This Minne-RoadTrip series of posts is sponsored by Visit Owatonna, Visit Faribault and Visiting Northfields. This meal was hosted by Visit Faribault.
I’m dedicating this short post to one of the most surprising dining experiences I’ve ever had.
After enjoying peanut butter porter at F-Town Brewery, my Faribault guide Kelly took me to dinner at The Depot located a few blocks away.
The Depot restaurant is located in a historic train depot building. According to this document on the Minnesota Historic Society, the Rock Island Train Depot was built in 1902. This depot was the biggest in Rice County and the train line served to connect southern Minnesota to Chicago and St. Louis. Chef Jeff LaBeau, a well-known chef in the community, owns the restaurant. His website mentions that he taught at the culinary program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. This is where I completed a year of culinary school before we moved to Iowa.
The Depot menu offers a variety of American comfort dishes such as burgers, walleye, flatbreads, and appetizers. They make their fried cheese curds with the popular Faribault Dairy curds that sell out each week at the Cheese Cave. Other items include the famous Amablu cheese.
Read my post about visiting the Cheese Cave here.
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