Whistle Stop Café - Hinkley, MN

A satisfying enough road lunch with zero curb appeal on The Road to Ely . . . 

The Whistle Stop Café is about an hour north of the Twin Cities, on the non-casino side of Hinkley.  I wouldn't call it ugly exactly, but it couldn't be much more of an unshowy non-descript building.  Inside has a bit of character; train decor, wood paneling gone wild.  Looks like they did a major expansion in the past few years, and it paid off because it was absolutely HOPPING at lunch on Father's Day 

But how was the food?

Reubans seem to be my jam on roadtrips, and theirs was fairly stellar.  Nicely grilled marble rye, a good balance of kraut to corned beef.  The coleslaw was better than typical.  Not overly generous in size, but I want to say wasn't much over $10, and a perfect size for lunch without feeling stuffed

The lady's Chef Salad w/Ham and Toast was utilitarian, nothing special

Their kids Tiny Tanks Cheeseburger and half order of Fries won't win any awards, but the kiddo mowed it down, and I particularily like these kind of fries

If there's chili on the menu, I'm likely going to order a cup, so we topped off lunch with a cup of Chili, and a thankfully brothy instead of creamy Chicken & Dumpling soup.  They were each fine

Outside of the Rueben not much stood out, so we'll continue trying other places along the route before hitting Whistle Stop again, but it didn't break the bank either, so we'd happily give it another go at some point

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

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Whistle Stop Café - 305 Old Highway 61 S, Hinckley, MN 55037

320-384-6106

www.whistlestopcafehinckley.com