Uncle Moe’s Deli & Drafts

The made-​from-​scratch curry ketchup is sooooo good!

:edit: Apparently I never actually submitted this review. I believe the place has since closed. There’s a letter on the door, which I assume is some sort of eviction notice or similar (saw it while driving by, so didn’t read).
Stopped in a while ago, desperately hopeful that a decent place to eat on campus had appeared. I don’t venture towards Dinkytown too often during the winter, but I was nearby. The interior is nearly identical to the old Downtime (oh how I miss Wednesday all you can eat pizza and ribs and all you can drink PBR and long islands!)
Anyway, the place was empty except for the guy working. I went over the menu and decided on the philly with fries. Mind you, the prices are for the sandwich and the fries are extra. I forgot the total, but for the price of the sandwich I would have expected fries. I took it to go, as I was in a hurry. I was kind of looking around the place, remembering good times in Downtime when my girlfriend nudged me. «The guy’s not wearing any gloves» she said as I look over to see the cook handling my food. Not a huge deal in my book, but with an «open kitchen» a little surprising.
So I get home and open it up. The sandwich is a decent size. First bite: the meat is tough and the bread was dry. The fries? Not horrible, not great. But there were barely a handful. I decided to stop by Five Guys and get some real fries. For less money, I got 5 times the fries.
Long story short, maybe there’s hope for this place, but not unless the food improves and the prices become more reasonable.

Stopped in to check it out, they had a pretty decent italian beef, they dipped the bun so nice and messy, had to eat with a fork. Their fries were nothing special, if I were to go back, I would just get the sandwich and no fries.
Service was really friendly, not sure if it was a part owner, but he took time to answer my questions about the menu and he knew the answers to my questions.
Still no drafts, for me probably just an occasional lunch spot, but I recommend stopping in.

On my trip to MN I stopped in to Uncle Moe’s.
I give them 5 stars not because they’re somefancy, expensive restaurant but because they have taken the burger to new places. Firstly you have your choice of beef, turkey or vegan patties but they use fresh ingredients and in-​house created recipe toppers that add terrific flair and turn the ordinary into the extra ordinary.
I had the New Ulm style burger and it was delicious. I also tried the sweet potato fries that were as good as any I’ve eaten. Next was a side of freshy made cole slaw, mmmm…
They also have flatbread’s and other items on the menu so let me be clear to point out that bergers are not the only choices.
If you’re looking for fresh flavors and a meal worth the money stop in.

I’ve been waiting for weeks to see that Uncle Moe’s Deli & Drafts had officially opened its doors, and FYI — they haven’t had a grand opening yet… It is to come! That being said, I have an honest review to give.
This past weekend I strolled on in to Uncle Moe’s Deli & Drafts with a couple of friends who have never been to any of the restaurants the former owner of Mayslack’s had established, and I belived that Uncle Moe’s presented a unique opportunity for them to try some truly decent eats. And, because of the location, it was hard to tell if they were open on the outside looking in…
On the outside, Uncle Moe’s Deli and Drafts may not look like much… in fact it looks just like every other shop that Dinkydome has to offer on the outside, only this one has food involved. On the inside, having on pieced this placed together in only two or three months, it looks presentable. There’s a deli style seating area near the window, and table of various height and sizes for those who choose to eat in… granted there’s no wi-​fi yet and the plug in/​table placement may be a little off, but all all that I can look past since I’m not a college student trying to kill time between classes with food, facebook or a little on line research. I also know the layout will probably change before the grand opening.
Layout aside, it’s the food that I’m interested in, and even though there’s a food cooler available for the grab and go type, the food counter is where the action is at. Head Chef Jason was there this past Saturday to prepare our food, and yes, I did say Head Chef. I have had the pleasure of eating his prepared food previously, and it was devine! But, how does it fair at a smaller venue? Prep tables aside, the food was most excellent. I had the Southside Philly Naan with sweet potato fries, and the fries were perfect… perfect thickness, not too thin, and salted just right. The naan-​wich could’ve used just a touch more meat, but it was delicious and crispy after being taken out of the fire brick oven. I even had a little tid-​bit for dessert — key lime parfait with perfect cookie crunch and just the right amount of tart, (From the grab and go cooler — yum.) My friends said that the burgers were far superior and much less expensive than Five Guys, just down the block, and the best complement came from a «non» burger eater. She said that it was the best burger she’s had in years… perfectly cooked and very juicy… even the to-​go burger that she grabbed for her husband held up and passed his burger test. Bun was not soggy and everything was packaged the way she had asked for it to be for delivery.
Speaking of burgers — three burger style options are available (Beef, Turkey and Veggie), several sandwich options — traditional and flatbread, pasta and pizza, and the best of the best in my world — this place is serving locally sustainable foods and soon to come microbrews and wines. Gotta love a place that uses LOCALLY GROWN, CERTIFIED ORGANIC foods with VEGAN options, and THEY RECYCLE, so they will pick up the trash for you… which is probably why you won’t find a trash bin. They work for your service, not the other way around.
Service is a bit unique, but we chose to go on a weekend, so I don’t know how it runs during the week… Jill took our order, Jason prepped it, and Jill brought the food out to us at our table. She also came back to pick up the mess when we were done. Very nice indeed… more like a full service restaurant than a place that promotes grab and go. You won’t hear me complain.
Anyway, I liked the place, and can’t wait to see what tasty microbrews and wines will be on the drinks menu in the next month.
Growing pains aside, stop in and check them out. I think you’ll be able to overlook a few minor details in favor of CERTIFIED ORGANIC LOCALLY GROWN foods that taste awesome prepared by an excellent staff in a location that has potential and is still growing.
PROS: home-​style eats cooked up with locally grown certified organic foods, fast and friendly service that cooks up Vegan eats and Uncle Moe’s recycles for you.
CONS: location is in Dinkydome shops, so the closest parking is a block away, they’re still growing, so expect changes, and was hard to tell if was open.

I’m glad to have a place that has so many options for burgers (beef, turkey, or vegan) and toppings as well! Lingonberry mayo? Love it.
For our first visit, a friend and I tried the pesto pecorino flatbread and the southwest hummus salad. The flatbread was fairly good, with some really flavorful pesto and generous shavings of pecorino (my favorite kind of cheese!) The hummus salad was basically two scoops of hummus with some pita and veggies, pre-​assembled and stored in a refrigerated cooler next to the counter, where anyone can come in and grab a salad, sandwich, etc. If I’d known that ordering a hummus salad entailed the cashier walking to the cooler and handing me the salad, I would have gone with something else. I know that Uncle Moe’s is trying to position itself as a place where you can eat in or grab-​and-​go quickly, but since I was eating in, I was kind of expecting more. Anyway, the hummus had a nice bit of kick, and the vegetables were fresh.
I have no idea what Downtime looked like when it was still here, but the place looks pretty nice inside. The seating area is pretty open and there are small and large tables to choose from, which is convenient. The only part of the setup that I don’t really understand is why the two large tables are next to the wall with all of the outlets. Personally, I think it’d make more sense to have the smaller, individual tables near the outlets, since you more often see individuals eating and using their laptops (which is probably what I would do if I was able to get over here for lunches on days when I have my laptop). But maybe they have their reasons.
I think last week was the first week since Uncle Moe’s had opened, and I think they’re doing pretty well so far. I heard complaints from other tables, but I’ll give them another week or two to settle into things. Welcome to campus, Uncle Moe’s!