Two things usually come to mind when Minneapolis is mentioned: cold and the Mall of America.
And that’s if you remember the mall. There is a third item that comes to mind for some of us, but we’ll get to her later.
If cold weather is an issue for you, don’t go in the winter. It’s that simple. Getting around downtown when it’s a blustery -20 degrees isn’t impossible once you get downtown; there are about 8 miles of elevated walkways connecting just about everything across about 70 square blocks. But for spring, summer and fall, this is an under-appreciated Northern city.
The locals hype MoA and its array of stores and indoor amusement park and all that, but it’s not an essential stop. The only thing you really need to know about the mall is Tuesday is kids’ day. So if you want to go shopping (or need to go shopping, like one member in our wedding party who conveniently forgot shoes and just had to go buy some), hit the downtown Nicollet Mall, a blocks-long stretch of shops and eateries that segues nicely into the theater district.
We were fortunate to get an excellent rate at the centrally located Hotel Ivy (201 S. 11th St.; thehotelivy.com), so we were able to walk and cab to many of our destinations. Minneapolis has a pretty good metro transit system of buses and light rail too, which is an excellent thing because, quite honestly, whenever we got in our rental car we got lost. This isn’t a Penn-planned city and it almost makes the District of Columbia’s layout make sense. Advice: ALWAYS ask for directions before you go. So what’s gay in Minneapolis?
Well, marriage, for one. Hundreds of LGBT couples have been married in Minnesota since it passed its marriage-equality law. A number of those marriages are people who crossed the line, as it were, from Wisconsin and Illinois — the latter of which has recently joined the fray. In fact, Minneapolis former Mayor Raymond Rybak made a bit hit with local gays as the law was being debated by offering to marry any couple at midnight when the law was signed. (see sidebar) Additionally, in 2011, The Advocate hailed Minneapolis as the gayest city in the United States.
Minneapolis is like some temporal anomaly on the Mississippi River where a lot of the city’s past is still prominently present and the rest of the city is looking squarely into the future. Today, the downtown has some of the most strikingly beautiful new architecture around. But Minneapolis was once the largest mill city in America and that alone brought thousands of workers to grist mills and many thousands more across the state for construction of the vast rail system needed to transport grains and products country-wide.
All that makes the Mill City Museum (704 S. Second St.; millcitymuseum.org) a must-see. Overlooking the mighty Mississippi, the museum tells the history and connectivity of the grain, the mills, the city and the river. Interactive displays are fun and there are plenty of photographs and artifacts to keep you more interested in flour than you ever thought you would be. There is an optional tour and if you time your visit right, the on-site baking lab will be in full swing and you can learn more about the annual Pillsbury Bake-off. Endless art and nature
A most pleasant surprise for us was the vast array of theater, music and dance options for a county of just under 400,000. Hennepin Avenue is the hub of the theater district, with grandly renovated showpieces like the 1921 Historic Orpheum Theatre and the Pantages Theatre, to name a couple. While the district is generally around Hennepin, it doesn’t have finite boundaries as evidenced by the two orchestras that perform on the opposite end of Nicolett Mall.
Guthrie Theater (guthrietheater.org) is also on the skirts of the district, only one block from the Mill Museum, and we were lucky enough to catch a world-premier theatrical rock concert — “Moon Show 143” — while there. This was just one event of several happening that night at the Guthrie. Note, there are many diverse places in the area for pre- or post-show dining also. We enjoyed an early supper across the street from the Guthrie at Spoonriver (750 S. Second St.; spoonriver.com), where they use locally grown produce in season and, if you’re cooking while on vacation, they have a farmer’s market on their site seasonally every Saturday.
Guthrie is a multi-floor complex encompassing two theaters and a studio, a restaurant, several bars, a lounge and an impressive view of Stone Arch Bridge (stonearchbridge.com) over the Mississippi River. It’s a former railroad bridge with 23 arches, popular with bikers, runners and river walkers. You can also tour the entire mill area, river, walkways, etc., via Segway Magical History Tours (magicalhistorytour.com) and in just a couple of hours cover 12,000 years of Minnesota and Mississippi River history and learn about how and why this city came to be the largest mill town in America — and have fun doing it.
At the very least, plan to spend part of a day exploring the river area and parks. As mighty as the Mississippi River is, it is also quite captivating this far north. A point of interest to check out is a statue of the city’s namesake Minnehaha in Minnehaha Park near Minnehaha Falls. It’s a lovely spot to stop for a packed lunch or just to relax.
The art-museum scene is also thriving, dynamic and diverse. Case in point: One afternoon we played seven holes at one of two interactive miniature-golf courses adjacent to the Walker Art Center (1750 Hennipin Ave.) and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (walkerart.org/garden).
Let’s back up a second. Yes, interactive miniature golf. This means you get to use swinging objects, your feet and foosball soccer paddles to help or hinder your opponents. Uncontrollable laughter is apparently one of those obstacles also.
The Walker Art Center is a vast space that offers many different areas to explore. It has a free First Saturday program also, and locally headquartered Target sponsors Target Free Thursday nights from 5-9 p.m. Check it out and while you are there hit the café, bar or restaurant on site and enjoy the terrace or if the weather is off, one of the indoor lounges.
The sculpture garden is one of the nation’s largest and it’s a must-see. From the city’s iconic sculpture, Claes Oldenburg’s “Spoonbridge and Cherry,” to Cowles Conservatory, there are more than 40 sculptures in this 11-acre park. If you like the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Iroquois” by Mark di Suvero, then make sure you check out his “Molecule” and also Brower Hatcher’s “Prophesy of the Ancients,” a cousin to our own “Ancient Garden 1990” at Ninth and Walnut streets.
If it sounds like you could spend the better part of a day just in this part of town, you’re right. But there is also The Museum of Russian Art (tmora.org), billed as our country’s largest collection of Russian artifacts, photographs and memorabilia. Not as impressive as we had hoped, but we still found a stunning glass ornament for our Christmas tree in the gift shop. Check out their special exhibitions for subject matter that may suit your tastes.
Another museum recommended by the locals is the Minneapolis Museum of Arts (2400 3rd Ave. S.; artsmia.org) with its fine photograph collection including Margaret Burke-White, Dorothea Lange and Richard Avedon, and a prints and drawings collection with the likes of Francisco de Goya, Piet Mondrian, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein to name but a few. Eat, drink, repeat.
Dining spans the spectrum in Minneapolis and spills over into much of the surrounding area. This is not a town to start a diet in while on vacation. But then what city is? Biscuits and gravy? Check. Pan-seared trout? Check. Fried pickles? Check. Sushi, pizza, salmon tartar, pasta bar — you name it, they eat it.
Ask any local where an LGBT-owned or -friendly restaurant is and you’ll get a few different answers, but I guarantee you’ll hear about two. Hell’s Kitchen (80 S. Ninth St.; hellskitcheninc.com) is likely to be the first one mentioned because it’s open almost 24 hours a day. (I say almost because they close for about two hours in the wee-early hours to regroup.)
The brunch menu alone has more than 50 items, many vegan, however I can personally recommend the maple-glazed bison sausage and the shrimp and crab cake with poached egg. Lunches and dinners can be the evening experience without a film or show. Don’t be surprised if the house special of the day is kangaroo or alligator. These guys don’t break for anything.
Besides the fabulous in-house creations, like a four-cheese mac and cheese that leaves every other recipe in the dust, they also make their own mustard, peanut butter and ketchup. And when you get home, you can still go online and order their Holy Trinity Gift Box with Sublime Hot Cocoa with house-made marshmallows, their secret Rib Rub (aka amazing Bloody Mary Rim), plus a big 1-pound jar of Legendary Peanut Butter, which holds a special status in hell.
Best of all, many of the best recipes are published in the “Hell’s Kitchen Cookbook,” which someone thoughtfully purchased for my birthday.
Think brunch should always have unlimited mimosa? Lush.
No, seriously. Lush (990 Central Ave. NE; lushfoodbar.com) is the hot spot for weekend brunch and not just for those mimosas. The food is crazy-good and, depending on the season and the weather, they open the 20-foot-high garage doors and you can enjoy the beauty of the day from inside or out. Yes, garage doors. Lush is an unassuming converted gas station-slash-garage bar and not only does brunch, but also weekday lunches.
At night, it’s a bar as gay as it gets with the usual DJs, dancing, karaoke some nights and drink-special options. Mostly a younger crowd, but everyone feels welcomed. And if your dabber is getting itchy, there’s a room to play Bingo in every Saturday night.
A great happy-hour spot we found is The Saloon (830 Hennepin Ave.; saloon.com)), where there is quite an interesting crowd on the weekends, to be sure. The place is packed to the walls on Sunday nights for the shower contest. Use your imagination. And then push it up a notch. This is one hot event.
A block away is The Gay 90s (gay90s.com) and gay it is. This six-bar complex includes the Happy Hour Bar (which opens at 8 a.m.), 90s Bar, Dance Annex, Men’s Room, Retro Bar and La Femme. We spent the better part of a Saturday night there drinking, playing darts, eating, watching a drag show and generally just having a blast.
Make these two stops for sure. Oh, Mary!
Remember that third thing Minneapolis is famous for? Yes, everyone’s favorite “Oh Lou!” girl, Mary Tyler Moore, did more for Minneapolis in the 1970s than the Twins and Vikings have since. In tribute, there is a bronze MTM statue on Nicollet Mall. She’s not hard to find, but you can ask any local where to go.
While you’re in that area, stop into Brit’s Pub (britspub.com). Weather permitting, you can play bocce on the roof. Yep. The roof is almost completely covered with grass and several games can be played at once. Reservations are recommended for this. While you wait, down a pint or two at a nearby table and check out the skyline. If it’s winter or rainy, you can pop inside for afternoon tea or a scotch by the fireplace. A gem of a place and we went twice.
Minneapolis is a lot more than we expected. I expect on our next visit, we’ll learn even more. And probably gain another pound or two as well.