boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (07/24/84)
> What is there to do in and around Minneapolis? I'm > especially looking for nice restaurants and interesting places > to go and see. Thanks, Well, I travel to the Twin Cities fairly often, so perhaps I can help. Unfortun- ately, I don't do any touristy things there, mostly I just visit friends, so I can't really tell you a lot about what there is to do and see. There is the Min- nesota Zoo and the Como Park Zoo, if you're into zoos. If you're going to be out there in late August, you might want to check out the Minnesota State Fair. The Guthrie is a highly-rated theater (though I've never been to it, myself). One must is the St. Paul Science Museum, where there is an Omni-Max theater. As to restaurants, well, there I can really help, as my friends and I are into food. I'm not too good on addresses, since I'm usually a passenger and not a driver when I'm there, but i'm sure you can find them in the phone book. Chinese: (1) Near the Science Museum, there is a really good Chinese restaurant, the name of which unfortunately escapes me right now, but Hunan Garden kind of sticks in the brain. (2) The Great Wall is nice, but a bit out of the way. Might be worth it, though. Good Szechuan dishes. Japanese: (1) Ichiban's in downtown Minneapolis is terrific. They have a Sushi Bar special you should take advantage of: they tally up the number of plates you grab, and charge you $1.00 per. (2) Fuji-Ya is good, though not quite up to Ichiban's. SE Asian: (1) Sri Lanka Curry House has three grades of hot food: medium, hot, and very hot. Advice: *don't* order the very hot even if you like really hot food. Though it wasn't too hot for me to eat (almost, though), I found that the hot overpowered any other flavors. (2) The Siam Cafe has some dishes that are as hot if not hotter than Sri Lanka's very hot, but in general, they have more flavor to them. Mid-Eastern: (1) The Java has two locations, one in downtown Minneapolis, one just outside of downtown. Small, inexpensive, and good. Worth checking out for a light meal. (2) The Caravanserai in St. Paul is terrific. Afghani cuisine, mostly. If you have a large group, the Afghani Feast is worth contemplating, though if I remember correctly, they need a day's advance notice for it. Be warned that they are closed on Monday's. This is one of my favorite places in the Cities. Mexican: (1) Garcia's on Highway 12 is moderately priced and has good food. (2) The Little Tijuana just outside of Downtown Minneapolis also has good food, and is fairly inexpensive. (3) There is a chain of Mexican-American fast-food places called Zanti- go's that's worth trying for lunch or a very light dinner. Cheap, like most fast-food places, but quite good. I always make sure I get to a Zantigo's. Expen$ive: (1) There is a place on St. Anthony Main called Prachna-on-Main. I've never been there, but upstairs is a steak house (I don't remember the name; I've only been there once, years ago) that had fairly good food, though it was a might too expensive to be truly worth it. If money is no object, you might want to give it a try. I've also heard good reports about Prachna-on-Main. I'll have to try it myself, sometime. (2) The Orion Room, at the top of the IDS building, is also, in my opin- ion, more expensive than it's worth, but again, if money is no object... They have a nice three or four piece string orchestra to entertain while you eat, and have impressive flambees. The bar isn't very expensive, though, and you can get a *very* nice view of the Cities (The IDS is the tallest building in the Cities). (3) Pronto's, in the Hyatt Hotel building has a must-try Sunday Brunch. Hope this is of help. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA