Zelo

At last the proposed location for the PUBLIB gathering: Zelo. It is accessible from the Skyway, it is also on the corner of Nicollet Mall and 9th Street, across the mall from McCormick and Schmicks. (Technically, it is at 825 Nicollet Mall.)

If you enter from the mall, the bar is to the right, and they have a gorgeous dining room. If you enter from having come off the Skyway, you enter directly into that dining room.

The bartender the day we went, Jeremiah (not Jerry!), raved about how good the food is. They have a nice appetizer menu. If the outside temperature is 60 degrees or above, there will be outside seating.

I will leave the details of the PUBLIB gathering to be posted on that list, I am going to suggest Wednesday at 5 pm.

Two hotels not on the Skyway

When I booked my room, I looked at a map that suggested to me that the Holiday Inn Express was on the Skyway. It is not, but it is one of the hotels closest to the Convention Center.

Also not on the Skyway is the Doubletree. From the Doubletree it is about 2 blocks to get on the  Skyway. Connected to the Doubletree is the Cafe Luxx which has jazz, so will be a hangout for at least one of my friends.

Around the corner and up Nicollet Mall is the Dakota Jazz Club. It is not open for lunch (and we did not stay downtown late enough to check it out). I suspect that it, too, will be a convenient and popular place.

On Nicolet Mall

Knowing that some folks are interested in free wifi, and not knowing what will be provided at the hotels/convention center, I want to note that there is a Panera Bread shop on Nicollet Mall between 9th and 8th streets.

Also on Nicollet Mall is McCormick & Schmick’s. Naive as I am, I did not realize that this was a chain! The Minneapolis location is on the corner of 9th street.

The Skywalk from the Convention Center to the Hyatt

Now, I was walking on a Saturday, and there were no big conventions in town. The Convention Center (CC) had a big home show (local traffic) and a health expo. We walked from the CC towards the Hyatt. In that direction is a small door marked to the Millenium Hotel. Interestingly, it leads almost immediately to a staircase which “dumps” you in the middle of a very nice bar! The lobby of the hotel is small-ish, but the bar seems nice.

If you continue on the Skyway you do get to the Hyatt. On the Saturday, it seemed rather quiet, and it seemed to us that several of the restaurants/bars were hard to find. And even in the early afternoon, several were not open. (At least on a Saturday, some had hours posted for weekdays — when we will be there — which were much more convention-friendly.)

Skyways in Minneapolis

The Skyway is a wonderful system. For those who are used to warmer weather and are staying away from the Convention Center it could be a safe route of travel. It seems kind of “wimpy” for those of us who now live in the colder climes. (This week was the first time since October that we had twenty four hours of continuous temperature above freezing. It feels warm at 40! A friend commented that “It is above 40, so you now see shorts, t-shirts, and sandals!”)

Skywater’s Bar

This is the bar in the Hilton, which is the other way along the Skyway from the Convention Center going towards Downtown. There is also a restaurant there, and they are both at street level, not on the Skyway. One of the local beers (which was recommended by my companion) is Shell’s Firebrick Beer.

The bartender there was great, and we got him to try to guess what our occupation was (this was on a Saturday in the early afternoon and we were pretty casually dressed. His first two guesses were doctors and lawyers. We were flattered and left a pretty big tip!

The hotel is between 11th and 10th streets. Hell’s Kitchen is a very short distance away (but you do have to go outside).

Hell’s Kitchen

The motto for Hell’s Kitchen is “Damn Good Food.” I visited the Duluth  version of this establishment over Thanksgiving. There they have a large bar as well as the restaurant. The original Minneapolis location is at 89 South 10th Street (near the corner of Marquette) which is three blocks north of the western corner of the Convention Center.

The wait staff all wear pajamas — no matter what time of day! The menu is great, and the food I have had is wonderful.

When we (who does this alone?) stopped in on a Saturday mid morning there was an hour wait. The hostess suggested that reservations a week or more in advance are suggested.

Web site: http://www.hellskitcheninc.com

Email: HellsKitchen@vsi.com 

Other events in the City

On a recent scouting trip, I picked up a couple brochures for other events and places of interest in Minneapolis. The first that really caught my attention was from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. They have a ticketed exhibit Arts of Japan: 900 years of seductive beauty which runs Feburary 24 – May 25. The flyer notes that the exhibit includes a variety of media. I have not been there yet, but the museum is south of downtown (on the other side of I-94) and is probably a cab ride/short drive away. If you are staying over Saturday night it could be worth a Saturday afternoon visit. Tickets are $8 and are available online. The flyer notes that tickets may sell out at certain times including weekends.

The second place I recommend is the Walker Art Center which is west of the Convention Center. It is adjacent to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (which is free.) The Walker has a dramatic building and permanent exhibition space. They also have traveling exhibits. I saw the Frida Kahlo exhibit earlier this year. The current special exhibit is Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes. I recommend that you also visit the rest of the museum.

On a less high brow nature, I picked the brochure from the Twin Cities Tourism Attractions Association of Minnesota which includes a variety of activities in the area. Their web site is search able and has a variety of options (including some of the cultural sites like the Guthrie).

There were three fat, free guides which I picked up and have not perused. They are:

• Where to Stay and Dine (www.hospitalitymn.com)
• Mpls St Paul: Your Guide to Vacations in our Cities (mspmag.com)
• Minneapolis & St. Paul Official Visitors Guide to the Twin Cities Area (no web site)

I make no representations, since I have not browsed them very much. (But they are handy references for me.)

Next a series of bar/restaurant reviews.

Language and from the airport

When I moved to the upper Midwest 15 months ago, people at work started talking about parking “on the ramp.” I thought to my self, “Why bother parking on an incline, or on the entrance to the highway? What’s up with that?” It turns out that a “ramp” is what I would call a parking garage. I guess most modern parking structures have areas which are at a slight angle where you park.

Sometimes it will also be called a “parking ramp,” which is a little clearer.  So be forewarned!

If you are flying into Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport (MSP), there are two terminals. Most of the airlines fly into the Lindbergh Terminal. However, the following airlines fly into the Humphrey Terminal:

• Air Tran
• Icelandic Air
•  Miami Air International
• Midwest Airlines
• Sun Country
• Xtra Airways

There is a free light rail between the terminals, and the light rail goes both to the Mall of America and downtown. Here is the link to the light rail info. There is information on cost ($1.50 off peak; $2.00 peak) and how to by tickets as well as maps. The Nicolet Mall stop is probably closest to the downtown hotels.

[Disclaimer: I have only ridden this line between the airport terminals (where it is free and runs 24/7). I have not taken it downtown.]

Stay Tuned

I have not been diligent in updating this blog.

However, I spent the day in Minneapolis walking the skyways, and visiting locations. Stay tuned for a series of posts over the week which highlight those findings.