Dining recommendations for mother-daughters weekend?

My 3 adult daughters and I will be coming from Florida to the Twin Cities area for the first time this weekend for a fun getaway. We%26#39;re staying at the Country Inn across from the MOA, and will be relying on public transportation. We arrive Fri. afternoon (Oct. 3) and leave Sun. afternoon, so not much time.

We plan to see SOME of the mall, ride the coasters, maybe take the light rail into the city. Any suggestions for places to eat in the mall or along the lightrail that won%26#39;t break the bank?

We%26#39;re not into super fancy, we like Italian or sampler-type places, among others. We just are looking forward to being together and laughing a lot, acting silly. (You know, no kids or spouses!) We like wine and/or beer.

Also, is there anything you think we%26#39;d enjoy that is accessible by light rail?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Dining recommendations for mother-daughters weekend?

Inside the big mall the Napa Valley Grill is my favorite spot to eat. To me it%26#39;s relaxed yet still somewhat elegant.

napavalleygrille.com/bloomington/about.php

I will defer to the Minneapolis experts for places along the light rail and downtown.

Dining recommendations for mother-daughters weekend?

The Chambers Hotel in downtown Minneapolis has a great restaurant -- the Chambers Kitchen. It%26#39;s a little fancy, but the food and service are great and the homemade sorbet is excellent!!!! It%26#39;s on 9th %26amp; Hennepin, I believe, so a bit of a walk from the light rail on 5th. The Loon is good casual if you want something really close to the light rail station (5th St. %26amp; First Ave. at the end of the line). My friends and I have a website with restaurant reviews that you might find helpful: www.primadiners.com -- just places we%26#39;ve been in the Twin Cities. Stick to the downtown restaurants if you%26#39;re on public transit. In MOA, Tucci Bennuch is fine if you like Italian.

If you can see yourself walking 7-8 blocks, you can take the light rail to the 38th Street Station in Minneapolis and walk to the Riverview Wine Bar (intersection of 38th Street and 42nd Avenue -- google map it!). I find it to be worth the walk, personally. Excellent wine and pizzas, usually with another dish on the small menu worth trying. But the pizza is the best choice -- Italian style, thin handmade crust.

And the price ... well, I still can%26#39;t believe they charge as modestly as they do.

If that%26#39;s too far of a walk, a shorter and prettier walk will take you from the 50th Street/Minnehaha Park station into Minnehaha Park to Sea Salt, which has very reasonably priced bottles of wine and tasty sea food with a patio dining area near the waterfall. It%26#39;s a nice time if the weather is good, and I believe Saturday should be nice.

Very casual and moderatly priced. Nice casual environment for laughing and wine drinking (I do it all the time there!)

Only semi-drawback is the wait to order sometimes. But the payoff is worth it. It%26#39;s a very informal ordering/service setup. You order, find a table and they bring your food to you. You get the bottle of wine when you order. Chenin blanc (IMO) is the best bottle on the list.

My husband and I don%26#39;t go to the MOA much for shopping...but the Twin City Grill, yes! The horseradish encrusted or the bleu cheese encrusted filets are fabulous (and I never used to order steak in a restaurant because my husband%26#39;s were always better). Delicious, casual, wonderful martinis!

Great suggestions, thanks to all!

The Minnehaha Park and Sea Salt restaurant sounds like a good idea, we might try that on Saturday.

Thanks again.

Hi flahagan,

I checked the web site to be sure Sea Salt will be open Saturday. It was unclear, so I called. The man there said they will be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and hosting a private event after that.

So if you plan to go for lunch, then you%26#39;re fine (and I think you should). Perhaps make that a stop on your way downtown. Grab some lunch there (crabcakes and wine? fish tacos?) and then take a wander around the park and see the falls from above and below and then hop back on the train and head downtown to have a look-see. If you get off at the Nicollet Mall stop you could window shop your way down the boulevard until dinner time. Zelo (Italian) is an option at that point or whatever else strikes your fancy. Sounds like a fun, relaxing day.

AT the Mall, Tucci Benuch is good italian, and the Twin Cities Grill is great too.

mntoathens,

Thanks so much for checking that out for me. Guess we%26#39;ll just have to see where the day takes us. I%26#39;ll be sure to post what we did when we return!

Just behind the Mall (across the street) is a Chevy%26#39;s (ie. Mexican).

I like the Irish Bars downtown or for some fun, get a short cab over the bridge to Nye%26#39;s Polonaise Room. It%26#39;s a hoot.

There is a Hard Rock Cafe downtown 2 blocks from the light rail which is like $10 for sandwiches/burgers or what not. Also, the Shout House is fun in the evenings and is in the same building. Beer and wine seem to be the drinks of choice there. I love piano bars and singing along. I would go to the mall for dinner (chick flick movie?) on Fri. eveing and then downtown for sight-seeing, dinner and drinks on Sat. Sunday you could go to the Water Park of America if you%26#39;re into that kind of thing. I hope you have a great trip. Oh, for resturants.......IKEA is right across the street and their deli has lots of cheap eats with a European flair of course. $4 breakfasts and $5 lunches or something like that. Ikea is a fun visit if you don%26#39;t have one where you are from.

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