WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It is an eye-opener, a hangover cure and some would say a nutritious breakfast. What can't the Bloody Mary do?
Downtown Minneapolis welcomed the irreverent and irresistible Hell's Kitchen 13 years ago.
"We're the busiest restaurant in the Midwest in terms of volume," Hell's Kitchen President Pat Forciea said. "We get a lot of folks from really all over Minnesota."
And as they have grown, so has the demand for their Bloody Mary's. They unveiled their newest addition about a year ago: The Jacked Up Bloody Mary Bar.
It is a massive build-your-own buffet with all the fixings, from sweet to savory.
"On a Saturday or Sunday, there's 35 feet here full of chicken wings, Buffalo wings, beef jerky, celery, fruit ... waffles, deviled eggs," Forciea said. "We wanted to give people the freedom to let their imagination kind of go crazy."
The rule is if it fits in your glass, it is fair game.
"Some of our repeat customers have gotten pretty clever through the use of toothpicks and straws. To me, they're building doggone three- and four-story condos. It's pretty crazy!" Forciea said. "There's really only been one time I've stepped in. About a year ago, a young man had built up an awesome Bloody Mary, but then he started putting chicken wings in one pocket and Buffalo wings in another pocket. You are free to build that bad boy as high as you want, but it's not a to-go."
The backdrop to the bar is a wall of hot sauce. There are 250 kinds, with punchy names like "devil tears," and the appetizing "swamp juice."
"We have four categories of sauces. And if you're going to pick one of the ones that is the hottest, we ask you to sign a little insurance waiver," Forciea said. "We do make you sign it. We've not had anybody keel over."
Now we know what puts the hell is Hell's Kitchen.
"There's a whole lot of people who feel that they really know how to make the best bloody in town. And they do," Forciea said. "What we do here is give them the tools to do that."
The Jacked Up Bloody Mary Bar is Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is just under $15. If that is not your thing, they also have a build-your-own mimosa bar.
Your other favorite spots to build a bloody are Psycho Suzi's in Minneapolis and the Wild Onion in St. Paul.
