things to do around Minneapolis

[jdmetzger]

OK, I am again heading off for a business trip in a few weeks to the Minneapolis area (Mendota Heights to be exact), and although I'll only be there for a few days, I'm wondering if there are any MOA-ers who have some suggestions of places to visit. I know I am going to be 5-6 miles away from the Mall of America (and soon before Christmas, too!), so I wasn't sure if that was real exciting, or if it had turned into an unsafe place to visit. Didn't they have some problems there? :uhoh

I guess mostly I'm looking for good places to eat or have a few drinks since I'll probably be working all day. I'll be there on a Sunday mid-day and leave on Wednesday morning. I imagine the weather won't be so good for riding, and I'm not bringing my gear, anyhow. :)

[PGlaves]

OK, I am again heading off for a business trip in a few weeks to the Minneapolis area (Mendota Heights to be exact), and although I'll only be there for a few days, I'm wondering if there are any MOA-ers who have some suggestions of places to visit. I know I am going to be 5-6 miles away from the Mall of America (and soon before Christmas, too!), so I wasn't sure if that was real exciting, or if it had turned into an unsafe place to visit. Didn't they have some problems there? :uhoh

I guess mostly I'm looking for good places to eat or have a few drinks since I'll probably be working all day. I'll be there on a Sunday mid-day and leave on Wednesday morning. I imagine the weather won't be so good for riding, and I'm not bringing my gear, anyhow. :)

Ice Fishing. For pure unadulterated thrilling excitement, sitting on a stool on the ice with a fishing line down a hole through the ice is very very hard to beat. :)

[ultracyclist]

Josh,
PM me with your email and I will forward to my son who is in grad school in Minneapolis.

You can take the METRO from Mall of Amer right into downtown and save a fortune on parking.
Howard

ps It gets COLD up there. Pack your woolies. Your bike probably would not start anyway.:brow

[BluegrassPicker]

OK, I am again heading off for a business trip in a few weeks to the Minneapolis area (Mendota Heights to be exact), and although I'll only be there for a few days, I'm wondering if there are any MOA-ers who have some suggestions of places to visit. I know I am going to be 5-6 miles away from the Mall of America (and soon before Christmas, too!), so I wasn't sure if that was real exciting, or if it had turned into an unsafe place to visit. Didn't they have some problems there? :uhoh

I guess mostly I'm looking for good places to eat or have a few drinks since I'll probably be working all day. I'll be there on a Sunday mid-day and leave on Wednesday morning. I imagine the weather won't be so good for riding, and I'm not bringing my gear, anyhow. :)

You want be too far form Leo's south if you want to look at BMWs :o)
Motoprimo is about a block south of there

http://www.leossouth.com/

Mickey's Dining car is on 7th in St Paul. This was in the "Jingle all the way" with Arnold - (appropriate to the season) they have great burgers




Tom

[jdmetzger]

Ice Fishing. For pure unadulterated thrilling excitement, sitting on a stool on the ice with a fishing line down a hole through the ice is very very hard to beat. :)

:ha

If I wait another month or two, Lake Erie will be sufficiently frozen for ice fishing, and it's a faster commute. :)

Josh,
PM me with your email and I will forward to my son who is in grad school in Minneapolis.

You can take the METRO from Mall of Amer right into downtown and save a fortune on parking.
Howard

ps It gets COLD up there. Pack your woolies. Your bike probably would not start anyway.:brow

I'll send you a note, shortly. Right now it's warmer in MN than it is here, but I know that can change. I remember last February leaving Detroit at 45 degrees and landing at MSP (just passing through) and it was negative something. I need to go shopping...

You want be too far form Leo's south if you want to look at BMWs :o)
Motoprimo is about a block south of there

http://www.leossouth.com/

Mickey's Dining car is on 7th in St Paul. This was in the "Jingle all the way" with Arnold - (appropriate to the season) they have great burgers


Thanks!!! :thumb

Keep 'em coming, folks!

[Holly]

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, geothermal engineer and crime mystery writer. You need to plan better! :D
Info here (http://www.inlofna.org/international%20visits.html)

Yrsa's Schedule:

Duluth, Minnesota

December 4, 2008, 12:00 Noon
International Brown Bag Series
University of Minnesota-Duluth
UMD Library Fourth Floor Rotunda
Sponsored by the Alworth Institute for International Studies

December 4, 2008, 7 – 9 pm
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
Upper Lakeside Room
1325 45th Avenue East
Duluth, MN
Cohosted by the Church Library Committee
Duluth Contact: Rosemary Guttormsson

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Geothermal Energy
11:00 am December 5, 2008
Heat Energy Class
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, Minnesota
Contact: Orn Bodvarsson

Author of Mysteries and children’s books
Afternoon, December 5, 2008
Husky Bookstore
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, Minnesota
Contact: Orn Bodvarsson

Minneota, Minnesota

Geothermal Energy
Author of Mysteries and children’s books
More information to be announced

Hudson, Wisconsin More information to be announced

Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota

Geothermal Energy Discussion– University of Minnesota
NOON December 11 St. Paul, MN
Brown Bag Lunch
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Minnesota
2642 University Ave W
St Paul, MN
Contact: Harvey Thorleifson, Howard Hobbs

MEET: An Author of Mysteries and children’s books from Iceland
7:00 pm December 11 St. Paul, MN
Author Event: MEET the AUTHOR FROM ICELAND
Common Good Books, Garrison Keillor, Prop.
165 Western Avenue N. at Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
Contact: Claire Eckley or Douglas, at Common Good Books

[AKBeemer]

Ice Fishing. For pure unadulterated thrilling excitement, sitting on a stool on the ice with a fishing line down a hole through the ice is very very hard to beat. :)

Key to making this assessment accurate is the liberal application of the adult beverage of your choice; very liberal application:drink , otherwise it’s just a dull way of freezing your nether regions.

[BubbaZanetti]

i never understood drinking till i spent a day on the ice with my dad, hahah

have fun josh, i haven't had any friends in that area in a long time and when i did they lived in an abandoned building, so they'd probably end up at your hotel:nono

[Mika]

Mendota Heights, a first tier suburb on the south side of Lilydale!

Where Lexington T’s with Hwy 13 is my old home. The Holiday at 13 and I35E was the official Lilydale gas station I would mention in my posts.

Go to Buon Giorno in Lilydale for lunch. Great pasta bar, fantastic sandwiches with an Italian flair, their fine dining is very pricey. Village of Mendota has Axels another must do place for lunch with generous portions and varied menu. They have become a local chain but the original is in Mendota and still the best. Find them on Hwy 13 between I35E and the Mendota Bridge. Mouse Country is in what was the Diamond Jim’s Mall on the east side of 35. Decent place to go for lunch, if you want to blast your ears out and dance with the local hotties it is the place to go after happy hour. Watch out for the cops.

Mall of America will be crawling with people and is safe for everything but your wallet.

If the days work out check out the Hlidazzle Parade http://www.holidazzle.com/ . Go to the Fort Snelling park and ride and take the light rail to downtown Minneapolis. Many good restaurants.

If you are in to theater and can land some tickets you would enjoy the Guthrie. http://www.guthrietheater.org/ You would find the building interesting from an architectural standpoint.

Check out the startribune.com for Minneapolis and twincities.com for the St. Paul paper websites. They have restaurant guides and holiday light guides.

St. Paul has the capital and museums and hockey. Mickey’s Diner is great. The burgers are great. Go at an off time and sit at the counter. You will be treated to an interesting slice of life. Grand Avenue has many good restaurants to meet any taste BBQ to Vietnamese and everything inbetween. Café Latte for desert.

Summit Avenue has old mansions interesting sights to see.

PM me with where you will be staying and what you like to do.

Stay off the ice, won't be thick enough when you are there.

[crazydrummerdude]

Haha.. wow. My suggestion was going to be to check out some of the abandoned buildings. I've got a few on my own list.

You might run into bubba's friends, too.

[KGT1200]

Mendota Heights, a first tier suburb on the south side of Lilydale!

Where Lexington T’s with Hwy 13 is my old home. The Holiday at 13 and I35E was the official Lilydale gas station I would mention in my posts.

Go to Buon Giorno in Lilydale for lunch. Great pasta bar, fantastic sandwiches with an Italian flair, their fine dining is very pricey. Village of Mendota has Axels another must do place for lunch with generous portions and varied menu. They have become a local chain but the original is in Mendota and still the best. Find them on Hwy 13 between I35E and the Mendota Bridge. Mouse Country is in what was the Diamond Jim’s Mall on the east side of 35. Decent place to go for lunch, if you want to blast your ears out and dance with the local hotties it is the place to go after happy hour. Watch out for the cops.

Mall of America will be crawling with people and is safe for everything but your wallet.

If the days work out check out the Hlidazzle Parade http://www.holidazzle.com/ . Go to the Fort Snelling park and ride and take the light rail to downtown Minneapolis. Many good restaurants.

If you are in to theater and can land some tickets you would enjoy the Guthrie. http://www.guthrietheater.org/ You would find the building interesting from an architectural standpoint.

Check out the startribune.com for Minneapolis and twincities.com for the St. Paul paper websites. They have restaurant guides and holiday light guides.

St. Paul has the capital and museums and hockey. Mickey’s Diner is great. The burgers are great. Go at an off time and sit at the counter. You will be treated to an interesting slice of life. Grand Avenue has many good restaurants to meet any taste BBQ to Vietnamese and everything inbetween. Café Latte for desert.

Summit Avenue has old mansions interesting sights to see.

PM me with where you will be staying and what you like to do.

Stay off the ice, won't be thick enough when you are there.


:thumb Ditto on all this stuff. It's goiing to drop cold here for awhile (a couple of frikken months), but both cities are very cool, my favorite is St. Paul.

The Mall of America (MOA) is very much over the top consumerisim, my tastes lead more for a walk by Lake Harriot to visit our resident ducks, hike along the river front, then head to one of many eateries that cater to the young ubanites that take refuge from the cold.

MIKA knows better than me, being a southern Minnesota hick fur sure!

Minneapolis nightlife is alot of fun anytime of the year.

PM me if you need a lift somewhere, I work minutes from anywhere St. Paul ofr Minneapolis, and would be happy to help; let me know!

[rinty]

Josh:

Minnesota Wild hockey...:thumb

[skidgillen]

If I had the time, I would visit some of the places Alton Brown did in the "Lutefisk Express" episode, especially Mickey's Diner listed by others. Except I would try the 5 egg omelet.


http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/tarmac06.html

[jeremell]

I highly recommend Brits and The Local down on Nicollet Mall in Mnpls.

[Braddog]

Mendota Heights is actually diagonally southeast on the other end of the cities from where I live, but depending on my schedule, we could get together for a couple of adult beverages.
:buds

Sad part is, my schedule is kind of whacky right now, with the oncoming Holidays, winter sports (youngest in high school), etc. etc.

Sounds like you're going to be in town before Christmas? Check out the Holidazzle that Mika mentioned, it's in downtown Minneapolis. If you really want to check out the nightlife, I could put you in touch with my oldest son, who could definitely show you the hot spots.

Let us know.

[Mika]

I highly recommend Brits and The Local down on Nicollet Mall in Mnpls.

:thumb :thumb

[tghsmith]

a few more miles south(I35) is one of the best cabelas sporting good stores, massive, check the bargan cave!!. visit northfield (were the james gang ended )

[Wkoppa]

Log onto the Team Strange Web site and give them your dates and ask what is happening in the line of music, food and entertainment for a visiting BMW rider.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/154362/

Bart who is the subject of one of the recent threads is a working muscian and the Rally Master for the June Minnesota 1000. A great bunch of riders (maybe needing just a little therapy) and they frequently talk about places to eat and such (use the search function).

Wayne Koppa
Grayling, MI

[nevada72]

One of my favorites when I visit is the Monte Carlo (Comes up on Google) for great food and even better bloody marys. Laid back white linen atmosphere. My favorite is the tenderloin on rye. Can't remember what they call it, but I call it the best.

Ruth's Chris Steak is always a winner regardless of what city you're in.

Check out Grand Ave in St Paul. It's a nice, long street (very close to Summit as mentioned by another) with tons of restaurants among other things. While you're there stop into Dunn Bros coffee, kick back and watch the local scene, and have some real Joe, not the crap foisted on us by the folks from Seattle.

[Dylan76]

My current favorite restaurant. The Strip Club - http://www.domeats.com/
The atmosphere, the food, the drinks, the service, top notch and lots of fun.

[jdmetzger]

I appreciate all the suggestions from everyone, and the offers of meeting up or putting me in touch with a local! Due to things at work changing, I had to cancel my flight to Minneapolis that was scheduled for Sunday. It looks like that project is now on hold until after mid-April. The GOOD news about that is I may have a chance to ride out there (and finally ride through the UP of Michigan) depending on the new implementation date and the weather. :thumb

I will reference this thread when they are ready to send me there. Thanks, again! :)

[GeoffMiller]

You aren't missing much. Colder than heck here right now. It is supposed to warm up enough for freezing rain tomorrow changing back to snow. If you are planning a ride better think about mid May and not mid April. April snowstorms are not unheard of.:thumb

[Oznay]

Bob's Javav Hut,for coffee that'll pin yer ears back,and the Whiskey Juction bar,for great music,good people...