Blue Ox Tavern

Outstanding customer service, super friendly and very welcoming! Nate was our bartender and did a great job taking care of us. Honestly, it was super dead in the Ox when we were there but the staff was fantastic and we'll definitely be going back in the future. Great locals watering hole.

For what looks to be a divey little place, I really liked it here.  Its off to the back of a strip mall so its easy to miss so pay attention.

This place is really clean.  I mean super clean.  I mean I couldn't stop looking at how clean the carpet was.  And my friend even commented on the carpet too when she saw me looking at it.  Its really that clean.

The surprising part is that there is no divider between the bar and dining area and you don't smell smoke at all unless someone is actively smoking at that moment.  The downside is the fact that there is no divider - and I reeked by the time I got home.  

This is a Minnesota Vikings bar for anyone who cares about that.

The waitress couldn't have been nicer and took really good care of us.  The food was good too.  We just had sandwiches but both meals were good.  The waitress also gave us a discount thingy to return at a later date.

They also have a jukebox which explains why there was such awesome music playing while we were there.

All in all a good place to catch up or hang out for a bit.

My family ended up here based on the reviews here from yelp. My search was "low priced" and "off strip". The restaurant had very good reviews, actually unusually good with essentially no poor reviews.

We met the owner while there as he can around to the table to greet and check on us. He explained that the restaurant was his dream come true. He opened it about 15 years ago and decorated it to look like a mid-western basement. The ambiance he was looking for was definitely achieved. The wood paneling and overall decor are representative of a Midwestern basement from the 80s or 90s. He is an obvious and vocal fan of Minnesota.

We ordered off the menu based on reviews as well. We ended up enjoying the best nachos I've ever had. The portion was humongous too, enough for 4 to split as an appetizer for sure. The fresh chips are fantastic and can't be effectively described in words. We each had a burger and I went with the chipotle blue cheese burger. It was juicy and cooked to perfection, if a bit heavy on the blue cheese. The burgers come with a small bag of chips, there is an up-charge for fries or coleslaw, and a larger up-charge for onion rings and other options. However, there is a discount if you "check in" on Facebook that makes up for the up-charge.

Also, the bathrooms are clean and nice.

Really we had a great time and will definitely be going back. I mean it was so good I even came back on yelp to write my own review.