Minnesota: Minneapolis

A December 2000 trip to Minneapolis by kylebarber Best of IgoUgo

The highs and lows of freezing cold Minneapolis.

  • 5 reviews
I just spent the past week celebrating Christams with my family in Minneapolis, where my brother lives year round. While I had a pretty good time visiting the sights and local favorites of the city and its neighbor St. Paul, I would never agree to living such a cold climate. The -8 degree farenheit weather felt more like -70 with the brutal wind chill. But I guess that's the price you pay for a white Christmas...

The highlights of the trip was avoiding the madhouse at the Mall of America and sampling out of the way restaurants and stores that were popular with the town's residents. Particularly noteworthy was Famous Dave's Chicago Style Barbeque joint. Who would have ever thought of visiting Minneapolis for barbeque??

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

You'll definitely need a car for getting around the Twin Cities. There are many different neighborhoods that are woth checking out that are quite a way from each other. One other consideration: don't visit in the middle of December!

Twin City GrillBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This yummy homestyle restuarant is a nice change of pace from all the chain restaurants that line the endless halways of the Mall of America. While somewhat stylish and sophisticated in decor, the restaurant serves up pretty standard American dishes.

The bread they start you of with is excellent, and might make for a meal all by itself. I shared the maple flavored carrots as an appetizer with my Mom, which were fantastic. While the carrots remained fairly firm and their disinctive flavor, you couldn't escape the gooey richness of the authentic maple syrup.

The main course I chose was the parmesan encrusted chicken. This might sound fairly dull, but the preparation was excellent and elicited jealous remarks from my family who chose less wisely the apparently "just ok" beef dishes. If you're stuck at the Mall of America for any reason when visiting Minneapolis, make sure to nullify the soul-deadening experience with a great meal at this comfortable and delicious restuarant.

  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by kylebarber on December 29, 2000

Twin City Grill
Mall of America Minneapolis, Minnesota
(952) 854-0200

Famous Dave's BBQ & BluesBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Famous Dave's BBQ"

My brother claimed that I would love Famous Dave's BBQ, but I was a little skeptical. I mean, who would imagine that good barbequed ribs and chicken could be found in Minneapolis of all places? It's freezing cold outside, and everywhere you look are blonde hair Scandinavians. But the food and atmosphere really surprised me, and I'm happy to report that Famous Dave's was among the best eats I had while visiting the Twin Cities.

I gave up eating red meat about six years ago, but the ribs that my brother and sister-in-law were muching on sure looked good. There could be no doubt that the heavily sauced chicken was anything less than scrumptious, as I wolfed it all down though I wasn't the least bit hungry when first sitting down to eat (apparently New Yorkers tend to dine a little bit later than the folks in the Midwest). The mashed potatoes that accompanied the meal were excellent, and the biscuits and cornbread were also particularly good. Though I had no room whatsoever for dessert I just had to get a piece of the pecan pie to go, being the weak man that I am. Three hours later I was kicking myself for getting the whole pie to go!

  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by kylebarber on December 29, 2000

Famous Dave's BBQ & Blues
3001 Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408
(612) 822-9900

Figlio Restaurant and BarBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Figlio"

This Italian restuarant looks fairly imposing from the outside, with dark heavy doors that swing open to a hushed waiting area. But once you're inside you'll quickly pick up that this is just a pleasant and easy going restaurant to sit down for a fairly casual lunch. The Italian dishes are all pretty straightforward and reasonably priced.

I sampled the Mongolian chicken pizza, which was sort of unusual sounding but quite harmless. In fact, it sort of tasted like a typical Chines dish such as sesame chicken served on top of a cheese pizza. My father braved the pepperoni pizza like a trouper. Both were served as individual pizzas, but the size was enough for two not so hungry folks.

The real treat was dessert, where I splurged on the cheesecake topped with rum soaked peaches and raspberry sauce. And for some dramatic flair, a large spun sugar ornament floated high above the already frighteningly fatty treat. Dad was kind enough to help me finish it off...

  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by kylebarber on December 29, 2000

Figlio Restaurant and Bar
3001 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408
+1 612 822 1688

Gay Nineties Theatre Cafe & BarBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Gay 90's"

What aparently used to be the happening gay bar and club in Minneapolis is pretty scarce and scary these days. I guess the place, which is under straight management, made a mistake and attempted to develop the once popular spot into a "mixed" bar. This led to some ugly incidents that had the loyal gay following move on to greener pastures postehaste.

The night that I went to Gay 90's was pretty sad, as the rather large space seemed near empty. The bartender said that this was not due to the approaching holiday but was fairly typical of most nights. It's too bad, as the club has many different thematic rooms and a large dance floor that all could be put to good use.

  • Member Rating 1 out of 5 by kylebarber on December 29, 2000

Gay Nineties Theatre Cafe & Bar
408 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
(612) 333-7755

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