" Lyle's Café"

Smoking Restaurant:
No

Bar:
No

Liquor:
No

Wheel Chair Accessible:
Yes
With difficulty.

Restroom Wheel Chair Accessible:
No
Narrow Restroom Doorway

Handicap Accessible:
Yes
Without a Wheelchair.

Take-Out:
Yes

Delivery:
No

Saturday, July 26, 2008

We decided to drive to Gibbon MN to look at a house that was listed for sale on-line. It had 10 acres and from the picture on-line, Lou thought that it was worth seeing. We left home about 9:30 and decided to go to Ecosmarte first. Ecosmarte is a company that makes filtering systems for pools and spas that do not require chemicals. We have a soft-swim treated pool, and while it is certainly not caustic or causes itching, etc. we thought that a totally chemical free pool was certainly worth investigating.

We talked to Larry at Ecosmarte and took home a brochure and an estimate quote for a system for our pool. We decided to talk to our pool guys and see what they thought about the system. We left Ecosmarte, in Richfield, and headed toward Gibbon.

It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in sight and the temperature was about 80 degrees. It was a perfect day for a trip to the country. It had been a few years since we had gone out on US 212 and we commented on the changes in the communities as we drove along. Soon we were in the country, passing through Norwood and Young America. When we got to Green Isle we found that we had just missed the 120th Anniversary of Green Isle Fire Department celebration and parade. We drove on to Gaylord and found ourselves in the company of about 100 bikers, who had stopped at the local pub. We figured they were a club on a day trip.

When we arrived in Winthrop, we decided that we should look for a place to have lunch. Winthrop has a huge ethanol plant and a large dairy facility. We drove through town and didn’t really see anything and headed back to the highway. At the highway, the one stop light in town was red. As we waited for the light to change, I spied Lyle’s Café across the street. We decided to give it a try.

Lou pulled into the parking lot and we went in. It was about 1 p.m. and there was only one other couple dining at the small café. We thought the café must have been used as a service station or some other type of business before becoming a café. No, said Barb, the owner. It has always been a café and had been owned by several proprietors before Lyle and his wife bought it. Lyle Peterson and his wife Mina ran the café for many years and his wife was well known as the Pie Lady of Winthrop, and a book written by Peg Meier and Dave Wood called “The Pie Lady of Winthrop and other Minnesota Tales” tells all about the Pie Lady. Apparently folks came from near and far for her famous pies. She worked until her nineties and professed to having baked over 80,000 pies!

Well, upon hearing that story, we knew that we would have to try the pies but first the food. I ordered the hamburger with grilled sauerkraut, special sauce and cheese. Lou ordered the special of the day, which was barbeque beef on a bun. Both orders came with fries and we asked for them to be crispy. We like crispy fries! My burger with the sauerkraut was delicious and Lou thought his barbeque beef was also excellent. The fries were done just perfectly.

Barb indicated that she didn’t have much left for pies, but did have two “taster” pieces of pie, one apple and one blueberry. We opted for both and they came topped with cool whip. I thought the pies were ok, nothing extraordinary. Lou especially liked his blueberry pie. It didn’t compare to the Moose Factory blueberry pie but he thought that it was in the top five.

Total bill came to $24 including tax and tip. We would certainly stop at Lyle’s Café if we were ever in Winthrop again. There are also daily specials and soup of the day. During the week, and on evenings, the café features specials such as rib-eye steak, hot beef sandwiches, beef dinners and other “comfort” menu items.