Muffin Top Cafe in Loring Park

Muffin Top Cafe is the morning half of this building and the older half of this idea. We opened it when this corner was still becoming a place we lived in, not just a place we leased. Coffee, espresso, tea, smoothies, frappes. Muffins. The tops, yes. Blueberry, double chocolate, lemon poppyseed. Bagels. Cinnamon rolls. The pastry case that makes a 7:15 a.m. walk feel like a plan.

The name is the name. If you have seen the sitcom you already have the joke. If you have not, it is still a muffin, and the top is still the point. We are not going to workshop it in this paragraph.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. After that the room belongs more loudly to Mother Clucker's. Before that you can sit down with a mocha or a London Fog or a plain coffee and not perform brunch. Caffeinated Happy Hour runs 2 to 4 p.m. on weekdays: 2-for-1 taps and rails, coffee drinks, $3 off appetizers. It is the afternoon version of taking yourself seriously without going home.

The Breakfast Club is the free loyalty card across our Minneapolis rooms. Points, a little money off, birthday if you actually come in on your birthday. I like a program that does not require an app sermon.

From 7 to 4 you come in through the cafe. That is not a riddle. That is the door. You can eat cafe food. You can look at pastry. You can start smelling pizza and stay on coffee anyway. Or you can fold and order a slice. The building will not tell on you.

— Sam