A Perfect 24 Hours in Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Greetings Internet Stranger and welcome to 24 hours in Minneapolis. Promising to help you spend a perfect 24 hours in Minneapolis almost seems redundant. Of course you’re going to have a perfect 24 hours in Minneapolis! It’s one of the cutest little cities in the whole world!

Even if you did nothing all day but wander around listening to Prince tunes and meeting friendly locals, you’d still have an amazing time. But with just a little bit of help, I can get you to maximize your limited time. We’ll meet the Mayor of Minneapolis, the Mill City Beast, and possibly Joni Mitchell. Uff dah!

24 Hours in Minneapolis

Where to Stay?

What kind of hotel would you like for your stay in Minneapolis? Would you choose something in a convenient location? Want a place with a friendly staff that will help you get to the airport? Need a large and yet cozy room complete with an ice machine so you can depuff your eyes with fresh cubes every morning? Then The Residence Inn in the Downtown/City Center is for you!

If you want a great deal on this hotel, just click here.

And if you’d rather explore great deals on other hotels in Minneapolis, click here! This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay during your 24 hours in Minneapolis. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

24 Hours in Minneapolis

Morning: Historic Northeast Minneapolis

I’ve got the perfect way to kick off our 24 hours in Minneapolis: with some famous Minnesota food! When I ask you to picture a group of Minnesotans, you probably conjure up a group of tall, blond, Nordic types with almost-Canadian accents, eh? But Minneapolis is home to a wide variety of ethnic communities. And that means it’s home to a wide variety of delicious foods!

If you want to get to know Northeast Minneapolis, the Mississippi River, and the mills, you have two options. First, you should book this excellent tour, so you can get to know this fantastic area with an actual, knowledgeable local guide.

You can book this tour easily for yourself by clicking here.

Then you can get snacky with some of my favorite…

approximately top 5: 24 hours in Minneapolis food edition

1) Kramarczuk’s

And we’re off on our international food tour of Minneapolis! Our first stop: Minne-Ukraine. Kramarczuk’s Deli was founded by Ukrainian immigrants back in the 1940s. They still make all their sausage and piroshky by scratch. One reason I like taking food tours is that you get more bang for your buck.

I suggest getting some of the delicious piroshy and sausage. Sometimes Eastern European food can be heavy, but all the food at Kramarczuk’s was as light as the shade of yellow on the Ukrainian flag.

2) Punch Pizza

OK, now we’re at the real Italian stop on my little tour: Punch Pizza. The owner spent time in Italy growing up. When he was an adult, he was able to realize his dream of opening up his own authentic Neapolitan pizza shop. (They fly in real buffalo mozzarella from Italy every week.)

Speaking as someone from NYC, I have to say this was some of the best pizza I have had. You could really taste the attention to detail, down to the authentically slightly burned crust. I suggest getting one piece of eggplant and one of margherita pizza. Delicious!

3) Lunds & Byerlys

For me, this was the most exciting food stop you could possibly have in Minneapolis. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t have a history with the Twin Cities just how wonderful Byerlys is. (It’s now called Lunds and Byerlys after a merger, but when I was a kid, Byerlys stood alone.)

My grandparents lived an hour outside Minneapolis, and I used to go to Minnesota every year for summer camp. The one treat I insisted on was being taken to Byerlys for Sample Day. On weekends, they would have chefs out all over the store preparing samples of everything from sausage to cookies for shoppers to try. It was like Disney World for a food-obsessed kid.

When I stopped at Byerlys, our samples were all of local cheeses. Of course, most of them were from Minnesota’s cheese-tastic neighbor, Wisconsin. The cheesemonger here was the friendliest man I have ever met in my life. He basically made Santa Claus look like a serial killer.

These tastings proved that it’s a lie when people say Americans don’t know how to make good cheeses. We do, damn it! We just CHOOSE not to eat the good stuff.

4) Gorkha Palace

Up next: the Southeast Asian community. Gorkha Palace specializes in Indian, Tibetan, and Nepali food. The food is all made to order, so we had a little time to sit and relax on a rainy Minnesota day.

From the Indian menu, we had fried vegetable pakoras, and from the Tibetan menu we had momos. I was confused at first because I speak some Japanese and in Japanese momo means peach. But Tibetan momos are just joyful dumplings, generally filled with a mix of vegetables.

Both the pakora and the momo prove that if you take dough, fill it with fresh veggies, and then mix in some yummy seasonings, you get something delicious. I bet every country in the world has some sort of dough pocket. Like in the US, we have the Very Artisanal Hot Pocket.

5) Gardens of Salonica

Our final stop on the International tour of Minneapolis: Minne-Greece! This time we went to the Gardens of Salonica, a Greek, family run restaurant. This restaurant specializes in a little-known Greek pastry called bougatsa. It’s a puffed pastry dessert usually stuffed with custard. (I know there are savory bougatsas too. Do not email me to tell me about the savory bougatsa, Internet Stranger!)

We had two bougatsii: one with a more traditional lemon custard and the house specialty, a nontraditional chocolate bougatsa. But I guess on a day when I ate bacon fluffernutter ice cream, I can’t complain about non-trad bougatsa. We also had some delicious, not-too-syrupy baklava.

Fun fact: it’s actually against the law for a Greek restaurant to refuse to serve you baklava at the end of the meal.

24 Hour Tip: Mill City Farmers Market

I know I was offering you a whole bunch of food on this itinerary, but I have one more suggestion. If it’s a Saturday, why not head over to the Mill City Farmers Market. It runs year round, although it’s indoors in the colder months, and any one who’s anyone in the Twin Cities will be there.

Don’t believe me? Well, once I went shopping here for some heirloom tomatoes with a friend of mine who was going to the University of Minneapolis. We began chatting with a handsome older gentleman and his wife.

When I mentioned I was visiting from New York City, the gentleman stuck out his hand and said, “Nice to meet you! I’m the Mayor of Minneapolis!” Of course, my first reaction was that he was a lunatic and maybe if I’d caught him on a different day he would have told me he was Napoleon.

But the look on my friend Tori’s face quickly told me that he was for reals, the MoM (Mayor of Minneapolis). If this doesn’t prove that Minneapolis is the friendliest city in the United States, I don’t know what will.

I’ve lived in New York City all my life, and the only time I’ve ever encountered the mayor was when I was attending a musical starring Christopher Walken based on James Joyce’s short story The Dead and Mayor Giuliani was in the audience with his mistress. However, he didn’t say hello to me, so I don’t think that counts.

24 Hours in Minneapolis

Afternoon: Mill City Museum

Minneapolis may be the largest city in Minnesota, but it is not the capital. That honor belongs to Minneapolis’s conjoined twin city, St. Paul. So if you’re looking for the Minnesota History Museum, St. Paul would be the better bet. (This also holds true if you’re looking for statues of Herb Ritts, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the characters from Peanuts.)

But if you’re looking for museums dedicated to mills, milling, and all things Pillsbury, head straight for the Mill City Museum. Minneapolis used to be the milling capital of the world, and the museum is located inside an old flour mill. If you think flour mills can’t be fascinating, you’re wrong. Dead wrong. Allow me to prove it to you with…

three fun facts: mill city museum

1) Who’s The Man with the Mill?

Allow me to introduce you to the man with the greatest name in history: Cadwallader Washburn. If I ever have a son, I’m definitely naming him Cadwallader. That way he’ll never have another person with his name in the same class.

Cadwallader Washburn, along with a dude with a way worse name, created the Washburn-Crosby Company. Their big brand was Gold Medal Flour. In the 1920s, the Washburn-Crosby Company merged with some other carb-based ventures to create a little outlet you may have heard of: General Mills.

Now every time I see the General Mills logo, I will think of the name Cadwallader. In fact, I think they should change the name of the company to Cadwallader Mills. Who’s with me?

2) Can flour kill?

Working in a flour mill seems a lot less dangerous than other 19th century factory jobs. But flour…can be deadly. Back in 1878, there was an explosion at the Washburn A Mill because a spark set some flour dust on fire. 18 people were killed.

I don’t like this story because now on top of all the other things I need to worry about, apparently flour dust can kill me. Why hasn’t Dateline done a special on that? (“Harmless flour dust or vicious kitchen killer? You decide!”)

Anyway, back to Cadwallader. After the explosion, Cadwallader Washburn went to work installing flour dust collectors. This way the flour dust could not kill again. Well, always count on a man named Cadwallader to fix a problem, as my grandmother used to say.

3) Um, what is this?

General Mills wasn’t the only major flour company that operated out of Minneapolis. Pillsbury also had a major presence here. Of course General Mills and Pillsbury merged back in 2001 because the world is just going to be ruled by one giant omni-competent corporation one day.

Nowadays, there are no operational mills on the riverfront in Minneapolis. (Pillsbury was the last to leave.) But you can still explore the ruins of the Mill.

As you can see, the ruins look like a desolated city that has since been overrun by wild beasts. I highly recommend exploring here and pretending to be on a hunt for the Mill City Beast. It’s especially fun to whisper aloud comments like, “We believe the beast may be arachnid in nature,” and frighten the other tourists.

24 Hour Tip

For those who are looking for something more interactive, get a ticket to the Flour Tower. This show takes place in a giant elevator and shows you scenes from the mill’s past. Just make sure to buy a timed ticket. You might even one to pick one up in the morning before the food tour starts.

There’s also a short film called Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat about the city’s history. You’ll learn how St. Anthony Falls, which is definitely not actually a waterfall, got its name. You’ll also hear a lot of jokes about Lutherans, if that’s your jam. (And if you’re spending even 24 hours in Minneapolis, try to make it your jam.)

24 Hours in Minneapolis

Evening: Dinner at Young Joni

How do you feel about restaurants that have won crazy amounts of awards? Do you feel pumped? Then Young Joni is the restaurant for you. Its owner/executive chef Ann Kim won a James Beard Award for the best chef in the Midwest. (The James Beard Awards are like the Oscars for restaurants. So I guess that’s like saying Ann Kim won Best Supporting Actress.)

Despite the awards, Young Joni serves fun, unpretentious food. It’s famous for pizza, Korean influences, and Korean-influenced pizza. My only complaint was that Young Joni Mitchell never showed up because I feel like that was promised by the name of the restaurant.

24 Hour Treat: Bibim Grain

I recommend starting with the bibim grain salad, which has the longest list of ingredients that I have ever seen in a salad. Don’t believe me? We’ve got: Job’s tears, farro, brussels sprouts, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, pickled vegetables, daikon, nori, mixed seeds, soft egg, and gochujang vinaigrette.

Job’s tears sounds like something God would smite me for eating, but it’s actually a type of South-East Asian grain. Gochujang is a kind of chili paste, so the vinaigrette has a little kick to it. When you have this many grains in a salad, you’re going to need some spice to balance things out.

Everything about this dish was beautifully composed, from the colors to the flavors to the textures. But my favorite part was the soft egg on top that you get to squish into the salad. It was almost like I got to finish cooking the dish myself.

24 Hour Treat; Young Joni Pizza

So you don’t have to order pizza at Young Joni, but I’ll be over here silently judging you if you don’t. (Being gluten-free isn’t an excuse because they make a gluten-free crust.) I had the Korean BBQ pizza made with beef short rib, mozzarella, and lots of arugula.

I’m no pizza purist. If a topping tastes good, I’m happy to put it on a slice. And this beef short rib with the soy chili vinaigrette was so moist, I didn’t need a knife to cut it. This is my idea of what a Meat Lovers Pizza should be.

After a carb salad and an entire pizza, I wasn’t in the mood for a giant dessert. Fortunately Young Joni was there for me with some light soft serve ice cream.

Nothing gives me that nostalgic ache like soft serve. It brings me back to my childhood memories of running away from the Mister Softee Truck because I was convinced that a serial killer was hiding inside the vehicle. But I’m pretty sure this soft serve is serial killer free.

For an even lighter treat, get the vanilla mixed with whatever the fruit sorbet of the day is. I always say that eating fruit is healthy, so it cancels out whatever other calories I ate that day. That’s just science.

24 Hours in Minneapolis

Tools for Travel

• A cell charger so you can take photos all during your 24 Hours in Minneapolis
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds on our 24 hours in Minneapolis
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you how travel can take you on a journey of self-discovery.
• My favorite guidebook to Minneapolis/St. Paul

24 Hours in Minneapolis

How To Get There

Now, I wish I knew where you lived, Internet Stranger, because I could send you a whole lutefisk, you betcha. But sadly, I do not, and so I can’t tell you exactly how to get from your home to your 24 Hours in Minneapolis

However, if you need to take a plane or car to get to Minneapolis, I recommend Expedia for the best way to find the cheapest flight or car rental, depending on how you want to get around. Just click here to start looking for the best possible deals on your flight or car rental, so you can head out to your 24 Hours in Minneapolis

That’s a Perfect 24 Hours in Minneapolis!

What would you do with 24 hours in Minneapolis? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Minneapolis right now? Have you ever met the mayor of a major American city? And how much therapy will my son need if I name him Cadwallader? Email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY spend 24 hours in Minneapolis.

Go for 24 hours in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Add on a one day in Milwaukee itinerary. Experience a one day in Minneapolis itinerary.