Thanks to a suggestion from my good friend Eric, the next place we'll visit is St. Anthony Main. It's located across the river from downtown Minneapolis but is no less amazing.
Along with the many restaurants and small shops that call Main Street home, there are great views of the skyline and the West River Parkway. Visitors can walk out onto an island in the Mississippi (this park is officially called the Hennepin Island Park). Night shots of the city are my favorite from this spot.
A quick review of some of the businesses at St. Anthony Main:
- St. Anthony Main Theatre: A somewhat vintage movie theatre that shows new, and sometimes, classic movies. Favorite part about this place? The student movie ticket prices! $6 (even on weekends and nights) if you flash them your ID.
- Tugg's Tavern: This is home of some great burgers. But bring your appetite - the stuffed ones are huge! (I suggest the Tuggburger or the Saloon Burger.) Tugg's also has a great deck that looks out onto the river. Sip some of their signature strawberry lemonade and relax!
- Vic's Dining: Vic's is a swanky place to enjoy drinks or dinner. They have live music every weekend too! The bar is stocked with a great wine list. (It's one of the few places I've found that offers champagne splits.) Vic's has an outdoor terrace as well.
- Aster Cafe: Hands down, this is my favorite place on Main Street. The inside reminds me of a provincial French cafe, while the outdoor seating area reminds me of an Italian piazza cafe. The menu is simple and they even offer glasses of wine. I haven't been back since it's reopened under new management, but I can't wait to get back now that it's summer in Minneapolis. HIGHLY recommend!!
- Pracna: This is the only place at St Anthony Main I haven't been yet. It's known to be more on the expensive side, but well worth it. The few things I do know about it: I follow Pracna on Twitter and their tweets are incredibly amusing. They interact well with their customers AND have drink specials all the time!! Also, one night after a movie, a friend and I stopped in to use their bathroom (classy, I know) and their waiters were just the nicest people! We obviously weren't coming to drop coin in any of their pockets, yet they told us where to find the facilities. And with humor too, I might add. Even if the restaurant reviews were horrible (which they aren't), I'd go there because of their Twitter feed and their staff.
The Specs:
- With a great location and and an even better parking situation, why wouldn't you go?! (There's a parking ramp, which most of the businesses will validate for. There's also a parking lot [very reasonable], metered street parking, or my personal favorite, free street parking across the street at 3rd Ave and 4th St.)
- So many festivals happen in this area: The Stone Arch Art Festival, Oktoberfest, July 4th festivities, etc.
- Carriage rides! The Hitching Company runs rides all summer in two loops: the Downtown Loop and the St. Anthony Main Loop. Note: if you make reservations, you can schedule a carriage ride all year round.
- Mobile Entertainment leads Segway tours from St. Anthony Main. See the city on these super cool two-wheeled wonders!
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