It was Sunday, October 20, 1985. I was a scrawny, 22 year old kid who’d been relocated to the Twin Cities – at this point, a couch in Burnsville – for exactly five days. I’d already had a couple job interviews (for jobs I would not get), and had just finished looking at a rental room in Powderhorn Park (which I also didn’t get), and was taking a brief culture day, visiting the old Northern Lights (long gone), First Avenue and Seventh Street Entry and Schinders.
I walked up Sixth Street, a little hungry, but willing to part with a little bit of my small supply of cash for my first big city meal. I wandered over past Hennepin, and saw a neon sign beckoning to me: Murray’s, home of the Butterknife Steak.
To a 22 year old enamored of the forties, of Casablanca, of guys in felt greatcoats and fedoras driving 1946 Buicks, it was one of those things my dreams of the big city were made of.
But not quite yet. Not on my budget.
I turned and walked into Lyon’s Pub and had a burger and a Bass Ale. And I plotted – someday, when I’ve “made it in the big city”, I was gonna go into Murray’s, in a nice suit, with my improbably gorgeous and out-of-my-league girlfriend, and have a waiter treat me like I was something other than a flea-bitten recent college grad in a rust-bucket 1973 Monte Carlo, and order exactly anything we wanted.
Someday. Not that day – but someday.
Well, I didn’t “make it” quite to the extent of my fantasies at that age. Although in some ways, I did a lot better than I’d imagined. And in recent years (especially now that I can fit into a much better -looking suit), about a year ago I started thinking – maybe that someday is here?
And I’m hoping I didn’t wait too long:
Hang in there, Mr. Murray. I’ll be there ASAP when this nonsense is over.
My heart goes out to his family. I know how it feels to have your business dream destroyed by government stupidity.
I’ve passed the Silver Butter Knife sign many times, but never eaten at Murray’s because I always believed it was too rich for the likes of me. Looking at their on-line menu, I see that’s not true – their prices are no worse than Rudy’s Redeye or Axel’s Bonfire or even Outback. Of course, I’m too cheap to eat there, either (Best Steak House at University and Victoria is more my speed). If Murray’s can survive, I’ll make a point of trying them, just to say “I did it.”
Despite all that, I hope he doesn’t get the stimulus payment he seeks. The cure to the shut-down is not a subsidy – that only prolongs the misery, and passes it to others. The cure to the shut-down is to end the shut-down.
I’ve eaten there a couple of times.Great steaks and service.
The VP of Sales at a company that I worked for in the 1980s,held two of his sales management team dinners there, so I didn’t pay for those times.
My father and mother in law gave us bought dinner there for my wife and I on our 20th wedding anniversary in 98.
I ate there a few times when I worked in downtown Mpls and the vendors treated out of the old expense account. I did take my wife one year for our anniversary. It’s a wonderful place. If it returns, enjoy the garlic toast and the steaks, too!
Couple days ago, Joe Doakes related his loss of his rental property. I must have missed his tear stained plea for some government gibs.
These pass it along guys are pathetic. The local junta would level every “3rd generation” operation in the city before they’d close 1 Department of Feelz Good Man. This disaster has been coming at them for years, they were just too busy paying their “protection” fee every week to notice.
Whenever I come to MN, I tell my kids that I’ll be buying dinner, naturally. It’s always a hefty bill feeding them, trust me. But I always remind them to pick a NOT Minneapolis place, and a NOT St. Paul place. I’m all for paying every penny good food is worth, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to add $25 to the bill to pay all of the extra fees the reprobates in charge tack on.
It’s not just the money; it’s where the money goes and what it’s used for. I don’t chip in to the kitty that pays people to harm me and mine.
There’s going to be a lot of restaurants closed in the coming months. There will be a lot of closed businesses of every description. But they won’t be in states with GOP Governors. Our state is wide open for business, as is every state in the SE with a GOP Governor, and our local restaurants are busier than ever.
I’m sorry these guys are on the skids, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to buy into any bail out scheme that helps a leftist rat nest like Mpls or SP, or Chicago, or Detroit, or NYC, or any city in California. Small businessmen don’t have the clout to push back on the reprobates like Elon Musk does. Their best bet is to cut losses and gtfo of there.
And if you choose not to, well again, don’t squirt tears on my shoes.
Berg really need to change the name of this blog to “Will your comment get moderated? Who knows? It’s a Shot in the Dark”. or maybe Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Old news, Swiftee.
My only altenrative, until Akismet develops some customer service, is to turn off comments.
Well, I must say that my favorite steak house in the Twin Cities is Kincaid’s in Bloomington, followed by Pittsburgh Blue in Edina or Maple Grove. Kincaid’s is less than half a mile from my house.
Now, every now and then, my brother in law cons me into going to Best Steak House on 54th and Nicollet, but they have gone down hill a bit over the past couple of years. Maybe their protection money payment went up, so they had to buy lesser quality meat.
Lindees isn’t quite in the same class, but it’s a great place to try as well.
I can make a better steak than any steak house “chef.”
Also, lamb chops.
I am the grill master.
Samesies…. I’m 51, and I’ve always wanted to go Murrays…basically because I’ve been hearing Sid give away silver butterknife steaks on the radio for 40 years…. and I’ve not made it over there yet.
These “Best” steak houses are not that good. Cheap, and not that good.
I’m with Swiftee. Living rural I avoid doing any business that requires crossing the loop and entering either of the Twin Cities. Granted the dining options may be a little more limited there’s still plenty of good spots to patronize for a good meal.
Listening to the audio, it seems that Murray’s was having some serious problems–debt, back taxes, etc..–before this whole thing got going. I wish them well–love the old chophouses and a personal friend of mine at church used to run one (Michael’s in Rochester)–but I am going to dare suggest that the kung flu is not the killing blow per se, but rather the coup de grace as the patient lay dying.
Side note is that word around Rochester is that the old style chop house is a tough business model these days–trendy, chic, smaller steakhouses are more what’s going these days, like Joe notes. The sad thing about this is that the restaurants Joe mentions really don’t do the dry aging that makes a Murray’s or other “old style” steakhouse steak special.