The Chatterbox Pub

The first time I ever played a Nintendo was in my grandmother’s basement. I watched my older cousin play Super Mario Brothers to near perfection for hours on end. Then one day he looked over at me while I was still intently watching him play and asked if I wanted a turn. I was so excited it almost hurt; it was finally my turn! Of course I didn’t want to be the dumb kid so I didn’t ask what the controls were and promptly ran right into the first goomba I encountered, ending my turn.

Flash forward eighteen years. I’ve gotten quite a bit better at video games, but I never really even got close to the category of “gamer.” So now I’m a 23 year old guy, I enjoy video games, I like good food, and I’m a pretty big fan of beer. Imagine the perfect place for me.

Got it in mind?

Yeah, it’s called The Chatterbox Pub and there are three of them in the Twin Cities up in Minnesota. I was up there this weekend to hang out with a friend from college and he said he had a place in mind that I would love.

We hit the door and were greeted by a cheery, extremely cute waitress (that I tried to get Steve to ask out) that asked if we wanted to grab one of their board games (they have tons), if we wanted to sit at one of their “gaming stations,” or just sit in a booth. The gaming stations are one tv, a gaming system, a retro couch, and maybe a funky, old lamp. Their gaming system options include the original Nintendo, Atari and Sega Genesis. Each system has its own gaming list, the NES one Steve and I got had something like 50 games to choose from, we went with Super Mario and Super Mario 3.

I know, you’re thinking “But Brian, this all has nothing to do with beer at all!” Nope, you’re wrong. Atmosphere can make a great beer taste like swill, a mediocre beer taste good, or in this case, a great beer taste….greater?

After a long sunburned day on a wave runner out on the Saint Croix river I was exhausted. Luckily, the Chatterbox Pub has a selection of their own microbrewed beers available. My server said they contract with some microbrewery over in Wisconsin. They’ve got five options, but I stuck with just one the whole night. The Chit Chat Belgian White ale was the perfect light beer that I needed after a day in the sun. It had a bit more of a citrus flavor than a lot of Belgian Whites, but I liked it a lot.

Always remember that yes, beer is good. However, it can always get better with a great atmosphere. The Chatter Box Pub even made Steve and I late to get to our movie that night because we were having too much fun drinking and kicking Bowser’s ass!

Oh yeah, and their food is awesome too.