Local eats, Minneapolis
 

Spending about 24 hours in Minneapolis next month after dropping wife off at airport. First time visit for me. Looking for essential local eats -- if it's unique to Minneapolis, even better. (I have no idea what that would be.) We live in Chicago, so not looking for sausages or hot dogs or pizza :)

Price range up to 20/plate, ideally, but can go higher if it's warranted. Also very much interested in cheap local eats.

Haven't booked a hotel yet, but I figure to stay downtown. I will have a car. However, I plan on doing some drinking too i.e. not much driving.

I do a lot of my own research, but always looking for a local's suggestions. Thanks for any tips!

I should note that we'll be arriving mid-morning, so I'm mostly looking for lunch and dinner suggestions.

One of Minneapolis' claim to fames is wild rice soup. My favorite place for soup is downtown in the skyway system. Ugh, I forget the name of it, but it's on the second floor of the US Bank Plaza, right behind the Caribou Coffee. They always have at least 10 soups and they're the best I've ever had. Nearby in the skyway is Turtle Bread Company. This has a really strong following in Minneapolis (I prefer the other place, but may be the only one). They do have really great bread and sandwiches.

I'd also recommend visiting the farmers markets. There's one right on Nicollet Mall that runs a few times a week. You can find lots of local specialties there.

As far as restaurants I always hit when I come to town: Uptown Diner and French Meadow Bakery (both in Uptown) for the best breakfasts, Figlios in Uptown for great happy hour deals (a few blocks from Lake Calhoun, so great for a post walk treat), Chino Latino (food from around the equator, served family style--this is definitely one of the more edgy restaurants in Mpls, but I go every time), and Birchwood Cafe in the Seward neighborhood. It's a little off the beaten path, but delicious organic and mostly vegetarian food. Best key lime pie I've ever had!

Do share what you end up eating! I love Minneapolis' culinary scene!

Lutefisk. ;-)

Try to hit our Mississippi riverfront/StoneArch bridge area. You will see the Guthrie Theater, old flour mills and a fun place to stroll. I agree with the Chino Latino and Birchwood recommendations; two of my favorites! I would add Spoonriver (sustainable, local food near riverfront) and Solera (fabulous tapas and paella)for downtown eats. Citylights: You are BAAD! :)

Citylights - think I just lost my appetite for lunch!!!!

We spent a couple of days in Minneapolis 2 weeks ago. Went to Town Talk Diner, 2707-1/2 Lake Street, for lunch and liked it so much, we went back for dinner. Tried Wallleye for the very first time and it was love at first bite. The pot roast was incredible - like homemade only better. For dinner, we were still a little full but made room for mussels which were one of the specials and they were fat, tasty and incredibly satisfying. Plus an added indulgence of truffled mac and cheese. Sat at the bar and had great time and good conversation with everyone. Felt so comfortable with the people there that we called and asked for recommendations on what to do while were in the twin cities and got wonderful advice on different neighborhoods including where to wander in St. Paul. It all made for a memorable stay in a fabulous city.

Thanks for the tips. Do you guys have any opinions on the Jucy Lucy? I've read up on this -- seems like Matt's Bar is one of the places to go, since it's the originator. (I know it's a dive and I'm OK with this.)

I've also read about walleye sandwiches. Any suggestions?

Minne, Spoonriver sounds good. Maybe I'll go there. How about 112?

As for lutefisk...I'm a bit of a foodie so I'd try almost anything once!

I don't know much about the Jucy Lucy, but I do believe Matt's is where you want to have it.

I thought of one more recommendation for you: Eat Street. It's a section of Nicollet with many different ethnic restaurants. Pretty authentic stuff, too, I believe. I love Rainbow Chinese and Salsa a la Salsa. Check this link for a list:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Minneapolis/Eat_Street

Thanks, Molly. I had found a few of the restaurants there and put them on my Google maps, but I wasn't aware of "Eat Street" as an entity.

My husband and I agree that the Juicy Lucy is a nuclear cheese spill waiting to happen. It is not a bad burger, but I prefer a standard burger. I think it is overrated.

Have you been Eatery 112 (or is it 112 Eatery)?

I want to get a Jucy Lucy just for kicks. And then a really good dinner that night at one of the places you guys have mentioned.

Minnehappylis -- do you have a favorite burger in town?

Just looked at the Chino Latino website. Looks pretty great...

Minnehappylis, could I contact you off board some time? I have a google maps set up with various restaurants and sites. I might ask for you to review it for me :)

TFF - <As for lutefisk... I'm a foodie...>

You won't be after trying lutefisk!!!

OK I'll bite...tell me about lutefisk! I've read varied reports about how it tastes...any descriptions are welcome!

We tried the 112 Eatery and it was fantastic. Every bite, every morsel was delicious. We travel as a family so our boys went and even they enjoyed their meal. We had reservations, you might check their website.

I was sent to Minneapolis several years ago for a two-month training class. It was before the widespread popularity of places like Residence Inn, so we were all in standard hotel rooms. All the office chefs felt sorry for us having to stay in a hotel for an extended period, having to eat out every day, etc. and stopped by our training room to drop off homemade treats.

After discussing "local" dishes and recipes for several days, the subject of lutefisk arose and one of the chefs (Jan?) said she'd bring some if we really wanted. The instructor, who was normally Jan's supervisor, told her if she did, she'd fail her next review. So instead, we were treated to "hot dish" the following week. Despite several trips to The Cities and beyond, I've yet to experience it. :)

I have never seen Lutefisk served anytime except right around Christmas. It really is an acquired taste and I NEVER acquired it in all my years of growing up in MN. However, my older Scandinavian Relatives (including my parents) looked forward to having it every Christmas. Of course they also made something else (Ham or Swedish Meatballs or both) for the rest of the family. I think the worst part of Lutefisk is the smell when it is cooking - really terrible. Also has kind of a gelatin mass on it in some places. UGH!!

Gee, where do you start with lutefisk? It's a process of curing fish which uses lye (no kidding). After curing, it's then soaked and washed several times to remove the lye (nice touch). It's then cooked (usually boiled) which also produces a sauce. The French certainly never invented a sauce like this, nor has any other nationality in world that I'm aware of. The process though results in a smell which IMHO is the most vile I've ever experienced. Truly undescribable.

It was originally a way of preserving fish through the Scandanavian winters. I'm not aware of an statistics which recorded how many people survived the winter, but not lutefish. I suspect they probably didn't want to know.

You can now find it in stores pre-prepared which cuts down on (but does not entirely omit) the odor, but still does nothing to eliminate the very, very unpleasant taste. Again, my (rational) opinion. People who like it love it, but I've always been convinced those people were dropped on their heads as toddler's - and most likely more than once.

My wife's family is 100% Swedish and my FIL insisted that it be fixed the old fashion way. Whew!! [My wife comes from a very large family. I was convinced it was his way of clearing out the house so he could have a few hours of peace and quiet. If that was his goal, it was always successful]. It's definitely an acquired taste and the butt of most every joke I've heard in IA and MN.

Fortunately, as mentioned, today it seems to be served (or forced upon us depending on your view point) during Christmas holidays.

Usually I would say "enjoy", but since you sound like a nice person, I won't inflict that on you.