Thirty Bales (Hopkins, MN)

Recently I visited the Hopkins Commercial Historic District in Minnesota to check out the restaurant, Thirty Bales, for a family member’s birthday lunch. What a neat area! Mainstreet Hopkins and the surrounding downtown is a totally walkable, full-service, heart of the community. In under a quarter-mile radius, you will find groceries, doctors, a post office, a library, restaurants, antique stores, arts, and entertainment. Come along as I share all about Thirty Bales and my fantastic experience!

First of all, if you’re wondering about the name, Thirty Bales, it comes from the legend of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. As the story goes, Babe had an appetite as big as Paul Bunyan, and is rumored to have eaten 30 bales of hay a day! Wow! 😊

Thirty Bales is a celebration of everything the Midwestern cuisine has to offer. It is an upbeat neighborhood restaurant that is in love with the Midwest and its connection to seasonal ingredients grown close to home. It’s what inspires their menu and their team! Thirty Bales has been voted Diners’ Choice in 2019, 2022, and 2023 – and for good reason!

Friends this is what I love about Thirty Bales – the food comes right from the Midwest! How great is that?! These Midwest vendors (all from Minnesota, except for one that’s from Ohio) provide the following items for the restaurant:

• Revier Cattle Company | Olivia, MN: Sustainable, black angus, HTLC, 90% Prime and Choice beef, free-range grazing on a healthy amount of Minnesota grass, finished with corn and protein blends.
• Mrs. Pork | Glencoe, MN: Certified all-natural Duroc Pork, chemical free and hormone free.
• Gerber’s Amish Farm Poultry | Kidron, OH: Chicken raised cage free, vegetarian diet, no additives or antibiotics.
• The Fish Guys | St. Louis Park, MN: Salmon and walleye, caught fresh, packed on ice and flown in daily—never frozen.
• Swanson Meats | Minneapolis, MN: Meat and poultry, ensuring all cattle is fabricated to the desired cut daily, storing in an organic controlled temp environment for no more than 48 hours for fresh and local products.
• Tiny Footprint Coffee | Brooklyn Center, MN: Roasted beans and is one of the only roasters that is carbon negative, replanting trees to offset its operations.
• Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream | Minneapolis, MN: All natural, made fresh daily, and to ensure freshness from the date churned, it arrives daily.
• Mainstreet Bakery | Edina, MN: All the bread arrives fresh, baked daily including the flourless chocolate truffle torte.

During my visit to Thirty Bales I choose the Cubano Sandwich, which isn’t on the menu, but it was one of the specials offered that day. I’ll admit I’ve never had a traditional Cuban sandwich before, but oh my goodness, this sandwich was amazing! The sandwich was filled with ham and pork, cheese, pickles, and mustard. The plate was filled with French fries, and by the time I finished I was stuffed! It was such an awesome meal!

My brother, whose birthday we were celebrating, had the Bol Du Nord, which was a fried walleye filet, homemade roasted mushroom cream sauce, shaved garlic, spinach, wild rice medley, roasted mushrooms, garnished with parmesan, parsley, and lemon zest. It looked like a huge bowl of Minnesota wild rice soup with a fried walleye filet. He said it was delicious, and it looked amazing!

Neither of us had room for dessert, but if I had I think I would have chosen the bread pudding with bourbon caramel roll bread pudding, currants, whipped cream, chocolate and caramel drizzle, with Sebastian Joe’s vanilla bean ice cream. Doesn’t that sound incredible?! Or there’s also the Paul Bunyan Brownie Sundae. Hmmm…big decisions! Ha!

Thirty Bales offers Happy Hour, Tuesday through Friday from 3:00pm to 5:30pm, with specials on drinks and food. They also have brunch on Saturday and Sunday, 10:00am to 2:00pm, with breakfast and lunch items along with brunch cocktails. I think I’ll be checking that brunch out soon!

After your meal you can take a stroll down Mainstreet and do some shopping, or bring the family early to enjoy a nice, relaxing meal before seeing a play across the street at the stage theatre company. There is so much to do in the historic district of Hopkins!

Be sure to check out Thirty Bales during your next stay in the Twin Cities and have a true Midwestern meal and experience! Enjoy, friends!