Friday Night:
The Minnesota State Fair
Come gorge yourself while hanging out with the rest of the
state’s population at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Sure, on paper it appears that the Texas State Fair is
larger, but theirs lasts twice as long as ours and ours has the greatest
average per-day attendance in the country making it a must-see spectacle.
If you’re a fan of some of the most god-awful, obnoxious
music to come out of the 90s, you’re in luck – Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, and the
Gin Blossoms will assault the State Fair Grandstand Friday night. For a less
nauseating experience, you could check out local favorites Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles for free at 7:00 on the Heritage Square stage. If you’re
patient enough to wait until Tuesday, Bat for Lashes and Depeche Mode will be
playing the Grandstand. Better yet, spend Friday night out on the town
exploring the Twin Cities scene (keep reading).
Northeast (Nordeast), Minneapolis
Come experience the Twin Cities’ drinking culture.
Microbreweries, artist lofts, and hip dive bars populate this corner of
Minneapolis. If the weather is nice, you’ll find half of Minneapolis on Psycho Suzi’s patio. If you’re hungry and the line at Anchor Fish & Chips is too
long, there’s sure to be a food truck nearby. Get your polka fix at Nye’sPolonaise Room or Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit. There’s something interesting
happening on every corner, so don’t be afraid to explore. Just make sure you
make it to the 331 Club in time to see Dreamland Faces for the best musical saw
playing since Bob Tinant (free!).
Uptown, Minneapolis
The two main stretches of Uptown are Hennepin Ave and
Lyndale Ave, roughly between Franklin Ave (on the north) and Lake St (on the
south). Uptown’s proximity to the Chain of Lakes and the Sculpture Garden make
it an ideal starting point for any out-of-town visitor. Speaking of the Lakes,
“Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” will be playing at the Lake Harriet Bandshell at
sundown.
There’s plenty to do on Hennepin, but it has recently seen
quite a bit of commercialization. If you think you can hold your own with the
young and hip, hop on your fixie and head to Lyndale (make sure to stop at the
Bryant-Lake Bowl on the way). Sure, Lyndale might make you feel old and
irrelevant, but it’s the best place to schmooze with local celebrities, and the
bar hopping is slightly more manageable than in Nordeast. Sing karaoke at the
VFW, don 3D glasses to read the menu at Galactic Pizza, or follow in the
footsteps of The Replacements and loiter at the CC Club. If you order the
Wondrous Punch at the Red Dragon, make sure to share it with a friend,
otherwise you probably won’t make it to our wedding the next day.
Although it’s usually not considered part of Uptown, I
should probably also mention Nicollet Ave (Eat Street). Just a few blocks east
of Lyndale, Nicollet could be considered Lyndale’s slightly grittier cousin.
Home to countless ethnic restaurants and some of my favorite hangouts (Spyhouse Coffee and Icehouse), Eat Street is also the place to be for some late-night
snacks…particularly Little Tijuana (Little T’s) and Glam Doll Donuts.
The West Bank, Minneapolis
A.K.A. Cedar-Riverside, A.K.A. Little Mogadishu, the West
Bank is known for its vibrant refugee communities, vegetarian-friendly dives,
awesome concert venues, and the love-it-or-hate-it modern architecture of Ralph
Rapson (you’ll know Riverside Plaza when you see it). I recommend checking out
local buzz bands Night Moves and Tickle Torture at the Triple Rock Social Club.
Warehouse District, downtown Minneapolis
When suburbanites and frat boys say they’re going out on the
town, they’re actually referring to the Warehouse District. 1st Ave
(the street) is the heart of this club scene, but the Hennepin Avenue Theater
District and the pedestrian-friendly Nicollet Mall are also nearby. Of course,
the saving grace of the Warehouse District (other than Target Field and the
Minnesota Lynx) is First Avenue (the club). Prince might have put First Avenue
on the map, but the smaller stage known as the 7th Street Entry is
where up-and-coming bands have historically cut their teeth (if you listen
really closely to “Purple Rain,” you can hear Hüsker Dü playing next door in
the Entry…not really, but it’s believable). If you find yourself downtown this
Friday and you’re into hip-hop, you’d be a fool to miss Greg Grease at the 7th
St Entry.
Midway, Saint Paul
Midway will be an absolute mess due to State Fair traffic,
but if you’re not afraid of biking it or taking public transportation, your
effort will be rewarded with a night of awesome female-fronted rock bands at
the Turf Club – featuring indie rockers, Prissy Clerks, and teenage hotshots,
Bomba De Luz. Added sightseeing bonus: Midway is where Jessica and I first
lived together.
Lowertown, downtown Saint Paul
If you booked a hotel downtown Saint Paul and don’t feel
like hopping in a car, bus, or bike, you would do well to walk to Lowertown. This
artist-inhabited edge of downtown surrounding Mears Park is the place to be if
you’re looking for a low-key, perhaps more mature (but still hip!) alternative
to Uptown.
Saturday Morning/Afternoon:
Saint Paul:
Absolutely check out the Saint Paul Farmers Market in
Lowertown. It runs from 6am to 1pm (and 8am to 1pm on Sunday). While you’re in
the neighborhood, grab a drink at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, play a
game of Ping-Pong in the recently renovated Union Depot, and chill out next to
the stream running through Mears Park.
For breakfast, you should probably visit downtown Saint
Paul’s most recognizable landmark: Mickey’s Diner (look for the streetcar
sitting on the corner of W 7th St and Saint Peter St). If you
already ate elsewhere, don’t worry; Mickey’s is open 24 hours.
If you feel like venturing slightly out of downtown Saint
Paul, take a drive down W 7th Street. Day By Day Cafe and Mojo Monkey Donuts are two of many favorites along West 7th.
If you’re feeling fancy, head up to Cathedral Hill (go up
the hill that leads to the Cathedral…you’ll know it when you see it). There are
some nice restaurants concentrated around Selby Ave and Western Ave, but if
you’re just looking for coffee, Nina’s Coffee Café is the place to be. If you
really want people to think you’re local, pronounce it “Nine-ahs.” Garrison
Keillor’s bookstore (Common Good Books) used to be downstairs, but it recently
moved to the corner of Snelling and Grand near the Macalester campus.
Grand Avenue, by the way, is also worth checking out. It’s
kind of the Hennepin Avenue of Saint Paul. There’s a ton to do on Grand, but
you better not miss Cafe Latté, their desserts are famous for a reason.
Usually I’d designate the free Como Zoo and Conservatory and Como Lake as Saint Paul must-sees, but you’d have to battle the State Fair
crowds to get near Como Park this time of year. All the more reason to come
back!
Finally, every wedding guest has a free pass to the Science Museum. Let the people at will call know that you’re with the Matson-Barnett
wedding, and you’ll have access to some seriously cool exhibits. Dinosaurs!
Minneapolis:
It’s called the City of Lakes. That means that if you visit
Minneapolis without visiting the Lakes, you haven’t really visited Minneapolis.
All the lakes in Minneapolis have something to offer, but the best people
watching occurs at Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, and Lake of the Isles. The best
beaches, however, are probably at Cedar Lake and Lake Nokomis.
We have museums, too! Most distinguished are the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in the Whittier neighborhood and the Walker Art Center wedged
between downtown and Uptown. If you go to the M.I.A., you should probably check
out the nearby Electric Fetus (BuzzFeed just placed it at #15 in
its list of record stores around the world that you have to shop at before you die). If you go to the Walker, you should probably stop by the Sculpture Garden
and take a picture of the Spoonbridge and Cherry to prove that you’ve been to
Minneapolis.
What a great weekend to visit our neighborhood, Longfellow!
The LoLa (League of Longfellow Artists) Art Crawl is happening this Saturday
and Sunday (10am to 5pm both days). Businesses and homes become art galleries
all throughout Longfellow. Start at the Riverview Cafe and Wine Bar (just two
blocks from our house!) to grab a snack and an art crawl map, and then enjoy
the best neighborhood in the Cities. Don’t forget to also admire Longfellow’s
natural attractions: the Mississippi River and the iconic Minnehaha Falls. When
you’re finished, you’ll want to head across the Lake Street bridge into Merriam
Park, Saint Paul (our old neighborhood) for some Izzy’s Ice Cream.
I know some of you will want to check out the Mall of
America, and there’s nothing I can say to change your mind. Just make it back
to Rice Park by 4:00!
Sunday:
Most of what I mentioned for Saturday also applies to
Sunday. Hopefully by the time Sunday rolls around, we’ll have had the
opportunity to talk in person and make some customized recommendations. Both
Jessica and I have strong opinions about where to go for the best Thai,
Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican, veggie burgers, pizza, tater tots, coffee, beer,
etc. We can also recommend bike routes. Did I mention that the Twin Cities are
best experienced by bike?
