ONE DAY: MINNEAPOLIS + MOA - SECTION NINE
- May 19
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 1
SECTION NINE:
LOOPY IN THE NORTH LOOP
RECOMMENDED TIME WINDOW: 10:00pm - Whenever (2:00am at the latest)
This is a pretty unique Section for Loreways. It’s an intro version of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Loreway. You’ll have your choice of options for where you’d like to spend your nightcap experience if you haven’t dropped from exhaustion yet.
We’re headed next to the North Loop, a section of Minneapolis that is the best for downtown nightlife, in my opinion. I mean, this is the section where Love Is Blind filmed their Minneapolis season in! It is dominated by repurposed warehouses turned lofts with posh retail and restaurants on the first floors. Most of the acclaimed restaurants/bars of the city are found in this neighborhood.
There are so many awesome places to choose for our nightcap! I’ve had to narrow down the list to a few. It was painful.
Feel free to go to one, two, or all of these places tonight (if you go to all, you’ve reached the Loreway Lunacy level, for which I’ll want to personally shake your hand. I wouldn’t even be able to do that much activity from 7:45am til bar close!):
TOP NORTH LOOP BARS
*Firstly, why are these the Top Bars of the North Loop?
I’m assuming we’re exhausted. We’re sun kissed. Once we get off our chairs at Firelake we’re going to audibly say “Ooh. Ah. Jeese! Oof!” So I’m steering clear of any party places, no dance clubs. We’re also pretty sweaty and disheveled, so we probably shouldn’t go anywhere to be really seen. Some of the places are definitely posh, they’re the best, but it’ll be pretty dark, we can curl up and be alone in our little bubbles. I also have to factor in the time. Some of the best places close early.
1. METEOR - Wednesday thru Saturday (open to 2am)
A little outside of the center of the North Loop, it’s on the outskirts.
Our disheveled selves need not worry here about our appearance. This is not one of the aforementioned posh places. That’s why it’s #1 on my list.
This place feels like B-movie lovers run the joint. They specialize in classy cocktails, dive bar beer and hot dogs!
They also turn into a themed bar come Halloween or Christmas time. So, if it’s that time of year, you HAVE to go and see whatever they’ve concocted.
2. FLORA ROOM - Everyday (closes at midnight)
A speakeasy underneath Porzana, an amazing Argentinian restaurant, the Flora Room is a dark and intimate setting dominated by, you guessed it, flora and/or fauna, and soft ambient lighting!
The brick visible through the faux window screams NORTH LOOP.
This place’s main draw is the cocktails. Not only does this place scream NORTH LOOP, it screams NIGHTCAP.
3. BILLY AFTER DARK (B. A. D.) - Friday and Saturday (Midnight)
Billy Sushi is one of the best places for sushi in Minneapolis, hell, the metro!
But, in its basement is a speakeasy with some of the coolest ambiance I’ve ever sat in.
I’m a sucker for lighting made to look like a starry sky, and one of the two rooms in this bar has just that, complete with a limestone wall.
The two caveats to B. A. D. are 1. the need to make a reservation before you go, and 2. it closes at 11pm during the week (so, not as applicable for our Loreway tonight), but, if it’s Friday or Saturday, it’s a viable option.
Billy After Dark is in the alleyway behind Billy Sushi. Your reservation will give you the code to the back door.
Couple extra steps involved with this one, but the ambiance alone is worth it, so, it makes the list!
4. COBBLE SOCIAL HOUSE - Friday and Saturday (1am)
In the alleyway next to The Monte Carlo you’ll see a sign marked with an eye.
This is a not-so-secret feeling speakeasy that specializes in cocktails and sushi.
Its ambiance is a bit more common, but no less intimate. If you’re feeling something a bit less gimmicky and touristy compared to Flora and Billy, this place is a happy medium.
Reservations are recommended, but not necessary, as in the case of Billy.
5. HEWING HOTEL ROOFTOP - Everyday (Midnight)
If you’re wanting a rooftop to gaze upon the Minneapolis skyline, this is your best bet!
It’s a bit of a place to be seen, so we might feel a bit underdressed, but it’s honestly a great place as an out-of-town visitor to close the lid on a day’s worth of activity hopping all over the city. You get to sip on your drink and look in the direction of the IDS tower.
Whisper: “I know you. I mastered you.”
So, make your choice. If you’re too exhausted, don’t feel bad! Just skip ahead to the ENDPOINT.
If you’re at risk of getting toward the level of Loreway Lunacy . . . follow me.
Order your Uber/Lyft to be picked up in the roundabout below at the Radisson Blu and get dropped off at one of the bars above.
I’ll see you at the end of your nightcappin’ at the ENDPOINT.
Salud!
ENDPOINT Jeepers, it’s been a day!!!!
By electing to do the One Day: Minneapolis + MOA version of Intro to the Twin Cities we’ve taken extra steps, taken in more destinations than featured on the Short version.
We saw one of the best examples of why Minneapolis is nicknamed the City of Lakes.
We took in the touristy facets, from the kitsch of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (Spoonbridge and Cherry), to the overwhelming flash and stimulation of the Mall of America.
We traversed an intro historical tour on the origin of the Twin Cities (seeing the catalyst that actually led settlers to separate into twin cities), visited one of the coolest natural areas in the metro, Minnehaha Falls (location used to unite the Cities in harmony).
We ate the most famous Twin Cities food in the midst of a local war that a President hasn’t even been able to cease!
And we walked from one end of town to the other, with a fitting pose of putting one foot up on top of the slayed beast (said beast being Minneapolis) and celebrated with a rewarding and refreshing nightcap.
We mastered Minneapolis and the most visited locale in all of Minnesota. But, you did all the walking, so, really, YOU MASTERED MINNEAPOLIS + MOA!!!!!
I doth my hat to thee.
WHAT NOW?
I’m sure you’re sore, pining for your bed.
You deserve a great night’s sleep.
Head on back to your hotel or home.
This is an Intro, and only touches the tippiest of the tip of the iceberg that is the Twin Cities metro!
Are you up for doing the One Day: St. Paul Loreway?
We will soon have offerings of many new Loreways (new Loreways come out every few weeks)! From historical tours, itineraries that bring you places just for fun, themed experiences that augment reality and change the mundane or routine into a fantastical world of play. Keep checking on the site and seriously consider becoming a member. You’ll have access to EVERYTHING!!!
I hope you’ve had a great time being introduced to this side of the Mississippi! You may have mastered the west side . . . but there is that empty place, that dull ache pulling on the strings in your mind that, yes, there is a whole other side of the metro to conquer . . . The beast has a companion . . .
Until next time, Loreway Traversers! Today was epic!! Here’s to many more epic days!!!
Cheers!
-Peter
If you’d like to delve further into the topics discussed and visited today, I suggest the following reading:
-List of lakes in Minnepolis Wikipedia -Lake Harriet Wikipedia -Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Wikipedia -Spoonbridge and Cherry Wikipedia
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE FREE LOREWAYS CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER!
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