Eating near the Minneapolis campus

You might find the map of the East Bank campus (including Dinkytown and Stadium Village) helpful for locating some of these places.

On Campus

Nolte Cafeteria: Located under the Nolte Center on the U East Bank Campus. The Nolte serves coffee, sandwiches, bagels, and light cafeteria fare during the day. Cheap.
Coffman Union: Coffman is the student union for the Minnesota campus. There are several restaurants in the building, from the private Campus Club on the fourth floor to the student cafeterias in the basement. The Little Brown Jug in the basement has salads, subs, pizza and a grill open for lunch. Cheap.

Dinkytown

The origin of the name is obscure, but Dinkytown is the commercial area around 4th St and 14th Ave at the north side of the main campus. It is the home of many restaurants, student slums, laundromats, used book stores and a music store.

Fowl Play: At the corner of University and 13th, Fowl Play is a bar with reasonable sandwich fare. Summit beers (a local minibrewery) on tap. 1301 4th St.
Camh Di: Very cheap Vietnamese food in Dinkytown. Lunch specials for $3.95 all day.
Shuang Cheng: Full-service Chinese restaurant in Dinkytown. Excellent chef! Lunch specials for $3.75 as well as a huge selection of dinner dishes.
Bangkok: The Bangkok is a Thai restaurant in Dinkytown, a little off the beaten path- it's in the first floor of the huge apartment building. They have a very nice lunch buffet for fixed price, as well as a full-service menu.
Kwong Tuk: The Kwong Tuk is across the street from the Bangkok, and has recently changed owners. I haven't eaten there since the new people took over.
Burger King: Same as everywhere else.
Cafe Royale Coffee Shop: The Cafe Royale is a 24-hour hangout for those who want to play chess, drink cappucino, nibble scones, and read the paper. The people-watching can be superb.
Rocky Roccocco's Pizza: A large chain pizza place. The salad bar is usually pretty good. This place is much bigger than it looks, as the basement is all extra seating. 407 14th Ave.
Dinkydale Deli: Tucked away in the back of the Dinkydale Building is the Deli, a nice homey place with excellent sandwiches and soups. It's at the end of the corridor.
Vescio's: Vescio's is a sit down Italian restaurant on 14th in Dinkytown. It has the usual bill of fare for Midwestern Italian restaurants. 406 14th St.
Annie's Parlour: Annie's Parlour is a little tricky to find (up the stairs above where they're repairing the railroad bridge), but they make excellent burgers and shakes. If you order fries, be sure to just get a half-order, which is already more pleasure than most mortals can handle. 315 14th Ave.
Al's Breakfast: The funkiest diner in Minneapolis, and home to some of the greatest pancakes ever made, Al's is a very narrow storefront on 14th. They only do breakfast, and the people waiting are standing behind you, but it's a great place. Here's their website. 413 14th Ave.
Bon Appetit: Sandwiches, fruit drinks and veggie stuff for cheap.
Bruegger's Bagels: Bruegger's Bagels are made fresh daily in each store. They are the best bagels around, which won't thrill any New Yorkers, but not bad anyway. Very cheap!
Pizza Hut: Just like all the others but with Goldie Gopher, the local sports mascot.
Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck: A bar which also serves the foods of Buffalo, New York. Their wings are pretty good, if a bit mild. The beef on kummelweck is rather lacking- there's no rock salt on the bun, and the horseradish is feeble. No Gennesee Cream Ale either. 412 14th Ave.
McDonald's: Corner of 15th and University.
Subway: Tucked away behind McDonald's is a Subway sandwiches just like any other Subway.
Erbert and Gerbert's: A sub shop down 15th from the Dinky Dome. Pretty good sandwiches!

Dinky Dome

The Dinky Dome is on the corner of University and 15th. It was originally the library for a small Bible college, but is now the home of small lunch places.

Taco Bell: The finest tacos in the Dinky Dome!
Big Ten: Excellent Subs! A branch of the Big Ten in Stadium Village, this place has the yummiest sub sandwiches around.
Taste Of New York: Falafels, hummus, gyros, pizza, stromboli, and calzone. Soul food for expatriates from the Bronx.
Hong Kong Express: Steam-table fast Chinese food (not bad for steam table Chinese).
Espresso 22: Another nice coffeehouse, this one has a limited vegetarian lunch menu. Large quantities for little dough.

Stadium Village

This is the area around the Radisson hotel on Washington Ave.

Espresso Expose: A coffee shop across the street from the Radisson. Also makes blender drinks.
Big Ten: Directly across Washington from the Radisson is the original Big Ten. Famed far and wide for its magnificient submarines, the Big Ten also has great chili! Take out subs from the sub station next door. 606 Washington Ave.
Village Wok: The Village Wok has delicious Chinese food in a no-frills atmosphere. Lots of seafood specials, it's all good, and the price is right too. 610 Washington Ave.
Pizza Oven: Across Washington Ave from the Radisson, this place serves pizza by the slice. It looks good through the window, but I've never eaten there.
Sally's: Sally's is the local watering hole for thesis defence parties. They have a reasonable sandwich/fries menu for lunch and dinner, and you can sit outside and watch everybody go by. Summit beer is on tap. 712 Washington Ave.
Chau: For some strange reason the sign says "Cuu Long". Whatever they call it, the Chau has pretty good Vietnamese food, and some nice lunch specials. The special combination plate is my favorite. Full service dinner menu as well.
Bruegger's Bagels: Good bagels made on the premises. The fillings can get a bit pricey, but you can always buy naked bagels and some cream cheese a block down. Where else in the Midwest can you get some nice Nova lox on a crusty garlic bagel? 800 Washington Ave.
Lotus: A standard of the local restaurant scene, the Lotus always has great Vietnamese lunch fare. Winner of the "Best of the Twin Cities" competition more times than I can count. Get the Pork salad, the curried chicken, or the Imperial beef.
Stub and Herbs: Another bar with some food service. Stub and Herbs goes after the sport set, but without being annoying. It's kind of like the bar in "Cheers".
Big Mike Subs: Mostly takeout subs from small storefront. I like Big Mikes subs- they know about things like cappocolo and Genoa salami. Usually made cold, unlike the ones at the Big Ten.
Bona: Another Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant. The decor is a step up from the Camh Di or the Village Wok. Lunch specials. 802 Washington Ave.
Dunn Bros Coffee: Part of a local chain of tony coffee shops. Not as funky as the Cafe Royale or the Espresso 22, but closer to the Radisson.
Subway: Just like any other Subway!
Arbys: Way down at the end of Washington Ave is an Arby's. It's just like any other Arby's, and you can see the big neon hat from the Radisson.
Peking Garden: A full service, sit-down Chinese restaurant. The food is very good. It's a nice place to go with a group for dinner. 2324 University Ave.

West Bank

Over the river from the Radisson, on the other side of the campus, is the West Bank area. There are lots of bars in the West Bank, there are at least theatres, there are many restaurants, and its just across the Washington Ave Bridge. The bridge has a completely pedestrian upper deck, and it's a beautiful walk on a summer night.

Hard Times Cafe: An (almost) 24-hour coffeeshop. They do serve food, but the real sport is in people-watching.
Kwang Pok: A new Vietnamese/Chinese/Malaysian restaurant. The food is good, and the prices are reasonable.
Chili Time: The Chili Time does serve chili and hamburgers and spaghetti. The real specialty, however, is in their East African menu. You get a platter sized piece of budeena, which is rather like a pancake. On it are veggies and sauces, which you scoop up with little pieces of budeena, and eat with your fingers. It's to die for...
Korea House: The Korea House has some of the best food, and the worst atmosphere, in the whole state. The bulgogi is delicious, the kim chee is delightfully hot, and the service is charming. The building could use a little work.
The Wienery: The Wienery makes Chicago-style hot dogs for those desperate for a taste of the mother land. My office-mate is from Chicago, and he says they use the wrong relish. So skip the relish.
Odaa: The Odaa is the grand-daddy of the Minneapolis East African restaurants. The food is great, with spicy hot balanced by yogurt cool. You eat it with your fingers like at the Chili Time above. Try the Devonshire cream with mango sauce for dessert.
The New Riverside Cafe: The Riv is the kind of place where tie-dye was in, and then it was in, and now it's still in. You can get large quantities of vegetarian burritos and other delights, or you can just have some of their fabulous desserts. 329 Cedar Ave.
Perfume River: The Perfume River is another Vietnamese restaurant on the West Bank. I have eaten there, but don't remember much special about it.
The Red Sea: The Red Sea is an Eritrean restaraunt. Eritrean food is very similar to Ethiopian- see the Chili Time above. They have reggae music at night.

Seven Corners

Over the highway bridge from the West Bank is an area known as Seven Corners because it has 7 corners. And three theatres, three bars, four restaraunts, a coffee shop, and the Radisson Metrodome.

Cafe Havana: A Cuban cafe in Minnesota? Yah sure, you betcha. I haven't eaten here, but I hear good things about it. The menu looks tasty and tropical- and you can eat outdoors if its nice.
Sgt. Prestons: Sgt. Prestons is basically a bar with an "up-North" theme. They do make nice sandwiches too. 221 Cedar Ave.
Taste of India: The Taste of India is an Indian in the Seven Corners area. I've never been there, but my office-mate says it's good.
Grandma's: Grandma's is actually a good place to eat- the food is a couple notches above the basic chain restaraunt stuff. 1810 Washington Ave.

Live Music In Walking Distance

The U of M has an enrollment of 40,000+. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of live-music venues in the area. These are all on Cedar Ave, West Bank.

The Cabooze: A blues club on the West Bank. Follow Cedar Ave south until it turns, but you go straight, and there you are. The Cabooze books mostly blues acts, some national caliber, mostly local. It's big, it's dark, it's smoky, and it's really loud. Covers run $5-$10.
Whiskey Junction: The Cabooze's little brother, where there's never a cover and there's live music every night. The Whiskey tends toward local blues and rhythm and blues acts. "The worlds' finest non-threatening biker bar."
Five Corners: On Cedar Ave in the West Bank. They have a lot of live music, but I've never gone inside. The bands sound good from outside.
Palmers: Palmers is another West Bank bar on Cedar Ave. I've never been in here either.
Cedar Cultural Center: The Cedar does have a liquor licence, but they are much more than a bar. Inside, it's an old movie theatre, which has been converted into a non-profit showcase for some of the greatest shows in town. I've seen Brazilian chanteuses, amazing jugglers, and the Austin Lounge Lizards at the Cedar. The schedule tends toward the folky, but it's all good. Try the City Pages Events listings to see what's cooking.
The Four Hundred Bar: Playing the 400 bar is a right of passage for Minneapolis garage bands, and watching people play there can be quite an experience. The bands have weird names like "Dumpster Juice" or "Johns Black Dirt", but they all have SOMETHING TO SAY, and the crowd loves to hear it. Go there to relive your tormented youth.
The Viking Bar: There is a lot of good blues in this town, and the Viking is its sacred city. It's basically a dive, but if you like the blues and don't mind sitting next to somebody who lives the blues, it's a great place.

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Last Updated: 15 August 1996