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.
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I’d like to add a couple of comments. First, regarding lunch, the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant is open for lunch Mon – Fri. In fact, it has received a fair ammount of critical praise. Prices are comparable – even a bit lower – than our neighbors Zelo, Vincent and McCormick & Schmidt. And the quality (both ingredients and preparation) is high. We’re nationally renowned for our jazz (more about that later), but also highly regarded for our food. Here are a couple of recent (2008) items from two of the Twin Cities leading food critics.
Dining out: The Hot Five
By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune
Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant
“If the Dakota isn’t on your lunch radar screen, it should be, given chef Jack Riebel’s gorgeous salads, clever sandwiches and rich, full-bodied soups, all made with an eye toward premium locally raised ingredients.” – March 14, 2008
“The Dakota is the best restaurant on the skyway. I had a Star Prairie trout pate ($10) there last week that was nothing short of charming and lovely. It was an exquisite example of using a wonderful local ingredient in a laid-back, unshow-offy way. [Chef Jack] Riebel is top of my list right now for under-sung heroes.” – Dara Moskowicz Gruhndahl, Minnesota Monthly Magazine (Dara’s blog – Feb, 2008)
And about the jazz …. The Dakota has been included in several national “best in America” lists, including Wynton Marsalis’ 2007 list in USA Today. And we’ll have a special program during the PLA convention. Irvin Mayfield is the Chairman of the New Orleans Library Board. He is also the leader of the New Orleans Classic Jazz Orchestra and one of the most exciting young (30’s) trumpet players in the world. He will be playing at the Dakota on Wed., Thurs., and Fri., March 26 – 28 with the New Orleans Classic Jazz All-Stars. We’ll have two shows in the Club each of those nights.
For more information, please check our website at http://www.dakotacooks.com. And let me know personally if there’s anything else we can do to help make your trip to Minneapolis memorable and great.
I am willing to stand corrected….I was there on a Saturday, so being closed for lunch is what I saw. I wrote this from notes which I scribbled as we wandered along and appreciate the update! Thanks Lowell! My companion that day is a sucker for jazz, and that was the interest. If you had been open Saturday, we certainly would have visited.
I am sure that many of my colleagues will visit!