Restaurants near MofA
In the state on business next week, mostly north of Minneapolis, but will be staying near Mall area on Wednesday and Thursday night. Would anyone rec good, reasonable places to eat? Will be dining alone. Any type okay, any ethnicity. From SC, so I know to bring a coat!!!!!
-
I'm assuming you have a car if you're getting to and from north of MPLS. If that's the case, there are many excellent restaurants in South Minneapolis, which is accessible to you via 77 N (Cedar Ave; where 77N hits a light, it turns into Cedar Ave and enters MPLS), which is immediately next to MoA. Or, take 77 N to 62 West (right before you get into MPLS; gets kinda trafficky around evening rush), and once on 62 West, you're skirting the south border of MPLS, and there's a host of exits to get you into all sorts of good restaurants. This is my neighborhood; below are some of my favorites that would be easy for you to get to. Note - these aren't necessarily the best restaurants in MPLS, but are very good ones that are easy to get to from MoA - less than 15 minute drive from MoA for any of these:
Al Vento - very good Italian - don't think chain. Excellent ingredients, very good preparation, very reasonable price.
Piccolo (4300 Bryant Ave S) - all small plates. Probably one of the top 5 (top 3?) restaurants in the Twin Cities. One of Bourdain's favorite restaurants in the Midwest. Reservations recommended.
Craftsman (4300 Lake) - Very solid inventive menu. Well done dishes (though apparently some people don't like their short ribs)
Pizzeria Lola (56th and Xerxes???) - the latest in "Neopolitan" style pizza. The place has been packed every day since it opened, but they use high quality ingredients and a great imported wood burning oven to produce awesome pizzas. They also have a soft serve machine - last week they made a grapefruit softserve I heard was awesome.
Next door to Lola is Cafe Maude (56th and Xerxes???) - another excellent little bistro type neighborhood restaurant that has an interesting menu and executes spot on. Not in Piccolo's class, but above average bistro fare in a great ambiance.
Levain (4762 Chicago) - Haven't been there in a while, but it's very good food at a place that often gets overlooked.
Broder's Pasta Bar (5000 Penn; not the deli with the entrance on the sidewalk, but the one across the street with the small parking lot) - Much better than the name implies. Fresh made pastas with fresh made sauces. If you like pasta, this is one of the go-to places in MPLS.
If breakfasting, check out Patisserie 46 (4552 Grand Ave South, MPLS). Awesome French pastries.
(edit - sometimes I hate Chowhound's linking process, which works only sometimes, so I've added some addresses manually)
-----
Cafe Maude
5411 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55419Al Vento
5001 34th Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408›4 Replies-
re: foreverhungry
bob s
Jan 13, 2011 06:31 AM
Just to clarify - Cafe Maude is on Penn - rather than Xerxes - and is not next to Pizzeria Lola. The address on the link is correct. (I often get confused about which street Cafe Maude is on myself.) It is across the street from In Season, which join Brad in recommending.
-----
Cafe Maude
5411 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55419In Season
5416 Penn Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419-
-
re: foreverhungry
slotmansc
Jan 13, 2011 07:33 AM
Thanks everyone, great ideas. I've been to MSP a few times, but mainly have eaten downtown with customers at places like Manny's, Murrays, etc., and taken the light rail from MOA to downtown for Twins games in the summer and ate at Kieran's and surrounding area. Too cold for me to walk around there next week! Never took the time to check out some of the places above. Look forward to it.
-
-
-
-
If your business is north of Minneapolis, you can probably dine just about anywhere since your hotel will be south of Minneapolis. But maybe you are thinking you'll be going back to your hotel before dinner. For one of your nights, I'd plan on a 10-15 minute drive to In Season.
-----
In Season
5416 Penn Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419 -
Two of my very favorite restaurants are out in that area.
Grand Szechuan is about five miles away from the mall. I always get some combination of sauteed cucumbers, green beans, Kung Pao Tofu, and Chung King Chili Shrimp, all of which are absolutely delicious.
Tandoor is even closer—maybe two miles away. Their naan is leagues above any other restaurants', and their bangan bharta is complex and delicious.
-----
Tandoor Restaurant
8062 Morgan Cir S, Minneapolis, MN 55431Grand Szechuan
10602 France Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55431›1 Reply-
re: ShinyCake
slotmansc
Jan 21, 2011 01:26 PM
Thanks for the rec. I went this past Wednesday, ordered the Dan Dan Noodles and the Chung King Chicken. Both were outstanding! So much food, I brought some back to the hotel room, since I had a frig. It was so cold Thursday night, didn't want to go out. Heated up the leftovers, still great! Can't wait to go back to try the spicy whole fish, pork belly, frog legs, mustard tuber soup................ Would not find that kind of selection is SC!
Also, spent some time in Duluth, and ate lunch at Northern Waters Smokehouse. Great smoked whitefish.
I think I'll go back when it's a little warmer.
-----
Grand Szechuan
10602 France Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55431
-
