Gotta Eat, Gotta Sleep: Lodging & Dining in Minneapolis

I left the Twin Cities a few decades ago, after finishing college in a nearby town. I spent plenty of weekends here, before and after concerts, accompanying friends as they headed home for the weekend, and awaiting transportation at the start and end of school years. Then my brother landed here later, occasioning a whole new series of visits that have now come to a close as he heads to New York.

There are plenty of things to do here, but those are for other journals. You gotta stay somewhere, and if you’re visiting, chances are you’re looking for someone else to do the cooking while you’re playing or working. For accommodations, the area is big on traditional options, and—in my judgment—a little short on the boutique hotels and more unique accommodations that are sweeping the hotel world. In addition to the places profiled here, I’ve done time at the following:

Residence Inn Minneapolis Edina has an unusual name (it’s actually in Edina) and an unusual arrangement: it’s built into the Indoor Edinborough Park, a large community center that offers access to an Olympic-sized swimming pool, workout facilities, and an indoor park, as well as the usual RI breakfast and evening reception. Due to the angle of the building’s wing, our room proved smaller we’d expected. I’d ask for a location in the straight part of the building.

Doubletree Guest Suites Minneapolis (LaSalle Avenue at 11th Street) is on the upper edge of the downtown area. It’s not part of the Skyway system that can isolate you from the sting of the winter ‘breezes’, but it’s a short stroll to the nearby Target and the main shopping area along Nicollet Mall. Even at Christmas time, the walk wasn’t that bad (and it was a fun time to be staying in the city). The rooms were spacious and comfortable, too, and several nice, inexpensive breakfast options were nearby, including the Target Café.

The Four Points by Sheraton St. Paul Capitol sits right on I-94 (nowhere near the Capitol), across the freeway from the Concordia College campus. It’s convenient to this college, and nearby Hamline University, but not much else. The layout has five floors around a large central atrium, a design whose floor-to-ceiling space just says ‘waste’ to me these days (and in Minnesota winters, probably wastes a lot more than space). This was just an ordinary place to stay.

Quick Tips:

After years of hot dish, today’s Twin Cities restaurant scene is not what I remember from the late seventies. If you’re looking for a trip to a nearly bygone era, you might try Pearson’s Edina Restaurant (3808 W. 50th), where we shared a Sunday meal with a legion of churchgoers one afternoon.

But the current options are vast, consistent with the area’s burgeoning (and increasingly diverse) population. The entries in this journal highlight places I’ve dined on recent trips: the first-rate food (and second-rate service) at Sawatdee; the delicious Neapolitan pizza at Punch, a relatively recent addition to the restaurant scene; the local/organic offerings at spoonriver near the new Guthrie Theatre; and the old stand-by Monte Carlo Bar & Café, which has the feel of a popular Manhattan hangout full of regulars.

If you’re looking for more options, I can recommend the following from slightly less recent visits:
Modern diner food: in Edina, the eponymous Edina Grill (3907 W 50th; just down the street from Pearson’s, actually), does updated traditional American food in an atmosphere that is both sleek and family friendly. Your burger will be just a little different, but delicious. For a longer running traditional spot, try one of the three locations of Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul (36 7th St W for the original, diner car location that's on the National Register of Historic Places), a 24-hour establishment with everything on the menu that you'd expect from a place with that name.

For Greek food, Christos (2632 Nicollet) is fantastic, with an open, airy building that someone managed to suggest the Mediterranean even in a Minneapolis winter. You can continue the Mediterranean theme at Solera (900 Hennepin) in downtown Minneapolis, whose somewhat updated tapas menu is served in the most labyrinthine restaurant I’ve even been in. The colors, contoured seating, and separate rooms reminds me of Alice Through the Looking Glass, but the food (and wine selection) are tremendous. I’ve had several meals here, with a party of two and a party of twelve, and both were great.

Cave Vin (5555 Xerxes Ave. S.) offers a thoroughly French menu and first-rate wine list (obviously) without sky-high pricing. The atmosphere is truly cave-like, and I simply gave up on reading the menu and went with the server’s recommendation for a steak frites. He didn’t steer me wrong.

Best Way To Get Around:

This is getting around that doesn't get you anywhere. For a different experience with a touch of the 1960’s, head to the Radisson in downtown St. Paul. A rotating restaurant-in-the-round tops the building, which I remember popping up atop hotels and buildings all over the country when I was a kid. I’m not sure the food is anything special, but as a place to enjoy a round of appetizers and a decent bottle of wine at the end of a long day of meetings—while overlooking the Mississippi—it couldn’t be beat.

Minneapolis/St. Paul airport is located south of both city centers, in the swampy land near the junction of the Minnesota and the Mississippi. It’s also near the Mall of America, which has helped create a long corridor either side of I-494 with shopping, hotels, and offices.

The airport isn’t too far from either downtown area, and is especially easy to reach from Minneapolis on the light rail system (and, at $2 full fare airport to downtown, must be sending dozens of cabbies looking for fares in other places).

But if you still need to stay near the airport, your Expedia or SideStep search is going to turn up a lot of possibilities. It’s worth checking the actual location, because a lot of places on the south side of the metro area liberally add ‘airport’, ‘Bloomington’, or ‘Mall of America’ to their name, sometimes when they’re over 5 miles away. For example, the Bloomington MSP/Mall of America Crowne Plaza is 10 miles from the airport, and five other properties in the same chain are closer (including another Crowne Plaza).

Unlike those, this Holiday Inn Express is fairly close to the airport. It’s about a mile straight east of the airport’s southern boundary, just south of I-494 and north of the MOA. There are one or two places closer, but they end up charging a premium to a largely airport-centered clientele. During my one night stay here, it was clear that this hotel draws a mix of that audience plus families centered on a quick trip to the Mall.

Having checked here for two or three separate visits, the rates here are usually among the best of the Holiday Inns throughout the area. At the last minute, I was able to book a room for under $80, and got what I’ve come to expect from the newer and newly updated HIEs: a really comfortable bed, and a free breakfast. This isn’t an easy place to find a meal without a car, and I struggled to get a late night, post-theatre dinner after my arrival (settling for a McDonalds a couple miles to the west).

I had a room with a single king, a comfortable version of the new bed that is slowly making its way throughout the HIE chain. The room's interior was more updated and pleasant than the rest of the hotel suggested: the lobby was tight and cramped, and full of people. I avoided the rush at breakfast by eating early. The room was quiet, and the bathroom was pretty spacious--a layout that was certainly comfortable for a single traveler.

I then headed out to spend the last of my preflight hours exploring Fort Snelling and the Mississippi, which were a short drive to the east. There’s nothing too special here, but it is reliable, and good enough to use as an overnight for travel or, if it's your thing, a weekend at the Mall.

We stayed here in late summer, looking for a location that could be booked with Priority Club Points. Unlike a lot of Intercontinental properties in the Twin Cities, this was available for 15,000 Points a night, while many (even Holiday Inn Express locations) required 25,000.

I’m sure that had something to do with its location. I didn’t know the western suburbs very well, and I still don’t, given that we stayed here but spent our time elsewhere. The location wasn’t that inconvenient, even though were substantially outside the city center, and as a relatively new property, was in very good shape. It was easy to access off the Crosstown Expressway (Highway 62), the principal east-west artery between downtown and I-494, running (appropriately enough) at the level of 62nd St.

To get there, take the Crosstown through Edina, past Highway 100 and US 169 to the Shady Oak Road exit (make sure you stay to the right as you approach, to avoid getting shunted south on US 212). As you head north, you’ll see the hotel on your right, right at the start of Red Circle Drive, an odd one-way loop. We made several trips from here into central Minneapolis, and the 20-minute drive wasn’t too bad.

We housed two rooms of people here for between two and four days. The rooms were good sized, and gave us room to get in a rollaway and keep our suitcases out from underfoot. The pool is on the first floor, and typically small and noisy, so I passed on a swim during our stay. The breakfast area is a little undersized for the restaurant, but we ate fairly early and avoided the crowd. Like all Holiday Inn Expresses, there’s no restaurant, and this area isn’t chock-a-block with accessible dining options. There’s a chain restaurant that shares the parking lot (I can’t remember which one), and a sports bar a bit east where we had dinner our first night that would be about a half-mile walk.

The staff was unusually friendly and helpful. We didn’t place any great demands on them during our stay, but they found city and area maps for us (and graciously gave us others when we misplaced them after five minutes). They checked on the delivery of our rollaway, remembered us as we came in and out, and generally conducted themselves in a way more typical at a much tonier hotel.

I can’t expect that I’ll stay out this way again. But if I had to, I’d be glad to come back here.

This Renaissance Hotel uses the former Milwaukee Road train station as the foundation of a hotel complex serving the riverfront area. The station filled the block bounded by Washington, South 2nd Street, 3rd Avenue and 5th Avenue, two blocks off the Mississippi, between the traditional ‘downtown’ and the former milling district, now revived by the Guthrie’s relocation to its industrial blue home on 2nd Street.

The entrance is off 3rd Avenue, with the registration desk just inside the door. Large B&W photos of the station’s details, apparently before its restoration, establish the railroad memorabilia theme that runs throughout the hotel. White plaster statues of 1940’s era rail passengers dot the first floor: soldiers kissing their sweethearts hello (or possibly good-bye), businessmen waiting for trains, couples holding their suitcases. Posters from the 100+ year history of the Milwaukee Road line the hallways, and an impressive 1950 wall-sized map of the American rail system received lengthy study from more than one guest.

The lobby is quite small. The bar is just past the lobby on the left, and its seating area around a large, glassed-in gas fireplace ends up serving as the first-floor seating area, which didn’t seem to bother the staff. The train shed extends down along Washington, whose front half is beautifully reconfigured as a ballroom. During our first evening, Herb Brooks’ Foundation was raising money for youth hockey behind the high wall of windows that run along Washington, leading to occasional sightings of Bobby Hull and my childhood idol Gordie Howe.

Five floors of rooms extend parallel to Washington Street. It’s a fair walk from the elevator to the most distant rooms, but they’re worth the walk. Small photos of old Milwaukee Road stations in Minnesota dot the walls, supplemented by a mild arts and crafts theme. Rooms have two queens or a king with a sofa bed, and the latter felt particularly spacious. Mission-style wooden desks teed out from the wall, with a built-in electronics panel that allows you to connect your camera, music player or video to the large LCD TV atop the dresser.

The exceedingly comfortable beds were topped with a featherbed. The rooms had the best light control I’ve ever seen, with Venetian blinds over the 5’ x 4’ window, which were then covered by a dark faux-leather shade that scrolls down from the top.

Several good restaurants are within walking distance, but it’s a 20-minute walk to Nicollet Mall and the shopping district. One of my kids and I made that trip to replace forgotten swimsuits and enjoy the neat indoor waterpark. This kid magnet extends the train theme, with a three-story slide and a large, colorful, train that erupts in water every 15 minutes or so. Our special weekend rate included four passes that were good each day of our stay, plus four tickets to the Mill City Museum down the street (otherwise $8 each). At $119/night that would have been a great deal anywhere, but especially here.

I’m a devotee of Holiday Inn properties, but I have no clue about the ‘branding’ of their different chains. I’d be happier if it the scheme something to do with common English usage. I’m particularly fond of Holiday Inn Express (low price, free breakfast, free wireless, generally newer properties, and a reward system that yields free rooms fairly quickly), but what the heck does ‘Express’ mean? Your experience at the hotel is accelerated? Eight hours of sleep take only five? Checkout is faster? The whole building is headed north at a high rate of speed?

I have similar issues with the less widespread ‘Select’ series. What’s ‘Select’ about it? We stayed a night here when a transatlantic trip landed at MSP with a connection the following day, but my first foray into this ‘brand’ didn’t provide any answers.

This hotel’s main virtue is its proximity to the airport. Arriving from London, I wanted a place that was quick to reach via free shuttle, since the last leg of our return flight left at 6:45 the next morning. A call from the hotel info board brought the shuttle promptly, and within just a few minutes we were there, not long after clearing customs following our 3:30 arrival.

The hotel’s exterior announced “I was built in the 70’s (or the early 80’s at the latest)”, and the interior confirmed it. One of the first signs inside the lobby enthusiastically stated “We’re renovating for you!”, which is information you probably want to receive in the past, not present tense. The eight or 10 floors of rooms were all off one monster interior corridor, making for a longish walk to our room at the hallway’s end. I’d booked what passes for a suite at a very reasonable $89 dollars (after canceling a previous reservation for $110, both at HI’s website). This room had two doubles near the window, a decent-sized bathroom in the middle, and a front area with sofa bed, desk, another TV and desk. It was big enough for the five of us and our transatlantic luggage (although we did pack light and carry on).

The room was in fair shape, although the bathroom fixtures and layout did feel a bit dated—something like being inside the bathroom in your neighbor’s 1980’s ranch. It could have been more thoroughly vacuumed around the edges, but otherwise was in good shape.

Although, as a non-Express property, there was no free breakfast, our early flight made it irrelevant. The hotel had both a lounge and restaurant just off the lobby on the first floor, and as a Holiday Inn 'frequent stayer', they gave us 2 for 1 coupons for both the bar and the breakfast. We had a light dinner (appetizers and an occasional burger), with a side of jet lag. The food was prompt and decent, and the server was friendly and attentive.

The location is almost equidistant from the Mall of America and the airport’s southern boundary. The hotel offers free shuttles to both: to the airport on the half-hour, and to the Mall at the top of every hour. We were joined by plenty of company for the 5 am airport run, and the staff coped well with a big crowd, quickly arranging for a second vehicle and dividing people into two appropriate groups.

The hotel provides free wireless throughout the building, which I wasn't expecting. That's often problematic for printing boarding passes, but there's also a business center on the second floor, with two machines and a laser printer.

This place is truly a little bit of 1950’s New York right off the banks of the Mississippi. A little west of downtown, the surrounding area is a mix of supply stores and recent condo conversions, and a few restaurants. On a Saturday afternoon, there didn’t appear to be a lot of other reasons to end up in this area, but you don’t need anything other than this terrific restaurant.

The old neon sign proudly announces that the Monte Carlo has been around since 1906, and if it ever had neighbors to the immediate north and south, they’re gone now. A narrow, long brick building, it has a long bar at the front, with a small Manhattan-like array of autographed celebrity photos, including George Mikan, Kent Hrbek, and Mitch Miller (demonstrating that it is, in fact, Minneapolis after all). The bar goes all the way to the high, apparently original tin ceiling, and is mirrored all the way up and along all 30+ feet of the bar, outlined in brightly lit orange. You could spend a while sitting there, and evidently plenty of people do, following shows and concerts.

If you’re not thinking 1950’s already, the traditionally attired wait staff and steak-centric menu will complete the transition for you. My brother picked this place as the site for a family birthday luncheon, and we had a great time. We started with the ‘not-to-be-missed’ Monte Carlo wings, which are seasoned, not spicy, with a crunchy coating. By the time we’d finished those, the tasty Szechuan Green Beans, and the terrific bread, we probably could have called it a meal.

But, no, we’d ordered entrees. The waitress steered me towards the NY Strip, with fries or redskins (my choice) and a Caesar salad. It was a plateful, with a traditional, not creamy dressing, and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan. Again, a sensible place to call it a meal.

But then I would have missed the steak. Three of us ordered beef, and no one was disappointed. My medium rare New York Strip was perfect, and I just made it through 14 oz (after sharing a bite with others). But then I finished someone else's, too, so I wasn’t cheated. My brother’s Whiskey Peppercorn Fillets kept him quiet until he finished. Others picked a steak sandwich, Pasta Primavera, and Fish and Chips, and everyone was happy with his or her selections. The menu isn’t extensive, but apparently there are no bad choices on it.

We’d brought a birthday cake for dessert, which seemed irrelevant by the time it arrived in flames. We ate it anyway, washing it down with coffee, mostly to keep the good times going. We outlasted the rest of the late lunch crowd, but the two attentive and engaging servers didn’t seem to mind.

My chances to get back to Minneapolis are now less than they used to be. Starting an evening here at the bar, and finishing it much later in one of the booths would make for a great night.

If you’re in the mood for pizza, you won’t do any better than this recent addition to the Twin Cities dining scene, featuring authentic Neapolitan pizza. It’s so good that I’d seriously consider adding pizza to any dining itinerary. We crossed the Hennepin Ave. Bridge to reach this location, which sits just north of the river on the east side of Hennepin.

Now up to five locations in the metro area, this growing chain of pizzerias is the brainchild of two local restaurateurs, including one of the people behind Caribou Coffee. Pizza—and particularly Neapolitan style pizza, cooked in wood fired ovens—obviously dominates the menu. Punch claims to be one of only a few pizzerias outside of Naples that belong to Vera Pizza Napoletana, an organization dedicated to maintaining standards for Neapolitan pizza.

All pies are the same size, about 10", with the exception of a kid-sized offering, and are cooked in the colorful, wood fired, tile-covered oven. 800° and 90 seconds is one of their slogans, and the wonderful odors wafting out from the pizzas before us made it really difficult to concentrate on ordering. The menu lists about 20 standard pizzas, all featuring authentic (if not imported) toppings and ingredients. Running the gamut from cheese only offerings to vegetarian items to colon-threatening, meat-heavy dishes.

Most pizzas start as Margheritas (basil) or Napolis (oregano). Between the eight of us that gathered here for a late lunch on Friday, we covered the gamut. My Margherita Extra added Mozzarella di Bufalo (which is indeed mozzarella made from the milk of water buffalo) and tomatoes in addition to fresh basil leaves (which were unbelievably fragrant as they emerged from the oven). I shared a piece, but only after ensuring I’d end up with a matching contribution from someone else’s pie. My Dad’s Bruni featured sausage, spiced salami and onion atop a basic Napoli, while my Mom and brother went for the Toto: arugula, prosciutto, goat cheese, cracked red pepper, and basil.

There are five salads on the menu, available in both small and large sizes. A pizza and a small salad was more than enough for a lunch; a large salad would likely have been more than enough for a meal. I had the chopped Italian salad, which mixed greens, salami, prosciutto, and mozzarella with pepperoncini, white bean, carrots and cherry tomatoes in a red wine vinaigrette. The Punch salad had balsamic vinaigrette over greens, pine nuts, Parmesan and prosciutto. Both were different and tasty.

If none of the offerings strike your fancy, you can build your own, from a list of items that’s a little longer than that at other pizzerias. How about a Margherita with prosciutto, capers, pepperoncini and saracene olives—with Gorgonzola?

Pizzas with toppings run $9-$11, small salads are $4, and large salads are $7. In addition to this northeast Minneapolis location, there are also stores near Lake Calhoun, on Cleveland Ave. in St. Paul, and in Eden Prairie and Wayzata.

This Thai restaurant is located in a former warehouse on the north side of Washington St. It’s not far from the new Guthrie, and a short walk from the Depot hotel where we stayed on our most recent visit. I had two meals here on separate trips, walking from both of those locations.

Both featured great food and so-so to poor service. This is one of several locations scattered throughout the metro area by Thai entrepreneur Supenn Harrison, who claims to have opened the first Thai restaurant in the upper Midwest in 1983. The name comes from a Thai phrase that is roughly equivalent to ‘aloha’. The central Minneapolis location has several booths in the large front windows, with a fairly extensive and carefully decorated interior behind these front row seats. These booths were great for an early evening summer meal, with the late afternoon sun bringing out the colors on all the brick buildings nearby.

On my first visit, I had the Massamun Curry with Beef, which I selected after wrestling with the extensive menu. There are upwards of 40 entrees, and everything seemed like a good choice, so I ended up hurriedly picking something from near the top of the menu when our server came (the peanuts caught my eye). This stick-to-your-ribs combination of beef and potatoes came without the more liquid sauces of traditional red or green curries, and I later learned (not surprisingly) that it’s actually an Indian dish.

On the more recent visit, our group of eight was seated in a table halfway back along the wall. Even though it’s a large, spacious and high ceilinged room, we didn’t have too much trouble hearing each other. We started with appetizers of fresh spring rolls (fantastic) and chicken satay (I think it was good, but ask my kids—they finished most of it). This time I had the red curry with shrimp, which had an ample serving of the little critters in a mildly spiced sauce. My wife ordered the Pad Thai, which was also delicious. The servings were very large, and my kids didn’t come close to finishing theirs, allowing for a healthy sampling of several other dishes.

The only drawback was the service. Our server was dressed in a traditional Thai outfit, and was friendly and attentive until she’d taken our orders. It was difficult to get her attention after that, and we had to ask more than once for the second round of beverages we’d ordered. When the bill came, it had eight entrees when we’d only ordered seven, and she wasn’t terribly friendly or helpful about correcting the mistake (or accurate). My brother, a soon-to-be-former local and frequenter of this place, smiled knowingly when I described our problem. Nonetheless, I’d come back for the food.

Location, location, location. Owner Brenda Langton really scored when she landed this spot directly across from the new Guthrie on 2nd Street. The restaurant occupies a long space down the street, with a stylish bar that also covers most of that distance. Every table seems small and intimate, with diners, servers and bartender back lit by the brightly illuminated bar shelving.

And the food is good, too. Langton has been serving vegetarian and organic cuisine for two decades. spoonriver emphasizes fresh, locally grown ingredients (which she further supports with the weekend market under the awning of the adjacent Mill City Museum).

My brother and I dined here before one of his final preview performances during a summer run at the Guthrie, and sat at a small, metallic two-top out on the patio on 2nd Street. Despite this area's comeback, the traffic is surprisingly light, since Washington (one block over) serves as a major thoroughfare. I chose the salmon, the daily fresh seafood special, while my brother went for a chicken dish. Due on stage in 90 minutes, he stuck with water, while I looked over the wine list of 15 reds and 15 whites, which had five or six of each available by the glass. I had the Cooper Mountain Pinot, and would have preferred the La Crema Reserve (available only by the bottle)—at least until my server brought my glass. A wine in the hand…

Servings were modest—the size all dinners probably should be, and it seemed consistent with the restaurant’s overall focus on healthy and sustainable food. I’m not sure the cheesecake fit that description, but I’m glad I didn’t skip it.

My parents and friends had an equally good meal before seeing my brother in his second Guthrie production in late fall (although they had to eat inside). Their dinner guest brought the news that Langton is on the verge of opening a second spoonriver in her neighborhood. My guess is that even without a famous neighbor, it will succeed.

At some level, this is what chains are supposed to do: provide a decent and familiar experience in a variety of locations. Once you’re seated, with the menu in front of you, you can’t tell if you’re in St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Jose, or any of the other 40-odd locations of this apparently California-based chain. I’ve dined at all of the above, always because it worked for satisfying a big group or a kid’s request.

This location actually is located in a factory. It sits at the SE corner of Park and Washington, in a building that started life as the headquarters of the J.I. Case thresher factory. The emphasis on dark wood and red velvet is common to all Spaghetti Factories, as is the maze-like feeling to the dining room. If the building doesn’t offer enough variety in the floor plan, little booth and faux cable cars provide unusual seating and, sometimes, a little separation from other guests. All three locations I’ve eaten at have been able to both accommodate larger parties easily, and give all guests an adequate amount of space.

The food is decent, and features a decent variety of Italian or Italian-influenced dishes. Some selections come with salad, vegetable, side of spaghetti, dessert and drink all included, which is probably why it remains popular with both kids and parents.

It might not have seemed like the smartest choice at a pasta house, but I indulged my desire for comfort food with the Meatloaf Italian Style (even in summertime, I have a hard time passing on meatloaf). It was a blend of ground beef and Italian sausage, plus sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Like many items, it came with a salad and side of spaghetti with butter and mizithra cheese (which, I confess, I have only seen at Old Spaghetti Factories). To make sure I was sampling all the food groups (and to get more cheese), I went with a side order of broccoli for good good measure. It was all decent enough, but the highlight of my dinner was the cold Summit Pale Ale on tap, always a highlight of a visit back to the Twin Cities. Between the eight of us, we sampled a good fraction of the menu. Since my oldest rarely passes up salmon, that included the Salmon Tuscany. (The same reasoning explains why the mud pie and mousse cake showed up at our table to finish the meal. Well, that and the fact that grandparents were involved). Perhaps the best endorsement I can give is that the food and the service didn’t come close to getting in the way of our mini family reunion.

This location is close to the Metrodome, and a short walk from the Guthrie. If you’re staying closer to downtown, it’s a short walk or cab ride. Depending on your angle of approach, you’ll probably pass other, better options on the way. If you make your way here, at least your expectations will be met.