Dive Night ~ Macaluso's Roadhouse

Dive Night is a once monthly adventure undertaken by me and Husby, along with our friends Ruthie and Ray. Each couple alternates choosing a restaurant, one which must come under the category of "dive." Our definition of dive: a neighborhood gathering spot hiding under the radar. Casual atmosphere and good food. We're out to find the best food in the Minneapolis/St Paul area without having to pay a fortune or dress up. A sip of beer or wine doesn't hurt either. 

A long time ago I went to a little bar with my motorcycle -driving boyfriend.  We were young and foolish and very brave.  This little bar had a reputation of serving the toughest bikers in the area, but like I said, we were young, foolish and very brave.  We had a drink and left the bar unscathed.  I never returned...until now.

The bar has probably changed hands since I visited over two decades ago, but it's still known to cater to the biker types.  I'm not so young and foolish any more, but I can still be pretty brave.  We entered Macaluso's Roadhouse like we owned the place.

The first thing we noticed after we seated ourselves at a booth was this...

Happy hour from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.  You gotta love a place like that.  Interestingly, when Ruthie asked our waitress what kind of wine they had she left and returned with a list.  A very generic list.  The waitress's "cheat sheet" to be precise.  Pinot Grigio was actually a choice, so Ruthie and I had one.  The guys both had a beer.  True to a dive they also offered free popcorn, serve yourself of course.

It wasn't very good popcorn, but I didn't expect too much.  I also ate plenty.  I think I was hungry.  There was also a nice meat raffle girl walking around selling numbers.  I asked what kind of meat we would win and she hesitated.  I asked "animal meat?"  She concurred with a relieved smile. 

The view from where I was sitting was less than optimal.  Basically I was facing Ruthie and Ray, who were sitting in front of a wall.  Seems that happened last time we went out too.  I'm going to have to make sure that doesn't happen next time.  I did turn around at one point to get a photo of the place.  The disco ball was particularly endearing.

I was kind of amazed at the variety of food Macaluso's offered ~ everything from pasta to burgers.  We began with appetizers, as usual.  These included chicken nuggets with BBQ and ranch dipping sauces (we requested two and weren't charged extra) and fried ravioli served with marinara dipping sauce. 

The ravioli was especially good, I thought.  The appetizer plates were styrofoam.

Entrees came with either chips or baked french fries.  Our waitress failed to ask us what we wanted so we got chips.  When we said we wanted the french fries the cook said it would be another twenty-five minutes as they're baked, not fried.  I would have liked to try those, but was too hungry to wait another half hour.  The chips were fine with my meal.

My Italian Hoagie

Husby's Taco Basket

Ruthie's Meaball Sub

Ray's Hot Dago

All of us enjoyed our meals immensely.  Really, I really wasn't expecting food that good.  Just goes to show you, can't judge cuisine by its clientelle.  Hot and delicious, really flavorful.  Apparently their pizza is also very good, and I'm pretty sure Husby and I will try it sometime.  They have take-out and delivery on their pizza. 

There was one other thing I really loved about Macaluso's was the t-shirts worn by the waitresses.  Check it out...

Sounds like something I'd say. 

If you're feeling brave you should really try Macaluso's Roadhouse.  Dress down.  Wear leather if you've got it.  You won't regret your visit.  And really?  Those bikers are actually very nice people.  Don't let them scare you.  However, you should know we arrived for our dining adventure around 5:45.  I can't vouch for the atmosphere after 7:00.  If you're feeling really brave, check it out and let me know how it goes.