Great question, but I honestly have no idea on dining around the Metrodome area…

hey if you’re going to be around for Sat.-Sun.
maybe, you might want to stay for the Monday Night Football game of the year?

Green Bay at Minnesota? Rodgers vs, Farve

There’s always Old Spaghetti Factory. But if you’re looking for something that’s more of a local place, I’d second the recommendation to look around Nicollet Mall.

It would be fun to see a writeup too. I’m always curious to see what people think of the Dome and Minneapolis.

Do you think the Dome is as bad as everyone else? That would be my main question. :)

but they do have a lot of good Thai places, if you’re into that kind of thing. If you are, I would suggest Chaing Mai Thai.

Chino Latino is a great mix of Asain and Mexican/Latin food. Never had anything there that wasn’t great.

For pasta, I’d suggest the Loring Pasta bar. The Old Spaghetti Factory is interesting and right by the dome, but if you’re looking for something that’s more “Minneapolis”, the Loring Pasta Bar is the place to go. Good food, good atmosphere, and they’ll probably have jazz music or something also on a saturday night.

Does Matty B’s still exist on Washington? That might not be a bad place to check out. Not sure about pasta, but they had pretty good food there in the past.

Enjoy the game! If you can, try and walk around a bit before or after, just to get some of the views from around the Dome. Also;

You MUST get a Dome Dog. These are the best, and you get a bag of chips, which somehow makes it an awesome deal.

Warning; If you get a big beverage (like a cola of some sort) you must drink it down a bit, as the cup holders are angled downward and if you don’t, you will stick to the concrete quickly.

If you are in the upper deck, take it one step at a time. Vertigo is a bitch.

Watch out for the wave, and participate when it comes by. It may feel dorky, but the people on the other side will appreciate it.

And finally, DO NOT LEAVE THROUGH THE REVOLVING DOORS. Wait till they open the regular doors and the pressure will blow you out, its phenomenal.

ENJOY!

If you’re looking for a good between-meals snack during the game, you might want to pick up a bag of kettle corn outside the stadium (south end of the food vendors on the plaza). It’s a ginormous bag, and they let you take it into the Dome.

The plaza in general is kinda cool to kill a few minutes before you go inside the stadium – it’s basically a big-ish area with music, food vendors, and stuff for kids who don’t mind waiting in interminable lines.

FoulJack and Mike I are completely right about the doors. Hold onto tightly to your hat and program.

I would also love to see a writeup, just to get your impressions of the stadium and city.

head north on Washington Ave about 3 – 4 blocks to get to 7 Corners…the bars are nothing to look at but they have some good energy if the Gophers are at home this Saturday.

or

and this one I REALLY recommend, go downtown and visit Gluek’s bar for some of the best beer I ever had. I know you were looking for a place to eat but Beer is a one of the food groups right?
And I’d like to add my vote to reading a writeup on your impressions.

It’s been a while since I have been back to MN, so I don’t know all the restaurants anymore. However, I always enjoyed a good walleye sandwich. I can’t get them out in NYC and no one out here has ever heard of walleye. I used to get mine at Maynards or Sunsets. However, neither of those are close to the Dome.

For all of your great suggestions. While sitting at Turner Field tonight watching the Natinals spoil the remaining meaningless games for my Braves, I got great pleasure at looking at the out-of-town scores, and seeing that the Twins obliterated KC, and the Tigers fell to the White Sox. I’m really looking forward to this trip, and seeing a meaningful game tomorrow with a likely Grienke taking the mound for a steep challenge; I have faith that the Twins can grasp the division, and I have one particular reason, that I’ll not say right now in fear of jinxing anything.

I’ll deliver a write-up in an unconfirmed amount of time after my trip, but thank you in advance for all your contributions.

Fresh Walleye is maybe the most signature food in Minnesota, because nobody else really eats it. it’s an amazing tasting fish when very fresh though.

For Italian, if your willing and able to go to the other side of downtown to the university of Minnesota campus, there is a great little italian place called Vescios. this is in the “dinkytown” area of the campus, a very charming, iconic area. Head over to the 7 corners area for the best pubs near campus. This is where new TCF stadium is as well.

Downtown, as others have said, the niccollet mall is a good place, with a lot of good choices. I was at the classy French place Vincent recently, and that was absolutely fabulous. There’s a great Tapas place called Solera, though this is very expensive.

Huberts is the only bar right by the stadium. It’s nothing special, but it’s packed and rowdy and fun, especially after a big Twins win, which you might be lucky enough to see this weekend.

For the classic steak and chops treatment, the only place to go is Murray’s. it’s about 10 blocks from the stadium or so. it’s been there forever. This is the traditional $50 steak place. If you want to splurge, you cannot go wrong with the silver butterknife steak here.

i guess my list sort of focused on some of the more expensive options (Vescios isn’t too bad though, like 12-15 bucks for a very large pasta entre dinner), but there you have it.

I really hope you enjoy our city, there are a lot of wonderful parts of it.

First, I haven’t read much of what anyone else wrote, so sorry if there is a repeat here.

But what, exactly are you looking for? Price range?

1. If you want something that is definitely Minnesotan, get a walleye sandwich from Liquor Lyle’s, which is also the best bar in the Twin Cities—it won a bar tournament for best bar’s. Don’t listen to people that tell you Nye’s is the best bar; Nye’s is terribly overrated. (2021 Hennepin Ave; near Franklin Avenue)

2. If you are looking for something of higher quality (and price) go to Restaurant Alma (528 University Ave). You can find spectacular local and organic dishes there. I highly recommend getting the the four course meal that features local fare.

3. If you are looking for something good but not very expensive, try Brasa (600 E Hennepin). It is actually owned by the same people as Restaurant Alma, but is much different. Very casual atmosphere, and rotisserie meats with a touch of southern flavor (I recommend red beans and rice, creamed spinach, and corn bread to go along with the rotisserie pork).

4. Other options for fine food: 112 Eatery (112 N 3rd Street), Manny’s Steakhouse 825 Marquette Ave, Monte Carlo (219 3rd Ave N)

he should just hit come Churches on Sunday morning and find some good hotdish or casserole. I mean, really. We are the land of Swedes and Lutherans.