Psycho Suzi’s

Psycho Suzi’s is the kind of place where you can’t park in the handicap space without blocking the exit of most of the bikers carousing on the patio. So you have to choose between Grandma and Snake. I chose Grandma. I figured they could walk their Harleys out, bicycle style. They felt otherwise.

Suzi’s sits in an old Nordeast drive-in where the carhops have been banished to Grease revivals, and the inside is decorated like a low-rent Trader Vic’s . The place has a bit of a smell, service is offhand, and the TV at the bar goes black approximately every five seconds.

That said, the menu of kicked-up kitsch bar fare and “Minneapolis” pizza is good for a laugh, and when the food arrives, it’s all tasty and fun (though on nice days, between the large patio and interior tables, the kitchen tends to slow to a crawl).

Soft-crusted pizza is pretty good, the crust sprinkled with corn meal, ingredients generously tossed on. It’s of the create-your-own variety, so there’s plenty of room to come up with vile combinations involving pineapple, chicken, and rum-soaked raisins.

Beer-battered cheese curds are second only to Town Talk Diner's in appeal, though marinara sauce is not the right accompaniment. Our cranky three-year-old turned docile after downing approximately forty beer-battered mini-wieners, so perhaps you can get a buzz from them despite the modest amounts of batter. There’s a tasty Caesar with horrible croutons; a lively hummus that has an herby edge; and simple, lemony deviled eggs. Black bean chili is not spicy as advertised but is plenty fine.

You can make your own s’mores over a tableside flame, which is good for a half-hour of peace from the kids until the marshmallows are exhausted and they start sticking each other with hot wooden skewers.

Woe be it to the soul who is trying to eat “lite” here, but for all the rest of us, Psycho Suzi’s is a hometown hoot, whether you arrive on a hog or a walker.

2519 Marshall St. NE, Mpls., 612-788-9069