SHAKOPEE, MN – With racing underway at Canterbury Park, patrons and horsemen are encountering many changes from last season to the food and beverage outlets.  Famous Dave’s has vacated their traditional second floor stand in favor of an in-house BBQ pit, the Iguana Bar has given way to a Starbucks, the Mexican stand across from Pizza and Pasta has reverted back to track control and dining in the card club has been shuffled to include the Trifecta Café and Little Chicago Chophouse.

We were invited recently to enjoy the Sunday brunch at Little Chicago and wanted to pass along our thoughts.

First, the pertinents and such: Brunch is 10 AM – 2 PM on Sundays and the cost is $19.95 per adult and $9.95 for children 8 and under (beverages extra).  A complete selection of juices, coffee and mimosas are available as well as the full bar. You can use your MVP card for discounts and comps.  MRC license holder discount is not available.

The Chophouse is located between the bar and the smoker’s patio on the trackside of the card club.  The section has been closed off and redecorated to give it more of an ambience.  The larger area is open and roomy though the area near the bar is a bit cramped but workable.  The walls are decorated with vintage photos harkening back to a time when the Twin Cities was a summer haven for Chicago area mobsters.  There is also an excellent view of the finish line, though I suspect that once the racing crowd fills in, the view is obscured.

Brunch is not a buffet but it is all you can eat, served tableside.  Each table is presented with a family style platter of hash browns, bacon and sausage as well as cinnamon rolls.  The hash browns were perfectly cooked with a crispy exterior and piping hot interior while the bacon is of the meaty, thickly sliced variety. Each member of your party chooses an entrée: made to order eggs, Omelet and toast, eggs benedict, bagels and lox, pancakes, biscuits and gravy or a Belgian waffle.

The entrée is brought to the table in small portions so it is easy to partake of various options.  I started with the biscuits and gravy.  The gravy was thick and sausage intense and included diced onions, which was a nice touch.  At some point I’d like to see them make the biscuits in-house as that was probably the weak spot of the dish, but overall I enjoyed it.

Heather began with the egg benedict and gave it the highest compliment I think any diner could: it tasted like another.

I also tried the pancake and found it to be light and fluffy and something I would certainly order again.  By that point we were stuffed so the eggs, omelet and waffle will have to wait for another visit.

The manager and our server were polite, friendly and engaging which made up for a couple of missteps kicking off the meal.  There was some uncertainty as to whose section we were in that kept us waiting a bit after we were seated and the coffee, sugar and spoon were brought in stages.

A gentleman nearby identified himself to us a Canterbury stockholder, and let us know he was waiting for his bagel and lox and eggs for about a half hour.  That appeared to be a problem related to the amount of kitchen staff rather than the wait staff, though, as the server and manager kept going back to check on the meal’s progress.  While he was upset over the wait, he was pleased with the meal.   The general consensus from the folks around us – including our shareholder new friend – was if the Chophouse irons out the wrinkles quickly, there is an excellent chance for pre-racing success Sunday mornings.