New York Times
Spoon and Stable
Spoon and Stable’s bar.
Photo Credit: Sarah Corder
New York Times: 36 Hours in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, with more than a dozen lakes and a sprawling urban park system, appeals not only to outdoorsy types but also to travelers seeking a robust cultural scene, top-notch restaurants and fun bars and breweries. […] Visitors today will find a resilient city primed for discovery, from the trendy Warehouse District, where nightlife hotspots have taken root within industrial brick buildings, to the growing northeastern arts district. The city is at its most welcoming in the springtime, when nature blooms and there are community events like Art-a-Whirl, an annual festival of art, music, food and beer, held from May 17 to 19 across Northeast Minneapolis.
Key stops: Restaurants and bars
Spoon and Stable is a bustling restaurant in the Warehouse District with a beautiful back-lit bar and lively see-and-be-seen atmosphere.
Meteor, a bar on an industrial block by the Mississippi River, serves excellent cocktails as well as boilermakers and hot dogs.
Laune Bread bakes hearty sourdough loaves, mandarin-marmalade Danish pastries, chocolatey babka knots and honey-sesame coconut macaroons.
Indeed Brewing Company is a popular brewery with delightfully unusual craft beers and an inviting taproom displaying whimsical artworks.
Pryes Brewing Company, an enormous brewery on the western bank of the river, has citrusy West Coast-style I.P.A.s and a lane for feather bowling (a game somewhat similar to bocce).
At Kim’s, a new restaurant from the chef Ann Kim, the Korean-American menu includes a tasty twist on mac and cheese.
Bronto Bar, down a mural-splashed alley, is a moody basement bar with fun cocktails.
5:30 p.m. Taste the local bounty
Book an early table at Owamni, which earned the prestigious James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2022. The chef Sean Sherman, of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, has a singular commitment to using only ingredients native to North America, so expect no wheat flour, dairy or cane sugar. The menu changes seasonally and recently included an earthy tepary-bean dip with pepitas and wild-rice crackers ($12), smoked quahog clams ($40) and tender bison tacos with guajillo-chili salsa ($9). For a drink and something sweet, stroll up the street to Spoon and Stable, a bustling restaurant in the fashionable Warehouse District with a lively see-and-be-seen atmosphere. Grab a seat at the beautiful back-lit bar, which was remodeled earlier this year. A recent dessert stand-out was the almond cake with coconut and lime curd, pineapple sherbet and a sprinkle of ancho chile powder ($15).