48 Hours in Minneapolis – A Febgiving Travelogue

You wouldn’t be alone in thinking we’d gone nuts for taking a weekend getaway trip to Minneapolis in February. As we boarded the plane, cranky toddler in tow, Tim and I looked at each other, like, what happened to our beach vacation!?!?

But Minneapolis is the founding site of Febgiving – the magical Thanksgiving-in-February holiday started by our dear friends, the dynamic writing/photography duo Jim Norton and Becca Dilley.  You’ll recall we hosted our own Febgiving in New York a couple of years ago. This year we decided to experience a true Minnesota Febgiving and check out the Twin Cities.  Jim and Becca cover the Upper Midwest food scene at The Heavy Table, so we knew we’d be in good hands.

In summary, we had a blast.  The balmy weather was a nice surprise, but the best part was seeing friends and discovering (read: eating our way through) a new city. The photo up top is the Riverside Plaza Apartment complex; there is so much incredible architecture in the Twin Cities — from the skyways connecting most of downtown, to the craftsmen houses, to the shimmering children’s hospital building.

Friday

We booked a room at the Grand Hotel Minneapolis – a super kid-friendly Kimpton hotel right downtown.  The staff won Alex over with a backpack of goodies – a wooden fire truck, stickers, a rubber duck for the bath and a paint set.  Alex felt right at home; in fact, he announced the hotel was our new home.

For dinner we headed to Brasa, which features a variety of slow cooked meats – we sampled pork, beef and chicken. Everything is natural, local, organic and totally, completely delicious.  We got there early (6pm!) and the place was packed, with revelers gathered around a campfire in the yard (totally magical!).

Saturday

After  some delicious almond croissants and cappuccino at Patisserie 46, we drove out to the Minnesota Zoo, where the highlight was riding the monorail around the outdoor exhibits – camels, bears, antelope and more.

After the zoo, our little dude sacked out for nap in the car, so after a stealthy trip to Target, we parked in front of Black Sheep Pizza, a coal-fired pizzeria and stuffed ourselves with their meatball, ricotta and garlic pie.  I’m not going to make any comparisons to New York pizza (after all, we used to live across the street from Grimaldi’s), but it was some seriously delicious pizza with great coal-fired crust.

Saturday’s main event, of course, was Febgiving. Turkey, smoked pork shoulder, a dozen sides, incredible desserts (French Silk Pie!!), aquavit and craft cocktails, a toddler chasing cats and drinking punch in fancy crystal – it was all good cheer and great fun.

Sunday

On Sunday we tried another fantastic coffee place – Dogwood Coffee Co. - and then walked across the street to Magers & Quinn Booksellers to peruse their collection of fire truck books.   Afterwards a visit to the enormous and enchanting Choo Choo Bob’s Train Store.  Alex was transfixed by the train displays (complete with child size benches for observing), but I think it was Tim who was totally bowled over by the huge collection of hobbyist trains.

One last stop – a late brunch at The Craftsman, for delicious fried egg sandwiches and the most delicious cinnamon roll I’ve had in ages.  Then off to the airport, with enough time for watching the planes before going home to New York City.

Goodbye Twin Cities – see you again soon!

Febgiving photos by Sarah McGee and Kate Sommers (who you may know from her great food blog Fork, Knife, Spoon).