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| - In 2015, after an extended closure, Minder Binders re-opened its doors to customers. Praise the powers that be!
Your experience will differ based on where you sit and the level of nostalgia you feel/welcome.
I've been here 3 times since Minder Binders has re-opened. Service has been good, very good, & exceptional respectively on those visits. Here's the 1-5 rating on the food we have tried:
Bacon Cheese Burger 4/5 - cooked to order
Shrimp 3/5 - too much breading for me
Fried Pickles 4/5
Wedge Salad 5/5 - just as damn good as a cold, crisp, & refreshing as salad can be... dayum!
Wings 2/5 - sauce needs work
Stripped down to the cold impersonal facts this is a 3+ Star joint now. It's got 4+ potential though, 5 with the right customer attitude and approach.
"But what's the holistic view?" you ask. "And how, sir, can I maximize my Minder Binders experience to get that base+1 kicker?"
First, let's thin this gig out to just those that can benefit.
If you are a power-mongering dick to service people, high maintenance, hard to please, snow-flakey special, or otherwise exhibit tendencies toward douchebaggery, please exit the review & Trouble Not the good people of Minder Binders. Still with me. Whew! Yeah, I know, they're everywhere now. Glad they're gone.
"OK, so what's the big deal?"
Minder Binders opened in '72. I've been a customer since '77. For a complete understanding of the namesake and the whimsical old-timey interior design, you're going to need to read Joseph Heller's Catch 22 (ref. First Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder). Barring that, just understand that Minder Binder's, the Big Red Barn in the Middle of Nowhere restaurant, is a multigenerational icon in the valley. It was a magnet for ASU coeds and starving lads clamoring for their attention. It catered to burger, volleyball, hermit crab race, & beer enthusiasts alike. There was Burger Madness. There was live music. There was... naked everything. What? Yup. Playboy centerfolds shellacked onto the walls everywhere. Naked creatures on the bathroom doors, anatomically depicting the designated sex for that restroom. Much craziness there was. Even Yoda was naked. Seriously, in '77, at age 12, I was learning more about female anatomy just sitting in a booth at Minder Binder's than I ever did from the Mesa School District. What? No, don't even start the "creepy" BS with me. I was 12. TWELVE in 1977. Don't make me beat your porn-at-my-finger-tips-through-my-$1000-phone-judgemental ass. Grow up.
"Where should I sit?"
You should sit inside. Don't argue, just sit inside... inside where all the historic, quirky, crazy, decor is located. Talk to the fishes (you'll understand later). Just ask to sit inside for God's sake. I'll try to be brief, but for cryin'-out-loud, if you go to Minder Binders and REQUEST to sit on the Patio, I just don't understand you. I don't understand sacrificing brain-tickling will-never-forget-it decor for a view of the freakin' parking lot, unattractive adjacent businesses, & the mundanity that is Hayden Road. Seriously, evaluate your life decisions.
Gotta wrap this up. I've rambled on here quite a bit, perhaps due to the rambaloney & cheese sandwich I just ate.
"I'm not old like you, how do I ascend to that 4+ experience with that nostalgia stuff?"
If you recently moved to AZ or are under the age of 30 you may never have had a chance to experience the OG Minder Binders. And really, OGMB was early 70's to about mid 90's. No worries, as soon as you step inside it will start to hit you. On entry, you'll osmotically soak up some of the thick nostalgia just being there. But it's all on you. If it doesn't work, it's you. Pro tip: accelerate the process (and your joy) by rubbing elbows with the veterans. They're easy to spot. Try asking: "who know this place from back in the day?" Just see how many heads turn. Buy one of them a beer. A beer for a story is fair. They'll spin hop-soaked tails of Burger Madness, Volleyball, & other craziness. Hell, I bet they buy you a beer right back. Anyway, soak up the history, make some of you own, be social, have a blast.
Recommendations to the Minder Binders staff/owners:
The wing texture is on point, but the "hot sauce" flavor (not heat) is weak and off putting. Tabasco-absolutely-required type off putting. Take a look the First We Feast youtube channel Hot Ones show for some ideas.
From my wife: drop the Coastal Chard. Hess should be your base Chard and your upscale should be either KJ or La Crema. Folks will be OK paying extra for either of those.
Sincere appreciation for acquiring, renovating, and revitalizing this signature locus of my young-punk days and mind. Exceptional job preserving the history, look, and feel while ensuring greater capacity to serve and a sustainable future. Scale done right = profit and business continuity. And you know I needs me some Burger continuity.
Thank you owners & investors, management, servers, and kitchen staff. Virtual hugs all around.
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