Minneapolis and St. Paul surprised us in the best way! From iconic landmarks and scenic riverfront walks to incredible local food, rooftop cocktails, and hidden gems, we packed a lot into 48 hours in the Twin Cities. Join us in this episode  as we take you along on a Minneapolis food tour, explore historic milling ruins, visit famous attractions like the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Minnehaha Falls, and uncover some of the best restaurants, bars, and cultural experiences the city has to offer.

Minneapolis Travel Tips:

• Pack layers because Minneapolis weather can change quickly
• Browse the Meet Minneapolis website, it is so helpful with tips, recommendations of food, hotels, activities, and trip planning. Here are two articles that had great recommendations:
  • 150 Things to do in Minneapolis
  • 10 Essential Things To Do on Your First Visit to Minneapolis

Stay at Hotel Emery, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Hotel Emery has a Spyhouse Coffee in the lobby and Giulia, their signature restaurant onsite! If Emery is fully booked, consider staying at Tru By Hilton or Hyatt Centric  

Things to Do in Minneapolis & St Paul:

• Experience Don’t skip the Mill District, which combines history, architecture, and riverfront view
• Start your trip with a guided Minneapolis Riverwalk Food Tour by Experience The Twin Cities to learn the city’s history and layout
• Visit the Sculpture Park
• Explore the Mill District
• Marvel at the grand Mall of America
• Get in nature at Minnehaha Falls

We visited the Twin Cities after our stint in Des Moines, IA and guess what?! We have an episode on it! If you are also trying to hit all 50 states, listen to our Des Moines, Iowa episode!

Minneapolis & St Paul Weekend Trip – Episode Transcript

0:35

And get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hello fellow travelers.

Hey, squaddies.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast.

Today we’re taking you to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St.

0:51

Paul, MN.

We’ve mentioned in the past that we plan to visit all 50 states.

So if you didn’t catch it, we flew into Iowa, our 48th state, and we have a mini episode that just aired this past Friday on Des Moines.

And then we drove from Iowa into Minnesota, our 49th state.

Jamal, I really liked how you put the accent on Minnesota.

1:09

If I did, it was very unintentional, believe it or not.

But if it came out, it came out.

And maybe it’s because I really did enjoy my time out here in Minnesota a lot.

I haven’t been to Minnesota, I wasn’t on this trip with you, but the accent’s one of my favorite things about Minnesotans.

1:25

Minnesota.

I was actually quite surprised to see that 60% of our squaddies said that they have been to Minnesota when we posted a poll, which was higher than I was anticipating, simply because we’ve left it pretty much for last.

And we have gotten a lot of questions on why we’ve left Minnesota out for so long.

1:42

And honestly, it’s because we thought we’d knock it off at the same time as we did a visit to Voyagers National Park.

But we want to visit Voyagers National Park in the summer.

There’s a very short summer season and Voyagers is a room destination, so we actually decided to hold off on visiting the National Park and just come for a quick visit to the city of Minneapolis.

2:02

Yeah.

And we were honestly surprised with Minneapolis and I’m looking forward to going back in the future.

Brittany, believe it or not, caught me at the airport looking to see if there’s any direct flights from San Diego to Minneapolis because we flew Southwest.

2:18

It did have a layover, but I did see a lot of Sun Country Airline out there, and I don’t know if it’s their hub or not, but I know Sun Country flies into San Diego and sure enough, from San Diego to Minneapolis, they do have a direct flight at a very reasonable cost.

2:33

And I did enjoy the city.

I feel like we explored it all.

But I really did like the food scene, the atmosphere.

I love sports.

I would go catch maybe a Twins game out there for baseball or go see the Timberwolves, an NBA game.

I do like football, but it’s my least favorite of the big three.

2:51

So maybe a Vikings game, but beyond that, like I really did just enjoy Minneapolis as a whole.

And I think it’s because, and we’ll get to it when we start talking about it.

We did do a food tour and we actually got a really good history lesson with it.

And I learned a lot of stuff that I didn’t know about the city and its founding and why and how it became so big.

3:10

And I just found it so unique because believe it or not, when we get there, it really is like US pop culture lore and something that everybody knows something about in some way.

So sneak peek on what we’re going to get into on that.

But I just found that to be like so fascinating and it made me we appreciate the city even more.

3:27

We spent two nights in Minneapolis and honestly, I felt like I could have spent longer.

We feel like we did see a lot of the major sites, but there’s so much food scene going on here that we might have enough time to see some of the sites, but you don’t ever have enough time to eat all of the good food in that city.

3:44

And so when I do come back, because we will come back, there’s a lot of different things I want to do when we go back on our next trip.

So before we get into the episode, let me tell you just a little bit about Minneapolis.

Maybe people know this, maybe they don’t, of course, but Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the Twin Cities, they call them the Twin Cities because they touch and they’re a metropolitan area by each other, but they are separated, believe it or not, by the Mississippi River.

4:08

This is the first major city along the Mississippi as it works its way South Down to New Orleans, LA, and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.

And Minneapolis, as we’ve kind of just mentioned, has a really booming culinary scene.

It has those skyscrapers, but it’s it’s in a very pristine area.

4:27

By that I mean you have these beautiful urban lakes.

You have Saint Paul’s, of course, across the river, which is the capital of Minnesota.

But it has very quiet, nice Victorian era style neighborhoods.

And I just really loved it a lot.

You have a big city, then you go across with that Victorian style.

4:44

Maybe you feel like you’re in a European village of sorts if you’re in the right areas.

So really, really cool.

Lots of stuff going on for it in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Kim, you have a friend that actually lives in Minneapolis.

Why haven’t you visited yet?

There are certain months where I can’t like because of the snow.

5:03

Not that I can’t, I just don’t want to, but I guess now that it’s heating up might be a consideration.

There’s a lot of lakes out there for boating too.

Of course, and that’s what I’m saying.

You have this metropolitan area, but Minnesota, if you’ve seen a license plate of it, it’s like Land of 1000 lakes there.

5:18

Land of 10,000 lakes.

There really are thousands of them.

I think our tour guide even told us the exact number was 11,000 something, right?

But thousands upon thousands of lakes, lots of them around the city, more so if you explore the state and you have these really beautiful non urban areas, areas that are really recreational too, which we did not get to explore.

5:38

But I really did fall in love with this area and would go back.

But you might want to go soon, Kim, because it is like a Chicago, right?

People know Chicago’s really cold and frigid during the winter, but during summer could be really hot, humid, nasty.

You have a really wide variety of the weather.

5:54

Yeah, humid, humid.

It can get humid.

When we were there the first day, it was actually hot and humid, not unbearably, right?

Because I mean, we went in late May, early June.

So we were right on that threshold as the full summer season is coming in to swing.

But it also has the type of weather that you’re used to in Texas where it could be a really hot day and then the next day it’s just cloudy, rainy, etcetera.

6:18

And that’s what we had the following day.

So when to go, I guess really depends on what you want to get out of it.

But it’s one of those things where you have just a wide variety of weather and it could change on a dime.

Squatty’s Jamal was talking about good flight prices to Minneapolis.

6:33

You can also get a good flight price with Thrifty Travelers Premium subscription service.

You hear us talk about it all the time.

It’s an alert service that will alert you of sales on flights, whether that’s cash or points sales on hotels, so that you can kind of map out and track your trip to Minneapolis and get a good deal on it.

6:52

All you have to do is go to thriftytraveler.com/premium.

If you do want to sign up for that subscription service, use our promo code TSP and that will get you $20 off your first year.

All right, let’s dive into the tips that we have for Minneapolis.

So more recently for our trips, I’ve been more of the planner when Jamal and I take trips, surprise, surprise, and recently sometimes I’ll throw Jamal and be like, Hey, I need you to help me plan this.

7:17

But I did most of the planning for this trip and I was a little overwhelmed with trip planning.

We had like a lot of trips going on at once.

And so I just didn’t really know where to start.

I had, you know, like a few ideas, but honestly, what was the biggest resource I used was the meet Minneapolis website.

7:38

It was super informative and not all tourism boards have a really great resource, but I was actually very surprised with their website and how helpful it is with trip planning.

So they had a whole bunch of articles that I looked through.

One was called 150 Things to do in Minneapolis and then there was another one called 10 Essential Things to do on your first Visit to Minneapolis and I used both of those to help me plan this trip.

8:01

So if you guys are interested and haven’t been to Minneapolis before, I do recommend going on to the Meet Minneapolis website and looking at their resources.

They have resources for events by season, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, international cuisine, beans and sweet treats.

So there’s a ton of different resources on their website.

8:17

Another tip is to pack in layers.

I kind of mentioned this earlier.

Weather is always changing.

Of course, if you go during winter, it’s going to be really cold.

You go during summer, kind of already mentioned that.

So just pack in layers, check the weather leading up to your trip just to see what the forecast has for you so you pack appropriately.

8:36

Jamal mentioned that the day that we got there, it was warm and a little bit humid.

The next day it was actually raining and a little bit cold, so just in a 2 day span the weather had changed quite a bit.

You’ll definitely want to bring bug spray.

Our favorite bug spray that we use is from Sawyer.

8:53

We will link that in the show notes for you guys.

But this is a place that you definitely do want to have it.

Even when we were here kind of that spring to summer transition period, just even being downtown.

And of course we went to an area not too far from downtown, but a little bit more remote that had a waterfall.

9:10

Bugs are flying around, so you do want to have some sort of bugs spray with you, especially if you’re coming from a place like us here in California.

I feel like we really don’t have bugs.

I mean, obviously we do, but it’s not a problem like in other states.

You will experience it out here.

So do pack.

That there was a part where we were by the waterfall that we went to that we’ll talk about later.

9:28

And I told Jamal, like, if we open our mouth, how many bugs do you think we’d get in their mouth by, like, the end of the swap?

She says that, but I and you said EO Kim, I don’t want to discourage you people from going.

It’s not like when we were what?

What’s that National Park in South Carolina?

Why am I drawing a blank on it?

Congaree.

Congaree, it’s not like we were in the swamp and that type of bug situation.

9:47

I mean, it’s just normal bugs, right?

It’s not like they were big mosquitoes landing on you on big ugly things.

I mean, they’re just like those small little gnats going around.

You see them kind of when you’re in the isolated wooded areas, that’s all.

But it’s not anything too crazy but still warrants having the bug spray just cause.

10:02

Another tip for you is you will have to pay to park everywhere downtown even on Sundays and it’s pretty much all day long so just keep that in mind if you are renting a car and you need a place to park.

How is the downtown?

Is it like a big city downtown?

It definitely is a very big city downtown.

10:20

We took one of the freeway exit ramps and then you go underground actually in that area where we came.

And then you can see that they have parking structures for you that just kind of crossed the freeway.

You know, when you go under those things and you just kind of see like infrastructure that’s around and it’s not the buildings.

10:36

I mean, that’s kind of how it was at one point.

Another one you just get off the freeway and then you’re in downtown without any of that stuff.

But I mean, it is a very big and large downtown, so large in fact too.

And of course talked about how during winter it could be really cold, but they actually have lots of sky bridges between their buildings too to prevent people from having to go outside during the winter.

10:58

So lots of buildings connect via bridges that go over the streets, etcetera.

So it is a very vibrant downtown.

But if you don’t get a rental car, because we did have one since we drove from Iowa to Minnesota, if you don’t have one and you just plan to use public transportation, we did hear that they have a pretty solid public transportation system.

11:15

We didn’t use it so we can’t speak to it, but just know that it is there and it seems to be pretty solid.

Yes, and by our hotel, as a matter of fact, there was a stop for one of their trains rails that they do have.

One thing came you mentioned about the downtown.

I want to circle back around on this and how big the downtown was.

11:31

You know, sometimes you go to downtown places and the roads and turns are a little bit confusing and you can’t figure it out.

Like one time I accidentally turned onto the public rail train tracks because it’s, yeah, I was supposed to make a right hand turn, but you’re not supposed to make a immediate right.

You’re supposed to go straight and then turn right.

So that way you don’t go over the train tracks.

11:48

I went over the train tracks.

Thank God there was no train or pedestrians there.

So I mean, things going to.

So yeah, that I mean, that’s what the downtown looks like in a good way, though, of course.

Just be mindful.

So we started our trip into Minneapolis on Saturday, May 30th and we drove from Des Moines, IA.

12:04

We left around 6:00 AM in the morning to be able to make an 11 AM Minneapolis Riverwalk food tour.

So our food tour, like Brittany said, started at 11:00 and it was the Minneapolis Riverwalk Food Tour and this experience and food tour was done by Experience the Twin Cities.

12:23

They offer a wide variety of different food tours going to places like breweries, distilleries, ciders, sightseeing tours, even as a matter of fact, holiday tours to see Christmas lights and chocolate tours.

So they did have food tours in different locations just with different themings.

12:39

But we opted to do the Riverwalk Food Tour 1 just because it was really the only one that was available time wise for us coming in.

But I’m glad we did because the Riverwalk area really was my favorite thing about Minneapolis.

12:55

And then that’s where it gave us also the bearings of that history that I was talking about earlier.

Yeah, they have a variety of different options.

We looked through five different ones that we were looking through and ultimately ended up choosing the Minneapolis Riverwalk Food Tour.

But you could even book a public tour or a private tour if you want your own experience.

13:14

Experience and they didn’t have the time frame that works for you.

And they do this year round.

The snow and cold does not scare them at all.

I know I might scare the tourists, right?

But these are locals to the frigid temperature, so they’re used to it.

So rain or shine or snow, they are going on these.

13:30

And we absolutely loved this tour and we’ll link our experience in our show notes.

But we met at a park called Gold Medal Park, and there’s a very large Gold Medal Park sign as you come up to that park.

But my favorite part about this, this is in their reminder e-mail about the information about where to meet is they specifically say do not attempt to get to the top of the building that has the gold medal flower sign.

13:54

So I feel like someone has tried to get to like the top of a building to meet them and like obviously that was not there, but because they disclose that.

Yeah, ’cause they have the sign at park level with the grass at the Riverwalk and then they actually have it on top of an old industrial building.

14:10

So this Riverwalk area has very recently been redeveloped.

They were saying within the last 20 years, but this area was very heavy for the industry because it is right along the Mississippi and this is some of the information that we were actually getting.

Kim, when you hear gold medal and Brittany said gold medal flower, does that kind of like ring a bell to you?

14:29

Have you ever heard of it or seen it before?

No.

Well, you may not just buy like name, but next time you go to the grocery store, probably one of the more popular flour brands that you will see is going to be Gold medal.

And so this area right here in Minneapolis along the Riverwalk was actually the largest flour milling industry location in the world at one point in time.

14:53

So they’ve revitalized this area because of course, the old flour mills have moved out.

But originally why they came here is because they had the hydroelectric power, so to speak, of the Mississippi River that actually was used to grind the flour mills and the wheat down into flour.

15:11

And right here is actually the only location along the Mississippi River that has a waterfall.

So they have more water flow and pressure because there is a waterfall in this area.

And that’s what they used to actually grind the wheat into a flower.

15:28

And so literally like the entire flower industry, so to speak of the US and the world originates right here in terms of a mass industrial scale.

And so that’s why they have the gold medal flower sign on the top of the building.

And the disclaimer, by the way, was don’t climb up there.

15:44

Meet us at the park where the other gold medal sign.

So we met our guide, his name was Brian, at the Gold Medal Park sign.

He was so fun, so friendly.

Our group was about 14 people, which is the maximum size the group will be.

And Jamal’s already said this before.

16:01

But what we love most about this tour is we got such a good history lesson and also it really helped us get our bearings around the city.

And so if you are coming to Minneapolis, do this first because this will really like help you get the ground running for everything else that you’re going to do.

16:17

And and he was really great with explaining the history.

And the Riverwalk was fun because you probably walk at least a mile on it.

So you get a really good lay of the land as you’re going to these different stops that we’re going to talk about.

And even though this was a Minneapolis food tour along the Riverwalk, our guide bride did say he’s originally from Saint Paul.

16:39

So he has a little bit of Saint Paul bias.

So he kind of had that little fun banter in there of like just kind of the competition and everything.

But he started off, of course, giving us just a general explanation of the park, this area that we were in, what I just mentioned, how it used to be all old industry, how the city became to be as large as it did, was all centered really around this.

17:01

And in this area as well.

They do have the Mill City Farmers Market.

And that was actually the first thing that we did try is at the farmers market.

They have a place called Solomon’s.

And he picked us up some freshly made croissants.

So we got to eat that as our first thing as we’re roaming the park and of course, moving on to our next location.

17:20

I love a good croissant, and these were just plain croissants, but they were flaky and buttery and delicious and it worked out perfect because right above us was the gold medal flower sign.

So I held my croissant up and got a good picture of the croissant and then the sign in the back and it was perfect.

17:38

But we got to roam around the park.

He was giving us some history, and then he would tell us where we were going to head to next.

And what I didn’t know about Minneapolis before for is they have so many different types of cuisines there.

And so our next stop was actually to a Thai restaurant.

17:55

And when I think of Minneapolis, I don’t think of Thai.

Oh I’m so glad you you got a Thai food in on this trip, that’s amazing.

We did.

Do you know why they took us to a Thai restaurant, Kim?

Or can you make a guess?

Maybe there were a lot of immigrants from Thailand that came here.

There’s a lot of SE Asians that came to this area more particularly after the Vietnam War.

18:16

They were saying when they were bringing people from Vietnam who helped the Americans and of course other regions of Southeast Asia just because they came, then they had that kind of community in that area.

So it did bring a lot of immigrants and therefore Thai people as well.

But this restaurant that they took us to was called Sawadi, and it’s actually the first Thai restaurant in the Midwest.

18:38

So up until this restaurant here in Minneapolis, at Ludlow, Minneapolis, or Minnesota, the Midwest, there was no Thai restaurant.

This was the first.

Yeah, and they actually have 4 locations now.

So we went to the one that was closest to Gold Medal Park.

We walked by the Guthrie Theatre, we walked by the Mill City Museum, which we’ll talk about both of those later.

18:58

And we landed in this Thai restaurant and we were able to try a spring roll and a chicken stir fried dish.

Both were really delicious.

I would love to go back and just get a different variety of food.

Of course, on a food tour you’re just getting small bites and tastings.

But again, I like it because you’re eating good food.

19:14

I wouldn’t think Thai food when I think Minneapolis, but yet you’re getting the history lesson here.

This is from immigrants first Thai food in the Midwest here.

So I thought that was pretty cool.

And one thing, just before we move on to the next location you mentioned, Brittany, we passed the theater.

I didn’t realize there is a big theater scene in Minneapolis as well.

19:33

So they have lots of kind of Broadway style plays and things like that.

And it is right there by the Gold Medal Park.

It has a big building that just kind of anchors in that Riverwalk area.

From the Thai restaurant, we were actually able to cross the Mississippi River over a bridge.

From this bridge you can see Stone Arch Bridge, which is the second oldest bridge that crosses the Mississippi.

19:53

We were able to see and learn about Saint Anthony’s Falls, which Jamal already mentioned is the only natural major waterfall along the entire 2300 mile length of the Mississippi River.

And then we walked to.

Punch Pizza.

Kim, you would like this because I know you’re an Italy person, right?

20:10

You’ve been to Italy, you like Italy and who doesn’t like pizza?

I feel like one of the last episodes we were talking about, you picked yourself up a very unique pizza that you really enjoyed, right?

Who doesn’t love pizza?

They took us to this spot here at Punch Pizza because they actually serve authentic Neapolitan style pizza.

20:29

They do have a wood burning oven that gets up to temperatures of 900 plus degrees.

But beyond that, like we say, Neapolitan style, we can officially say that because this was the first place in Minnesota to get an official endorsement of true Neapolitan pizza from authorities in Naples, Italy, right?

20:47

So, you know, it’s like you can’t call champagne champagne unless it comes from a region in France.

Even tequila is that way.

Certain things can’t be called tequila unless it’s done a certain way.

Comes from Mexico.

Well, you can’t apparently call a pizza a Neapolitan pizza unless it meets certain standards.

21:03

And there is a governing body that dictates that that, and this is the first place in the state of Minnesota that actually has the designation.

So you can really come here and feel like you’re really eating true European Italian style.

Pizza and was it good?

It was very good actually, I really did enjoy it a lot.

21:19

They have multiple pizzas you can try but they only brought two different ones out for us to sample.

Yeah, we tried two different pies.

One was called the Maximum.

It was pepperoni, mushroom, olive, cracked pepper and oregano.

And then we also tried the Toscano, which was a sausage, a red pepper, cracked red pepper and basil.

21:36

There was one vegetarian on the tour though, so they did get a Margarita pizza.

And they are able to accommodate different food restrictions and allergies.

So if you were worried about that, there is No Fear they can accommodate you.

From there, we walked to the Northeast Tea house, this little tea house.

21:52

They actually sell a bunch of different teas, but what makes them really unique is they hand mill their own matcha.

And there’s only three different matcha mills in the country.

And when you actually need to have your milk calibrated, they have to send it back to Japan to have it calibrated and then have it sent back to them before they can continue to hand mill it.

22:12

Yeah.

So this is one of three places in the US where you can get real matcha.

So of course, you know, you could go to a tea place or coffee place and you could buy matcha.

But when you do, they grind it in Japan or wherever it’s coming from.

And they were saying that when it’s ground, it usually becomes like bitter the longer it sits, etcetera.

22:31

And so a lot of places, when you get it, one, it doesn’t taste as fresh, has that bitterness or lots of coffee shops or tea houses will try to mask that.

Whereas here they get the tea leaves whole, they’re ground on site with special machines that were made specifically for this, again, one of three in the United States.

22:49

And again, you wouldn’t think that in some place like Minnesota.

So what I really liked about this is how they highlighted the uniqueness of their culinary scene, different things that they have that other places don’t.

So we got a cup of matcha and they paired it with a lemon mochi.

Shabal mentioned.

23:04

Matcha is a little bitter ish but you get the sweetness from the mochi so they that’s how they usually pair it together.

Yeah, and we didn’t say they actually make it by hand too, with the little wooden whisks that they use in Japan.

And when we did our tea ceremony there, we got to do it.

23:20

But people are here by hand doing the whisk for you as they are preparing us.

So really authentic.

Our last stop on our food tour was at Fletchers Ice Cream Shop.

This is a handcrafted ice cream shop that has dairy, non dairy and gluten free options.

Jamal ended up getting the cheesecake and I ended up getting the dairy free ube that was made with coconut milk and honestly, it’s probably the best ube ice cream I’ve ever had.

23:43

So you can imagine on a hot day, this is a good spot to go to.

He was saying, of course, and I don’t mean to rag on Fletcher’s, there was nothing necessarily particularly unique about this location other than the fact that, one, it’s close to the Riverwalk.

But two, like ice cream culture, especially on those hot days, is a very big thing in Minneapolis.

24:01

So they do take us here.

There is a spot by here too that has a deli across the street.

Off the top of my head, forgive me, I don’t remember the name, but depending on what day of the week you go, they do take you to that deli because it’s very famous and historic.

But we were there on a Saturday and Saturdays it’s busy so they don’t take you on Saturday.

24:21

So just if you do decide to do this food tour locations could potentially change based off of what day of the week.

But I really do wish we got to try the deli because it was famous for their hierogies, their European style, like kind of like sausages and meats and stuff.

So that would have been a really good spot.

24:38

And that also has historic significance because there really is a large European population, lots of Germans and other types of Europeans that have come from that area of the world’s to Minneapolis.

So our tour ended at Fletcher’s.

It was about 3 hours long and then we walked back to the car which was on the other side of the river.

24:57

So if you have extra time, we were kind of on a time crunch.

But if you have extra time, it’s a good opportunity to explore this area and maybe walk back.

Going across the Stone Arch Bridge, we needed to get to our car ASAP so we didn’t have the luxury of time, but we did come back to explore more of the Riverwalk area the next day.

25:15

How is the Riverwalk?

Is it long comparatively to the only one I know in San Antonio?

So what you’re considering in San Antonio is the Riverwalk.

Don’t put that in the same perspective as Minneapolis, right?

Because that’s a really narrow Riverwalk.

You have shops on each side.

25:32

You have bridges that cross like small little pedestrian bridges, right?

You’re separated here on this Riverwalk by the giant Mississippi River, right?

So really the Riverwalk area is the park and kind of main parallel roads of the old industry area that they have now gentrified, right?

25:48

Where you have the Guthrie Theater, the Mill City Museum, homes, coffee shops, restaurants, things like that.

So it’s really a more so a gentrified area.

You do have areas along the river.

They are more elevated, of course, and not right on the river, but they have the stone arch bridge that you can walk across, which is the historic bridge.

26:07

You could walk across a car bridge that has a sidewalk for you.

So it’s not like the San Antonio one, but it is rather large in a more developed area now, not commercialized like the San Antonio River Walk in a way, so to speak.

Squatty’s Are you signed up for our newsletter?

26:23

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26:43

So after our food tour, as Brittany mentioned, we were on a time crunch.

The main reason we were on a time crunch is we wanted to try to get into Saint Paul and go into the capitol building.

If you listen to our previous episode on Des Moines, you’ll hear all about how we did the capital tour of the Des Moines state capitol for Iowa.

27:03

And we really loved it, actually like a really good guided tour with amazing history.

And we’re like, all right, well, yeah, like, let’s go check it out here in Saint Paul.

And a lot of times when we’re in a capital city, we’ll go see the capitol building and really haven’t done the tours, but we’re like, let’s try to go do a tour.

But unfortunately by the time we got there, it was closed.

27:22

So the only thing we got to do was see the state capitol building up close, take photos from the outside, and then start exploring some of the Saint Paul side of the Twin Cities.

Right down the street from the Capitol building is the Cathedral of Saint Paul, and it’s a beautiful Roman Catholic cathedral overlooking St.

27:40

Paul, Minneapolis.

It was actually completed in 19 15 and it was one of the largest churches in the United States and it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Honestly, when we walked inside, I mean, you could get the sense from the outside and talking about how the building looks.

Of course, if you’re looking at everything around it, it doesn’t necessarily feel like Europe, but if you’ve ever been to a church or cathedral in Europe and walked inside, I really got that type of vibe in here.

28:05

It’s just so grand, It’s so big.

It’s stone.

You have the stained glass windows, just really exceptional and beautiful.

Huge pipe organs that they have on the balcony area as well.

So really I felt like we were in Europe when we were in this one, so really cool to go check out.

28:21

Yeah, definitely.

Kim, have you ever tried a Juicy Lucy?

Or heard of a juicy Lucy, for that matter?

I don’t think so.

So a juicy Lucy is a burger that has cheese stuffed in the inside.

And so as a burger cooks, all of that cheese melts, but you can’t see of it, any of it, because it’s inside.

28:39

So then when you take a bite of the burger, this cheese starts to ooze out.

And Minneapolis is home to the original Juicy Lucy.

And so there’s a whole bunch of debates online of like, what restaurant has the best Juicy Lucy?

And so we were in a debate of what location are we going to try?

28:56

And we had kind of settled on, we’re going to go to Matt’s Bar, which is where it originated.

But then there’s another popular location in Minneapolis.

But we were asking our tour guide, Brian from the Riverwalk Tour, where do you think we should go to try a Juicy Lucy?

And he said, yes, Matt’s the original and you’re going to wait to try try it.

29:14

But all of the locals go to the Nook.

That is where the best local Juicy Lucy is.

And it happened to be in Saint Paul, which is his hometown.

So we decided while we’re in Saint Paul, why not try a Juicy Lucy there?

So we ended up trying one.

It’s a novelty item to have.

29:29

Don’t get me wrong, if I was to go to a restaurant and just get a burger, I would just get a burger.

I wouldn’t get a Juicy Lucy.

But if you’re in the home, and by that I’m talking the city of where a style of burger was created, it’s like going to Philly and not getting a Philly cheese stick, right?

You just got to try it.

29:44

So we had to try a Juicy Lucy and it was good.

Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t try any of the other locations to compare, but even when our guide Brian told us this is where the locals go.

If you actually like Google, the Nook, you’ll obviously see the Google page, but you will actually see articles that come up and it does list how this is a local favorite ranked as one of the best.

30:06

So we felt really confident in coming here.

And it’s just one of those things, if you like burgers and you’re in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, you got to give a Juicy Lucy a try.

But they actually here don’t call it a juicy Lucy, they call it the nookie because you’re at the Nook.

So don’t get confused.

Sounds good.

30:21

It was good.

I enjoyed it.

I was texting Zana, our old OG squad member, and so I told her we were out for burgers and she said, oh, can you send me a pic?

We’ve been thinking about burgers.

And I said I can send you a video.

And I sent her a video of Jamal cutting into it and opening it up and all of the cheese oozing out.

30:39

And she goes, oh wow, that looks so good.

I mean, it oozes out like a molten chocolate lava cake.

I mean, if you’ve ever had one of those and you cut it and just oozes, that’s exactly what a Juicy Lucy does.

So just imagine a Patty that’s sandwiched all around like a block of cheese that’s melted, ooey, gooey and deliciousness.

30:58

You have that on the Juicy Lucy.

And I do enjoy a nice presentation and a show, but I feel you would lose the cheese from your burger.

Well, our well, it wasn’t our waitress, it was the person who brought it out.

She’s like, have you ever had one before?

And we said, no, you are kind of correct on from that, Kim, because she said you got to let it sit for a little bit, to let the cheese still say soft but harden up a little bit, right?

31:20

Because it does melt out, but you didn’t lose all of it.

But it actually makes it really good because it comes with fries.

So as you’re taking bites, you can actually take a piece of your burger, dip it in some of the cheese that came out, or maybe have some cheese fries with it with your fries that are on the sides.

But you are correct.

31:36

Some cheese of course, will spill out.

But there is a technique to make sure it doesn’t all come out.

You got to let it sit for just a little bit.

That’s an inside Minnesota tip for you.

Like that Kim, how I said Minnesota, a little inside tip.

You really went hard on that one.

I I did.

Well, you called me out on it earlier, so I really thought I’d.

31:52

Bring it on this one.

So by this time, we are ready to check into our hotel.

We stayed at the Emory Hotel, which is part of Marriott’s Autograph collection.

If you haven’t heard it before, we love Marriott hotels.

We’ve stayed at tons of different Marriott hotels in a whole bunch of different cities.

32:08

This hotel actually has some history to it.

It was previously the hotel in Minneapolis, but before being a hotel, it was actually the Midland Bank building in 19 O 6.

That’s a long time ago.

This is a big historic building and the lobby of the Emory has kept the original marble columns, big beautiful white marble columns.

32:29

As you walk into the lobby, they have these gorgeous vaulted ceilings and they’ve kept some of the original bank vaults and kind of highlighted them and incorporated that into their design.

When you walk in, not only do you see these big beautiful marble columns, but they have like a whole whole bunch of green plants everywhere, and it’s just so bright and green with everything in there.

32:48

They have like a pool table in the lobby, a cozy fireplace to sit at.

They have a coffee shop in the lobby called Spy House Coffee.

And then you go around the corner and you can actually see their signature restaurant called Julia before you get to the front desk.

So it’s a little bit of a walk to get to the front desk here.

33:06

You know, if anybody has ever been to the East Coast and seen old buildings that have like the marble lobby or stone lobbies, or if you never have but then have seen, of course, movies that show buildings what they used to look like back in the day.

33:21

I mean, really when we stepped in here, I felt like we were walking into a movie scene just because it kind of looked like those old kind of classic styles that you see.

And I love how they really kept that.

And I love how they kept the bank vault in there too, because in the lobby you can see the bank vault.

What was that restaurant in woodland in our own hometown, the Mexican restaurant that used to be in the bank?

33:40

And then they had the bank vault and they had the private table that you could set up in there.

Does anyone remember that?

I mean, I know we remember.

I can’t remember the.

Name It’s an Irish pub now I think.

Yeah, it’s Patty’s now.

Or Father Patty’s is what it is now, but it used to be a Mexican.

Restaurant.

It was a good one too.

33:55

Yeah, but they had the vaults in there, so it gave me kind of like little nostalgic flashbacks.

But I also thought really cool that it kept part of its history since this was a bank at one point in time.

Every single staff member that we interacted with at the hotel was so kind and friendly, and I know that this is a thing.

34:11

The Midwest, nice vibe.

Soda specifically.

They are so nice.

Yeah, I mean, I really felt the love in the Midwest.

Nice.

You can feel it here.

But we went up and checked into our room.

We were staying on the 10th floor, which is the highest floor that you could stay in at this hotel.

34:29

The rooms were nice, clean, spacious.

We had a couch that had like this beautiful lamp that overhangs it.

We had a king size bed, coffee maker, fridge and then Jamal particularly loved the shower.

I did love the shower I.

Saw that you guys posted a story.

I was like, you’re spending a lot of time on the shower.

34:46

Well, I think Brittany made that one, so she may have focused a lot of time on it, but I loved it.

I mean, honestly, like it wasn’t done upgrade.

I mean, it had the nice glass panels to it, but you know, you go to hotels and especially sometimes when it’s in an old historic building too, right?

Something could be fancy, but maybe not a lot of space.

35:02

And I hate taking showers in cramped, tiny spaces.

This was just nice.

I mean, it was wide and open.

It had some nice tiling on it.

It wasn’t a rain shower, but the shower head was so high that felt like a rain shower.

It’s just nice.

I mean, I think everybody can agree it’s just nice to take a shower and a nice shower, right?

35:20

Good water pressure, but we would stay here again.

Our only critique of the hotel itself was the parking.

It was quite confusing and our recommendation is that they should give you a little piece of paper with instructions on how to do the South Park because it’s not attached to the hotel.

35:36

It’s across the street and the building that you’re supposed to park in.

There’s no sign saying it’s hotel parking, and there’s a sign that says it’s full and the doors are closed.

So it looks like you can’t actually enter it, but you can.

You just have to like pull up.

And anyways, that’s our only critique to it.

35:51

But we loved our stay at the Emory and we would stay here again.

So after we had checked in, we wanted to see one of Minneapolis’s top highlights, which is their sculpture garden.

It’s actually the largest urban sculpture garden in the United States and one of the Midwest’s most visited sites, actually.

36:08

So if you’re from the Midwest, you probably have been here because it’s one of the more popular tourist attractions, but again, in the US, largest.

And it’s anchored by the beloved Spoon bridge and cherry sculptures, which if you don’t know what it is, just Google the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

But it’s a giant spoon in a pond that has a beautiful cherry coming out from it.

36:28

And then of course, from the cherry.

They do have a water fountain.

When we checked into the Emory, they actually included a little welcome basket for us.

And they gave us a cat that had the cherry and spoon on it.

And at first, I didn’t realize it, but Brittany knew what it was.

So she picked that up, took it to the park, and she’s like, look, I have the hat that goes with this.

36:47

So every photo that she took with the spoon and cherry, she was sure to wear her hat and like point to it and whatnot.

So I mean, this is yeah, that.

I mean, that is one of their famous sculpture that anchors the entire park, but there’s lots of other unique cool sculptures all around.

37:03

And it’s just a nice place to go and roam around on a hot day.

Yeah, it’s not going to be necessarily the best, but what I did appreciate about it is it was warm that day, but from the fountain that was coming off of the cherry when the wind blew just right, you got the mist and you got a cool down in there.

37:18

So really cool place to go and just experience the everyday life and parks that Minneapolis has to.

Offer.

Yeah, the garden’s 11 acres, and it has over 60 sculptures from artists from in different countries.

And you can see the Minneapolis skyline from the park as well.

So we walked around for a little bit.

37:34

You do have to pay to park at this park.

I think it was about 250 an hour.

We spent an hour roaming the park.

And then we wanted to visit a lake in Minnesota because Minneapolis is known for all of their lakes.

And forgive us in advance because the pronunciation of the lake is a little bit difficult, so bear with us.

37:53

Yeah, it’s called the Buday Mukhoska Lake, and it’s spelled nowhere near here.

How you think you would say it, right?

It is in the indigenous native language.

So again, forgive us for the pronunciation on it.

But it is Minneapolis’s largest lake.

And to get here from the sculpture park, it wasn’t very far.

38:11

And you know, if you’re listening to this, you’re a traveler.

We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve been somewhere and then thought, can I live here?

And then what’s cool about the sculpture park is it’s like right on the edge of downtown.

And then it was not a far drive to this lake, which is also really cool because then the lake is really close to the downtown area.

38:30

But what’s weird is how close it was.

And then from the park, going to the lake, you drive through probably one of the most beautiful residential neighborhoods that I’ve actually really ever.

Driven.

In nice curvy roads, hugs different lakes along the way to the lake that we were actually going to.

38:48

And then it’s one of those crazy things where like, wow, the downtown’s here, yet this is so close.

But it really feels like a completely different world, like you should be in the suburbs or really high affluent neighborhood, but yet you’re here and not far on the outskirts of the city.

So driving to this lake, Brittany and I started thinking like, could we live in Minnesota?

39:06

And then Brittany said no, but I could have a summer home out here.

I pulled up Redfin and everything, you know, even Google Maps as you’re driving through was making this neighborhood look nice.

Like with all the bushes and trees that was putting in the maps.

I was like, we don’t get this everywhere we go.

Yeah, they like made that neighborhood look nice like with the 3D effects and Google Maps driving so but nevertheless.

39:27

We just went to go experienced the lake.

We went and sat on a bench, looked out under the water.

This is a huge lake.

You can do a trail and when the weather’s nice in Minneapolis, everyone is out and being active.

Why didn’t you do any hiking trail walking?

39:43

Well, this was kind of towards the end of the day and we walked like a little portion of it, but the lake is literally so big, you need to dedicate a lot more time to spend.

I mean, on this trip, it’s very unlike you.

Oh.

Well, we went to a waterfall the next day and did a little.

39:59

And in fairness, this is also on the trip that we went to Iowa and we did a hike in Iowa at a State Park that they have out there in Des Moines area.

So we did get a little one in.

But when we came here, it was really more so to wind down the end of the night, see the lake, people were out on the lake with paddle boards.

40:16

People get into the water on boats.

And of course, like Brittany said, just walking around on the trail that goes around the lake, running, riding bikes, whatever people wanted to do.

So just really active, a nice place to go and.

Was that right time where the sun wasn’t about to set but it probably had another hour, hour and a half and the sky color starts to change.

40:36

So just a really beautiful scenery area for that, being on the lake.

By this time we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of the night and we said, you know, if Kim was here, what would she do?

Really.

You asked that.

We channel our inner Kim when you’re not with us sometimes.

40:53

I love that.

Yeah, we said, you know what, Kim would want to go to a rooftop bar.

So we went to the Hewing Hotel and we went up to their top floor and had some drinks at the rooftop bar.

I have to look up a picture and see what kind of rooftop bar we’re talking about.

Well, this is in a classic hotel.

41:11

It is the rooftop of the hotel.

What’s interesting is when you get to the top, they have a designated area that’s closed off because of course, the general public could come here to this bar, but their pool for the hotel is on the rooftop top.

And then you could see people in the hotel pool.

41:26

It’s sectioned off by glass.

And then they have a section area where they have the bar outdoor seating.

In fairness, this is a very popular spot and it’s not very large.

When we first arrived, there was no place to sit.

And so I was like, all right, well, we could either stand and there’s lots of people standing and then having servers come up and take their orders while they were standing.

41:47

But I told Brittany, just hang out outside.

I’m going to actually go to the bar and order drinks and if a seat opens up or table, you snag that.

By the time I came back with our drinks, Brittany had found a table, so we got a table to sit and enjoy.

And you get beautiful views of the skyline of downtown Minneapolis.

42:05

Yeah, it was definitely bumping in there and people were dressed up.

So we recently recorded an episode where Kim was talking about the downtown of another city and how it was a little bit more rundown.

No people were dressed up to go to this rooftop bar.

I love to hear that.

Yeah, so we had some spicy margs and just enjoyed ourselves having a drink out here.

42:26

It was a little bit difficult to find parking.

We had to circle I think a couple times before we eventually found a spot to part.

So the next day was our last and final full day in Minneapolis.

Today we woke up and the weather was cooler.

42:41

It was a little rainy, drizzly, complete contrast from the day before.

So you know, we talked about in our tips, make sure to pack layers.

This is definitely why we ended up going downstairs to the lobby of our hotel and grab some coffee at the Spy House coffee shop in the lobby of our hotel.

42:57

Jamal ended up getting a coffee called the Meal, which is made with honey.

And then I got a Carmela, which it’s like a Carmel latte.

The only thing we regret is that we didn’t have time because it was like cool and cozy out, was to sit at the fireplace in the lobby of the hotel.

Like that would have been a really good spot to sip and drink our coffee.

43:16

But we had a packed schedule and we wanted to get breakfast, so we ended up walking down the street to the Hen House eatery for breakfast.

Yeah.

And so we were debating where are we going to have breakfast because we had tickets to get to the Mill City Museum, right?

And we wanted to be there when it opened before it got too crowded.

43:33

And so we were looking for places kind of in that area by the old redeveloped Riverwalk where we were the day before doing the food tour.

But we really couldn’t find anything that intrigued us.

And so the only thing that really came up as like a really good breakfast spot was the Hen House Eatery.

When we even asked someone at the hotel where would you recommend, they said just down the street at Hen House Eatery.

43:55

So we ended up going there.

I love a good breakfast spot.

It’s just really enjoyable to me.

They have a really nice theme in there.

I got southern style food.

I got a country fried steak.

Brittany got a corned beef and hash.

But they are famous here at Hen House for their cinnamon rolls and they’re not little baby cinnamon rolls.

44:15

And you think you’re going to get, you know, like literally this came out looking like a medium sized cake on a plate.

Just super delicious, ooey gooey.

And so when the waitress took our order, at first she asked, or are you guys going to have a cinnamon roll?

No, we’re not.

44:30

And then we thought about a little bit later, we saw somebody else get it to the table and we’re like, yeah, we should get a cinnamon roll.

And I’m really glad that we did because none of us got like pancakes or anything sweet.

We really got savory breakfast.

But it was nice to have that little sweet treat and especially try something that they’re really known for.

44:47

So if you are staying in the downtown area when you come to Minneapolis, I would for sure recommend eating at the Hen House Eatery.

Yeah, the cinnamon roll was like literally the size of your face.

It was huge.

Definitely needs to be split.

Multiple people could eat on this, but so, so delicious.

45:02

And we just got an original, but they had so many different flavors that you could choose from.

So then after breakfast again, we headed to the place that we were yesterday, which is the Riverwalk area and the Mill District.

And so one thing we didn’t get to do the day before was walk across the Stone Arch Bridge.

45:19

And like I had said previously in this episode, it is the second oldest bridge that actually crosses the Mississippi River.

But from the bridge you can get really good views, one of the downtown and the Riverwalk.

But on the bridge here is really where you get the best views again of the only waterfall that is on the Mississippi River.

45:40

Now, in fairness, because a lot of times in history when industry comes in, things aren’t as pretty.

These are not natural falls anymore in the sense that they paved over the natural falls.

And of course it was so that they could divert water to each of the mills and do this and that.

45:56

But you still get to see the falls.

And they do have a lock area as well, which they don’t use anymore.

But of course because it’s changing elevation, you could see the old blocks where they flooded the water so the ships can rise and lower to the different transitions.

So really cool to go out here onto the stone arch bridge.

46:13

Back in the heyday when it was first discovered, they called it the Niagara of the West.

That’s not how you would describe it now, but that’s how it used to be.

But the waterfalls receded back year after year and so it looks a lot different than what it did originally, but still cool to see.

46:29

Got to see the skyline, the mill ruins, the falls, the Mississippi River.

It’s a nice historic area and it will lead you right up to the Mill City Museum.

So honestly, Jamal and I, and I know you aren’t usually either, Kim, we aren’t usually museum people.

We’re not art gallery people.

46:44

We weren’t originally going to visit the Mill City Museum, but when I was looking through the Meet Minneapolis website, that’s literally what changed my mind, and we’re so glad that it did.

This museum’s actually built into the ruins of the historic Washburn a Mill.

47:00

So if you’re not familiar with the name Washburn, Washburn A mill is now General Mills.

So there was a fire in this building and it’s a hollowed owl area, but they built the museum into it.

So it’s really the shell casing of the old building.

And then of course, they’ve built up and done everything in it.

47:17

But what I really liked about this was this museum is just straight nostalgia, right?

General Mills was located here.

Across the river is Pillsbury.

These are all things that we have heard of.

And then when you go into the museum, you see all this old 30s, forties, 50s nostalgia of Betty Crocker.

47:39

You see all their stuff.

You see the Pillsbury Doughboy and all these toys that they had in these designs.

You see cereal boxes of like Wheaties.

I mean, everything that we can think of, and maybe this is a good or bad thing, but everything that we could really think of in terms of like how flour and cereals affected processed foods in the United States, which is now developed to the world.

47:59

And just kind of that nostalgia that goes with it in terms of like the branding and the art.

It’s all here in the museum and I thought that was really cool that you get to see that.

And of course there are remnants of some of the machinery, so you can see how the flour was milled and then created, packaged, etcetera.

48:15

The highlight of the museum though, is the flower tour.

They gave us a time to go into this area.

You basically board this freight elevator and while you’re on it, you go up and down these floors and you can see different like scenes from what the building used to look like and things that they used to do.

48:31

And they actually have people that works in the factory talking as you ride this elevator.

So it was very interactive.

It’s only like a 12 minute experience.

They don’t let you take any pictures or videos while you’re on it, but definitely the highlight for me of this museum.

48:47

I thought it was really cool.

It’s almost, and again, I don’t want to compare it to Disney, right, but when have you been to a museum that actually had a ride, let alone one that was interactive, right, with storytelling scenery.

So if you’ve been to Disneyland and been on any of their rides that are like educational and telling you things like this is really what it was.

49:06

They had one exhibit in the museum that was like that and I thought it was really cool.

Another area that was also a standout as they had an interactive area where you got to play with water, right?

Because water is clearly important, built on the Mississippi.

It really fueled how these mills work.

49:22

And so they had like interactive exhibits too, where it was like, oh, blocking off or opening these sections of the river.

And they had like scale models of what it looked like.

Try to get all six mills working, 3 on this side, 3 on that side.

And you really had to be like a water flow engineer trying to like figure this stuff out.

49:40

So really hands on interactive, right?

And again, you get that American nostalgia with it.

And I thought that was a really cool thing about Minneapolis that I never knew is this is the origin place of really kind of cereal, flour and all of that.

Stuff much more of a classic American city than I ever knew.

49:58

Yeah, they also had a baking lab where they had fresh brownies out that they had baked.

Did you get to try them?

Did, yeah.

Yeah, I love this museum.

I know it was such a good museum like made me like museums.

They also had like a little theater area and they had a film called Minneapolis in 19 minutes flat.

50:16

And it was actually very interesting and it talked about the history of course, but they also talked about immigration and different cultures and how food played a part in this area as well.

So I actually thought for a 19 minute video it was very interesting and engaging.

50:33

Sometimes I worry about those long videos in museums, but this one was good.

You need about an hour and a half to two hours if you visit here.

So then after the Mill City Museum, right next door is the Guthrie Theater.

We kind of mentioned that earlier, but Brittany really wanted to go here because you can go into the building even if you don’t have tickets to any of the shows.

50:54

But the main reason is they have a feature called the Endless Bridge, which is built into the theater and it has an overhang that crosses a public St. that runs parallel to the river.

And it just gives you really good views to the opposite side of Minneapolis over the Mississippi, where you can see remnants of the old factories on that side, the old Pillsbury signs and things that are still there from previous industries.

51:21

Yeah, I didn’t really realize that Minneapolis had such like a theater industry before.

This theater has a whole bunch of different shows going.

There was a billboard outside that had all of the different shows that we’re playing currently for 2025 and 2026.

If we were to come back, you know, I might be interested in seeing a show.

51:37

One of their theaters has a thrust stage, which is a stage that juts out into the audience, making it like even more interactive.

So that’s a really cool feature of this theater.

The Endless Bridge is a very interesting addition to the building.

The way it looks from the outside, it’s very weird.

51:55

It’s almost like a bridge that got demolished halfway.

Yeah, it is interesting.

It was one of the things that our food tour guide Brian recommended that we do because it is unique and cool.

But we went up there and looked up from it.

But how you said it almost looks like it’s unfinished, I’m sure then you probably saw pictures of the theater, which is very squarey and boxy and actually not super aesthetic, right?

52:17

And they were saying that part of the design of the theater was to be in the shape of what old buildings in the area used to look like.

So then if you look at the top of the building too, you could see something that almost looks like a smokestack that you would have at one of the factories, but that’s really the marquee side.

52:35

So instead of the marquee side being normally where it’d be on the overhang of the street, it’s sitting there on the top looking like a smokestack.

So I think really the unfinished or demolished really plays into what aesthetic they were going for for the building.

Yeah, it’s a very unique architectural design for sure.

52:53

So we spent a lot of time in the Riverwalk area, the downtown area of Minneapolis.

So we decided to get outside of the main city a little bit and go into nature.

So we went to Minnehaha Falls, which is Minneapolis’s oldest and most popular park that features a 53 foot waterfall and some limestone Bluffs.

53:13

It’s really crazy how you can go from somewhere that has all this urban sprawl and not really leave it, but yet also feel secluded in nature.

And they really have that going on in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area.

So we just came to this area.

It’s not too far out from downtown.

53:29

What was it about 15 minutes, maybe doing a little bit less than that.

You do have to pay for parking in this area, even though it is a public park.

But all we did was park, go look at the waterfalls, walk around in that area.

They have bridges that you could take down to see the falls from a lower level versus the top level.

53:47

So we just really wanted to see the famous waterfalls that they do have out here.

Our next stop was Mall of America.

This is what I know of Minneapolis.

Right.

Like even as a kid, I used to love to watch the Travel Channel and I feel like they always talked about like the Mall of America and the Mall of America.

54:07

Perfect timing for us to go, by the way, because this is when it finally started to really rain.

When we were at Minnehaha Falls, it was starting to get over well.

It was already overcast, but starting to come down with the sprinkles.

Rain a little bit harder.

By the time we got to the car and to Mall of America, it’s raining.

So you want some place to go in indoors and this is definitely an indoor mall because of course it freezes like crazy during the winter out here versus like our malls here in San Diego, right, that are outdoor malls and stuff.

54:32

So this is a great place, one in summer to go to cool down, stay warm during the winter or if it happens to be raining, just get out of the weather.

But what makes the Mall of America really famous?

It is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the Western Hemisphere.

54:49

It spans 5.6 million square feet, has over 520 stores, 50 restaurants, and wouldn’t you know it, a massive indoor theme park right in the center of it all, an aquarium and various attractions that you can do spread across all four stories.

55:08

They had a mini golf in here and I was like really tempted to do some mini golfing.

I love mini golf.

We all love mini golf.

Who does?

I know, but just a really cool place to go and see it.

I mean, in the end of the day, a mall is a mall.

You have all the shops that you would expect to see in a mall, but I think it’s a unique experience simply because of its scale and uniqueness.

55:27

They have a huge Lego store in there with massive Lego builds right on top of the store.

There was roller coasters going on in the theme park.

Jamal’s like, oh, I need to get down there and look at the pricing and see if I might want to ride something.

They got a lot going on in this mall.

55:43

It’s a perfect place to go summer and winter or if you just want to get in your steps.

I think that you could get in a few miles if you walked around all of the different stories here.

Yeah, if you walked every level in a perimeter, I don’t even want to know how many miles it would be quite a few.

But yeah, just a great place to go and just check out.

56:01

And again, perfect timing for us because of how it started to rain.

But after Mall of America, Brittany wanted to go check out the Basilica of Saint Mary.

This is kind of back in downtown Minneapolis.

It is the oldest basilica in the country.

56:17

So if it has that history going for it.

But unfortunately, we did not know this till we got there.

It is under construction, so it’s only open for Mass, so they don’t just have open hours for you anymore to go in and see.

So we could only see it from the outside at that point in time.

56:32

But if you go when construction is done, you can see some history here.

The oldest basilica in the United States.

When we started our day we actually were wearing shorts and a dress because we thought it would be sunny out.

But then the weather changed a little bit so we decided to go back to the hotel after this and change for our evening plans.

56:50

And while we were at the hotel, we decided to grab a glass of wine and some apps at Julia.

That’s the restaurant in Hotel Emory.

And this restaurant is actually pretty good.

It’s partnered with A5 time James Beard semi finalist chef Steven Brown, and the restaurant is like Northern Italian inspired food.

57:09

So we actually went here for happy hour.

Yeah, we got discounts on the wine during happy hour, and then they have several appetizers that have happy hour prices.

We ended up getting some meatballs, typical Italian, but very, very good.

And then we also got 2, two different types of bruschettas or bruschetta.

57:26

However, people like to say it right?

I sometimes do it interchangeably, but we ended up getting the classic tomato bruschetta.

And then we got one more unique flavors that had big and ricotta cheese with honey.

So that was really good to have and just paired well with our wine and just to have as a midday snack for us.

57:45

We knew how we had a really early flight the next day, so we ended up packing her bag so we didn’t have to worry about them later because we knew we weren’t going to be back for a few two hours.

And then we went out to Norseman Distillery.

Norseman Distillery is the first legal distillery in Minneapolis since Prohibition.

58:02

And so it has that history going for it as well.

And again, so many unique things that I just didn’t really realize that this city has.

And I thought that made it cool.

But this is a distillery.

So when you walk in, of course you can see the machinery of the alcohol making process.

58:18

You can see the barrels.

They do have food too, of course, but they’re known for their craft cocktails.

But what I appreciated about this is all of their craft cocktails are made with their own house made alcohol.

So they have different types of spirits, of course.

58:34

And you could buy bottles, which we actually did because we had a cocktail that was so good that Brittany wants me to try to recreate it.

But we just did a tasting of different cocktails.

And again, to the uniqueness of it is not just that it’s alcohol, but cool that they’re really making everything in house for themselves.

58:51

Yeah, so we tried 4 delicious cocktail tails.

The first one we tried was called the Strawbarb Gimlet.

This was my favorite cocktail.

They had a Strawbarb gin that they used and then they paired it with some rhubarb bitters and wow.

One of my favorite cocktails that I think I’ve ever had.

59:08

And then we also had the roich, which is whiskey and Maple served with a smoky cup.

Brittany doesn’t even like whiskey.

And when she had this, she was like, this is really good because you got some of that sweetness with the Maple essence with.

59:23

It we also tried their Fire Flower Marg which had tequila, orange liqueur, Raspberry, hibiscus, lime and Chipotle and chechuan bitters.

This was also one of my favorite drinks.

And the final drink that we had was the Nokian Fjord has mango, jalapeno syrup, lime, cucumber and snap pea bitters.

59:41

And all of these things may be together, especially if we’re not food savvy cooks or mixologists, maybe doesn’t mean anything.

But all of these melded together really well.

And if you squatties are listening and Kim, you definitely know this, right?

Brittany likes to drink.

59:57

She’s not a drinker.

She could have a cocktail and say, oh, it’s really good or oh, it’s just good, right?

All four of these that came out, Brittany was just in love with.

And I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place where we’ve actually done tastings of different cocktails.

Not just like the spirit itself, but actual cocktails where Brittany was like super impressed with every single one of.

1:00:17

Them.

Yeah.

You know, usually if you go to a bar, maybe there’s like one or two great cocktails.

Every cocktail that we tried was consistently delicious and I was really impressed with that.

I’m I also really like the idea of a flight of small cocktails to try.

Oh, these weren’t small.

1:00:32

Well, yeah, these were full size cocktails.

But keeping on that theme of flights though, Kim, right.

They did not have flights of their cocktails, but they had flights options of their different spirits.

So you can actually take flight.

How many was in a flight?

1:00:48

Seven different spirits were in a flight and they were 1/2 ounce pour each.

Yeah, because originally Brittany asked like, Oh my gosh, are these like an ounce?

And then oz would be 7 shots.

And she’s like, Oh no, no, no, no, we can’t do that.

These are in half oz.

So if you do a flight still kind of you’re going to get yeah, 3 1/2 shots, right?

1:01:04

And then they’re all different.

Uniquely.

They had like 5 different flight options with different spirits again, that they make and distill in house, which I think is really cool because lots of bars and places you can go to, right?

I mean, you could go to brewery.

Clearly a brewery’s going to make their own stuff.

1:01:20

But you know, they have a handful of beers, sometimes a lot, but they had a collection of over like 30-40 plus different types of spirits and spirit flavors that they mix together for their shots.

And I thought that was really cool.

And again, all of those mixed in their signature cocktails and drinks.

1:01:37

So Brittany was even talking about going back when we’re in Minneapolis and just was doing some shot tastings.

Yeah, their flavor flight looks so good, has the Strawbarb gin, which I already tried, some pineapple, orange apricot coffee.

And if you get a flight, you get $10 off at 375 milliliter bottle, which I think is a great steal.

1:01:57

We ended up picking up like a full 700 milliliter bottle of the Strawbarb gin and the rhubarb bitters and I cannot wait for Jamal to replicate the Strawbarb Gimlet.

Well, I’m a good cook, not a mixologist, but I’m going to try my best.

And Kim, when you are here, we will make those because those are delicious drinks, I mean.

1:02:15

Well, you do make a mean Margarita.

I do make a good mean Margarita.

This one might be a little bit more specialty oriented than a Margarita, but I’m going to do my best.

I have faith in myself and we have the ingredients now to do it.

So next time you’re in town, Kim, we’re going to have that because those are good cocktails.

1:02:32

The day that we went through kitchen wasn’t open, but I did hear that they had great pizza.

So maybe next time we’re there, we’ll get some flights and a pizza or a bite to eat.

I think 4 to 5 hours, yeah.

Quite a ways, and that’s just even, but would.

That be the most realistic airport to.

1:02:49

Go to you could fly into a more rural.

Airport like Duluth, because that’s more north and closer to Voyagers, but that’s an airport where it’s more like regional flights, right?

So depending on where you’re coming from, you probably still have to go through Minneapolis if you’re going to fly there or maybe some other smaller airport in the surrounding area that could take you there, right.

1:03:11

I OK.

So it’s a high likelihood we could.

Be coming to Minneapolis to go to Voyagers.

That is correct.

Very high likelihood, but.

Then Voyagers is also an island on one of the Great Lakes.

So then it’s like you got to get to Duluth and that surrounding area, catch a boat out there, right?

So it takes a little bit of time.

1:03:27

Kind of circling back to why we hadn’t done Minnesota is just because we wanted to do the National Park with it and then decided it’s too much.

But now that we’ve been there and we liked Minneapolis a lot, I’m willing to invest the time to do Minneapolis and then Voyagers just as well.

So we should make that a squad trip out to Voyagers.

1:03:44

Let’s do it.

Well, Squatty’s if you are still.

With us over an.

Hour into this episode, we are ending on one of our favorite food restaurants that we tried in Minneapolis and that is Diane’s Place.

Diane’s is a Hmong American restaurant that’s in the northeast Minneapolis area.

1:04:01

And wow, I’ve never had mung food before and this just blew us away.

Have you had mung food, Kim?

No, I think you would like it because the region is southeast and so there’s like a lot of Thai influence and you love Thai food.

Yeah.

1:04:16

So really really good this.

Restaurant here came up numerous places when looking at best places to eat in Minneapolis.

It originally opened as a brunch spot, but of course overtime has actually moved on to serving dinners.

1:04:31

Reservations are required because this place is really popular.

However, they do leave the bar open for open seating, walk in.

So we weren’t able to you get reservations, but we were able to go in and there was a spa at the bar, so we were able to enjoy that.

1:04:48

The restaurant’s also on Rezi, so if you have an Amex.

Platinum or Amex Gold, you can use your credit at this restaurant, which is nice.

And so we did end up using my Amex Platinum credit for the quarter on this.

And is that like Chase where it’s just?

A credit for the restaurant or do you have to book through Rezi because you said you couldn’t get a reservation?

1:05:06

You don’t have to book through Rezi.

We didn’t book through Rezi.

And I just saw the credit pop up on my account.

The dishes are meant to be shared family style.

We got 5 different dishes, My God.

And dessert.

I know.

Well, there was just so much to try, you know, a little.

We got the sauteed eggplant.

1:05:25

We got the mung sausage with a hot sauce and we actually got that a la carte because you can get the lynx a la carte versus a dish.

We ended up getting a papaya salad, rice noodles with the most delicious crispy chicken I’ve ever had, mung pulled pork.

1:05:40

And then for dessert, we got the Stella cake with a coconut sorbet and roasted pineapple.

All in all, it was just really delicious.

This restaurant here, just as an FYI, apparently Michelin is going to start coming to Minneapolis to do ratings because everyone’s probably heard of like Michelin stars, right?

1:05:57

But Michelin as a company, as a whole, when they do food ratings, they don’t go to like every city and do stuff.

Sometimes they’ll introduce cities.

Minneapolis is about to be introduced and there’s talks already.

And again, fingers crossed for them.

Can’t say it will or won’t, but I mean, it is so highly regarded that they believe that this will be the first place in Minnesota to get a Michelin star.

1:06:17

Not even like a Bib Gourmand or Michelin plate, like an actual star.

And the food is really good and reasonably priced.

I mean, it is a little bit more upscale, but it wasn’t anything too crazy.

All said and done.

I think like even including tip after the fact, like Brittany and I paid 160 for five dishes and a dessert, which in today’s prices and things I don’t think is too bad.

1:06:42

So it wasn’t terribly expensive and I think really worth a stop and a try.

And they were just so nice when we packed up the leftovers to go because we knew we had an early morning flight.

We were going to eat our leftovers in the airport.

But they also threw in a complimentary pond on croissant, which was also on Brittany’s list of things to actually get because they are also known to have really good baked goods.

1:07:03

So if you can’t even get a spot to sit and eat and want to try something from the restaurant, you can actually get something from their pastry bar.

And they threw in, I think, complimentary.

Really nice, really great customer service.

Love this place.

Would go back to Minneapolis, honestly, specifically to eat here again.

Yeah, you can actually preorder some of their pastries.

1:07:20

Because they are known for brunch, so if you can’t get in for brunch and you just want to try a pastry, you can actually preorder some and then pick them up there.

But even the next day, we put these leftovers in our fridge and we ate them at 5:30 AM before our flight and they were still delicious.

1:07:36

And that was our last full day in Minneapolis.

Because like we said, early morning flight back home on a Monday and the 6:00 hour.

But All in all, really did enjoy Minneapolis.

I enjoyed the history.

It surprised me.

It’s cute, it’s quaint, I loved it has nature all around it.

1:07:53

And I would love to explore more of this area and the state as a whole.

Yeah, definitely.

If we go back, I want to do brunch at.

Diane’s get a flight from Norsemen’s.

I want to go to Matt’s for the original Juicy Lucy, and they’re also known for really good Somalian or Ethiopian food, which I haven’t tried a lot of, so I’d be interested in trying that.

1:08:11

We didn’t go inside the Capitol building in Saint Paul, so I would visit that.

There’s a bar that has sake flights that I’m interested in trying and then watching a show at the Guthrie Theatre.

So I have a whole nother weekend packed in here in the future.

Well, I will be on that one next time this.

1:08:27

Sounds like a really good trip, and it’s a good balance of city, but it still feels like it’s small.

It feels like you branched out, but you spent a lot of time in the central area there.

Yeah.

Cool.

Squatty’s, thank you so much for tuning in to our Minneapolis episode.

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1:08:43

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1:09:01

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