Let’s Eat

By Dan Greenwood

Kitchen manager, Anne Norgaard (left) and co-owner John Mayer. Patrick’s on Third in St. Peter is known for the ‘world-famous’ patty melt.

PATRICK’S on THIRD

St. Peter bar and restaurant offers variety of food, beer — and drum corps music

By Dan Greenwood | Photos by Pat Christman

Patrick’s on Third in downtown St. Peter has been drawing an eclectic mix of customers since co-owner John Mayer’s parents bought the historic building in 1988.

Named after Mayer’s father, the restaurant and bar, with 32 beers on tap, has developed a reputation as a diverse gathering place for the town’s 11,000 residents.

Kitchen manager Anne Norgaard said they make changes to the menu every year. Sometimes it’s drastic. Other times they make just a couple of minor tweaks, but one of their most popular sandwiches has had a constant presence.

“We’re known for the worldfamous patty melt,” said co-owner John Mayer. “It tastes the same as it did when we first made it in 1988. The reason that we claim that to be world famous is because it always makes it from one menu to the next. It’s a nice handheld sandwich that’s tasty.”

This time around, Norgaard said customers will see a greater focus on having more signature meals to choose from.

“Whenever anyone asks me what I should get at Patrick’s, I always point them toward our

Patrick’s on Third always tries to keep the menu fresh with new items. The patty melt, however, is a staple.

corned beef,” Norgaard said. “It’s my pride and joy and took a long time to perfect it.”

The Irish Meat Shovel sandwich, filled with corned beef and drizzled with the restaurant’s new queso sauce on a pretzel bun, is top seller, along with the Reuben, made from a whole brisket of corned beef and topped with Patrick’s house-made sauerkraut.

Patrick’s roast beef is also cooked in-house. Norgaard said she and her staff did a lot of experimentation until they perfected the recipe.

“We roast it for nine hours,” she said. “We sear it first and put on a good rub of coriander seeds, black pepper, fresh garlic and olive oil. We’ve tried it a million different ways, and this is where we landed. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”

Along with a variety of pizzas, Mayer said they also have a crust for those with a gluten intolerance, bound together with cheese and cauliflower.

Out of more than a dozen burgers to choose from, Norgaard said the Jameson melt, with a handmade whiskey teriyaki style glaze and topped with cheddar cheese, fried onions and peppers on rye is a big hit. Her personal favorite is the meatless wild rice mushroom burger.

What:

Patrick’s on Third Where:

125 S. Third St., St. Peter What they’re known for:

Burgers, pizzas, signature sandwiches and 32 tap beers

“It’s a vegetarian burger that we hand make here with mushrooms, wild rice, seasoning and breadcrumbs, and it’s fried on both sides,” Norgaard said. “It is so good. We have a lot of meat eaters that eat it as well.”

Mayer said they incorporate ingredients from the local farmers market during the summer months, and they source their free-range bison locally from Sleepy Bison Acres near Sleepy Eye.

“We’ve gone and visited the animals and have added a bunch of bison items to our menu,” Norgaard said.

That includes bison tacos accompanied with blue cheese dressing and crumbles, romaine lettuce, red onion and bacon. For burger lovers, there’s the bison patty melt, and the Homestead Bison Melt, made from a grilled bison patty and topped with pepper jack cheese, tomato and bacon on grilled sourdough bread.

Patrick’s on Third is also the unofficial hangout for the Govenaires, the St. Peter based all-ages drum corps. Formed in 1927, the group is the oldest competing drum and bugle corps in the world.

Mayer’s father and mother joined the Govies in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, respectively, and Mayer and his siblings joined them in the 1980s.

“When they’re not at rehearsal, they’re usually hanging out here at Patrick’s,” Mayer said. “Anytime the drum corps is in the bar, it’s always a good time because you never know when somebody’s going to run outside, grab their horn and start playing. They’ve performed here many times. Sometimes it’s scheduled and sometimes it’s impromptu.”

Mayer said his favorite aspect of running the bar and restaurant is that he never knows what the day will bring.

“Every day is exciting, and every day is different,” he said. “At the end of the day I’m usually laughing about something. There are so many weird things that have happened in this bar.”