duluth location several times, because I visit the city often. I usually sit outside. Once I sat inside, and I had a charming but forgetful server. I got everything I was after, eventually. | Mall of America | September 2005 (often) | The Mall store is perfect for a shopping break. They also fry the catfish fingers perfectly. | Maple Grove (1) | September 2003 (often) | My most frequent stop, thanks to its location. Very good service, friendly management. | Minnetonka (1) | July 1, 2007 | Looks over a pond and is extremely well-run. Great staff. | Plymouth (1,3) | autumn 2005 | One of the small venues, very friendly staff. | Roseville (3) | June 30, 2007 | Right there on Nicollet, I found it by surprise. Everything was perfect here, as usual. | St. Cloud (4) | November 12, 2007 (often) | It was worth the long wait. Great people, met Wilbur. On Opening Day I mentioned that I was used to drinking premium root beer at Famous Dave's (rather than Mug), and after I ate there every day of their first week open, they went out and bought me my own IBC root beer! That was the kindest gesture from any restaurant, ever. Here's a pic of the very bottle they used to surprise me. 
A gift from Famous Dave's, St. Cloud! | St. Paul/ Highland Park (3,4) | July 29, 2007 | Such kind people! When the register person told the manager I was touring the Famous Dave's, she sent out this bottle of sauce. I will think of this place whenever I use it at home, and I will visit often, because this was a great bunch of people. 
Sauce! | Stillwater | autumn 2005 | Friendly people, but they could take a lesson from the Mall about how much to cook catfish fingers. I thought they were blackened, but they were just black. | West St. Paul (1,2,3) | July 15, 2007 | Nice patio, first Famous Dave's drive-thru I ever saw, kind people. | | MN State Fair | August 26, 2007 | I went last year as well, and now that I know this place has been open for ten years, I'm counting it! | | | | | | Ohio | Sandusky | July 2006 | A surprise during a Cedar Point Visit, very much up to standards. | | | | | | Wisconsin | Eau Claire | July 7, 2007 | The bar serves 1919 root beer, which is a very good thing. I'm glad I stopped here. | Janesville | July 7, 2007 | The staff enjoyed learning that I was on a mission. They had just started serving Sprecher root beer on tap, and the tap still tasted of beer. They set me up with a bottle instead, and it was all good. They introduced me to wings as well. | | LaCrosse | April 2006 | I stopped here on my way to Indiana. It was my first non-Minnesota Famous Dave's, and going there planted the seed of the idea to visit all 250+ restaurants. | Wisconsin Dells | June 4, 2008 | Unique building, joyous atmosphere. |
All Famous Dave's logos are the property of Famous Dave's, Inc. © 2008, Famous Dave's, Inc. Photos are © 2008 Seán Dwyer. |
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