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Community of Minneapolis
Photo: Rx StrangeLove at English Wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Southwest Minneapolis is a district in Minneapolis. It includes Uptown, Lyn-Lake, the Wedge, Eat Street, Linden Hills, the popular Chain of Lakes, and other areas. Part of the 50th and France commercial district bleeds into the Fulton neighborhood, but most of it lies in Edina.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
The world's only museum devoted to medical electricity.
"The Minneapolis Institute of Arts houses more than 100,000 objects from diverse cultural traditions spanning 5,000 years of world history.".
Museum showcases Russian art from the 20th century, including Soviet art.
Home to an arboretum, rose gardens, perennial gardens, peace gardens, and a bird sanctuary.
Along the west side of Lake Harriet. Contains a picnic area with a large picnic structure, a playground, and tennis courts.
Five screens.
Cedar Lake has three public swimming beach, and is accessible by canoe, rowboat, or kayak by its connecting lagoon to Lake of the Isles and, by extension, Bde Maka Ska. It is the only one of the Chain of Lakes where private property fronts the lake.
Lake of the Isles has bird sanctuaries on its (officially off-limits) islands, and a public skating rink (with warming house) that is groomed in the winter months. Check the newspaper; you may get lucky and catch a world-class speed-skating competition here. Its shores also feature some of the best climbing trees in the city—particularly for those who carry a short rope ladder in their pack—as well as a giant pencil sculpture along the northeast shore. There is no public boat rental. Boats rented or launched from Lake Calhoun can access Lake of the Isles via the lagoon which flows under Lake Street. There are also no public swimming beaches.
formerly Lake Calhoun
Bde Maka Ska has three public beaches and boat rentals (and lessons), and a snack bar that resembles a real restaurant more every summer. Bde Maka Ska has volleyball nets on the South beaches.There is an active yacht club that sponsors several races weekly. Also, the surface conditions on Bde Maka Ska make this lake most popular among sailboarders, often well into the Fall. While sails can't pass the low street crossings above the lagoons, paddlers can easily reach Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake. The commissary is an affordable fish restaurant that's well rated by local residents and guides.
Lake Harriet also has boat rentals near its bandshell. Lake Harriet's bandshell at which numerous local and regional talent perform, and has included the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. It has several public swimming beaches, a marina, and is arguably the most popular and crowded lake among local residents for swimming, boating, walking, biking, and organized family and group celebrations.
Vintage bowling alley with a small theater attached, hosting various small-scale theater, improv, and music events. The BLB is also a decent dining and drinking option.
Heritage streetcar line running along a one-mile track between Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun), which used to be part of a much longer streetcar line that ran all the way to Lake Como in Saint Paul, hence the name. It is operated by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, which also operates a heritage streetcar line in Excelsior, near Lake Minnetonka. Its fleet includes two streetcars from the 1900s built by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company and one PCC streetcar from the 1940s built by the St. Louis Car Company. Streetcars begin and end their journey at Linden Hills Station located at 42nd and Queen on the west side of Lake Harriet. There is also a second much less used stop on near the east side of Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) at 36th Street and Richfield Road.
The most renowned German restaurant in the Twin Cities.
Greek.
Mexican.
The menu at Harry Singh's is dominated by roti wraps and creole rice dishes.
A fancier Vietnamese restaurant operated by the owners of Jasmine Deli. The salt and pepper tofu appetizer is to die for. Vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Ridiculously cheap but well-regarded Vietnamese food. Vegetarian and vegan friendly. No credit cards.
Malaysian cuisine. They make their own tofu, but vegans beware that it contains egg.
Vietnamese.
Vietnamese.
Vietnamese.
Owner and founder of this excellent bakery and cafe, Lynn Gordon, has a passion for fabulous yeast free breads, and has been an artisan baker since before that term began to be applied to high-quality individual bakers. Virtually everything on the menu is delicious and original, and save room for the desserts and fair trade coffee. On weekends arrive early to avoid the brunch rush. Vegetarian and vegan options available.
Ice cream shop with flavors ranging from normal like the Black (very dark cocoa) to odd ones like the Elvis (curry peanut butter banana). Most of the flavors are gluten-free, and some are vegan.
Japanese restaurant with house-brewed sake and a rooftop patio.
You can get pizza by the slice or sit down and order a whole pie. Vegetarian friendly; vegan soy cheese, nut cheese, and mockmeats available. Also offers gluten-free pizzas.
French-inspired cafe. Also hosts the annual Bastille Day block party celebration in the summer.
A classic city bakery and coffee shop. Very limited seating inside, but with sidewalk tables and two blocks to Lake of the Isles it hardly matters. Bakers work in full view in a sunken work area behind the counter, putting out some of the best rolls, buns, and other delectables in the city. Check out the cinnamon roll and their savory breakfast items.
Best known for their sushi. Generally a posh, overly-sedate crowd and indifferent service.
Namaste is located in a duplex converted to a restaurant and gift shop, so try to keep your eye out when heading down Hennepin. The owners are Nepali and the food is very similar to Indian cuisine. The cooking is very homey and the prices are quite reasonable for such a prime location. Lunch will cost around $8. Try one of their amazing chai teas; 8 varieties to choose from. They grind their own spices and mix up one heck of a good cup. Vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Small Italian deli, limited seating available.
The sit-down restaurant operated by the same people that run the deli across the street. The menu features around 20 different past dishes, a mix of new and old favorites. Although reasonably small and often crowded, it is worth the wait!
Cave Vin features a Mediterranean/French menu. Tons of charm, great food and wine.
Restaurant specializing in Venezuelan arepas, which are cornmeal griddle cakes with various fillings.
Deli-style fast food Mexican. Try the fish tacos, they're fantastic. No alcohol, but fast service and fantastic food for those on the go.
Neapolitan pizzeria in a strip mall on the opposite side of the lakes from Uptown. Pizzas are baked in an 800F wood-burning oven for 90 seconds. Punch is one of the few restaurants that actually has certification from the official Napoli pizza organization.
Cuban restaurant with good portions and a somewhat fashionably divey atmosphere; the interior is covered in graffiti from previous patrons. The cafe looks like a shack on the outside and seating is pretty limited; be prepared for long waits on the weekends.
A cheap and popular punk/alternative hangout, a favorite of the Replacements and the setting for their song "Here Comes a Regular.".
Nominally a restaurant serving unremarkable grease-bomb Chinese food, the Red Dragon is more noted for its alcohol menu. That menu includes the infamous Wondrous Punch, a mixture of four different kinds of rum with a bit of grenadine and fruit juice; one order of punch is plenty for most people.
Free wifi. Frequently a day-time biker hang out. Nice staff.
Free wifi.
Free wifi.
Misfit started out as a coffee truck but now have a brick-and-mortar location. They offer standard espresso drinks and brewed coffee, plus nitro cold brew and a menu of cold brew-based flavored drinks.
Free wifi.
Free wifi.
Located in a renovated Victorian house. Free wifi.
A boutique hotel from the Marriott chain that's mostly oriented to a younger crowd. The guest rooms are modern but on the smaller side. There is a bar and lots of common space on the ground floor. The hotel attracts a party crowd and might not be the best option for those seeking peace and quiet.
Great for newer and more mainstream comics.
New and used books.
Mystery bookstore. Ask about The Annex: two giant rooms full of rare first editions, out of print books, magazines, journals, and thousands of hard-to-get gently used volumes. Great for finding new titles and plenty of back-list books for hordes of mystery and thriller writers.
A renowned children's bookstore with a plethora of live animals roaming around; the cats somehow manage to coexist peacefully with the birds, mice, chicken, and other animals.
A local chain of used clothing stores. Clothing is shipped in from thrift stores across the country and sorted through and either torn to rags for commercial use, or pulled aside to be sold in one of the stores. There are stores around the Twin Cities area in addition to the Uptown location listed above.
Cheapo specializes in all areas of music as well as DVDs and vinyl records. If you are looking for something that's hard to find, it's a good bet that they will have it. If not, they can order it for you. They also have a large collection of used CDs with huge inventories coming in everyday.
Possibly the most complete selection of CDs in town across all genres. Hold on tight to your wallet when you walk in here. If there's an obscure CD you've been looking for, this place is likely to have it. Listening stations are posted throughout the store enticing all who enter to try out some new music. It's the place you would go if you had unlimited resources for buying new music. Be prepared to pay full price, although new releases are frequently on sale. Buy four CDs and get a discount. Tickets for local venues are on sale here too.
Specializes in all punk and subgenres therein. A cooperative run for almost 20 years by local punks. Amazing selection of punk 'zines, CDs, LPs and 7-inches. The place in town for finding hard-to-find punk records, trading punk records, finding other punks, seeking out that basement show, etc. Don't let the punk rock moniker scare the less-than punk away. If you want to see what a truly independent local scene can produce and meet some of the most earnest members of the scene, you must check out Extreme Noise.
Has a great selection of independent LPs, CDs and DVDs. Known for their international music section. Punk and alt-country genres don't suffer. A great independent record store with lots of local and independently produced product.
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