I returned from Minneapolis last night with a cold that worsened due to five days of hard living. My lips were chapped, I’d had a hangover for two days. That city chewed me up and spit me out, and I’ve not any photos to show for it. Here’s what I loved so much about this work/play weekend in my beloved former home:
- Classic cocktail happy hour at Bradstreet Crafthouse
- Takeout from Brasa: slow roasted pork, tostones, and rustic-style grits with cheddar
- Coffee shop tours: Rustica Bakery (best ginger cookies EVER), Bull Run Coffee Bar (I missed those baristas in their Depression-chic garb), and Urban Bean (obsessed with their minimalist-chic decor and general vibe… a new favorite)
- Dinner at Bar La Grassa: Soft Egg and Lobster Bruschetta and Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Egg
- Picking up a glass of Sangiovese on my way up to my corner room at Graves 601
- Blastng 89.3 The Current, a member-supported, no-format radio station
- Drinks and dinner at The Lowry (exceptionally pleasant bartenders who make all the classics and the bar nuts… heaven)
- MORE drinks at Barbette, including a Nouveau Monde, (old fashioned with ginger syrup)
- Sitting around Chris and Nicole’s dining room table with an epic spread, losing all track of glasses of wine consumed, talking and laughing loudly late into the night
- Deciding after midnight to head to 331 Club, stumbling into the CD release/live show of The May North (fiddles and banjos and an upright bass!), chanting for encore after encore, drinking Surly, and dancing furiously to hip-hop until they kicked us out well after last call
On Sunday, I managed to get down one piece of bacon before the MSP airport, where I ate a life-saving patty melt at Ike’s Food and Cocktails. No cocktails for me… not for a long time.
