JNUC 2014 Restaurants

[andyinindy]

Stumbled across this list of the 38 best Minneapolis restaurants:

http://minneapolis.eater.com/maps/the-38-essential-minneapolis-restaurants-october-14

I figured I'd share for those of you who get to expense meals :)

Cheers, see you in MN!

--Andy

[CasperSally]

This was one of my favorite meals last year, I uber'd from aloft down I think

http://smack-shack.com/

[franton]

I'm interested in anything nearby to the Guthrie Centre and cheap! I'm funding my trip out of my own pocket.

[stevewood]

Well, lunch is part of the JNUC the three days you're there, so you only have to worry about breakfast (I can't remember if they have danishes or not at JNUC) and dinner. For dinner Tuesday you could go to the Macbrained.org meet-up:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/macbrained-community-meet-up-presented-by-robotcloud-jigsaw24-and-oomni...

And then for Wednesday you have the JAMF Nation Party:

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/jnucEvent.html?eventId=72

So that just leaves the other times that you are there. I can tell you that there are some decent places to eat close to the Guthrie where you can get a meal for $10 or less.

[emily]

If anyone has tips for vegan eats in/around the area I'm all ears…

[TomDay]

Biggest issue I found was finding a good breakfast, hoping to find somewhere for this year close to Guthrie/Aloft. Like @stevewood said Jamf provided a decent lunch each day, but I don't remember anything for breakfast. As for the JNUC party there were very light hors d"overs last year so I'd plan on grabbing dinner in advance or after.

[lashomb]

@emilykausalik Pizza Lucé has Vegan options, and has good food and beer. The closest location is about a mile away, 119 North 4th Street.

[franton]

I should have remembered from the training courses about the food. Good news is I'm going to both events that Steve mentioned earlier!

For reasons of economy I'm not staying in any of the usual hotels. I believe I'm on my own for breakfasts.

[lashomb]

@stevewood For breakfast I'd recommend hitting the skyway somewhere, I'm a fan of Allie's deli, again about a mile away. It's a family owned place. If I meet up with you guys again I'll show you the way. http://alliesdeliandcatering.com

[stevewood]

@lashomb I'm staying up at the aLoft this year, so that might be a bit of a walk for breakfast to go down there and then back. But, I'm staying at the Hilton real close to there over the weekend with my wife, so maybe Monday morning we'll run by there. Thanks for the recommendation.

[emily]

It looks like there's a Whole Foods within walking distance, they usually have a hot bar with goodies and pizza by the slice.

[lashomb]

@stevewood][/url Nice, the Hilton is next to where I work. You have a lot of good choices on that end of the city.

If you're heading over from the Hilton on Monday, you'll find another good place in the skyway, Dave's Downtown. It's right across from a Caribou Coffee. Very similar to Allies.

If you want a really good breakfast spot on the weekend, go to Hell's Kitchen, their brunch is amazing. http://www.hellskitcheninc.com/HK/weekend-brunch/

[emily]

Looks like there is a Thai restaurant a few blocks south, has decent reviews.

I may go through a create public map on Google with the Guthrie Theater pinned as well as some food and attractions (comic book shop nearby, heck yeah). Would anyone be interested in that?

[andyinindy]

Would anyone be interested in that?

@emilykausalik, yes, this would be great! As someone that is terminally uncool (and eats poorly), I trust your recommendations :)

[franton]

Let's invade! Count me in as part of the UK contingent!

[spotter]

I'm staying at the aLoft this year and was wondering if they have complimentary breakfast? Does anyone know that has stayed there in the past?

Their website states... Re:fuel grab-n-go gourmet eatery and XYZ bar...

[LarryH]

@stevewood @Potter I stayed at the ALOFT two years ago, and I'm staying there again this year. they had breakfast sandwiches, but nothing complimentary.

[mpermann]

@emilykausalik, I ate at Kindee Thai for lunch last year. The food was good, but I didn't eat vegan. I'm not sure if they have vegan options, but it's super close to the Guthrie Theater. I even spotted Zach Halmstad eating lunch there.

[mm2270]

No complimentary breakfast at the Aloft. You have to buy it and as mentioned they are typically breakfast sandwiches and things like cereal packs, fruit, etc.

It's one of the reasons I'm not so crazy about the Aloft personally. I like a good breakfast before I start a busy day and they don't offer much unfortunately.
If you're cool with heading out to a breakfast place early instead, then there should be several options for you to do that.

[spotter]

Thanks @mm2270 and @Larry.Hunt for the info.. @emilykausalik mention something about a WholeFoods close so I maybe checking that out then...

[emily]

Okay, here is a Google Map for the JNUC:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zOOGEAaSMcMM.kSly9hPPtyYM

Anyone that clicks that link should be able to edit. Please try not to delete anything; simply add entries to places you'd like to share with folks.

I tried to color-code the pins:
- the star is for the Guthrie Theater
- purple are restaurants
- green are grocers
- orange are stores/bookshops/etc.
- red for mini-event locations (if it falls into one of the above categories, it will default to red for the mini-event)

I'll try to keep adding stuff that looks interesting.

[emily]

It's worth mentioning services like GrubHub and Eat24. Since it looks like a University is nearby I wouldn't be surprised if there are food delivery services. There may also be grocery delivery in the area.

[andyinindy]

Awesome work, @emilykausalik!

I added a couple of bars and made them yellow diamonds; @donmontalvo, maybe you could add the ones from your vcf file to this map?

[spotter]

this is awesome and helpful... BIG THANKS @emilykausalik

[emily]

Happy to help!

I added a few other things:
- Hotels are circles and light blue
- Mini-events are red squares
- Vegan-friendly stuff (I'm probably one of a small few that needs that info) is in light green… I got a few leads on veg*n friendly places on Twitter

[dgreening]

I hope the bars can mix decent cocktails (as beer isn't my thing)!

[donmontalvo]

@andyinindy Happy to remove the VCF, the Google Map is soooo much nicer. :D

[lashomb]

@mm2270 In the future, the other side of town offers alot more in terms of breakfast options. I work right across from the W, which is in the Foshay now, there is a cafe on the ground level called Keys which has good breakfast. The hotel also always have cars out front on Marquette ready for shuttling people around, always nice makes like Acura, Lincoln, etc. Usually 4-5 available most days I walk by.

[donmontalvo]

@andyinindy wrote:

@donmontalvo, maybe you could add the ones from your vcf file to this map?

I'm not an expert at Google Maps, but I won't be offended if someone took the lead on this...then I can remove the VCF thread. :)

[andyinindy]

@donmontalvo, got it updated. Let the bar hopping begin!

[donmontalvo]

Awesome, I removed the VCF link and replaced it with a link to this thread!

[jhbush]

@emilykausalik as far as vegan eats go I believe sofritas has gone nationwide at Chipotle. There are two of those close by. I'm a vegan as well so any places you find are most welcome.

[emily]

@jhbush1973 Oh nice! I forgot about the sofritas because I'm a Qdoba gal. I am interested in trying it, though…

[Anonymous]

@emilykausalik and @jhbush1973

Here's a map from the awesome site VegGuide:

http://www.vegguide.org/region/13/map

If you look at this, you'll notice there are a ton of vegan options in the area and just across the river. You can zoom in on the Guthrie and locate items near the venue, or think about the whole area as an option. I believe the site was developed by a guy when he lived here, and he was very ambitious in the volume of restaurants he reviewed. He also has pretty good taste, and his reviews are pretty fair and strict. Look for reviews by user Conde.Kedar and you'll notice he's been almost everywhere vegan in the Twin Cities.

To confirm, the following restaurants named in this post are indeed vegan-friendly:

Pizza Luce: many vegan options, also late-night delivery from numerous locations. Pretty close to First Avenue, lots of room for a pre or post-party meetup.
Whole Foods: decent, but not great salad and hot bar. Obviously they will have any supplies you need and it is within a brisk walking distance.
Kindee: a few vegan-friendly options including Pad Thai and a banana-chocolate pastry desert.

Modern Times is on your map and is pretty good. I have not been to the Birchwood Cafe in many years, but they have not had the greatest vegan-friendly options, in my experience. They always show up on listings as vegan-friendly, but are much more lacto-ovo vegetarian oriented in my opinion.

Other options that have not yet been named:

Spoonriver: across the street from the Guthrie, vegan options and quick takeaway.
Triple Rock Social Club: dive bar with tons of vegan options.
The Depot: next to First Avenue, has a falafel burger that can be made vegan. I've never had it.
Ginger Hop: asian fusion, across the river from the Guthrie.
Sen Yai Sen Lek: great Pad Thai - much better than Kindee - but not within walking distance.
Punch Pizza: really good neapolitan pizza with vegan options if you hold the cheese.
Jasmine 26: not near the Guthrie, but worth checking out if you have a car. On Eat Street in South Minneapolis.
Seward Cafe: also not near the Guthrie, but it is a great collectively-run breakfast spot.

Also, http://bitesquad.com delivers from many of these restaurants.

I'll stop there. If you're looking for any style in particular, feel free to ask and I'll see if I can come up with a vegan-friendly recommendation. Also, it would help if you could specify whether you have a car or are on foot/public transportation.

[emily]

Dang, I kind of forgot about Triple Rock. I actually know the owners… need to hit up those kind folks when I'm in town! Thanks, @bill!

[RobertHammen]

I'll second Keys at the Foshay, and Hell's Kitchen as being terrific breakfast spots, and Kindee Thai as being a good quick lunch spot if you don't want to fight the JNUC crowds.

[Anonymous]

@emilykausalik Yep, they're awesome. The Triple Rock is within walking distance (maybe 3/4 mile) of the Guthrie - or a quick cab ride - so that's a great option.

[Chris_Hafner]

I think I'm just going to follow the crowds... then take a left at the last second ;-)

[Stubakka]

Great info guys. Thanks.