Minneapolis vs. St. Paul

The Case for Minneapolis by Mary Armstrong

Oh, Minneapolis, you multifaceted metropolis on the prairie: home to big business, progressive politics, a thriving indie and hip-hop scene, a cornucopia of trendy restaurants, and people who embrace the work hard/play hard ethic. We like to think of ourselves as the more cosmopolitan of the Twin Cities. St. Paul, yonder across the Mississippi to the east, is nice and all, but it’s kind of a sleepy big town, in our humble opinion. Still, we’re a little uncomfortable with the whole “smackdown” idea. This is the land of Minnesota Nice, after all! We could never have a “Real Housewives of the Twin Cities”—it would feature women baking treats for each other or watching each others’ kids. Still, this challenge isn’t titled “Cities That Recognize Others’ Admirable Qualities While Humbling Mentioning Their Own,” so here goes.

Population: 393,000

Famous faces: Prince (sure, there are others, but he’s really in a category by himself)

Minneapolis and St. Paul both have: A piece of the meandering Mississippi River, whose headwaters reside 200 miles to the northwest.

Get lost in the gigantic Mall of America. (Photo: Mike/Flickr)

But neither city has: Minnesota’s No. 1 attraction, that overstuffed shopping shrine called the Mall of America. (It’s in neighboring Bloomington. And gets 40 million visitors a year.)

Indoor destination in winter: We stay home by a roaring fire like the sensible folk that we are. There’s a reason this state was once dubbed the “American Siberia.” Maybe we go online and plan a getaway to visit friends who snowbird in a Minnesota enclave in Naples, Florida.

Where we commune with nature after a long, hard winter: Well, the motto is “City of Lakes” for a reason. You’ve got the wildly popular Chain of Lakes in southwest Minneapolis (Harriet, Calhoun, Lake of the Isles), with 13 miles of trails for biking, walking and running. For a mellower vibe, check out Lake Nokomis or Cedar Lake.

Beer: Friendly local brewers, or the craft beer industrial complex? Popping up in the last few years: Fulton, 612Brew, Boom Island, Dangerous Man, Harriet Brewing, and Indeed. We’ll go ahead and claim a granddaddy of the scene, Surly Brewing of nearby Brooklyn Center, which is building a destination brewery in Minneapolis.

Bookstore owned by famous author: Louise Erdrich, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist, owns Birchbark Books & Native Arts. Yep, some people have it all: She once made it onto People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful list.

Glam Doll for hipster doughnuts. (Photo: jpellgen/Flickr)

Over-the-top doughnut shop: Glam Doll, where the customers have as many tattoos as there are calories at this hipster’s dream of a coffee shop. Try the Femme Fatale (fresh raspberry curd, vanilla icing) or the Showgirl (maple icing, bacon).

Popular ways to get around town: Regularly appearing on lists of bike-friendly cities, Minneapolis also attracts casual cyclists through the popular Nice Ride bike sharing program. Light-rail transit is gaining ground, too, with two lines built and more in the works.

Symbol of the city: The kooky and beloved “Spoonbridge and Cherry” by Claes Oldenburg at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Hot neighborhood: It’s a tossup—the North Loop or Uptown. The up-and-coming North Loop, home to creative types, new luxury condos and the glossy Bachelor Farmer restaurant, may up the ante later this year when celebrity chef Gavin Kaysen (formerly of Café Boulud in New York City) is due to open his new joint, Merchant. Uptown, on the other hand, a longtime shopping and nightlife mecca, wears its cool like a broken-in leather jacket.

(Photo: Kent Kanouse/Flickr)

Kids will love: The Wild Rumpus bookstore (above), for its resident cats and other assorted animals, author events, and energetic atmosphere.

Breakfast spot: French Meadow (upscale) or Al’s Breakfast (greasy spoon).

Best place to take visitors: Get the Jucy Lucy (spelling be damned, there’s no “i”; think outside-in cheeseburger) at Matt’s Bar. “This is a lovely dive bar which absolutely lives up to all of the hype,” a Yelp reviewer said. Then waddle to the car so you can top it off with house-made ice cream at Sebastian Joe’s or Crema Café.

Best place to get tipsy outdoors: Sea Salt at Minnehaha Falls. Because no one enjoys summer more than we do. All five weeks of it. It’s wine and beer only, though, so if you can’t live without a fancy-pants cocktail, hit the patio at Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge.

Best bakery: Try the Paris-worthy pastries at Patisserie 46 or the beloved loaves of Rustica.

Kicking it old school: Prohibition, a “speakeasy in the sky” at the Foshay Tower (1929), delivers happy hour happiness with an XXL martini for five bucks. Or celebrate the state’s Scandinavian heritage at the American Swedish Institute at the Turnblad Mansion (also 1929) and its jewel of a café, Fika.

Target Field, home of the Twins. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Why it’s fun to visit: We’ve got highbrow (Walker Art Museum, Guthrie Theater) and low (the legendary First Avenue nightclub, meat raffles at dive bars).

Sports teams you should care about: The Minnesota Twins have a very nice stadium. The Minnesota Vikings are getting a nice new stadium soon, where Super Bowl LII will be played in 2018. The Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA are national champions, sure, but just don’t get the attention or the fans that the guys do. Yawn. Oh, yeah, we have the Minnesota Timberwolves, too. Double yawn.

Mary Armstrong is a freelance journalist and curriculum editor at Cambio Education. She has lived in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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Unlike that noisy Minneapolis, St. Paul keeps it modest. (Photo: Thinkstock)

The Case for St. Paul by Sherri Hildebrandt

Dear old St. Paul! You are the gracefully aging grande dame who wears her vintage jewelry with panache. Elegant, sophisticated, and teased for being … well … stodgy. But wait—you’ve put away the AARP card and are quietly becoming a hipster hotspot, as well as “the most romantic city in North America,” a title bestowed by USA Today Travel. Our sister across the river is a fine place to visit, but she’s a little flashy. We like to maintain our dignity—we are the state capital, after all. While we’re blue-collar and darn proud of it, we have jazz concerts in the park and gallery openings in artists’ lofts. We’re a big hometown, replete with neighborhoods where kids come back to settle down and raise a family. Even though we have our share of Old Money, we don’t brag about it. That wouldn’t be a very Minnesota thing to do.

Population: 290,770

Minneapolis and St. Paul both have: A fondness for a good walleye sandwich and a love of the Mississippi River, which wends its way through both cities.

But neither city has: The Minnesota State Fair, known as “The Great Minnesota Get-Together” (it’s in nearby Falcon Heights). But that’s a whole story by itself.

Famous faces: F. Scott Fitzgerald, U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger, actor Josh Hartnett, Baseball Hall-of-Famers Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor.

It never freezes in the Como Park conservatory. (Photo: rubey_kay/Flickr)

Indoor destination in winter: Those 30-below-zero wind chills send us hurrying to the Margaret McNeely Conservatory at Como Park, an oasis of green, heat, and humidity. Or we embrace the season at the annual Winter Carnival—that’s why long johns were invented.

Where we commune with nature after a long, hard winter: Como Park for its popular (and free) zoo, including a visit to Cafesjian’s Carousel, a recently restored 100-year-old merry-go-round.

Beer: We do love our beer. The Summit Brewing Company, churning out brewskis since 1986, now makes a dozen varieties at a shiny new complex near the Mississippi River. (Yes, there are tours.) Meanwhile, the Pig’s Eye Brewing Company memorializes one early settler/rapscallion, Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant, with a pilsner named after him.

Common Good Books. (Photo: Kent Kanouse/Flickr)

Bookstore owned by a famous radio personality: Garrison Keillor started Common Good Books in a tiny space under a funky coffee shop and recently moved to a bigger store near several funky coffee shops.

Over-the-top donut shop: Maple frosting and bacon donut? You betcha! You’ll find it at Mojo Monkey. Or maybe you’d prefer the double chocolate cake donut with toasted organic coconut, or the raised donut with root beer icing, or the crème brulée Bismarck … can you hear our bliss?

Popular ways to get around town: Trains (light rail transit, Amtrak), run from the Union Depot, built in 1926 and newly restored. Private plane your ride? Use Holman Field in downtown St. Paul. The Nice Ride bike rentals are a hit in St. Paul, just like in that other city.

(Photo: Clint McMahon/Flickr)

Hot neighborhood: Lowertown (above) is having a hipster rebirth in a downtown that once rolled up the sidewalks when the 9-to-5 crowd went home. Condos are sprouting in some formerly crumbling historic buildings. The hood is also home to artists, the popular weekend farmers market, and the award-winning Heartland Restaurant.

Kids will love: The Minnesota Children’s Museum, chock full of stuff to please the pint-sized. (Warning: Parents may be at risk of sensory overload.) For bigger “kids,” like maybe yourself, the Science Museum of Minnesota is fun even for those who can’t tell a glass beaker from a dinosaur bone.

Breakfast spot: The Buttered Tin (upscale) or Mickey’s Diner (greasy spoon).

Best place to take visitors: Meander along the Mississippi. For a taste of the past, the Minnesota History Center is right up your alley. For a taste of fabulous ice cream, don’t miss Izzy’s Ice Cream. Try the Salted Caramel, or something unusual like the Swedish Garden Party. Need a great date-night destination? W. A. Frost and Co.’s patio has seen its share of budding romances.

Best place to get tipsy outdoors: Sweeney’s Saloon, Great Waters Brewing Company, the Liffey Irish Pub (for the rooftop view)

The stately St. Paul Hotel. (Photo: Bri Weldon/Flickr)

Kicking it old school: The St. Paul Hotel has been the luxury lodging of choice for visitors to the Saintly City pretty much since it opened in 1910. For Victorian era charm, stroll down Summit Avenue, four miles of stately mansions, churches and schools, bookended by the Cathedral of St. Paul and a scenic overlook high above the Mississippi.

Sports teams you should care about: The Minnesota Wild NHL team, which draws die-hard fans through thick and thin. Then there’s the fun-loving, minor league St. Paul Saints, a baseball team that features a live pig delivering baseballs to the umpire. Coming soon: a new ballpark for the team in trendy Lowertown.

Why it’s fun to visit: We have classy (St. Paul Chamber Orchestra) ethnic (try some pho at one of our many southeast Asian restaurants) and offbeat (the Wabasha Street Caves, once the site of an underground speakeasy where the likes of John Dillinger, Ma Barker, and Babyface Nelson liked to kick back).

Sherri Hildebrandt is a native Minnesotan who has lived in St. Paul for 19 years. Not only has she worked as a journalist in Minneapolis, she has also lived there!