Minneapolis - tell me what to do

no, it is terrible. i had steak and eggs one morning when i was hung over and felt i needed to be even more disgusted with myself, and, success

i forgot to mention al's diner, love that tiny place

oh yeah, if you can get there on a weekday, do it. although school is out so weekends might be a little calmer!

lol no way

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%27s_Breakfast

yeah thats one of the ones i was talking about!

now if you want to buy yerself a nice guitar while you're in town, i know this place...

― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, July 24, 2009 8:10 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

willies?

*runs and hides*

(j/k homie...is it cool if i bring the rig in on monday?)

yeah sounds good

When I had a college-radio shift on Friday mornings, I'd always bring the unmistakable scent of Al's into the booth with me. Their pancakes are my all-time favorites, huge but light. I'll have a short-short buttermilk stack and a two-egg Spike, please.

jj ty for the tip, am straining to overcompensate for the time there were 6x Eames chairs in Broadway Antiques for $120 and I failed to buy and ship because of the shipping expense (if they had tried to charge duty in UK it would've been a pittance). I reckon the prices for doing that are a bit more competitive now. If you can find 4x chairs that would go with a black-legged '50s diner table with white/gray patterned top (similar to chrome/formica tables) let me know, will prob be cheaper than Ikea and more likely to arrive on time.

LOL own Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al's_Breakfast

what clubs should i check for shows?

any hotels (inexpensive but not sketchy) or B&B's anyone can recommend? (i know, i know, if you live there, you don't stay in hotels)

This is in Uptown, a good neighbourhood, close to all sorts:

http://www.lanierbb.com/inns/bb1509.html

My favorite hotel is the Normandy Inn downtown--a Best Western, nothing fancy, but not too expensive and it has a nice old-school feel to it. I often stay at nicer places (my sister works for a chain and gets me a fantastic discount), but when I went there for July 4 weekend the Normandy's where I stayed. (I may do so again for Labor Day weekend--a friend is getting married--but we'll see how my finances are.)

Matt's is an absolute must. And while this is not a recommendation for the food, per se, I never miss a chance to go to Little Tijuana. It's total fake Mexican but that fakeness is somehow perfect Minneapolis-ana to me.

The many suggestions upthread are really helpful! It's been a decade since I moved away and I don't know much about the changes that have taken place so now I have an armful of new stuff to try. Thanks for helping me rediscover my home city, everyone.

If you're looking for vegetarian or gluten-free, it's hard to do better than Cafe Agri.
Then take a walk by Lake Harriet.

from upthread:

for shows, def check the calendars at the triple rock, the turf club, first avenue/7th street entry.

some people enjoy the 400 bar, but i do not

I do not enjoy it either. Must add: last time I was at Little T's, I was with Matos, the chips were greasy and hot, and the waif-punk waitresses ruled. Drunks have gone there to draw on the tablecloths since forever.

It's total fake Mexican but that fakeness is somehow perfect Minneapolis-ana to me.

at any given time there's probably a girl named Ana working there

yeah man, i dunno Little T's is legendary because it's open at 3am when ppl are drunk, if it's not and you're not, don't bother

btw goole

went to this place twice already:

http://heavytable.com/tinga-de-pollo-at-el-taco-riendo/

that tinga de pollo taco is the TRUTH.

btw the 501 Club on Washington is a fantastic new addition to the bar/show/club scene...booking good stuff, it's a nice bar and never cover.

Basically for shows all these places are cool just depends on whose playing...all these places regularly have shows worth seeing:

First Avenue

7th St Entry

Turf Club

Triple Rock Social Club

Uptown Bar

The Hexagon Bar

Varsity Theater (bigger shows like First Ave mainroom)

Kitty Cat Club

Big Vs (a little rougher but still fun IMO)

501 Club

Fine Line Music Club (a little antiseptic but good sound)

The Nomad World Pub

331 Club

Lee's Liquors (more country/roots stuff)

Dakota Jazz Bar & Grill

Artist's Quarter (jazz as well)

Cedar Cultural Center (os mutantes coming there in sept!! usually kinda hippie though but some good jazz)

400 Bar (um....kiiiinda...i sorta hate the owners and staff but you know if it's something you HAVE to see it's okay)

Sauce Soundbar (new and goddamn if "Soundbar" doesn't make me puke but have actually heard good things and they seem to be booking good bands)

The Cabooze (old school place lots of times it's biker stuff or hippie jam bands but have the odd good show like X or Digital Underground or Greg Ginn for some weird reason)

jesus CHRIST we have a lot of venues...

Well Greg Ginn IS a hippie biker jam guy, so.

Well Greg Ginn IS a hippie biker jam guy, so.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, August 5, 2009 10:34 PM (10 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha yeah i guess now he is...guitarist that's in the backing group for this hip hop band with me on bass actually got up and jammed with ginn. he said backstage he'd never seen anyone smoke more weed....which...believe me...is really saying something.

also forgot:

Eclipse Records - cool little indie store in St Paul that has a separate all ages show space, they do good stuff

Memory Lanes - bowling alley where bands actually play in the middle of the lanes on this weird platform...

i kinda hate the uptown bar. bad layout, uncomfortable if there's more than 25 ppl in there. i hear everyone say they looove the food and i think it's crap too, esp breakfast. don't get it.

400 bar is problematic but the sound in there has always been good imo

First time I went to the 501 Club I totally won the drunken spelling bee. It was pretty sweet.

And there's teh m3dus@, mentioned on another thread. Last time I was there I got invited to a queer makeout party at the Mall of America. Couldn't make it though.

This thread is reminding me how many awesome-sounding places in the twin cities I still haven't been to.

any more st paul-centric suggestions?

what about bookstores?

Best used bookstores, as a rule, seem to be on the U campus.

where should i eat if i'm in st. paul?

Mickey's Diner

http://www.scenesalongtheroad.com/images/places/mn/stpaul/IMG_2262.JPG

400 bar is problematic but the sound in there has always been good imo

I played here once and it was sort of this weird booking nightmare because they thought we were an entirely different band called Sk1rt (wtf 400 bar). Who they put on the bill instead of us, and insisted we call ourselves Sk1rt for that one show because it was already advertised and...man it was just weird. On top of that weirdness, my dad, aunt, uncle, a bunch of my cousins, and our singer's parents t'boot all showed up--and on top of that I was really sick and could barely play. But anyway, yeah, the sound was good! And we got paid!

Lol and oh yeah it was also my birthday.

http://images.publicradio.org/content/2008/09/02/20080902_mickeys_teargas_33.jpg

hey! this city rocks!

quick -- what can i do in dinkytown (or that side of the city, generally) aside from the weisman?

Sorry if I'm late, but the Kitty Cat Klub (or however it's spelled) is great most nights, the Loring has salsa nights, and the Varsity has shows. Sadly, the Dinkytowner is closed. Al's Breakfast in the morning. Used book stores. Over in Stadium Village, go get a glimpse of Oak Street Cinema before it's not there anymore.

Sadly, the Dinkytowner is closed.

o_0

: (

(#$^&*W#

in '94, how did I miss a nabe called Dinkytown?

Hi, I am the cracked IDS.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2530/3865540097_880bb17fd7.jpg

I'll very likely be visiting in summer 2012

(fair warning)

Awesome! Drinks!

I am here! I was too busy eating in San Antonio and forgot to make plans or read about neighborhoods, restaurants, bars, etc. Oops.

I have a job offer here so am sort of checking out the job and the town as potential places to move to (and maybe even figure out where to live). So I am looking for neighborhoods to hang out in rather than touristy stuff to do or anomalously amazing upscale dining experiences. Apparently it is going to snow tomorrow night so I want to make tomorrow count. I have a bike and I am going to try to check out the U, NE, downtown and uptown. Is this a bad/good/ludicrous idea?

Also is there any way to get the city public wifi without, uh, paying?

http://www.bookhouseindinkytown.com/

in dinkytown just off from the east bank campus of the U

lol weather

Let me guess, it's snowing. But I have to say, I get more SAD symptoms from London life than I ever got in Minneapolis - in wintertime, when it isn't SNOWING, the sun's out a lot. If I were to settle in Minneapolis I'd try to be by the lakes because of bike trails/parks and nearness to good cheap restaurants/most things but there's a lot of INCREDIBLE housing stock in St Paul proper that is best viewed while doing an impression of someone's dog panting out the window of pickup truck.

it is pissing it down UK style, which is the one thing i didn't pack for.

haha i am finding it weird how it is clearly winter, but it is not pitch black from 4pm until 10am.

Ha, my mom phoned up yesterday and said it was going to snow, not rain. Failmom.

The 45th Parallel North cuts across MInneapolis, as shown here: http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Museum/45th/Mpls.html so that's why you get all the light compared w/the UK.

Go shopping. NO VAT on clothing in the state of Minnesota.

yeah i figure i will scale back my plans for today and just wander around downtown, maybe go to the lol white bread museum and some shops. i am in an area called seward, which is just over the river from the main u of m-mn campus.

Seward is a nice little neighborhood, handy to many areas, lots of my friends live there. The Birchwood Cafe is reliably good for breakfast or lunch. Or Raja's mahal for Indian.

http://www.birchwoodcafe.com/
http://www.rajasmahal.com/

If you're downtown tomorrow night come and see my band play at Lee's Liquor Lounge!
http://leesliquorlounge.com/

Hmmm, seems Raja's Mahal has become an Ethiopian restaurant since I was there last.

i had lunch at the birchwood. it was delightful!

now i am i the skyways of downtown. it is like dubai but opposite world!

I think the Twin Cities skyways are one of the coolest things in the world.

so i am leaning towards eating/drinking at the triple rock (no show tonight, but 241 drinks) - heres a link http://www.triplerocksocialclub.com/