Victory 44 - Local food for local people

Rich and I just got home from trying Victory 44 in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis. It's about six/seven blocks away from us and we found it by accident thanks to the current roadwork detouring us off Victory Memorial Drive.

Though the decor is rather sparse, the space has a lot of promise and there is also a nice patio. The place was close to full when we arrived around 7ish on a Saturday but we were able to sit immediately.

Rich tried the Fish and Chips as he is always on the look out for a good replacement for his home Chippy. We love Mac's in St. Paul but it's a hike for humble food. Victory 44 gets their haddock in twice a week and it's not frozen. The batter was light and crispy and the chips, while more American style than the chubby chips in England, were fresh and delicious. The menus called them "salt and vinegar chips" but we didn't taste any vinegar until we asked for some on the side and doused them with that. He quickly declared it the best fish and chips since he left England.

I had the Sausage Roll, expecting the British style of sausage meat wrapped in something similar to puff pastry and the baked. Instead I got a sausage on a delicious toasted roll. The "HP Sauce" is housemade and Rich instantly pegged it for not actual HP Sauce. It was tasty but much sweeter than real HP. I probably would have enjoyed the sausage roll more if it had been easier to eat, the sausage wanted to slide out of the roll and it was a mess, but a tasty one! Both meals came with housemade ketchup that was fantastic.

For dessert we shared a banana pastry, pastry dough with thin slices of roasted banana topped with vanilla bean creme fraiche, whiskey caramel sauce, and crunchy chocolate coated rice krispies. It was a fabulous combination of sweet and roasty and the portion, while smallish, was rich enough to be perfect for sharing after a heavy meal.

We both want to go back soon to try more of the menu. The daytime menu also looks good with french toast and omelettes.

All in all, I think they are still getting things figured out (just opened May 1st) but we are excited to make Victory 44 a regular dining option!