L & L Homestyle Café - Monticello, MN

Excellent Reuben, stellar kid's meal value . . . L & L is a welcome new addition on The Road to Alexandria . . . 

Driving out to western Minnesota for a long Memorial Day weekend, we got off to a late start.  In dire need of a late lunch not TOO far along our route, I was lucky to find the new and under construction L & L Homestyle Café.  It's about a half hour past the 694/494 Loop, and just a tidge off The 94 in downtown Monticello.  They just opened in January, but are already hitting the spot

Jumping right to the food . . . 

The Rueben was a cut above.  Nice toasted marble rye, and stellar THICK housemade corned beef.  I'd order it again in a heartbeat

Not so much for their meh Chicken Wild Rice soup.  The lady thought it was blah with too much flower; I thought it wasn’t better than canned, though the overly large meaty chunks of chicken seemed fresh

Even though we were ordering to take and eat on the road, the lady just couldn't resist the Egg Cochon off the May Specials . . . 

I can't quite say what made it a twist on New Orleans . . . not cajun spiced, no trinity of onion, pepper, and celery . . . but she dug it.  I'm not much of a Bene fan, but I had a fair taste.  Hashbrowns were textbook, the buiscuit was nice.  Shredded pork had a hint of smokiness, but not a ton of flavor, and was maybe a TOO generous amount

Their Kids cheeseburger was well above par for a kiddie menu, and a steal at only $6 with a side.  A lot of bun to patty, but she didn’t mind

What was an A+ surprise was the giant side of fresh fruit.  No lousy processed shelf stable snack cup.  Part of it was strawberries for the cheesecake, but still . . . it was a generous side of fresh fruit, LIGHTYEARS beyond typical small packaged snackpack fruit cups, and it’s the kind of thing that would move us to go here versus someplace else.  I don't think lots of restaurants GET how important that can be to us as parents, but L&L certainly does

Speaking of that House-made Cheesecake with Sweet Strawberries, another May Special . . . was a lovely fresh slice of cheesecake.  What made is special was all three of us noting the crust.  Nice bite, crunch, and seasoned with sugar and spices?  Loved it.  Sell me some pie crust cookies like that

She wasn't exactly pretty out side yet in May on a gloomy overcast day, but construction is still on-going, and I bet by now that patio is the place to be for brunch on the weekend

So yeah, L & L.  A definite recommend

Comments, Questions, Two Bit Opinions, and Whatnot are welcome:

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L & L Homestyle Café - 154 W Broadway St, Monticello, MN 55362

763-314-0023

IG #llhomestylecafe

www.llhomestylecafe.com