Nothing says “summer” like spending time outside. The days are longer, the nights are warmer, and everything seems fresher, newer, and more alive. Even in the midst of a pandemic—or perhaps particularly in the midst of a pandemic—summer is a time for hope and possibility, and the opportunities to pursue adventure are nearly endless.
Summer in Minnesota means one thing: Patio season. After surviving brutal winters and enduring months cooped up in frigid isolation, Minnesotans want nothing more than to enjoy a fresh meal or crisp beverage from the comfort of a warm patio during the fleeting months of summer. And while the weather is calling us outside, COVID-19 is reconfiguring some of the typical summer traditions we so eagerly anticipate. Indeed, the pandemic is forcing us to get creative and rethink our typical approach to all things al fresco dining, and foodies everywhere are rising to the challenge.
Last weekend Cam and I met our friends, Patrick and Dixie, for an outdoor drink at Back Channel Brewing. Over the last several months we have been particularly mindful of practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and everything else related to reducing the spread of Coronavirus, and we were particularly impressed by the precautions this local watering hole implemented to safely welcome community members back to outdoor dining. Located on Lake Minnetonka, Back Channel Brewing serves high quality small-batch beers with a special emphasis on Lagers, IPAs, and Imperial Stouts. Like many restaurants and breweries, Back Channel was forced to close due to COVID-19 but has recently reopened its doors for modified arrangements with spaciously social distanced outdoor seating, one-way beer ordering, and diligent cleaning practices. Despite jokes that we had forgotten how to conduct ourselves in public[1], the four of us reveled in the now rare opportunity to sit outside and enjoy one another’s company. We spent two hours endlessly chatting, hopelessly people watching[2], and thoroughly enjoying crisp local brews. The energy was both palpable and invigorating, and we basked in the tiny luxury of this extraordinarily ordinary experience.
Our brewery adventure quenched our thirst but not our appetites, and we excitedly migrated across the street for our second and final stop in our Coronavirus outdoor eating adventures: The Minnetonka Drive In.
Perhaps the epitome of nostalgia, drive-in restaurants serve as iconic American staples and have captured hearts for decades. Roadside restaurants first emerged in the 1920s and gradually gained traction with the advent of car culture and the construction of Route 66. They reached their heyday in the 1950s and 60s when ease, innovation, and convenience particularly appealed to the modern American consumer.
Perhaps this excerpt from The Saturday Evening Post says it all:
“The drive-in had become so common-place by the ’40s that a Post article from June 22, 1946, titled Eat and Run declared, ‘If there is anything more American than apple pie, it is the drive-in.’ Despite different themes and décor all drive-ins ran on the same model: Young people providing customers with tasty food at an efficient rate. The drive-in represented America’s ideals in the war era: resourcefulness, speed, and efficiency.”
And while resourcefulness, speed, and efficiency are hallmarks of the drive-in experience, elements of modern convenience and simple luxury also hold tangible appeal. My mom grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota and fondly recalls summers spent at the local Dog ‘n’ Suds drive-in where she would casually enjoy hot dogs and slowly sip root beer served from a frosted glass mug. There’s just something about pulling up, parking your car, and sitting back to relax as a waiter collects your order over a sound box and delivers it via roller skates that can’t be replicated.
While drive-ins have inevitably given way to drive-throughs in recent years, several original establishments still remain, thus providing customers an indulgent opportunity to slow down and experience a blast from the past.
Minnetonka Drive In has served local diners since 1961 when Gordon and Jeanette Bennyhoff opened the establishment with their eight children. To this day, the restaurant continues as a family-owned-and-run business favored by cheery locals hungry for authentic entertainment, a warm environment, and a fun place to eat. Minnetonka Drive In specializes in serving good food fast, and chicken is its specialty. The restaurant also crafts its own homemade root beer using A&W’s recipe from the 1906s and delights in serving deliciously decadent frosty “brown” floats customers can enjoy on hot summer days.
Seeing as drive-in restaurants are the ultimate form of social distancing, we agreed it would be an exciting way to safely share food with friends. Therefore, we were giddy with excitement as we parked in parallel spots so we could “dine” together and enjoy this cultural phenomenon. Cam and I rolled down the windows and fervently analyzed the menu before pressing the speaker button to place our order: A grilled cheese, an eight-piece bucket of chicken (white and dark meat, por favor), an order of fries, and two root beer floats. We live in a world where technology is quite literally at our fingertips, and yet there was something almost magical about pressing a button to place an order and conjure up food. Maybe I’ve been spending too much time cooped up in quarantine, but the unexpected nature of this interaction was both inherently fun and pleasantly nostalgic in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
Dixie and Patrick’s food appeared almost instantly[3], and before long our food arrived as well, presented on a bright red tray affixed to our car window. We didn’t wait long before unwrapping our delicious arrivals, dousing everything with ketchup, and diving straight in. The food was tasty but the method in which we enjoyed it made it even more delightful, and we happily lost ourselves in the perfect picture of a slow, indulgent American summer evening.
Time enjoyed with family and friends.
Outdoor adventures—both familiar traditions and new excursions.
The sweet relief of a cool drink hitting your tongue and chilling your skin.
These are the true tastes of summer.
Whether you enjoy a local craft beer or have a hankering for a frosty “brown” root beer float, seek creative ways to experience the thrilling tastes of the season. True, things will look a bit different this year, but that shouldn’t preclude you from chasing the sun and embracing the moment. After all, time is precious and fleeting: So seize the moment, pick your “patio,” and savor summer while you can. One refreshingly crisp, cool sip at a time.
[1] Are we allowed to make eye contact? Is people watching frowned upon? What happens if I have to use the restroom? What if I need water? Can I drink beer through a mask? Help.
[2] Yes, we gave in. Let’s be real: This is one of the main benefits of dining out (particularly after being cooped up for months without legitimate access to real humans), and no amount of social scorn (whether real or fictitious) would have persuaded me otherwise.
[3] Again—magic! What is this witchcraft?
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