Kernel Restaurant, 1011 Hoffman Drive, Owatonna, Minnesota

This Week's Specials

2012-02-12T10:25:00.002-06:00

Kernel Featured Specials

February 13-19^th, 2012

All You Can Eat Soup, Tossed Salad & Bread Sticks 6.99

EVERY DAY!

Monday: Chopped Cheddar Beef Steak 6.99

½ Sandwich w/Soup or Salad & Pie 6.99

(Valentine’s Specials 4-8 PM)

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Tuesday: Country Fried Steak & Country Gravy Dinner 6.99

Cheeseburger Basket 6.79

(Valentine’s Specials 4-8 PM)

Wednesday:

Spaghetti & Meatballs w/One Side & Garlic toast 7.25

Hot Turkey Pot Roast Sandwich w/Potatoes & Turkey Gravy 6.49

Beer Battered Shrimp Basket 7.25 Creamy Potato Dumpling Soup

Thursday:

Polish Sausage & Sauerkraut Dinner 7.25

Meatloaf Dinner (gluten free) 7.25

Chili & Corn Bread 4.99

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Friday: Fish Fry Dinner 2 piece 7.49, 3 piece 8.49. 4 piece 9.49

Fish Fry Sandwich w/One Side 6.99

6 ounce Steak Special 8.99 Clam Chowder/Garden Tomato Soup

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Saturday: 21 Shrimp Basket 6.99 1/3 lb.

Patty Melt Basket 6.99

5 oz Sirloin Special 6.99

Sunday: St. Louis Style BBQ Spare Ribs Platter 9.29

Breaded Shrimp Basket 7.49

Roast Chicken Dinner ¼ 7.99 ½ 9.99

Pies TO Go

2012-02-01T17:29:00.000-06:00

Reserve Your Take Out Pie Today

Have us bake you a pie, then say you made it yourself!

In order to ensure high quality we require you order your whole take out pie 24 hours in advance of pick up.

Lemon Meringue RhubarbSour Cream Raisin

Pecan Blueberry

Cherry Chocolate Cream (Oreo Crust)

Banana Cream,Coconut Cream Apple

Pumpkin Custard

Fresh Strawberry

24 hour notice before pickup on whole pies please.

Custom pies available on request.

This Week's Coupon

2012-01-28T09:28:00.000-06:00

Click Here For This Weeks Coupons

It's More than Just Soup and Salad

2012-01-14T10:41:00.001-06:00

Our "all you can eat" soup, tossed salad and bread sticks special that we have been running now for some time, every day has been very popular. I know we are basically copying a concept made popular by a "big box" restaurant but I feel like we are offering more than you may realize.

The Soup: All of our soups are made from scratch, every day, sometimes more than once a day. We only use high quality ingredients in our soups. For example our vegetable beef soup has alot of Certified Hereford Beef in it. The clam chowder contains alot of wholesome dairy products such as butter, heavy cream, and whole milk. We don't use frozen, reheated "factory made" soups. We take pride in our soups being very hardy. They are not watered down, and will fill you up. If you don't like the selection of soup that day, you may have our homemade Chili, which I feel stacks up to anybody's.

The salad: We take pride in putting together a tossed salad that is a little different from anywhere else. We use Ice berg lettuce, Romaine lettuce, Spinach leaves, Baby Greens (Mizuna, Arugula, Tatsoi, Mache, Red Chard, Green Chard, Baby Spinach), Endive, Radicchio, Red Cabbage and Shredded Carrot. Our salad dressings are for the most part homemade. We do buy a couple of dressings already made: Diet Italian and Raspberry Vinegreatte and nof-fat French. The rest are made from scratch: Bleu Cheese, French, Thousand Island, and Ranch. I'm betting most places don't have homemade salad dressings.

The bread sticks are New York brand bread sticks. The New York Brand began as a small family bakery in Cleveland, Ohio over 40 years ago. The Penn family specialized in baking crusty, chewy textured, "hearth baked" breads preferred in Europe. They are made fresh to each order.

So the next time you stop by and have "our" Soup, Salad, and bread sticks special, you will know alot of preparation has gone into every order.

Our Menu

2012-01-05T17:05:00.000-06:00

click here to see our full menu

Enroll in the Kernel Rewards Program and Save

2011-12-11T16:33:00.000-06:00

We are excited to announce that we are starting a customer loyalty program called "Kernel Rewards".

There is no cost to enroll, and once you enroll you will receive a $5 coupon off your next $15 purchase.

The program is simple, you can enroll online by clicking on the rewards link below.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL IN KERNEL REWARDS

Once you have enrolled whenever you dine at the Kernel simply write your phone number on your guest check and your purchase will be credited to your rewards account. For each dollar you spend at the Kernel you will receive one point ($1=1 point). You may earn bonus points by referring friends and "liking" us on Facebook.

A few of the benefits for participation:

Free dessert on your and spouses birthday
A variety of discounts ($2 - $10 off)
Free appetizers
Eligible for special offers

Appetizers

2011-12-11T14:14:00.000-06:00

Chicken Wings
Regular or Boneless

Buffalo Style:

these will heat you up, but won't burn you

Honey-BBQ:

sweet, tangy and tasty

served with our homemade bleu cheese dressing

and fresh celery sticks

6 piece 4.99
12 piece 7.99

Gluten Free Offerings

2011-12-09T13:21:00.001-06:00

We are in the process of adding several gluten free items to our menu.

We now have gluten-free corn bread which we have been serving with honey butter, usually with chili, but you may have it as a bread choice on any breakfast that comes with toast, or any other entree that comes with a dinner roll or toast.

We also have added gluten free oatmeal-raisin cookies to our cookie selection.

And we have been featuring a different gluten free pie each day, among these have been Dutch-Apple,

Banana Cream and Lemon Meringue. Call ahead if you are interested in todays gluten free pie. We also can make a gluten free whole pie to-go, but I would advise that you call in the morning and talk to either Brad Olson, or Lori Larson at 507-451-2585 to find out what kinds you may select from.

Gift Certificates Available

2011-12-01T20:01:00.000-06:00

Every Saturday Breakfast Specials

2011-11-16T10:20:00.000-06:00

Saturday’s

Breakfast Specials:

5AM-11AM

No substitutions or price reductions

**ALL INCLUDE FREE BEVERAGE**

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Big Combo

2 buttermilk pancakes, 2 eggs,

2 sausage links or 2 bacon,
hash browns
7.99

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Super Scramble

Sauteed Onion and Green Peppers, crumbled sausage, and diced ham along with 2 scrambled eggs
all served over home fried diced breakfast potatoes and topped with Cheddar cheese sauce
and served with toast or muffin.

8.99

Fresh Fruit and Muffin

6.29

Ground Beef Steak & Eggs
2 eggs any style served with hash browns and an 8 ounce
ground beef steak, along with your choice of toast or muffin.
8.49

Chicken & Biscuit
Golden fried breaded chicken breast served on a buttermilk
biscuit along with a money dish of biscuit gravy and hash browns.
6.79

Pecan Pancakes
Toasted, candied pecans inside two of our buttermilk pancakes
plus pecan flavored pancake syrup along with
your choice of ham, bacon or sausage.
6.99

Bridgeman's Ice Cream Now Available at Kernel

2011-09-14T09:58:00.005-05:00

We are now serving Bridgeman's Ice Creams

Bridgeman's Ice Creams are made with all natural ingredients and have a creamy rich texture.

Come in and try a scoop with your next piece of homemade pie.

We also have flavors:
Cinnamon
Caramelicious
Coconut Joy
Peppermint Krisp

Weekly Breakfast Specials

2011-02-15T09:04:00.003-06:00

BREAKFAST SPECIALS:

Served Monday through Friday

5AM-11AM

**All include

Free Beverage**

Coffee, Soda, Tea, Milk

Ranchero Egg Sandwich
2 hard fried eggs, two strips of bacon,
and a slice of tomato served on sour dough toast
with a side of Chipoltle mayo and crispy hash browns. 6.49

Biscuit & Eggs Special

1 Homemade Biscuit topped with 2 eggs,

& Cup of Sausage gravy

5.69

Muffin and Fruit

One of our homemade muffins or toast, or an English muffin,

Along with a dish of fresh fruit

(Pineapple, grapes and cantaloupe)

5.99

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Big Classic Breakfast

2 eggs, hash browns,

4 Sausage Links

or 4 strips Bacon,

& toast, or English Muffin,

or homemade muffin.

6.99

3 - French Toast Special

3 slices of French toast,

and choice of ham, bacon, or sausage.

6.29

Big Combo

2 Pancakes, 2 Eggs,

3 bacon or 3 links,

Or 2 patties or Ham

And hash browns.

7.99

Pecan Pancakes

2 buttermilk pancakes made with

Candied pecans (baked with brown sugar and cinnamon glaze) and served with
pecan flavored pancake syrup served with your

choice of Ham, bacon or sausage.

6.99

Soup of the Week

2010-12-05T21:03:00.004-06:00

I take alot of pride in the homemade soups we serve at the Kernel. I thought I'd give a little history of each of our soups. This week it our Bean & Ham. Served every Monday, sometimes on Tuesday.

What's in it? I start by buying a wide variety of dried beans. These include Black Turtle beans, Red Beans,
Yellow and Brown Lentils, Great Northern Beans, Pinto Beans, Lima Beans, Cannelinis, Split Peas. I combine all these beans in varying proportion with the largest being the Great Northerns. Usually I buy about 100 pounds total of these beans at one time to get the proper proportions.

I like to start the cooking process very early in the morning as it will take several hours to prepare this soup properly, rushing it will bring the starches out to quickly resulting in a muddy taste. I like to add a little white pepper, chopped onion, Kitchen bouquet and Minor's Ham base. I don't need to add salt to the soup as the ham base contains enough. I slow cook the beans for several hours then add ketchup and diced ham towards the end. This soup is as easy as there is to make, provided you have a steam-jacketed kettle. Thats why we normally have it on Monday, as I have alot to do on Monday mornings and I need a no-fuss soup.

.

Kernel Menu Below!

2010-09-27T16:23:00.002-05:00

click here to see our new menu

In Case You’re Interested:

2010-09-11T17:18:00.004-05:00

History of the Kernel Restaurant

Significant Events:

The Kernel Restaurant established May 18, 1961 in Menomonie, Wisconsin by Sid and Wanda Kern.
Sold some years later to Ray and Marge Tessman.
June 1974, Menomonie Restaurant interior severely damaged by fire.
February 1975, restaurant reopens.
May 18, 1981, Bill Cook and Mark Michel purchase Kernel in Menomonie, Wisconsin from the Tessmans.

July 31, 1981, Country Kitchen Restaurant in Owatonna end its affiliation with Country Kitchen,
August 1, 1981- Kernel Restaurant in Owatonna is established.

June 1995, shortly after retiring Bill Cook dies suddenly.
June 28, 2010, Mark Michels sells his interest in the Kernel to Brad Olson

On a personal note, I started working at the Kernel Restaurant in Menomonie back in 1974. I learned alot about the restaurant business from the Tessmans. In 1981 after graduating from UW Stout, I was hired by Mark Michels and Bill Cook to come to Owatonna to (among other things) help convert their restaurant to the Kernel, Owatonna. After working in some capacity for the Kernel all these years, I feel a responsibility to carry on the tradition started back in 1961 by the Kerns. – Brad Olson

New Homemade Muffin Flavors

2010-08-06T11:50:00.001-05:00

Come in and try our new homemade muffin flavors.

As some of you already know, we now offer Strawberry-Rhubarb, Blackberry, and Banana-Walnut Muffins, to go along with our Morning Glory and Cranberry Muffins.

These make for a great combination with our fresh fruit, or along with your breakfast entree, they may be subsituted for the toast choice, or have one all by itself.

Delicious Kernel Specialty Desserts Served Daily

2010-06-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

Apple Dumplings w/Cinnamon Sauce

Hot Fudge Cake Ice Cream

Strawberry Shortcake

Ice Cream Sundaes

2010-02-28T09:06:00.001-06:00

The Kernel Restaurant

is conveniently

located at 1011 Hoffman Drive

between Owatonna Ford-Chrysler and O'Reilly Auto Parts and across from Cash Wise Foods Grocery.

The Kernel has plenty of free parking.

Contact the Kernel

2009-10-08T10:05:00.000-05:00

We may be contacted at kernel@ll.net