A Taste of MSP

Taking a little poll of everyone%26#39;s Tasty ';must haves'; while in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. We know that the area is known for a lot of great food offerings. We have 5 nights, 4 full days to take it all in. Staying in the MOA area, but have a car and a GPS..not afraid to travel. Looking for all types of recommendations...ranging from the Diners/ Dive locales and up.... Breakast/Lunch/ Dinner.

This is a shopping trip, however we love to experience local food favorites!

Thanks.

A Taste of MSP

I am sure you will get many responses to this post!

Favorite downtown Minneapolis:

www.meltingpot.com/

You can find some great stores (expensive) at the Galleria in Edina with the Cheesecake Factory across the road in the Southdale shopping center:

www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

If you are in the mood to take a scenic drive to Lake Elmo:

www.lakeelmoinn.com/

I should include Doolittles Woodfire Grill, always good and you can be to the one in Eagan in less than 10 minutes from Mall of America:

www.doolittlesaircafe.com/

A Taste of MSP

Lots of good restaurants and watering holes, most of which have been covered in this forum in the past. Only my opinion (of which I have many,) but I%26#39;d stay away from chains.....too many other one-of-a-kinds in and around the Twin Cities.

Need to have you give some sort of $$ estimate, and what type of food you prefer.

If you are in town on a Friday, try one of the fish fries around town. (My fav%26#39;s are Obbs%26#39; Bar and the Groveland Tap)

Lotsa%26#39; good pizza around. Ditto Italian. Little Oven (St Paul) is good food, neighborhood haunt with great prices.

West 7th in St Paul has some great places............Glock, McGoverns, Mancini%26#39;s, Cossetta%26#39;s......

Can%26#39;t help you with the shopping (that%26#39;s my wife%26#39;s department,) as I%26#39;m sort of an Ax-Man and ';Crappy-Tire'; junkie.

tptr

Hell%26#39;s Kitchen

for a breakfast or lunch - make reservations

it%26#39;s downtown Minneapolis, in a basement

hellskitcheninc.com/HellsKitchenWelcome.html

Red Savoy Pizza

arguable the best pizza in the state, thus

fitting in this great dive bar across from downtown St. Paul

http://www.theoriginalredssavoypizza.com/

Nye%26#39;s Polonaise Room

come for the Polonaise Plate

and stay for the Polka (Fri/Sat p.m.)

and the piano kareoke bar

an institution... you%26#39;re stepping back to 1958

http://www.nyespolonaise.com/

Mexican: Mi Familia in Woodbury Mn (get the dish with bananas in it)

French: Meritage in downtown St. Paul (get the rabbit!)

Pizza: Punch Neapolitan in Highland Park, St. Paul (also very near Mississippi River with nice trails and scenic look out spots)

Ice Cream: Sebastian Joe%26#39;ss in Minneapolis and also Izzy%26#39;s Ice Cream on Grand Ave in St. Paul (very close to punch pizza place)

Twin Cities Grill in the Mall of America if you get hungry shopping......

Thai: The King and I downtown Minneapolis

Lounge with patio: Seven downtown Minneapolis

Small plates and great drinks w/ a busy night life is Chino Latino in Uptown Minneapolis (has some cute shops around it as well like Urban Outfitters and MAC stuff like that) oh and get a Mojito!

Burgers: Matt%26#39;s Bar in Minneapolis

Heaven!

http://www.mattsbar.com/

The Best Sandwiches: Mort%26#39;s Deli in Golden Valley, I recommend the club and the homemade potato chips are soooo good~!

Russian: Moscow on the hill in St. Paul, best vodka selection ever.

Hope you have a great trip!

WoW...Thanks for all the great suggestions...and links and all.. Looks like a great variety to choose from.

I%26#39;m printing this thread out as we speak to keep handy in the car. We will just punch in the address in and the GPS voice will take us there...

If you like fish, and you%26#39;re in Minnesota, you have to eat some walleye. While you%26#39;re at MOA, the walleye at the Twin City Grill isn%26#39;t too bad; take a break from shopping some day and grab some.

leye.com/restaurants/…twin-city-grill

If you ever come across wild rice soup while you%26#39;re here, try some of that. People have been enjoying the Wild Rice Soup at Byerly%26#39;s and Lunds for years. I think it is always on the menu.

lundsandbyerlys.com/About/Restaurants.aspx

The restaurants themselves are nothing special, but the soup is good!

Some other places to consider that can%26#39;t be found anywhere else:

Key%26#39;s http://www.keyscafe.com/ They have a turkey dinner that will fill you up for a week. Great breakfasts, too.

Mickey%26#39;s Diner in Saint Paul: On the National Register of Historic Places! http://www.mickeysdiningcar.com/

Not great food, but it%26#39;s fun just to be there. Breakfast is, I think, the best bet here.

Heartland http://www.heartlandrestaurant.com/ in Saint Paul is a local restaurant that uses local ingredients. They try to use things that are available nearby, so you won%26#39;t find mahi mahi on the menu, for instance. The menu changes daily, depending on what is available, but I think it is a very good experience.

As mentioned, Matt%26#39;s Bar is a great lunch place, home of the Jucy Lucy. If you get one, be sure to let it cool off before you bite into it. Otherwise, you%26#39;ll burn your mouth but good!

Hope this helps.

One minor correction to an above post.

- Izzy%26#39;s is on Marshall Avenenue at Cleveland.

- The Grand %26#39;Ole Creamery is the other incredibly good ice cream destination in St. Paul and it is on Grand Ave a couple blocks west of Dale.

My current favorites are:

Red Stag Supperclub in NE Minneapolis. Tuesday is Cheap date night- 2 entrees, dessert, and a bottle of wine (or 4 beers) for $32. Delicious local and organic foods.

Ngon Vietnamese Bistro on University in Saint Paul. Very good food. Nice atmosphere.

Victor%26#39;s 1959 Cafe is a Cuban restaurant that makes amazing breakfasts (that you can get all day long).

Peninsula is a Malasian restaurant on Nicollet (eat street) in Minneapolis. They make their own tofu that is so very tasty. Order the Mango chicken or beef- beautiful presention.

Everest on Grand in St. Paul is a great Nepali restaurant. They have a lunch buffet that allows you to sample a lot of different things. At dinner, be sure to order some Yak momos. The best.

French Meadow Cafe on Lyndale (or in the airport) is really good for salads, sandwiches, coffees, and desserts.

That%26#39;s all for now... Good luck. The Twin Cities have great ethnic food options.

Yikes... What a great list of recommendations.. I can%26#39;t believe it! Forget the shopping... Let%26#39;s eat...

Will have to report back......

Da Afghan, Bloomington. Great Afghan food, but handicapped by its tucked-away location. Positive is it%26#39;s near one of the metro%26#39;s REI outdoors store and HockeyGiant. If you%26#39;re fortunate, you%26#39;ll be seated at the ';Prince sat here once'; table.

bahn mi sandwiches, several University Ave. locales, St. Paul. *%26amp;^% Subway, even with its alluring $5 footlong prices. These wonderful fusion sandwiches (French roll, tangy mayo, cilantro, meat fillings from familiar to mysterious...) are wonderful. My favorites are from Saigon (N side of University Ave., just east of Dale St. intersection).

Kramarczuk%26#39;s... slobber over Slavic. Though it%26#39;s cafeteria-style, the experience doesn%26#39;t detract from the wonderful offerings of various sausages, borscht, cabbage rolls, etc. Ignore the ice cream offered at the front of the line. Bonus is that it%26#39;s a across the street from a great liquor store-- Surdyk%26#39;s (great wines).

Cafe 28, Linden Hills area, Minneapolis

Heartland, St. Claire Ave. St. Paul

Both are bistro-type restaurants offering many local items and imaginative preparations. Recommend reservations.

Cave Vin, S. Minneapolis a nice surprise we found on Valentine%26#39;s Day. Another bistro.