Pat's Tap: 35th & Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis

The Godfather’s Take: Pat’ Tap is fairly new to the TC Burger scene opening late 2011. This place is truly another little neighborhood joint with no off street parking and an understated, almost unnoticeable facade. However, it’s owned by the notable local operator, Pat Bartmann of Red Stag Supper Club, Barbette, and Bryant-Lake Bowl! So you guessed it, this place is loaded with character and feels like it was opened decades ago.

But, it’s hard to put your finger on what decade! There is a lot going on here with the prohibition bar, skee-ball, juke box, beat up bar stools, Green Bay Packer memorabilia (for Pat) combined with an overload of eclectic, modern wall paintings and decorative borders. If you don’t like the feel of the bar, just turn your head ten degrees until you do! But, we are not here to put our fingers on the era of this place…we are here to put our fingers on their burgers!

We got a tip that Pat’s Tap had a tasty, notable burger, maybe even worth a stint in our
Top 10, so we scouted it out a couple times actually before our official TCBurgertour.com landing. Our tipster was right! This is a hot, juicy, thick burger smothered in cheese with a soft, beautiful bun. See how they actually grill the cheese too! Our TCBurgerTour loved Pat’s Tap enough to crack our Top 10 (avg score 8.95) which means there is skee-ball in your future!  Here is Big Scott’s take. -Bruce Carlson

G-Force (right) waits for Law & Order's (left) reaction

Big Scott’s Take: Pat's Tap on 35^th and Nicollet in South Minneapolis is as neighbor-hoody as it gets with a great beer list, dart board, pool table, and even skee ball to prove it.  Even over our lunch visit, skee-ball was a great hit with patrons. I went with the Big Cheese Burger with fries but, split the fries with a tour buddy so I could try his chips as well.  The fries were fine but, the chips were better - especially when you consider the $2 up-charge to sub fries.  The burger was cooked perfectly medium rare with tasty toasted Swiss cheese. I would definitely return to Pat's Tap but, actually more for the atmosphere than the burger.  A spring/summer visit would be great with a trip to their outdoor patio and a few games of skee ball.