for a fancier place that is pretty organic and not totally vegetarian but def veggie friedly...cafe brenda downtown is supposed to be great
you can check out the menu online...a little on the spendier side but looks nice, ppl have recommended it to me
http://www.cafebrenda.com/liveMenu.html?liveMenu=D&z=37846
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Matt, that's 50 Minnewegian points for using any form of 'spendy'. Well played.
Cafe Brenda has always been good and any vegetarian will be happy with the Vietnamese and Mexican food. Even though I chipped my tooth on a pork chop there once, Quang is my favourite for Vietnamese.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:11 (fourteen years ago) link
lol that was totally unconscious i swear
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:15 (fourteen years ago) link
As I often tell my mom, 'expensive' has three syllables and it's even in English. j/k
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:18 (fourteen years ago) link
has anyone found pineapple bread like Qang's at other places?
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:23 (fourteen years ago) link
Pineapple bread? Sorry, I was busy eating the rest of the menu.
Apart from banh mi - there is always liverwurst on those and I *cannot* eat that so argh.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:33 (fourteen years ago) link
Also, make sure to get drunk at a Nordeast bar.
― sir-mounter (Eric H.), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:36 (fourteen years ago) link
It's probably passe but I always liked Bryant-Lake Bowl.
― brash trash talker (dan m), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:37 (fourteen years ago) link
the pinapple bread is amazing (up in the deli case with the a+ banh mi...i usually don't have time to eat in there, so i pop in and grab those)
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Friday, 24 July 2009 17:38 (fourteen years ago) link
To be a dissenting voice I like the Hard Times, but I wouldn't say it's a must-go unless you need vegetarian food at 2am.
― clotpoll, Friday, 24 July 2009 18:12 (fourteen years ago) link
Fireroast Mountain Cafe is really nice - has good cheap tamales and excellent baked goods.
― clotpoll, Friday, 24 July 2009 18:14 (fourteen years ago) link
So many things seconded -- Quang, 112, Matt's...
Vinyl: Treehouse Records (formerly Oarfolkjokapus), the Uptown Cheapo (if you don't mind sifting through scratched stuff)
Mpls is an awesome breakfast town: Al's, Hell's Kitchen (get the wild rice porridge!), Victor's 1959 Cafe, the Band Box, the Triple Rock, Bryant-Lake Bowl's granola pancakes...
I love Minneapolis -- and I'm moving back next month!
― lindseykai, Friday, 24 July 2009 18:21 (fourteen years ago) link
oh victors is an A+++++ recommend!
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 18:38 (fourteen years ago) link
For vintage and secondhand I suggest Tatters on Lyndale (friend owns); around the corner at Lake and Bryant (right next to the Bowl) is Corner Store, which although expensive for Mpls. (but really cheap for me when the pound/dollar exchange is in consideration) has mint-condition dresses from the 1920s onward plus...oh just go, it's good. Your GF will love and the men's section is interesting.
The ace in the hole for Twin Cities shopping is NO SALES TAX ON CLOTHES OR SHOES.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 18:42 (fourteen years ago) link
^^^example, Corner Store has been there since 1980, in '86 I paid $35 for a black/electric blue '50s smoking jacket with sales tags still on. This place is particularly good at little black dresses of the ages; if you're like me and don't like the possibility of turning up in the same nice dress as some other person, it's easy to grab a few there without busting the bank.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 18:53 (fourteen years ago) link
fun fact: Eric Clapton was in the corner store this summer and i guess spent $5000 on vintage motorcycle gear
I would add to the vinyl/record shopping:
Roadrunner on Nicollet is great, not as big a selection of new indie/punk, but if you are looking for older classic rock/jazz/random past stuff....it is WAY cheaper than Treehouse and a great store.
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 19:00 (fourteen years ago) link
I bought a pair of Vans there once, and the cashier said, "They're $29.95". I said, yes, I know they are, but how much do I owe you? and she just grinned and said THEY'RE $29.95.
― http://tinyurl.com/ggggst (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 24 July 2009 19:02 (fourteen years ago) link
thanks suzy et al!
― amateurist, Friday, 24 July 2009 19:17 (fourteen years ago) link
corner store sounds up my GF's alley -- she likes big poofy dresses from the 1950s/1960s.
LOL PP that must have been your first shoe/clothing purchase in tax-free Minneapolis.
Matt, that's a great fun fact. I'll feel so much better when I'm trying to get a discount for buying two dresses knowing Clapton has paid their rent for the year. BTW everything is cheaper than Treehouse. Costs a fortune to feed the current owner.
Am, there's nothing that Hairspray/poodle skirt there; more to the Audrey Hepburn/Dita von Teese side of 'which postwar looks do I channel?' Tatters around the corner has always been more the home of the Lily Allen prom dress.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 19:24 (fourteen years ago) link
aha, thanks.
― amateurist, Friday, 24 July 2009 19:27 (fourteen years ago) link
I have fond memories of Treehouse because I used to live above it and my old roommate still manages the place most days. :)
Lula in St. Paul is also great for poofy vintage dresses. Once I was scoping out this near-perfect 1960s silk-satin cocktail dress that was priced at $45. The woman at the counter saw how well it fit me and knocked it down to $35.
― lindseykai, Friday, 24 July 2009 19:43 (fourteen years ago) link
d@N? he is a great dude!
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 19:43 (fourteen years ago) link
(btw i do like treehouse, but i buy records everywhere, there's plenty of me to around, record buying wise)
Yep, he's awesome!
― lindseykai, Friday, 24 July 2009 19:45 (fourteen years ago) link
Treehouse is the closest thing to the Mpls. record stores I grew up with; my friend was asst mgr when it was Oarfolk.
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 19:59 (fourteen years ago) link
never really liked treehouse /challop
― goole, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:00 (fourteen years ago) link
treehouse is unfortunate mpls home of record 'tude - hahaha well with the exception of extreme noise i suppose
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:03 (fourteen years ago) link
oh hey there is also some bizarre retro chic rennaisance going on in midway, tons of super cool weirdo furniture/doodads/gizmos.
also if you are looking for unique shopping experiences, i need to throw in a shout out to robot love (vinyl toy stuff but also art/books and such, and owned and managed by the nicest people on earth) - plus the soovac gallery next door is always interesting. and another stellar breakfast place the sunny side up is across the street.
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:05 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh Eclipse Records in St Paul is good and there's a retro old furniture place next door that is HOOOTTTT
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:07 (fourteen years ago) link
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, 24 July 2009 20:10 (fourteen years ago) link
sunny side up is crap!
― goole, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:11 (fourteen years ago) link
U MAD
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:12 (fourteen years ago) link
mad meaning crazy not filled w/ire
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:13 (fourteen years ago) link
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
― goole, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:17 (fourteen years ago) link
i forgot to mention al's diner, love that tiny place
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:20 (fourteen years ago) link
oh yeah, if you can get there on a weekday, do it. although school is out so weekends might be a little calmer!
― goole, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:21 (fourteen years ago) link
lol no way
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%27s_Breakfast
― goole, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:22 (fourteen years ago) link
― 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?)
― tulsa anti-juggalo league (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:30 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah sounds good
― wax onleck, wax affleck (jjjusten), Friday, 24 July 2009 20:48 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― lindseykai, Friday, 24 July 2009 20:51 (fourteen years ago) link
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
― clear chanel (suzy), Friday, 24 July 2009 21:03 (fourteen years ago) link
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)
― amateurist, Wednesday, 5 August 2009 11:38 (fourteen years ago) link
This is in Uptown, a good neighbourhood, close to all sorts:
http://www.lanierbb.com/inns/bb1509.html
― barry totoro (suzy), Wednesday, 5 August 2009 11:48 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― Matos W.K., Wednesday, 5 August 2009 14:07 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 5 August 2009 17:58 (fourteen years ago) link
from upthread:
for shows, def check the calendars at the triple rock, the turf club, first avenue/7th street entry.
― Results 1 - 1 of 1 for vedderizer. (0.05 seconds) ;_; (jjjusten), Wednesday, 5 August 2009 19:03 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― barry totoro (suzy), Wednesday, 5 August 2009 19:37 (fourteen years ago) link
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
― bodied peanuts (goole), Wednesday, 5 August 2009 19:41 (fourteen years ago) link
21st is a thursday, so free entry @ walker art center.
if it's nice outside you could visit minnehaha falls or walk across the stone arch bridge.
the book house is the used book store in dinkytown. while you're in the area you can see if you can get a seat at al's diner.
all of the best vietnamese food is across the river in st. paul. my favorites in mpls are vo's (tiki, cozy) and pho 79 (dive).
check eagles 34 and cedar cultural center for music and dancing. check the trylon for films.
― budo jeru, Thursday, 14 April 2022 18:10 (one year ago) link
free walker thursday seconded, normally I would suggest the weisman because it's always free
― underminer of twenty years of excellent contribution to this borad (dan m), Thursday, 14 April 2022 18:24 (one year ago) link
Amir ElSaffar's Rivers of Sound Orchestra playing the Walker that Thursday.
― bulb after bulb, Thursday, 14 April 2022 18:48 (one year ago) link
Another advantage of visiting the Walker or MIA on Thursday is that they're open later in the evening (last I knew the Walker was only free after 5 PM).
If you venture out to St. Paul and On's Thai Kitchen, Midway Books is a block or so down University and is a pretty big/comprehensive used bookstore.
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Thursday, 14 April 2022 21:24 (one year ago) link
I'll be there two weeks from now.
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 15 April 2022 00:13 (one year ago) link
I'll be there for a few days at the end of May and interested in updated vegan dining tips.
― nashwan, Friday, 15 April 2022 11:57 (one year ago) link
vegan food: trio, cafe racer kitchen, himalayan, modern times cafe
― budo jeru, Friday, 15 April 2022 16:38 (one year ago) link
much appreciated!
― nashwan, Friday, 15 April 2022 17:06 (one year ago) link
Thanks for the Walker Art Center recommendation--I may be going there this Thursday (depending on what if anything my mother wants to do). If you see a woman in a black velvet beret, it's probably me.
― Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Tuesday, 19 April 2022 16:39 (one year ago) link