Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Small Town USA: burgers and royalty

Aurora, MN has a population of just under 1500 people. This small town in the northern 'Arrowhead' area of the state is in the heart of the "Iron Range" named for the taconite mines that have provided the livelyhood of the area for generations.
 
Aurora is my true hometown. I lived there until I was 8 years old with my three older brothers and parents - both of whom went to high school there. My mother purchased the closed bakery about 2 years ago and is single-handedly running it as the town's only: espresso machine, music stage, coffee shop, and bakery. 

I make the 4 hour trip - not as often as some would like - and love spending time in the bakery helping out. Lots of memories were made on this past trip over the 4th of July...

As you can see above, a highlight was meeting Miss Aurora. This queen was crowned for selling the most buttons. She was hanging out with her friends at the bar/restaurant "Ruby's" when we were grabbing a burger and a beer. Sidenote: author was taking a break from baking - which might explain the funny headband...

This burger below was something akin to a patty melt. The best part - american cheese on both slices of bread, then DEEP FRIED and coated with parmesan cheese. It was a first. Served with onion rings - it was the 'last dinner' of fried food before standing in a Fry Bread station all day (more to come on that!) Suddenly, fried food is out of favor with this household. It will be awhile before we can stomach the grease.



3 comments:

Lauren said...

omg that sandwich sounds amazing! deep fried you say??

you're really pretty...I think that's the first pic I've seen of you! For some reason I thought you were older.

Tangled Noodle said...

We haven't explored the Iron Range yet but when we do, Aurora will be a definite stop! I admit, I would totally go for this burger, deep fried and all, just to say I tried it. But I'd probably have to undergo deep-fried detox, too!

Frieda Loves Bread said...

I just watched "New In Town" about a city girl visiting a small town in MN. Loved the movie and your post!