St. Paul, MN Hotel

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Coyote
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St. Paul, MN Hotel

Post by Coyote »

I just got two tickets to the Springsteen concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and am looking for a great hotel nearby preferably within walking distance. Price is no limit - well maybe below $250 - any recommendations?

And any great restaurants in that area?
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Post by Big E »

I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with DTSP, even through I commuted through it for three years.  Try Grand Ave to the west of downtown for a dining area.  I have no idea what might still be there, though.

I wouldn't even dream of a trip through the Twin Cities without a stop at Pizza Luce in downtown Mnpls, though.

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Post by Coyote »

OK - does anyone know the url of the Minneapolis Forum?
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Post by Coyote »

Thanks BigE - but my SO will desire something way beyond a pizza place - a restaurant better than Omaha offers.
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Post by Ingersoll1978 »

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Post by Vince Furlong »

Try the historic St. Paul Hotel downtown near the Xcel location.
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Post by Maverick »

I second the motion for the St. Paul Hotel.  Have dinner in the St. Paul Grill there.  It's fantastic.
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Post by Coyote »

Thanks guys. That is exactly what I was looking for.

I had signed up on the MinneScraper forum but after 5 or so hours I still haven't been activated by the Administrator.
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Post by ThatGuy »

Maverick wrote:I second the motion for the St. Paul Hotel.  Have dinner in the St. Paul Grill there.  It's fantastic.
Kincaid's which is located in Lawson Commons just across the street is also a very good place to eat.
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Post by Coyote »

Thanks. I will be leaving for St. Paul in a few hours. Springsteen tomorrow evening.
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Post by Maverick »

Have fun... tell us what you thought of your trip.  I was in downtown St. Paul for a Wild game at the X last night.  You'll enjoy it.
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Post by Coyote »

We just got back from the Springsteen concert and it has to rate in my top 10 all-time favorite concerts. We roamed through the X before the concert and it has more venue space than I was expecting. This is a great venue for the Wild! Nice new arena in what appears a nice neighorhood.

We ended up instead staying at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center - the triangular building.

For dinner last night we tried to go to the Chambers Kitchen on Hennepin but it was so freakin loud we couldn't hear each other - so we left and went to 112 eatery in the Warehouse District. AT places like this I like to order 3 or 4 appetizers and share them. We had the foie gras/lardon salad with fried egg, lamb scottadito w/ goats milk yogurt, sautéed sweetbreads in porcini & clam sauce and the brussel sprouts in a sauce I can't remember. except for the goats milk yogurt on the rack of lamb the meal was exquisite.

We walked down to the Mississippi and the Mill Ruin Park and then over to the Hennepin Bluffs Park and ate lunch at the Pracna. I had the Grilled Ahi sandwich and they had an amazing sauce that went with it. Tuna was a little dry so this added greatly to the taste. On the way back we got stuck at Niemann Marcus and the Saks 5th Ave.

Then the concert. It turns out our towncar driver is a UM grad in city planning and a member of the Minnescraper forum.

So much to do - so little time to get it done. Even though I went to grad school in MN I didn't get to the cities much and only got downtown to see Yes' Reunion Tour at the Target in '93 and a few Twins and North Star games - all at night so I never really saw the cities. The cities are only 6 hours away from Omaha - so I need to schedule another trip sometime with more time to roam. A very clean city and I like  the Nicollet Mall. I knew they had good skyways but it was more extensive tha I thought. The light rail system was not on my map so I don't know how extensive it is. I saw the cranes at the new UM football stadium - so this seems to be moving along nicely.
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Post by Maverick »

Welcome to my neighborhood ;)  I now live about 6 blocks from the 112 Eatery.  I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!
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Post by Coyote »

We noticed many young people in the streets around the Hard Rock on a Thursday evening - FM? speakers all along the sidewalks playing rock music. The Warehouse District must be the happening area of DT.

A few pics from the weekend:

Image

Image

Image

Image
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Post by Linkin5 »

Man I love Minneapolis.
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Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

You went to Mill Ruins Park I see. A buddy and me went up there two summers ago and had a blast hanging out in that park. Coincidently, the day we were there was the same day the Grinnel Theatre (the blue building on the far left of the first pic) was having an open house for its grand opening. It was the most unique performing arts center I had ever been through and walking out on that arm that extends towards the river was a pretty trippy experience.
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Post by Coyote »

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:You went to Mill Ruins Park I see. A buddy and me went up there two summers ago and had a blast hanging out in that park. Coincidently, the day we were there was the same day the Grinnel Theatre (the blue building on the far left of the first pic) was having an open house for its grand opening. It was the most unique performing arts center I had ever been through and walking out on that arm that extends towards the river was a pretty trippy experience.
Walking down the river I thought that was a part of the ruins until we got close enough to see that extension. I want to go there the next time I am in town. I didn't get a great picture of it but here is a view.

Image
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Post by Maverick »

That's the Guthrie Theater.  I've never heard of the Grinnel Theatre.
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Post by thenewguy »

I was going to start a new thread, but in the interest of keeping it simple, i decided not to.  The wife, myself, and my inlaws are going to Minneapolis this weekend (we got us a first timer here!) and wanted to know what's good to do.  We're watching the Hawkeyes play, so we'll be in the dome, and we're staying downtown.  I know that we're going to go to the Mall of America, but what else can we do?  What's all downtown for us?  Are the skywalks open all the time?  Good bars to know about?  What do you all think?
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Post by thenewguy »

Definitely, Big E!  I was looking up info and found Brits Pub's website, and it looks good!  We definitely want to have beers after the hawk huddle, and will probably eat downtown (we're staying at the doubletree guest suites).  The game is at 6pm at the metrodome, and mall of America for a little bit on saturday, but we need stuff to do to occupy our time!
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Post by Big E »

WARNING:

There is no such thing as "a little bit" of anything at the Mall of America.  The place is mind-boggling huge.  I mean abso-freaking-lutely staggeringly Anna Nicole Smith |expletive| huge.  Do not go in there without a plan to get back out in a timely manner.

Wrap your head around this for a second: TWO Starbucks and THREE Caribou Coffee locations in one mall.

And make ABSOLUTE certain you know where you parked.

Back to food:

I can't recommend Vincent enough.  (Turns out it is called "Vincent", not "Vincent's".)  If you can swing $112 per person do the tasting menu and wine pairing.  (Might as well throw the cheese course in for another $6.)  It will take you somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 1/2 hours for the meal.  It's literally the most fun you can have with something in your mouth.  (The only other meal I can think of that topped this place was at Five Diamond rated Picasso's at the Bellagio in Vegas, and it was $250 per person.)  One caveat, though, is that everyone at the table has to do it.  Otherwise, most meals off the menu are going to be in the $25-$50 range.

My tongue is crying a little bit just thinking about it now.

http://www.vincentarestaurant.com

Note: CensorCow changed H e l l ' s Kitchen to heck's kitchen.

For a more reasonably priced meal, try The Bulldog:

http://www.thebulldogmpls.com

Consider it "gourmet pub grub".  There's a location in both Uptown and just north of downtown on the other side of the Hennepin bridge (again, your concierge will get you there - neither is walkable, especially in Minnesota in November/December).  $7-$9 burgers that are so much more than just beef on a bun.
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Post by thenewguy »

just got back from Minneapolis this afternoon, and i have to say, I enjoyed my trip.  I had seen the website for Brit's Pub and was on the fence, but after Big E said to try it, we decided to.  Nice atmosphere, and the food was good.  I even pricked my finger on the real darts.  We got to walk a good deal of downtown, checked out the target headquarters (by mistake--thought it was the actual target, haha) and saw the actual target on purpose.  I must say, their downtown is really alive.  Lots of shops, lots of eats, lots of bars, and a few theaters.  Makes me REALLY wish that more of downtown Omaha was like that.  I can't see why we don't have more bars, shops, restaurants, etc, outside of the old market.  I'd like to see it happen, but i'm afraid it would take a while.  When will people here get it?  It was awesome to see the light rail, and after seeing it, i fully realize that it's not ugly, they don't take up much of the road and it  would come in very handy.  The mall of America is huge, naturally, and was pretty cool (as far as malls go).  Ate at bubba gump (second timer), road the coasters, and checked out some stores.  If you based the economy on the shoppers at that mall, you'd think that we weren't in a recession.  The metrodome isn't too bad, though the Gophers really disappointed me in their support for football.  People at the game were talking about how they don't support football because the stadium is 2 miles from campus (which is ridiculous, but whatever).  The skyline is nice, my favorite is this building (wells fargo center)
Image
because at night, it's just very pretty when lit up.  Overall, it was a good trip (though next time, i'm flying, and most likely in the summer ;p), but i'm left disappointed because i didn't get to use the skywalks.  Oh well, next time...
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Post by Stargazer »

Cool.  I've fallen in love with Minneapolis during my visits up to see my son at 'the U'.

Every time I visit I take a drive through a different part of town.  This last time I drove west from St Paul down Marshall Ave which eventually turns into East Lake in Minneapolis, running south of downtown.  Mile after mile of bustling urban neighborhoods with businesses at every corner, foot/bike traffic everywhere.  Eventually Lake runs into the Uptown district which by itself would be the envy of most large cities (certainly every one in the midwest outside of Chicago)... theatres, restaurants, bars, shopping including national retailers.

Adjacent Uptown are the 'lake neighborhoods'.  Historic neighborhoods surrounding/among a few lakes right in urban Minneapolis.  The setting makes Dundee look pretty drab.  Indeed, seemingly missing out the period of 'white flight' so many other midwestern cities saw... every old neighborhood I've found thus far in the city is in nearly pristine condition.  If you've ever wondered what one of Omaha's run down wood frame bungalow neighborhoods... looked like decades ago... visit Minneapolis.  They're beautifully maintained, being lived in by white collar professional families (of all different races)... with Obama and Franken signs in every other yard (we took our youngest son trick-or-treating on one visit).

Mall of America... I was actually underwhelmed.  Huge... but pretty much everything I've come to expect from any big mall (outside of the amusement park... which was pretty cool)... just magnified in scale.

It is nice that the university students can take the Hiawatha line to get there though.

As for the Metrodome... I think the new stadium (opening next season) will improve the game atmosphere considerably.  First off, it only has 50,000 seats (the Metrodome sort of had the same problem for atmosphere... that Rosenblatt left the ORoyals with... hopefully the Iowa fans won't be able to 'take it over' like they could the Metrodome)... and yes, it's right on campus (in the 'stadium district' no less... where the original stadium once was).  U of M is actually the -4th- largest univesity in the nation (50,000!).  They will get alot more students walking over to the game with the stadium being on campus.  The university itself is very urban... a great atmosphere (even though my son lives on the west bank... there is an enclosed pedestrian bridge crossing the bridge)... served by 'Dinky Town'... another very cool, vibrant entertainment district, with many bars/restaurants/shops catering to young people.

Unlike other larger cities, Minneapolis' downtown actually has real retail as well... I knew about the cool 2 story Target (another frequent stop with my son)... but their Nicollet Mall (which I think is far more interesting than MoA... and only what our city planners could have wished for in 16th Street) also has the likes of Macy's, Nieman Marcus, Crate & Barrel, along with all sorts of cool local and national restaurants.  Then there's Block E next to the Target Center... in case you want to be a tourist and collect your obligatory Hard Rock t-shirt.

Anyway... it's a very cool city.  It truly makes KC/St Louis look like... well... Omaha.
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Post by the1wags »

Stargazer wrote:.. hopefully the Iowa fans won't be able to 'take it over' like they could the Metrodome
I don't know if the fans took over this weekend, but the team itself sure did. Beaten like a rented goalie.  :)
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Post by Stargazer »

I recently heard the story about when Iowa fans actually tore down the goal posts at the Metrodome following another win back in the early 90's.  I've never heard that stunt pulled at an opposing teams stadium.  I guess I would 'hate Iowa' (a popular U of M chant) if I were the Minnesota fans too.

Hey... Nebraska-Iowa would be a fun match up in the Alamo Bowl... huh? :)
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Post by thenewguy »

i'm a husker first (i know, i know), and a hawk second (my wife and the inlaws are huge iowa fans), but we're hoping that the hawkeyes go to the outback bowl (Kinnick South, hehe) because that's the only bowl i'll be going to...unless i go to where ever nebraska goes...alone. :)
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Post by Coyote »

Coyote wrote:We just got back from the Springsteen concert and it has to rate in my top 10 all-time favorite concerts. We roamed through the X before the concert and it has more venue space than I was expecting. This is a great venue for the Wild! Nice new arena in what appears a nice neighorhood.

We ended up instead staying at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center - the triangular building.

For dinner last night we tried to go to the Chambers Kitchen on Hennepin but it was so freakin loud we couldn't hear each other - so we left and went to 112 eatery in the Warehouse District. AT places like this I like to order 3 or 4 appetizers and share them. We had the foie gras/lardon salad with fried egg, lamb scottadito w/ goats milk yogurt, sautéed sweetbreads in porcini & clam sauce and the brussel sprouts in a sauce I can't remember. except for the goats milk yogurt on the rack of lamb the meal was exquisite.

We walked down to the Mississippi and the Mill Ruin Park and then over to the Hennepin Bluffs Park and ate lunch at the Pracna. I had the Grilled Ahi sandwich and they had an amazing sauce that went with it. Tuna was a little dry so this added greatly to the taste. On the way back we got stuck at Niemann Marcus and the Saks 5th Ave.

Then the concert. It turns out our towncar driver is a UM grad in city planning and a member of the Minnescraper forum.

So much to do - so little time to get it done. Even though I went to grad school in MN I didn't get to the cities much and only got downtown to see Yes' Reunion Tour at the Target in '93 and a few Twins and North Star games - all at night so I never really saw the cities. The cities are only 6 hours away from Omaha - so I need to schedule another trip sometime with more time to roam. A very clean city and I like  the Nicollet Mall. I knew they had good skyways but it was more extensive tha I thought. The light rail system was not on my map so I don't know how extensive it is. I saw the cranes at the new UM football stadium - so this seems to be moving along nicely.
Nice to see that 112 Eatery's Isaac Becker won the 2011 Best Chef- Midwest award!
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