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Ideal Diner
For years I would drive by this colorful diner on Central Avenue and in my mind it would conjure romantic blue-collar imagery of sitting down at a Formica counter, the smell of bacon in the air, elbow to elbow with other customers while having a hot cuppa java and a delicious “greasy spoon” breakfast. Eventually I moved just a mile away from the Ideal Diner in northeast Minneapolis and became a regular, delighted to find that it is exactly as I imagined. Built in 1949, the diner feels as authentic as it was the day it first opened. I wish more places could stay this way. Don't be shy like I was all those years - stop in and enjoy the nostalgia, not to mention the excellent scratch made food.