Minneapolis 2023
We stayed in Minneapolis for the fair and a few extra days for fun. We flew in and out of Minneapolis - St. Paul airport and drove down to Des Moines for the first half of our trip and back to Minneapolis for the second half.
Before making the almost four hour drive from Minneapolis to Des Moines, we had dinner at Pizza Luce. The woman at the rental car counter recommended Pizza Luce, and it was delicious. We sat on the patio and ordered garlic cheese toast, spicy buffalo wings, and a small classic pizza (Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, black olives and mozzarella cheese on red sauce). It was too much food for the two of us, but it was so good.
Our main reason for hanging around Minneapolis was to go to the Minnesota State Fair, you can read about our day at the fair here.
We visited The Basilica of Saint Mary, and what an incredible building. Constructed in the early 1900s this was the first basilica in the United States. I know it is more significant to the Catholic faith than just a building, but I’m not sure what specifically makes it special, so read the history on their website. All I know is that a building so grand and opulently decorated, but also so simple at the same time helps you realize how small you are in the scheme of things, and that our time here is just a tiny part of a larger story.
Wanting to switch up our workplace, we found Spyhouse Coffee Roasters on google maps and headed to check it out. Spyhouse has great coffee and a really nice atmosphere. The space is pretty big, so you can sit in a bright space near the front of the building or in a cozy space near the roaster in the back. I had an iced latte and Christopher had a pour over coffee.
Eating out every meal while traveling is rough. After two or three days I start missing vegetables, sure some places you can get broccoli or a side salad or something like that, but man I just crave a plate of them. One of the nights we had dinner at MOMO Sushi, which is a great place for a fresh meal. I am not a sushi eater, so I obviously had chicken hibachi like the basic bitch that I am, but hibachi has lots of veggies, yay! Christopher had the sashimi appetizer and a sushi roll, we can’t remember which one, something with salmon and avocado and a sauce on top. We enjoyed this dinner a lot, but I wish we had chosen to sit inside, because it was a touch warmer than we thought, and after like 15 minutes I was wanting some air conditioning.
Bauhaus Brew Labs was a really cool place to grab a beer and pet dogs. We had been away from Lucy for about a week so getting to pet some other dogs helped us feel a little more normal. I had the Watermelon Short Pants (watermelon lemon shandy) and Christopher had Wonderstuff (pilsner).
Dogwood Coffee is a bright place to get a coffee. They even have cute little booths with power outlets for working, and a really nice patio. We ended up going here twice and getting the same drinks both times, iced latte for me and a pour over coffee for Christopher.
Holy Land restaurant and market smelled amazing the moment we walked in the door. We were stocked to eat middle eastern food while in the big city. I got chicken kebab with yellow rice, Christopher got kebab koobideh (ground beef and lamb) with white rice, and our meals also came with pita and greek salads. They even had a sprinkle jar of sumac so we could drench our food in it. We both find middle eastern food comforting and cozy and fresh, so anytime we have a chance to eat it, we take it.
We walked along the Mississippi River under the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and saw the Bell of Two Friends, a monument to friendship and peace commissioned by Ibaraki, Japan, Minneapolis’ Sister City, and the edge of the St. Anthony Falls. It was a nice park for a sunset walk.
After walking around the sculpture garden, we were pretty hungry. A quick google maps search for Italian food and we decided on Fat Lorenzos. A cozy Italian spot serving classics and gelato, Fat Lorenzos didn’t disappoint. We started with a house-made breadstick (Gigantic twisty bread, baked with garlic herb butter and Parmesan cheese. Served with Marinara), and shared a slice of Slim’s Combo (Mushrooms, onions, green peppers & black olives) add pepperoni, and the garlic chicken alfredo, and gelato for dessert. It was a nice cross section of the menu. The breadstick was a little dry, but tasted good and the marinera was great. We loved the slice and the chicken alfredo, and ate more than we really should have and felt overly full for a couple of hours after dinner. Oops. And then of course the gelato! Christopher had the pink grapefruit and thought it was ok and I had their accidental banana and heath flavor, which was excellent. Apparently they had accidentally mixed the heath into banana gelato instead of the usual base and made a very tasty accident.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is a lovely park filled with beautiful art and flowers. We strolled around the park at sunset on a breezy night which was perfect. We got to see the sculptures change as the lighting and sky changed colors, and because of the wind the piece After Dream sounded incredible. After Dream by Pierre Huyghe is a series of windchimes hanging from a tree on the edge of the sculpture garden, and as you walk around and under the tree the sounds change and dance like a symphony. I love an immersive experience, so this was definitely one of my favorite pieces.
On our last morning in Minneapolis, we had brunch at Tiny Diner. We sat outside on the patio that is covered with a glass and solar panel roof, surrounded by a pollinator garden. There were a lot of bees zooming around, so it was almost like eating in a butterfly garden, but with bees instead of butterflies. The food and service were both great, I’d absolutely go back.
The Mall of America is nuts! A theme park inside a mall is so extra that I love and hate it. I love the idea of an indoor theme park, but inside a mall is kind of a lot. I guess if you have kids that are old enough to look after themselves and you don’t want to go to a theme park you could let the kids loose in the park and then do some shopping or eating or drinking, or a combo.
There was a LUSH store in the mall, so I got a bar of Barbie Boombox soap.
We had a late lunch/early dinner at Burger Burger in the mall before our flight home. It was an ok burger place, not anything special, a basic a la carte burger joint. I had the french kiss burger (cheese, caramelized onions, and onion rings) and a chocolate shake. Christopher had the Blazin’ Bison (bison patty, pickled peppers, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion), and fries.
After eating we drove to the airport to head home. It was truly an amazing 10 days. I’ve wanted to go to a top five state fair for years, but last year was the first time I was able to take time off in August since 2010. I would consider this a bucket list trip!
