Keep me off the couch!

February 28, 2008 6:57 PM

Please keep me entertained in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area this weekend!

I'll be spending the majority of my Spring Break in the NW metro area of the twin cities-Maple Grove to be exact (traveling from Fargo, ND-leaving tomorrow morning, staying until Wednesday morning) My S.O. is currently doing an internship there, so for Friday, Monday, and Tuesday I'll be flying solo most of the day. I'll be packing my new Canon Digital Rebel XT, as well as a fancy Canon camcorder I need for school (I don't expect to use the video camera, probably at all, I just have to pick it up before my University closes down for the week)-that's about all I have to entertain myself. What can I do during the day, without my girlfriend? Any good places to take pictures? She's doing her internship at a clinic in Burnsville, do you know of any fun restaurants we could meet at for lunch?

How about this weekend? She'll have Saturday and Sunday off, what's fun on the weekends? We still don't know much about the night life, we have a favorite bar in Maple Grove, but that's about it-do you have any ideas for fun hangouts? (we're 21 and 22, so anything's fair game)

We've been to Como Zoo already this winter, and wouldn't mind going back if the weather isn't too terrible. We also might go to the Mall of America with some friends (it's not our favorite place to be, but it's usually interesting). Thanks in advance for any help!

posted by whiskey point to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Johnny Holm Band at Bogarts in Apple Valley $8 cover, Friday 2/29 9:45 if cover bands are your thing
posted by wheelieman at 7:14 PM on February 28, 2008

My friend and I had a great time once taking pictures in the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center (in the winter, no less). If your girlfriend has a library card, you can get into a lot of museums for free.

If you like to eat breakfast out, the Twin Cities are a great place to do so. I am particularly partial to the Seward Cafe, which, despite the reviews, is not actually exclusively vegetarian. They also have real maple syrup and really good coffee, and a wonderful hippie vibe--well, wonderful if you like a hippie vibe--there are many other breakfast joints if that's not to your taste.
posted by newrambler at 7:33 PM on February 28, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Here's a list from the Pioneer Press of 24 things to do in the twin cities this weekend. Some of them are not city specific, but there are quite a few interesting ideas. It looks like the Como Zoo is doing some kind of frog-related festival through Sunday, and Twin Cities Restaurant Week will still be happening on Friday, if you want to try some fancy food for less-than-usual money.
posted by vytae at 7:52 PM on February 28, 2008

Speaking of breakfast, try to get in to Al's Breakfast in Dinkytown. It's pretty interesting: there are 14 seats. Last weekend there was a line running out the front door 15 minutes after they opened at 9am.

Check out vita.mn for a pretty "hip and trendy" list of things to do this weekend.

There's the Bell Museum of Natural History on the UMN campus. Oh, there's the Weisman Art Museum, too.

It doesn't get you off the couch per se, but I think the AMC Theaters at the Rosedale Mall are top notch. Excellent sound, picture, and customer service, and the tickets are $5 each before noon on the weekends.

Although it might be kind of chilly, it would be fun to wander around the downtown skyways. You can get just about anywhere in the downtown area without touching the ground or breathing a breath of fresh, cold Minnesota air.
posted by yellowbkpk at 8:14 PM on February 28, 2008

There's always the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. Free and in a cool neighborhood.
posted by nathan_teske at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2008

Action Squad Urban Adventures (note: some missions are dated)
posted by glibhamdreck at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2008

The Gasthof can have kind of a hoppin', youngish crowd on weekends. I'm also kind of fond of King's in Fridley--they have karaoke on the weekends with tipsy middle-aged dudes singing in Korean. Either is somewhat accessible via 694 from Maple Grove.

My tastes may not be yours, etc.
posted by gimonca at 9:10 PM on February 28, 2008

The Cedar is a venue for the SPARK festival if your tastes run towards experimental electronics. All SPARK concerts are free.
posted by omnidrew at 9:18 PM on February 28, 2008

The City Pages, the local alternative weekly, is a good resource (in addition to scrappy recent startup Vita.MN, mentioned above) for events, shows, bars, clubs restaurant reviews, etc. I'd say definitely try to get into downtown Minneapolis for an evening out, it's a little bit more interesting than Maple Grove.

You'll get more specific feedback if you can provide some input about what sorts of things you like to do, what kind of music you like, whether you like art, culture, etc., what kind of food you like.
posted by nanojath at 9:21 PM on February 28, 2008

If you're into theater, Minneapolis is a great place to be. I highly recommend both main stage shows at the Guthrie and the show at the Jungle. Uptown (Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue, Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue) is fun. Uptown is close to the lakes, too, so if the weather is as nice as it's supposed to be this weekend, you could go for a walk and take pictures. There are also some great joints in NE Minneapolis. Elsie's (bar/bowling alley) is fun. Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge is a trip and has funky Polynesian drinks.

Minneapolis is fun, you're bound to find something interesting!
posted by yogurtisgenocide at 10:07 PM on February 28, 2008

Weekend breakfast at Hell's Kitchen is great. Try the sausage bread (sounds weird, but it's really good). If you aren't a meat eater, the homemade peanut butter is still worth the visit by itself.

There's a lot to see around the lakes, too. You can have a lot of fun just walking downtown, or on one of the many paved trails along the lakes, taking pictures. Mill Ruins park near the Guthrie is interesting, and Minnehaha or Hidden Falls parks further south can offer some camera-friendly waterfall shots (Minnehaha was frozen solid last time I visited, not sure how it looks now given the recent slightly warmer weather).
posted by caution live frogs at 6:33 AM on February 29, 2008

My favorite Burnsville lunch spot is Spice. They've got decent, reasonably priced Thai food.
posted by roue at 8:17 AM on February 29, 2008

You guys are fantastic. I can't believe I forgot about all the things we've done, until you reminded me. We went to "1776" at the Guthrie this past summer, and I believe the same weekend we were at the sculpture garden! I didn't have my camera with last time, so I think I'll head there on Monday. Johnny Holm is always a good time, he's a frequent visitor in Fargo. Each and every restaurant you've suggested looks great, and I'm thinking Spice will be our lunch date Monday or Tuesday. Again, you're wonderful-thanks a million! I don't even know where to start for marking the best answer, they're all so good.
posted by whiskey point at 12:42 PM on February 29, 2008

Nanojath, I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge you in my previous response. Music: Mason Jennings, Jack Johnson, The Format, Martin Sexton, Ben Lee, Ben Kweller, Ben Folds, Cake, Gomez, OK Go, most anything on Cities 97, new/old country music, are our common interests-I'm into pretty much anything, but she's slightly more picky when it comes to indie-folkish type music. I'm not so much into art for art's sake, but I love museums, I'm an advertising student with some aggressive design courses in my background, so graphic art/design stuff is cool with me. I love nature, hunting and fishing are a big part of my life, as is just enjoying nature without a gun/rod. Like I said, photography is a new interest, and technology in general is interesting to me. As for food, I like just about everything. I experienced sushi for the first time about a year ago, and have been in love since. I've been to Benihana here in Maple Grove, as well as Mt. Fuji in the Arbor Lakes area, although sushi is pretty expensive. Actually, any Asian food is good food to me. I used to be a Spanish major, and love latin and spanish food. I've had authentic Italian, thanks to a foreign exchange student my family hosted in high school. Hopefully some of my interests will help, thanks again!
posted by whiskey point at 2:48 PM on February 29, 2008