FOX’s ‘Doc’ Just Dropped Another Big Minnesota Reference

The show Doc may be filmed hundreds of miles from Minnesota, but someone behind the scenes clearly knows their way around the North Star State. Season 3 Episode 2 just delivered another surprisingly specific Minnesota shout-out, and this one involves a Minneapolis restaurant you might actually recognize.

The Fox series Doc, which just kicked off its third season, premiered two years ago and airs Tuesdays at 8 pm CST. It's the latest show to be set here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and is based on the adventures of Dr. Amy Elias, a doctor at the completely fictional Westside Hospital in Minneapolis.

Throughout its first season, Doc was fairly accurate in its portrayal of Minnesota. While the show is actually shot on location in Toronto, it DOES contain the establishing shots of Minneapolis, which are used to give viewers a sense of being in Minnesota, using both sweeping panoramic daytime and nighttime shots of the Minneapolis skyline.

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FOX’s ‘Doc’ Season 3 Adds Another Minnesota Reference

It also appears the Doc writing team has a Minnesota native on staff, or someone familiar with the Bold North, who created several different local references that have been accurate to our state. Because in Season 3 Episode 2, the characters just dropped another major Minnesota reference.

Without giving too much of the plot away, this episode spent a considerable amount of time talking about the Minneapolis restaurant, Mestizo. The restaurant, which is located in Northeast Minneapolis, specializes in 'blending Latin and Asian flavors,' its website says. That fact is also mentioned in the show, as the characters say they selected 'Mestizo's' because they couldn't decide which type of food they wanted.

These Minnesota-specific references have been occurring in Doc since its first season. Take a look at some definite Minnesota references from season 1:

Every Minnesota Reference ‘Doc’ Has Made So Far

• In Episode 4, the plot concerns the treatment of a Marine and includes a reference to Fort McCoy, the US Army's Total Force Training Center near Sparta, Wisconsin.
• In Episode 4, a conversation mentions not getting a reservation at Spoon And Stable, the downtown Minneapolis restaurant created by James Beard Award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen.
• Also in Episode 4, a patient being treated says she's a professor at the University of Minnesota-- and the writers were familiar enough with Minnesota to call it the 'U of M.'
• A flashback scene of a school field trip in Episode 4 shows a school bus with 'Minneapolis Public Schools' written on the side.
• Episode 7 (S1 E7 'Secrets And Lies') included a reference to Prince and tours of his former home and recording studio at Paisley Park, as well as the classic Minneapolis record store, Electric Fetus.

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That trend continued in Season 2. The second-season premiere featured a fictitious member of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and referenced the burning of the department's Third Precinct building, which occurred during the George Floyd riots in May 2020.

And in a story I wrote earlier this year, Doc Season 2, Episode 16, titled 'The Best We Can Do,' mentioned Minnesota's Med City several times. In a plot that involves one of the doctors exploring the possibility of changing jobs, a representative of 'The Mayo' is introduced, with the character, Dr. Hamda, asking him, 'How are things going in Rochester?' Then, 'the Mayo' is later referenced again when a colleague asks him about his plans.

It's similar to the time I previously wrote about, when the long-running ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy also referenced the world-famous Mayo Clinic-- and actually shot some scenes on location in Rochester-- though they referred to Mayo simply as 'The Clinic.'

I also wrote about another Minnesota reference in Season 2, Episode 20, titled 'The Big Chair.' In that episode, Dr. Gina Walker and her love interest are looking forward to celebrating their relationship and have snagged reservations at Spoon And Stable, the downtown Minneapolis restaurant created by James Beard Award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen. (Spoon And Stable were also shouted out in Season 1, Episode 4, as we mentioned above.)

And in its Season 2 finale (Episode 22, titled 'Happy Birthday') the staff at Westside Hospital deals with a deadly virus that has a floor of the medical center on lockdown. One of the characters uses a hat to randomly pick which patients will get the few limited doses of the disease-stopping serum, and the cap they use happens to be a Minnesota Timberwolves hat.

That love for Minnesota's NBA team is actually the second shout-out in that episode, as earlier in the show, during a flashback scene, one of the doctors is shown wearing a Minnesota Timberwolves shirt as well.

Not Every Minnesota Reference on ‘Doc’ Is Accurate

While mentioning the Wolves is a totally accurate Minnesota shout-out, Doc also has some inaccuracies. To start, of course, Westside Hospital doesn't exist, nor does its counterpart, Eastside Hospital, which is also mentioned. And when the show referenced the very real Mayo Clinic in season 2 but called it 'the Mayo,' that missed the mark. Because, as we know, nobody in Rochester or Minnesota refers to Mayo Clinic by that name.

While not a big deal, it joins a few other tidbits where Doc is also inaccurate when it comes to Minnesota. In season one, the show mentioned the town of 'Dobbs, Minnesota,' which doesn't exist. Neither does a museum called 'The Franklin,' which the show portrayed as being located in Minneapolis.

Overall, for a show that isn't filmed here and doesn't have any Minnesota natives in the cast, Doc has done a pretty good job accurately referencing our fair state. Let's hope they continue to include those Minnesota references next year during Season 3.

Although not featured in this show, our state *does* have its share of famous residents, right? Keep scrolling to check them out and see where they went to high school here in the Bold North!