What to do in Minneapolis/St. Paul?

06/04/2007 Ian S. says:

Pretty vague request.  What do you think of the Best of Yelp on the welcome page?  Pretty cool, isn't it.

Reading other old talk threads might be pretty useful as well.  Like this one:
http://www.yelp.com/to...

06/05/2007 Sun E. says:

Hi Jen!
I lived in Mpls. for 33 years!
Live in San Francisco area now.
A dear Yelp friend, Susan recently visited MN and compiled a fantastic list of MN "to-dos!"

Link to her list:
http://www.yelp.com/li...
_________________

One thing I dearly miss about MN are all the beautiful lakes right in the Twin Cities area...
Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis and more!

Link to Visitor's Page via Mpls. site:
http://www.ci.minneapo...

Hope you truly enjoy your MN visit...
you bet 'cha!
ha!

06/05/2007 Brad "Brad" T. says:

Lakes and rivers by day, art, booze, and munchies by rain or night. Specifically (not in any order):

1. Lakes Calhoun and Harriet, a short drive or bus ride down Hennepin Avenue from downtown
2. Minnehaha Creek, which more or less parallels 54th street all across south Minneapolis
3. Minnehaha Falls, beyond which the creek flows through woods down into the Mississippi
4. The Mississippi at Fort Snelling, and Saint Croix at Stillwater and Afton, half an hour east
5. For rich boaties Lake Minnetonka, land of the Pillsbury mansions (Wayzata or Excelsior)

then...

6. The Art Institute, which is fabulous, a mile down 3rd Avenue from downtown
7. Walker Art Center, nice and just redone/renovated, with a famous big spoon
   and sculpture garden across the drive, close to downtown and Loring Park
8. The Weisman on U of MN campus next to the Mississippi on Washington
9. Many small galleries around downtown, uptown, in pockets of N.E. Mpls
10. History Center and other galleries/venues across the river in Saint Paul

also....

Restaurants and nightclubs, mostly on 1st Avenue or Nicollet Avenue, but there are dozens of good spots around Minneapolis. Also the Guthrie and its neighborhood if you like Theater. In Saint Paul (my home) I like W.A. Frost on Selby, Dixie's and Billy's near Grand & Victoria, Sweeney's on Dale (kind of a dive), McGovern's and The Liffy on West 7th near the XCel Energy Center - home of the Wild hockey team. In downtown St. Paul try the St. Paul Grill, Pazzaluna, Kinkaid's, Fhima's, LoTo (in Galtier at lowertown), the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at the Ordway and the St. Paul Public Library at Rice Park. Many smaller, family-friendly places along Grand Avenue and on Marshall near the Mississippi, e.g. Izzy's Ice Cream and Grand Ole Creamery. Saint Paul is quiet at night, but not half as dead as some have implied.

Enjoy!

06/05/2007 Joe K. says:

If you have time, check out Al's Diner in Dinkytown for some breakfast. Not recommended for more than two people, but great food, none the less. It's a little hole-in-the-wall with only 14 seats, but they never fail to please.

Dinkytown in general is a neat area to explore, but it'll only last you a few hours. There's not enough to make a day of it.

Although I hate this place with a passion, there's always the Mall of America, too. It's like any other mall, but bigger with twice as many worthless stores (I.E. Sleep Number bed store...who buys that at the mall?)

Walking around downtown, in general, can be mildly amusing. there are scattered parks & fountains around if you're into that sort of thing.

06/05/2007 Jen K. says:

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them.  So I heard frozen custard is good...is this the state to find some good frozen custard and any places you would recommend in Minneapolis/St. Paul?

06/07/2007 Lucy L. says:

Brad T,

What do you do for a living?

06/07/2007 Ryan D. says:

Adele's in Excelsior is the best spot for custard...its a three block stroll from the water of Lake Minnetonka..

On a sunny day the patio at  Maynards overlooking the bay is also nice in Excelsior.

If you can score a boat, obviously the water is the best place to be on a hot summer day.

Lake Minnetonka is fun for cruising(drinking), sailing on Harriet or Calhoun is nice but no bars or marinas there.

06/07/2007

This post was removed because the yelper who wrote it has violated the Yelp Terms of Service and is no longer a registered yelper.

06/11/2007 Brad "Brad" T. says:

Lucy: I'm an aging computer tech at the U of MN for seven more weeks, but I start law school full-time in August. Call it a midlife crisis. Much less time for yelping in the Fall.

Ryan - yeah, Maynard's is nice, and dock boys will happily tie up your boat (tip em a buck), though I have felt silly docking my plastic toy amidst wooden yachts. I like Maynard's food and a bloody mary overlooking the lake. Peaceful on a Sunday, if less so than tree-lined lakes like Harriet with joggers, bandshell, kayaks, ice cream... Sunsets, a bar/restaurant in little upscale Wayzata, is also nice, though their patio does not have as good a view of the lake as at Maynard's. Sailors favor Wayzata Bay because it's bigger than most city lakes, with better winds. I think evening crowds at Maynard's may be among the youngest and trendiest on Minnetonka, but I don't live near there and don't really get out much these days.

To Jeff A: Strictly to get loaded? There's more to life, dude (writing as one who enjoys beer)! That said, the place featured in Purple Rain is 1st Avenue, and it remains a good club despite issues a year or two ago, I think financial. Its side venue, the 7th Street Entry, literally on the side of the building, is one of half a dozen places where less-known bands can get serious recognition. 1st Ave was a bus station when my dad (RIP), a city cop, was young. Big, industrial, pretty cool ambience.

Northward down 1st Avenue are other clubs, my favorite being the Fine Line, which appeals to a slightly older crowd. It has been known to feature artists like Bruce Cockburn as well as many local bands. There are a dozen bars along 1st Avenue, another half dozen on the Nicollet Mall. My wife and I like the Dakota on Nicollet, near Target, but that's definitely an older crowd, more jazz, cocktails, expensive food, not much dancing.

I guess you might also check out dive bars with music near the U of MN West Bank on Cedar Avenue. Some Euro/Afropop and the like on Cedar, what with the U and a heavily Somali and otherwise mixed population nearby. Also a few places off Hennepin just north and south of the Mississippi. The Gay 90s does (or did?) La Cage au Faules kinds of acts that I've never seen but have heard are fun. I'm slightly homophobic, for absolutely no good reason, so I tend to avoid that corner as well as a couple of bars near Hennepin's theater district.

One great spot to check out, across the highway from the Target Center parking ramp, is Lee's Liquor Lounge, which looks like nothing from the outside but has good local bands after 9 pm most nights. There are dozens of other spots, but I like these and they are walking distance from downtown - i.e. no drinking and driving if you stay in town.

Gotta go. Sorry if rambling - no time right now to clean it up.
-Brad

06/11/2007 Tony D. says:

Jeff, just wander through downtown and follow the crowds. First Ave is still great. The Fine Line sucks imo.

06/11/2007 Brad "Brad" T. says:

Fine line sucks? Many great bands. I like Boogie Wonderland for the '70s retro experience. I have read online gripes by a few seemingly whiny band members about feeling dissed by management, and drinks cost more than some prefer, but it's a great venue. I met my wife there. My only gripe is that when it's really crowded it can be hard to see the stage. For that, 1st Ave is better - the stage is big and more elevated and 1st Ave has a better balcony.

06/11/2007 Tony D. says:

Probably depends on your age. I've seen two or three shows there, the drinks are expensive, sight lines suck, staff is rude. It's like a slightly larger 400 Bar.

06/20/2007 Brad "Brad" T. says:

I almost forgot about Peavey Plaza concerts!

At Nicollet and 11th, between Brit's (great Engish pub) and Orchestra Hall, is an outdoor amphitheater big enough for tall fountains and concurrent performances. Most weeknights in June they host great, free concerts after 5 pm, typically rock or the like, and good, like the Drams tonight, Martin Zellar and G.B. Leighton within the next week... A relative of ours helps manage beer sales. There are also noon concerts, but my work is too far from Minneapolis to lunch there.

Peavey is close to the University of St. Thomas business and law schools. I almost chose the St. Thomas law school in part because I like that neighborhood, but the anticipated rush hour drive home to St. Paul persuaded me to stay on my side of the Mississippi for school (William Mitchell). If you visit Minneapolis in June, don't miss happy hour around Brit's!

06/28/2007 Eric D. says:

Hi Jen K.,

Here is a calendar for major events in August in the Twin Cities - http://hopes-and-dream...

You asked about frozen custard: Culver's is a chain of stores centered around Wisconsin & Minnesota -
http://www.culvers.com/ but it doesn't have the style of St. Paul's Grand Ole Creamery.

06/28/2007 Mark "Never Mind the Bollocks" B. says:

What to do in Minneapolis?  Why not tell everyone how much you love or hate Minneapolis, and participate in the seemingly endless debate for and against the virtues of the Twin Cities:

Debate without end, forever and ever, amen:
http://www.yelp.com/to...

Otherwise, just about everything that Brad T. recommends.  I concur!

07/17/2007 AngelaS F. says:

NOTHING - I just got back from there!!!!!!  Mall of America is good for a bit.

07/18/2007 Tony D. says:

I saw some larpers at Brackett Park last night, you must've just missed them.

07/19/2007 Laura 'jinx.tv' K. says:

segway tour!
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
totally cool way to see...uh...stuff.