Minneapolis FOTs

[yesno]

I will be in your city for Netroots Nation, from tomorrow until Sunday.  What are the top-line things I should not miss?

[cas-vik]

I'm not a Minneapolis native but my girlfriend's family lives there and I've visited many times.  I've grown to really love that place. 
Don't miss the Walker while you're there.  It's an amazing modern art museum.  Good record stores include, Treehouse, Electric Fetus, and the Cheapo Records chains.  Good place for beer and food and even some bowling, Bryant Lake Bowl.  The Red Dragon is a dive of a chinese restaurant with high octane cocktails and cheap bottles of Grain Belt that I find kind of charming. 

That's just a couple things off the top of my head.  Will mention others if they come to me.  Have a great time!

[eastgrandforks]

John Waters is the curator for the current exhibition at the Walker, which might be worth checking out and is not far from downtown.

[Stupornaut]

First Avenue and the 7th St. Entry are an institution (they're in the same building so that technically isn't a grammatical screw-up). I'm not sure if any bands are playing there during this period that you'd necessarily be interested in (Wiz Khalifa? Gene Ween? Cave Singers?) but it's at least worth a visit. So's the Triple Rock Social Club, which Damian from F'ed Up stands by, and for good reason. Even if there's not a band playing there that you'd like, they've got a great bar and food menu. Incidentally, if you go barhopping and you're a beer nerd, it's your civic duty to order a Surly. It's Minneapolis' most notable microbrew and they put out some great, hoppy beers.

Also: if you have even the remotest interest in baseball, Target Field is absolutely 100% worth a visit, and this week includes homestands against the White Sox and Padres. Not sure how easy it is to get tickets, but it's worth a shot.

Seconding the record store namedrops, the Walker and the Bryant-Lake Bowl.

[Omar]

Incidentally, if you go barhopping and you're a beer nerd, it's your civic duty to order a Surly. It's Minneapolis' most notable microbrew and they put out some great, hoppy beers.

Is Surly only distributed within Minnesota? In addition to their hop blasts, I've heard great things about Surly Darkness.

[buffcoat]

Public Rental Bikes!

[Stupornaut]

Incidentally, if you go barhopping and you're a beer nerd, it's your civic duty to order a Surly. It's Minneapolis' most notable microbrew and they put out some great, hoppy beers.

Is Surly only distributed within Minnesota? In addition to their hop blasts, I've heard great things about Surly Darkness.

As far as I know, though I'm sure there are ways to acquire it outside the state somehow.

[yesno]

When did drunks start calling themselves "beer nerds"?

[Stupornaut]

When did drunks start calling themselves "beer nerds"?

I know this is weird, but it is actually possible to enjoy one beer and one beer only in a single sitting, even if it is a fancy-pantsed craft beer.

[Gilly]

Triple Rock is a good place to a show, but I always feel like I don't belong when I go there. It's kind of a hangout for people in the scene in the cities. Which is fine. I say 7th St. Entry is hands down the best place to see a show in the cities. Problem is nothing much is going on there this weekend unless you enjoy watching DJs in which case Wants vs. Needs is throwing their two year anniversary on Friday night. I wish I could tell you what that would be like since my friend is the manager and booker for the label but I haven't gone out to a show.

 I want to recommend some dining places but most of my favorites are outside of the city or have closed down. Here's a good recommendation if you wander outside of Mpls. Don't worry when you pull up and it's across the street from McDonalds and in a strip mall. It's awesome thai food and I think I've tried them all in the cities.

Nong's Thai Cuisine
2520 Hillsboro Ave.
Golden Valley, MN

There's a record show this weekend in Maple Grove (which is pretty close to Golden Valley) which is about 20 miles outside of Mpls. that I wish I could go to but I'm out of town.

The Garage!
11261 N Eagle Lake Blvd
Maple Grove, MN

If you don't have a Half Price Books in your state check one of those out.

The best Cheapo is on Snelling in St. Paul. Their prices are fair, they grade records right and they have a whole separate store for tapes and records.