Location

4301 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis
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Ratings

Pros

Good location near 35W, Lake Harriet, Roadrunner Records and the legendary (?) Currans Restaurant; cool interior; great coffee and interesting twist on typical cafe lunch food.

Cons

Can get crowded; limited access to electrical outlets for laptop users.

Review

I had initially set out to review Anodyne a few reviews back (which, due to the vagaries of summer schedules, is now nearly two months ago), but arrived at a peak time to find the place hot and crowded. I decided to postpone the review for another day, and went to Caffe Tempo instead.

Today I’m back at Anodyne, which I have learned is one of my regular readers’ (my regular reader’s?) favorite spots… as determined by the fact that she is here right now! (Hi, Kandace!)

I’ll try not to let her enthusiasm for the place unduly influence my review, but overall I have a pretty favorable impression. The Anodyne crowd is definitely mostly a morning crowd, because when I came in July around 9:30 AM the place was packed. Today, there are plenty of people, but only about half of the seats are taken, despite the fact that it’s lunchtime (noon, almost on the dot). This is not a reflection on the quality of the food: I ordered a curried turkey salad sandwich with blue tortilla chips. The curried turkey is excellent — there’s a nice sweetness and just the right amount of salt (i.e. not too much). There’s just enough dressing so it’s not dry, but not so much that it’s messy. I’d like a little bit more spiciness (that is to say, any spiciness), but it’s still a tasty sandwich.

The coffee is also excellent. I ordered a cappuccino as usual. Nice amount of foam. Not too hot, but hot enough. Just the right amount of bitterness. It’s an excellent complement to the sandwich, which is kind of surprising.

The service was fast and friendly. My sandwich and coffee were ready almost as soon as I ordered them. I found myself a seat at the end of the large communal table in the center of the space. It’s an interesting idea, and would make for an excellent place to have a meeting or gathering of friends. It’s not really the ideal place to work, however — there are no immediately accessible outlets (good thing I have a fully-charged battery), and the table is a bit too high for laptop use. There are a number of other small tables, however, and a couple of groupings of sofas and comfy chairs, and the plum-and-gray decor is soothing. This is a pleasant place to come and hang out.

Overall, I’m glad I’ve given Anodyne a second chance. I’ll probably avoid it in the midmorning, but it’s a great afternoon coffee destination in the Kingfield neighborhood.