Panino Brothers opened last night and Bill, Kim and I decided to check it out.
They’re in the ground floor of the GrandStay Hotel and are not a typical hotel bar. Their specialty is the Panino, or “little sandwich” that’s a thin layer of “panino dough” filled with meats, cheese and vegetables then baked and rolled. We were told they are “heaven on a plate,” but didn’t sample one yet. We’ll be back for that soon.
I was really pleased with the beers at Panino Brothers: a lot of local and regional craft brews on tap — something I didn’t expect in Apple Valley. A few Brau Brothers beers and a number of Schell Brewery brews on tap. This is not only great for the local patrons but I’m really pleased that they’ll be serving hotel visitors a taste of Minnesota in addition to the cheap macrobrews. They had a few Chicago beers as well — I had a Goose Island 312.
Not terribly hungry, we snacked on some cheese balls and a pepperoni pizza which they described as having a “homemade cracker style” but was really greasy, wet, messy and soft. I don’t think it’s fair to negatively judge on a restaurant’s first night so I’ll leave it at that. Bill noted it wasn’t listed as a “PB Favorite” either and honestly, they’re specializing on Paninos, not Pizza. Maybe they’ll get it fixed up in a few weeks.
Panino Brothers has lot of televisions and a couple Golden Tee Golf machines but they kept it from feeling like a sports bar. The place is welcoming and the staff we dealt with was very friendly and personable.
I’ll be back soon. This is a very welcome change in Apple Valley amongst all the chains and normal suburban junk and it’s especially great to have a place in this neck of the woods with a bunch of craft and local brews on tap.
Panino Brothers Food & Beverage
7083 153rd St W
Apple Valley, MN 55124
