Ordered a bacon & cheese omelette with cheddar and jack cheese (which I understood to be MONTEREY jack). I took a bite off each end where there was no bacon or cheese and then took a bite from the middle. My mouth was on fire. They used pepper jack cheese and when I questioned the waitress she seemed not to know there was any kind of jack besides pepper jack. I didn't think I should have to pay but they insisted I ate more than half and charged me. I told them I would never come back and they didn't care. No manager came and they seemed happy to get rid of me.

Keys has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 30 years, which is why it is surprising that they have not moved from their original Raymond location. If you choose to go to Keys, this location is the best of all to go to for a homey feel. There are reviews plastered all over the walls, as well as photos of celebrities that have stopped by for a bite.

Keys doesn't preted to be a gourmet food joint, they just make good, filling, home-cooked meals. If you visit this particular location, try to make it in on a weekday - they turn off the deep fryer on weekends, so you can't get french fries or melts. The breakfasts are fantastic, and the lunches are pretty good too. Try an omelette with any filling or a "signature breakfast", and you'll be stuffed. If you do go on a weekday, try a fish sandwich, and you'll be in a buttery, meaty heaven.

This Keys location also does great take-out desserts. For under $2, you can get a cookie the size of your head or a gooey caramel roll, baked fresh that morning.

Keys is a true diner. You seat yourself and try your best to get one of the cushy booths. That's hard most of the time, because Keys is both popular and tiny! From anywhere in the restaurant, you can see the kitchen and the waitress station. The waitstaff is not always the friendliest, but they do know the menu top to bottom, and try to meet your needs.

This location only serves breakfast and lunch, so they close at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. You can visit the Keys Cafe website for their story and other information.

Key's Cafe advertises itself as offering "the food you grew up with." Well, if most of us grew up with food like this, we never would have left home.

Let's get one thing straight: Key's is a diner. Lines are longer, food is greasy, and service is horrendous (I don't know if they have ever gotten one of my orders exactly right). If you are looking for fine dining, go down the street to Manny's.

If, on the other hand, you want belly-filling, high-calorie, home-cooked food, come on in. The menu is extensive, with a variety of salads, sandwiches, desserts and breakfast all day.

Breakfasts are the real reason to come here. They are cheap, filling, and served all day. Skip the eggs and head right to the French Toast ($4.25 for two enormous pieces) or the Belgian Waffles ($4.50). Okay, so you have to have eggs? Help yourself to an "Everything Omelet," for $9.25, which comes with, well, everything.

Looking for a sandwich? Try the Key's Club, which comes overstacked with home cooked fries. Ditto for the Key's Burger, a 1/3 pound monster loaded with toppings.

Desserts are super-sized at Key's as well. The shakes are a delicious bargain at $4.50, while a variety of cookies, cakes, and Rice Krispie treats will fill you if you have any room left.

Keys is a diner at its best. Come for the food, not the service, and you will be thrilled.

Bon Appetit magazine claims that Keys serves one of eight best breakfasts in the United States and I believe it. Everything is made fresh from scratch. Keys remains family-run despite having grown from one little shop in St. Paul to nine, and in fact brunch there feels a bit like a family affair, with the wait staff teasing and tormenting each other while they serve up heaping plates of home cooking.

You will have to wait on line for brunch, but the line moves quickly thanks to the "wham bam thank you ma’am" style service. Be sure to order their famous cinnamon roll, an enormous puffy monstrosity glazed with sugar and served with a pouf of creamed butter on the plate. Don’t try to eat one alone!

Plate-sized pancakes are fantastic, filled with your choice of delicious fruits and nuts. The banana pecan combination with extra bananas on top as well as inside is my favorite. You can order one, two, or three giant cakes depending on your budget and appetite. Omelettes are also infinitely customizable. Hash browns are an unusual but inspired choice of filling. Slow cooked oatmeal and Italian sausage hash made from scratch are also standouts on the breakfast menu.

Keys serves lunch and dinner, too, of the same down-home casual ilk in attendance at brunch. One night, en route to pick up some Keys soup for dinner, I discovered that Keys Café serves breakfast all day long. This was announced to me by a man in black standing outside the café as I approached the restaurant’s entrance. He insisted that his job was to welcome me to Keys and open the door for me.

He looked and acted as if he might be the owner, but as I whisked past him I noticed a smell that could only mean one thing: he was drunk. Charming, yes, but unmistakably drunk. I ordered the vegetarian soup du jour to go and resisted buying a brick-sized rice krispie treat (baked fresh daily, oh yes!)

The well-meaning drunk, who had been welcoming other customers outside and holding the door for them, came in to tell me that breakfast was served all day long at Keys, and would I like to sit down and have some French toast. I asked him if he was an employee and he changed the subject. He opened the door for me on my way out and half-heartedly tried to pick me up. His name was Joe, and he knew I could tell he was drunk. He admitted that he wasn’t an employee, and said he was just trying to help out because ‘he liked the place’. It was clear to me that whatever Joe’s sad story was, that the folks at Keys Café liked him too, and didn’t really mind that he was drunk, or that every once in a while he might scare off a customer. He didn’t scare me off – I’ll be back for more soup and a 25-cent leftover muffin.

On the southern end of Nicollet Mall I enjoyed going to a bustling little lunch spot called Keys Cafe. The service was very fast and the food was high quality for a good price. The menu was also quite extensive. If you're really in a hurry they also have a walk up deli counter near the entrance. The brick size rice crispy treats caught my eye!