Like I mentioned in my previous post, Jared and I went to Minneapolis in May this year.
We had a BLAST.
We’re pretty big baseball fans and as we’ve started these trips, we’ve planned them around baseball season and what parks we can see. Due to some other time limitations, the weekend we went was the only one available to us in May.
I researched for quite awhile and took many suggestions from Pinterest, Facebook, and Yelp. I’ve included links to all of the places that we visited below. Here’s what our days looked like:
Day One
We took a red eye out of Las Vegas on Wednesday night so that we could hit the Twins day game on Thursday. Good news is we made it in time for the game as all the other flights arrived mid afternoon with the time change. Bad news is we got to our hotel around 630 am. We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Minneapolis / Downtown. I would definitely recommend and stay there again. Pretty centralized, they had their private entrance to the Skywalk, free breakfast…and they held our luggage and let us sit in the lobby for three hours.
Once the world started waking up (not us although Jared did take a small nap on the couch), we walked to get coffee and breakfast. We went to Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, which is located inside of the Emery Hotel. Going to be honest…it was extremely hard for us to find. We were also very tired. Grain of salt. Good little pick me up.
After that, we headed over to Target Field to see the Twins play the Yankees. We got there when the gates opened and explored the stadium first. Beautiful park. We sat Club level and had a fun time.
At this point…we needed to nap. Headed back to our hotel through the Skywalk and crashed out for a few hours mainly because Jared got a wild hair and bought tickets to the Timberwolves vs Nuggets game 6 in the Western Conference Semifinals. So to Target Center we went!
It’s been a minute since I’ve been inside of a basketball arena but the layout of this one was a little weird. Lots of levels, small stores. The atmosphere was crazy and loud and FUN. We ended up leaving half way through the fourth as it was clear they were going to win (115-70). Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to have as much fun as we did.
We then walked to Pizza Luce and I wish we could have tried it all but settled on halving the baked potato pizza and the Luce with pepperoni. The baked potato pizza had sour cream to dip it into. It was different and a little weird but also really good. I wish I would have had time to eat our leftovers.
Day two:
Definitely felt more rejuvenated on Friday! We try and eat/drink at no chains and only local places when we take these trips. We started with coffee and a pastry at Gray Fox Coffee & Wine Bar.
After that, we Ubered to Minnehaha Falls. We “hiked” the falls which was really about a half mile walk alongside Minnehaha Creek. It was a beautiful day and the restaurant at the park had a line to get in. The only warning I’d give here is that the stairs to get back up are not for the faint of heart.
From there, we Ubered to the Mall of America. Going to be honest…I was a little underwhelmed. It might be because I live in Las Vegas, which means big malls and ornate displays and stores that don’t exist anywhere else. It was interesting to see so many department stores inside of a mall. And the LEGO store was fantastic. And of course the theme park…but we didn’t have kids so just cruised on through. I did try Caribou Coffee here.
We had dinner reservations at Bar la Grassa that night. Based on our time preference, we sat at the Pasta Bar. Really, really good food. And drinks. Would definitely do that again.
It started to down pour so we decided to go to some recommended breweries/distilleries. We went to both Earl Giles Distillery and Indeed Brewing. Mixed drinks from the distillery included gin and vodka, which we enjoyed. A note for anyone brewery hopping – Indeed was cash only! They do have an ATM but of course there’s a surcharge there.
Day three:
Day three for us was a challenge to see as much as we could. We started by heading to the Mill City Farmers Market and grabbed some fresh pastries. We peaked into the museum and then headed across the street to walk what we could of the Stone Arch Bridge which was under construction and not completely open.
It was really cool to see some of most northern part of the Mississippi River, especially since we’ll be in New Orleans later this year and seeing the most southern part. Again, it was a beautiful day and something about water in any form grounds me.
I had a huge list of breweries and such that had been recommended to us. We started at Forgotten Star Brewing. I got a North Star Cream Ale and Jared got a flight. We really enjoyed their beers and the atmosphere was chill. There’s also a patio where families were hanging out. They had their food truck there, Hodgepodge.
On Friday in the rain, we accidentally stumbled on Art-a-Whirl. We decided to purposefully walk through the galleries and breweries. The rest of the day was spent brewery/taproom hopping, minus a quick nap (these mid thirties hit different). I’ll add a quick recap here:
- Spyhouse Coffee Roasters (again): had the seasonal Pistachio Rose Latte, again. So good.
- Bauhaus Brew Labs: really open inside. Most of the seating was outside. Again, beautiful day.
- Surly Brewing: one of Minneapolis’ original craft breweries. I would have liked to try more here. We were just so full at this point.
- Fulton Brewing Co Taproom: Jared’s favorite. We really liked our beers and it was super close to Target Field.
- Cuzzy’s: Cuzzy’s came HIGHLY recommended. Super dive bar status…aaaand we were the oldest people there by about 10 years. Beer was in plastic cups and I had some of the best loaded tots. It all came to fruition when my 9pm Vitamin alarm went off. Poetic timing.
- Minneapolis Cider Company: I wish we had spent more time there. There’s a pickle bar court and just a really cool vibe. Nothing over the top and good drinks.
Day four:
At this point, we’d had a busy few days. We started our morning with coffee at FRGMNT Coffee in the North Loop. Great location. Coffee was good, nothing crazy fantastic but it did the trick. We then headed to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. One of those things you kinda have to do in Minneapolis but it’s a one and done thing.
I’d been wanting to go to the huuuuge Target in Downtown Minneapolis so once we finished getting lost in the Skywalk we went there. Two stories. Escalator for your CART. Target lovers dream and I got Isabel some boots that she wears every year on clearance. Win-win!
Probably my second favorite meal of the trip was the Jucy Lucy we had at Matt’s Bar. This is a piece of cheese in a hamburger patty. SO GOOD. We got there within half an hour of opening and were seated at one of the last open tables. By the time we left, the line was consistently out the door. They’ve been featured on the Food Network and many other venues so just expect a wait if you’re there later in the day! They are also cash only.
We had time for two more brief excursions before having to head back to the airport for our flight home. We went to Birchbark Books where I got both kids a Native written book and bookmark and then decided to Uber to the Lake Harriet area.
I wish we would have had more time here. We went to Wild Rumpus Bookstore which is a children’s book store. It was slightly overwhelming and honestly made me miss the kids even more. They would have loved it.
We wandered to the lake and it was honestly just so peaceful and relaxing. Pretty busy day but everyone just coexisted so well. I did get some popcorn and an iced coffee because why not?
After that, we headed to the airport and back to reality.
Overall impression
There are still probably half a dozen places that I would have liked to have eaten at or gone to. We did a TON but I never felt like we were rushed. Probably the only place I wouldn’t go back to was Cuzzy’s,..again, we just felt old! They definitely have a niche customer; we just weren’t it.
We’re also not huge Prince fans so Paisley Park was not on our list. I’ve heard great things though.
The people we interacted with were for the most part really nice and pleasant. We did have some really questionable Uber rides but I assume that’s to be expected every now and again.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked the city and reminded how much I still have to experience. Jared and I are 3/3 with our trips so far. Definitely would recommend a trip!
Have you visited Minneapolis recently? Comment below with your recommendations!
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