A WEEKEND IN THE MINNIE APPLE

THE CITIES: When I arrived in Iowa in the late 1980s from Florida to start law school, people would reference “the Cities,” as in “I’m from the Cities.” I was confused briefly until I realized that what most of the world knows as Minneapolis-St. Paul or the Twin Cities is known in the region simply as the Cities. At the time, I thought it more than a little pretentious. But, after several visits, including a recent long weekend, I can honestly say that I don’t find the Cities moniker so pretentious. Regardless of which name you choose to apply, Minnesota’s dynamic duo of its largest city and state capital reign over a vibrant, clean, leafy, friendly, hard-working, well-educated and prosperous region of 3.5 million that is well worth a visit or two. The twins are decidedly different from each other, but that makes any visit twice as fun.

Minneapolis straddles both sides of the Mississippi River; it was established at the natural point of the largest falls along this upper stretch, the St. Anthony Falls. With such an easy source of water power and sitting in the middle of a large agricultural region, Minneapolis grew quickly in the 19th century to become the world’s largest flour milling center. Immediately adjacent to the east is St. Paul, which was founded on the north bank of the Mississippi right at its confluence with the Minnesota River by a priest sent to minister to French Canadian Catholics who had arrived to settle the Minnesota Territory. He established a church named in honor of his favorite apostle, which became the city’s name, as well. When Minnesota entered the union as the 32nd state in 1858, St. Paul was chosen as its state capital. Today, both cities are distinct but complimentary. Minneapolis seems bolder and younger, with a bigger skyline, pro sports venues, more high-end dining and shopping, and the youthful buzz that comes with the nearly 60,000 students at the University of Minnesota.

St. Paul meanwhile is the center of political life in Minnesota. It’s a city of beautiful old neighborhoods and grand public buildings, not the least of which is the brilliantly white Minnesota State Capitol and the nearly-as-grand Cathedral of St. Paul. St. Paul also is home to a number of colleges and universities, including Macalester College, Hamline University and the University of St. Thomas. In addition, there are a number of interesting and diverse suburbs in all directions that offer their own attractions and diversions.

OUT AND ABOUT: I flew in early on a Saturday morning to the very busy Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, a major hub for Delta Air Lines. My spouse picked me up at curbside, having arrived a day before. We headed out of the airport and past the exits for the famous Mall of America, with its 400 plus stores, branches of Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomingdales, and a theme park to boot. On another visit, perhaps. After catching up with friends, we checked into our hotel in the nearby, affluent suburb of Edina. I booked the Westin Edina through priceline.com, so I was happy with the price, but was not sure if we’d like the location. Actually, for being in the ‘burbs, it was perfectly situated. The rooms and public spaces are handsome and comfortable with large bathrooms featuring separate bathtubs and showers. Another nice little perk: you know you’re not on the East Coast when in-and-out valet parking runs $12 a day. On property, there is a McCormick and Schmick’s restaurant and immediately adjacent to the hotel is one of the newest entries on the Twin Cities retail scene. The Edina Galleria features local retailers and such upscale tenants as Crate and Barrel, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Company. With a Starbucks and Caribou Coffee on either side of the hotel, we also were always well-caffeinated.

As a runner, staying in the suburbs can be a challenging and frustrating experience when trying to get that morning run in. Sidewalks can be non-existent, trails often end abruptly and you can find yourself dumped into the middle of car traffic with drivers seemingly oblivious to pedestrians. While I won’t give Edina high marks for having lots of sidewalks, it does get props for its Centennial Lakes Park, a trail that winds through several commercial complexes and along a man-made but beautifully landscaped lake. You can choose either a 3- or 5-mile loop for your workout.

After a late lunch, we met our friends at their home in nearby Bloomington, a comfortable suburb of tree-lined streets that’s also home to Mall of America. We headed to downtown Minneapolis for our theater outing at the famous Guthrie Theater. This striking, blue-glass house of three performance venues was designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel, whose other notable works include the 2005 dramatic expansion of the Queen Sofía Arts Center in Madrid. The building sits right near the Mississippi and offers amazing views of the downtown skyline, St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge. There is a great museum store and a hip restaurant, Sea Change, where we enjoyed dessert and drinks after watching an impressive yet slightly disturbing performance of the “Scottsboro Boys.” The production is a minstrel show based on a tragic chapter in the Civil Rights movement when 9 African-American men were falsely accused of raping two runaway white women on a freight train bound from Chattanooga to Memphis. The incident occurred as the train was passing through Scottsboro, Alabama and led to a Supreme Court ruling establishing the right of criminal defendants to effective counsel.

Before the performance, we had a delicious meal at the nearby Sanctuary, a restaurant that describes its menu as New American cooking with Mediterranean and Japanese influences. From the summer menu, I was very well sated by my choices of chilled avocado soup with crabmeat followed by Baja white sea bass with eau de vie of Douglas Fir gastrique, New Mexico pepper crème fraiche and sweet cherries.

The next morning, after a run to work off those complex calories, we headed to Uptown Minneapolis for breakfast, an area centered on West Lake and South Hennepin avenues. On the way in, we passed through some beautiful old neighborhoods surrounding a chain of in-town lakes that includes Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. On this sunny Sunday, Lake Calhoun was full of runners, rollerbladers, dogs on their walks and people lying in the warm sun, all enjoying great views of the Minneapolis skyline. In Uptown, we parked the car and starting looking for a place to eat when we spotted a sign for breakfast on the marquee of the Suburban World Theater on South Hennepin next to the Apple Store. It was our good luck to have stumbled on the theater’s vintage cartoons weekend brunch. We enjoyed eggs, toast and brunch cocktails while our 9-year-old was thoroughly entertained by the continuous loop of Bugs Bunny cartoons. After stops at branches of Urban Outfitters and Penzeys Spices, we headed back to the hotel to meet a law school classmate for drinks at McCormick & Schmick’s. Then, it was off to the home of other friends in Vadnais Heights, on the St. Paul side of town, for a summer cookout.

During this trip, we did not explore St. Paul; however, on prior visits, we have ogled the amazing mansions that line Summit Avenue, a grand boulevard that stretches 30 blocks from the Mississippi to the State Capitol. Along this stretch of impressive homes, there also are plenty of places to shop and dine. One of our delicious discoveries on a prior trip was Dixies on Grand, serving Southern comfort food.

Monday morning arrived and I headed home to Baltimore, but am already looking forward to the next opportunity to visit with friends and further explore the Cities.