Recommendations
CSCW Magazine-Style Local Guide as PDF
Two Twin Cities faculty (Lana Yarosh and Abby Marsh) and two graduate students (Leah Ajmani and Logan Stapleton) have come up with this guide to the Twin Cities for your convenience. We focus on locations close to the conference center but also offer some of our favorites that are worth a longer trip out.
Getting Around the Twin Cities and Downtown:
- Light Rail & Buses. There is a light rail connecting Minneapolis, St. Paul, and many locations of interest, including the airport (which is on the blue line). The closest stop to the conference location is the Nicolette Mall stop (both green and blue lines stop there). The hotel is a 12-minute walk from the light rail. Additionally, there is a free shuttle running along Nicolette that can take you to the conference hotel. There is also an active bus network, supporting travel basically anywhere in the Twin Cities.
- Skyways (Walking). Skyways connect many downtown Minneapolis buildings on the 2nd floor (including the conference hotel), allowing you to traverse most of downtown without going outside. Skyways are open a bit past regular working hours on weekdays. They can be a bit difficult to navigate, but with a handy map, they are a great resource.
- Biking & Walking. Minneapolis is a very bikeable and walkable city. You are allowed to take a bicycle on a bus or light rail, really expanding access to the cities. Some other useful resources are bike sharing and self-guided walking tours
- Ride-to-Order (Uber, Lyft, Taxi). Like all big cities, the Twin Cities has many options to order a direct car ride via an app. This can be a quick way to get to locations that are further from the light rail stops.
- Metro Mobility. The Twin Cities offers an accessible door-to-door transportation service available to those with accessibility needs. In order to access Metro Mobility, visitors must have disabilities or health conditions that sometimes prevent them from accessing regular-route buses and trains. People who are visiting from outside the Metro Mobility Service area can ride as temporary visitors for up to 21 days a year.
A Note about Weather. October is a weird time in Minneapolis. No one knows if there’s going to be a snowstorm or a mid-fall heat wave. With that in mind, our recommendations are mostly weather agnostic. Bring layers!
Hyper-Local (< 1 mile from Convention Center)
Restaurants
The Nicollet Diner | 1333 Nicollet Mall | .3 miles
Classic diner vibes with a full bar and open 24 hrs, 365 days a year!
Brit’s Pub | 1110 Nicollet Mall | .3 miles
English pub with great domestic and international beer selection. Set up for all weather conditions with a cozy fireplace and outdoor lawn bowling!
The Local | 931 Nicollet Mall | .4 miles
Minnesotan classics with a great vegetarian Juicy Lucy. Rentable rooms for small and large private group events (e.g., lab reunions).
barrio | 925 Nicollet Mall | .4 miles
Tequila flights and giant burritos. Need we say more?
Hen House Eatery | 114 S 8th St | .5 miles
Quirky homestyle brunch fare with locally sourced coffee and plenty of seating. Great for kids!
The Butcher’s Tale | 1121 Hennepin Ave | .6 miles
Woodsy steakhouse that will make you feel like you’re in Nick Offerman’s dining room. Rentable private speakeasy for small groups (30-40 people).
Cafe & Bar Lurcat | 1624 Harmon Pl | .7 miles
Vogue American eatery right next to the beautiful Loring Park.
Gai Noi | 1610 Harmon Pl | .7 miles
Chef Ann’s newest restaurant that celebrates Loation cuisine with the decor of a plant oasis.
Quick Bites
Sushi Train | 1200 Nicollet Avenue | .3 miles
Quick conveyor belt sushi that’s fun for adults and kids alike!
Dancing Ganesha | 1100 Harmon Pl | .5 miles
Classic north Indian menu with a killer lunch buffet.
Hell’s Kitchen Inc. | 80 S 9th St, Minneapolis, MN 55402 | .5 miles
Not run by Gordon Ramsay but still delicious! Hefty portions of comfort classics.
Food Trucks @ Capella Tower | Capella Tower | .7 miles
Lunch staple for the worker bees of downtown Minneapolis.
Cardigan Donuts | 40 South 7th Street | .7 miles
Super Instagrammy artisan donut shop with coffee and yogurt bowls. Decent taste. They deliver.
Five Guys | 555 Nicollet Mall | .7 miles
Reliable fast food. Surprisingly good breakfast sandwich!
Boludo Pizza | 530 South 4th Street | .9 miles
Serves a unique Argentinian style pizza, empanadas, and mountainous caesar salads!
Bevy & Chat or Work
Lakes & Legends Brewing Co. | 1368 La Salle Avenue | .3 miles
Tuesday night trivia & Wednesday night bingo with arcade machines and local craft brews
Boiler Room Coffee | 1830 3rd Avenue South | .5 miles
Basement den or underground hipster coffee shop? You decide!
Spyhouse Coffee | 215 South 4th Street | .9 miles
Beautiful open lounge and coworking space with seasonal lattes and killer fast WiFi
Farther but Still Walkable (< 2 miles)
Sanjusan | 33 N 1st Ave | 1.2 miles
Japanese-Italian fusion with flavor bombs like their preserved lemon pizza and miso-pesto pasta.
Billy Sushi | 116 N 1st Ave| 1.2 miles
Best sushi in all of Minneapolis with melt in your mouth tuna.
Spoon & Stable | 211 N 1st St | 1.3 miles
Upscale restaurant serving fantastic American staples. Go for brunch to order fresh pastries a la carte for a first course.
Alma Cafe | 528 University Ave SE | 1.9 miles
Slightly pricey for a cafe, but best croissants in the Twin Cities (besides Marc Heu)! Great coffee. Great breakfast sandwiches and quick-ish lunch food. Farro salad and crispy smashed potatoes fried in duck fat are stellar!
Culture & Community
Owamni |
This place is very special. Minnesota is native land — specifically Dakota and Anishinaabe — historically and until today. Owamni is one of the only full-service indigenous restaurants in the U.S. They use only pre-colonial ingredients, especially wild game, wild rice, and corn. They prioritize indigenous farmers and truckers for sourcing. The restaurant is on land that was once a sacred site for indigenous people. During early colonization, the U.S. ACoE demolished the falls and built a dam to power the flour mills. Owamni now overlooks the city’s early industrial ruins. Mid-October is a perfect time to visit. If you can’t get a table, there’s a street-level patio with a little brewery and a taco truck, Tatanka Truck.
Hmong Village is an indoor mall at the center of the community with restaurants, a grocery market, bubble tea, clothes, Anime plushies, hair salons, tax prep, etc. The neighborhood is home to the largest Hmong community outside of Asia. Minnesota has had an interesting immigrant and refugee resettlement history in the last 50 years. Hmong Village holds an important space in this ongoing history. For 2-3 people try a papaya salad from Mai’s Papaya, two Hmong sausages, and a medium purple sticky rice from Lucki’s. Weather permitting, you can bring your food to the park by Lake Phalen for a picnic with some friends.
This is the only brick-and-mortar bookstore for Milkweed Editions publishing house. Known for publishing works such as Braiding Sweetgrass, The Last Language, and Conversations with Birds, Milkweed Editions raises voices that are often pushed out of literary cannons and further into the margins of knowledge. Just as the common milkweed plant is the site of metamorphosis for monarch butterflies, Milkweed Editions seeks to be a site of metamorphosis in the literary ecosystem.
Activities
🎠 Family Friendly 🎠
Mill City Museum | 704 S 2nd St | 1.5 miles
An interactive museum highlighting the unique history of Minneapolis. Go to the top floor for the best views of the Mississippi River and definitely hop on the Flour Tower for an immersive experience
Peavey Park Playground | 730 East 22nd Street | 1.3 miles
Minneapolis’s newest playground with unique features like a zip line and covered picnic tables.
North Loop Playground | 402 W River Pkwy | 1.6 miles
A classic playground overlooking the Mississippi River. Grab pizza from Pryes Brewing nearby for a great picnic!
☀️ Sunny Day ☀️
Aster Cafe Patio | 125 Southeast Main Street | 1.9 miles
A European-style patio for people watching on the prettiest street in Minneapolis.
Mpls Water Taxi Co. | Boom Island Park | 2.2 miles
Cruise downstream to the Upper Lock and feel the energy and power of St. Anthony Falls or venture upstream to the Lowry Ave Bridge. Returning downstream you will see an incredible seldom seen view of the city from the river!
🌧 Rainy Day 🌧
Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) | 2400 3rd Avenue South | 1 mile
A classic art museum showcasing both global and local artists.
Puttery | 240 Hennepin Avenue | 1 mile
Indoor mini golf course with full bar and food menu.
Organizer Picks
Lana’s Absolute Fave Spots
- Al’s Breakfast – an absolute Minneapolis institution and the narrowest restaurant in the US – only seats 13. Best blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had. Come alone or with a small group and prepare to wait, but totally worth it.
- CanCan Wonderland – a canning factory converted to an incredible indoor space for play! Artist-designed mini golf, a wall of beer on tap, and an incredible collection of vintage and modern arcade games which are free to play with admission to the space.
- Como Park Zoo & Conservatory (and Carousel!) – a cute little free city zoo for nice weather and a conservatory that can be a nice activity on a cold or rainy day. Great day of activity with family!
Abby’s Saint Paul Restaurant Recs
- Hyacinth (9mi/~15 min drive): Amazing Italian-inspired casual restaurant, friendly staff and rotating menu of seasonal dishes. Order as many appetizers as sound delicious, and stay for dessert!
- Juche (13mi/~20 min drive): Wonderful Korean-inspired food in a casual setting with limited seating and friendly staff. Don’t shy away from ordering fusion dishes! The dwaegi bindaetteok and mapo tofu fries are personal favorites.
- Myriel (8mi/~15 min drive): Upscale (but you can still wear denim) restaurant with both fixed-price and a la carte menus highlighting locally-sourced ingredients. If you go for the fixed-price menu, the chef will come out and explain where each of your courses was farmed or foraged!
Logan’s Favorite Recommendations
- Owamni — This place is very special. Minnesota is native land — specifically Dakota and Anishinaabe — historically and until today. Owamni is one of the only full-service indigenous restaurants in the U.S., made and run by Dakota and Anishinaabe people. The food is delicious. They use only pre-colonial ingredients, especially wild game, wild rice, and corn. They prioritize indigenous farmers and truckers for sourcing. The restaurant has created a beautiful space on the edge of the only natural waterfalls on the Mississippi River. It’s a sacred site that used to be a village and a point of trading and confluence between Dakota and Anishinaabe people. During early colonization, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers demolished the falls and built a dam to power the flour mills that birthed Minneapolis. Owamni now overlooks the river, the falls, the dam, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the city’s early industrial ruins. Mid-October is a perfect time to visit: The leaves are changing over the river, the geese are migrating, and it’s fall harvest season, so the corn, manoomin/wild rice, and sweet potatoes are going to be especially tasty! I used to live just across the river from Owamni; I’d come for lunch or early dinner on the patio often. It’s hard to reserve a table for dinner. But, the patio and the bar are walk-in only, so there’s almost always room, and their lunch menu is almost the same as the dinner menu. Call ahead to see if the patio is open that day (weather permitting). And bring a sweater! If the patio is closed, there’s a street-level patio with a little brewery and a taco truck, Tatanka Truck.
- Hmong Village – 1001 Johnson Parkway, St. Paul — Hmong Village is an indoor mall at the center of the community with Hmong restaurants, a grocery market, bubble tea, clothes, Anime plushies, hair salons, tax prep, etc. I grew up in the neighborhood. It’s a mostly Hmong neighborhood, home to the largest Hmong community outside of Asia. Minnesota has an interesting history of immigrant and refugee resettlement in the last 50ish years: The Twin Cities are home to some of the largest communities of Somali, Hmong, Oromo, Laotian, and Karen people in the US. Hmong Village holds an important space in this ongoing history. Indoor malls are also very Minnesotan — they’re a refuge from the winter, we have the first indoor mall ever, and we have the Mall of the America! My go-to order for 2-3 people is papaya salad from Mai’s Papaya, two Hmong sausages and a medium purple sticky rice from Lucki’s, and any fruit that’s in season at the market (usually mango slices with chili salt). Literally my favorite thing in the world is to bike to Hmong Village, get food, then have a picnic in the park by Lake Phalen with some friends.
- Mississippi River Bike Trail — Lakes and rivers are very important here. Minnesota is home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which splits Minneapolis and St. Paul down the middle. Minneapolis is also one of the best biking cities in the US. We have a lot of separated bike trails, like the Midtown Greenway or the . The Mississippi River Trail is one of the longest. If any of the bikeshares are still out for the season, you can rent them for cheap. You can usually find bikes or scooters around the Stone Arch Bridge, right next to Owamni. From there, you can bike down the west side of the river to Minnehaha Falls (about 5 miles), where you can grab lunch or dinner at Sea Salt. If you want to go longer, you can connect from there to the Minnehaha Trail running along Minnehaha Creek to Lake Hiawatha and Lake Nokomis. It’s a really lovely ride in the fall.
Leah’s Favorite Recommendations
- Farmers Kitchen & Bar – Restaurant run by the Minnesota Farmers Union with silky lattes and perfectly tart/sweet blueberry muffins. Ask about their taste-tested dog treats
- Axebridge Wine – Tours and guided tastings that are the perfect mix of fun and educational. The staff is extremely nice and make you feel like you’re in your own personal winery.
- Minneapolis Bouldering Project – Want a classic Minnesotan experience? Come bouldering at MBP, take a yoga class, or simply enjoy their saunas. If you’re new to bouldering, reach out to Leah! She’ll teach you the basics!