The good news is each and every one of the 18 secret ingredients in Victoria House’ signature pepperoni soup makes the short drive to Victoria well worth it.

The bad news is no one is going to tell you what the 18 ingredients are.

Top secret
“We had to buy the formula separately when we bought the restaurant,” said Daniel Lee, one of three co-owners who bought Victoria House from its previous owners in 2000.

Whatever they paid, they got a tasty deal. And that’s also what patrons of Victoria House are going to get. It’s a modest looking place displaying few airs of a fancy restaurant. But the menu is extensive – with some surprising upscale options in taste if not in cost – and the food is decidedly better than the average bear.

“I think from the outside, people don’t expect this type of food,” Lee said. “Most expect burgers and sandwiches.”

Which the Victoria House indeed has, but there is so much more afoot here.
Let’s start with the pepperoni soup. Frankly, it’s great. I liked it so much I made them give me quart of it to take home.

Split personality
Victoria House has three distinct seating options – main dining room, bar and patio -- all of which have unobstructed views of Steiger Lake and Three Rivers Park across the street.

Victoria House has somewhat of a split personality, one which is reflected in fairly different lunch and dinner menus.

Reflecting both it, and its lunchtime clientele’s roots, the lunch menu is more “blue collar” and is dominated by a long list of burgers, pasta, chicken and a host of other sandwiches.

At dinner time the grub is definitely on an elevated level, perhaps reflective Victoria’s growing nature as an affluent suburban community, with lots more choices in appetizers, salads, pasta, entrees, specials and desserts.

Extensive menu
Many diners, I expect, are going to have a tough time making a choice, as the Victoria House menu is extensive. There are no less than 15 house specialties, which seems like an awful lot to choose from.

Everything I tried at one sitting was excellent. My food parade led off with the pepperoni soup ($2.50 for a cup and $3.25 for a bowl), the Portabella mushroom caps ($7.95), the glazed pork tenderloin ($15.95) and finished with the turtle cheesecake.

I’m not kidding when I say I could happily live on the pepperoni soup, although the timing of me falling in love with a hot soup just when Minnesota summer seems to have arrived may be a bit questionable. My wife, bless her mild Minnesota nice taste buds, found it a bit spicy.

The mushrooms caps were stuffed with wild rice, Swiss and Parmesan cheese, and then topped with mozzarella cheese.

The glazed pork tenderloin medallions were grilled and topped with a delicious wild berry sauce, which complemented the sweetness of the pork very nicely. They came with a serving of wild rice, and some very tasty and perfectly prepared asparagus.

In addition to the famed pepperoni soup, there’s a soup de hour. All of the soups and sauces are homemade.

Classic and creative
Victoria House does all the usual diner fare – steak, pasta, chicken, ribs, walleye and shrimp – but offers several creative variations on the standard stuff. I was eager to try the Cajun filet mignon and the Minnesota chicken (chicken breast stuffed with a blend of Monterey, Parmesan and Swiss cheese and Portabella mushrooms, drizzled with blackberry sauce over wild rice) but these will have to wait for a later date.

Owners Daniel and John Lee (brothers) and Bobby Goral (a cousin) also own Cuzzy’s in downtown Minneapolis. Cuzzy’s, interestingly, is strictly a breakfast and lunch operation.

“We’d like to have more than two (restaurants), “said Daniel Lee. “We all grew up in the business.”

For now, however, they’re content to make the two spots they have distinctive.

“This area (Victoria) is growing so fast, and this restaurant had a great reputation when we bought it,” Lee said. “We’re added more to the day menu, and we’ve remodeled all of it inside and out.”

John Molene is a freelance writer and photographer living in West St. Paul. He can be reached at jpmolene@aol.com.

Victoria House
1715 Steiger Lake Ln. Victoria
952-443-2858 www.cuzzys.com