Minnesohtah – Work, Prince & Jucy Lucy

travel destination: MSP Minneapolis, MN

When I was there: April 23-25, 2016
Why I went: Contract Vendor Performance Review for work
Where I stayed: 1) Friend’s condo in Oakdale, MN 2) Embassy Suites Minneapolis-Airport
Where I ate: 1)Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar 2)Patisserie 46 3)Matt’s Bar
What I saw: Prince’s Memorial at Paisley Park
What I bought: Erasable Highlighter Pens from Typo in Mall of America

Cisco does require me to travel for work about once a quarter, which I began using to my advantage by booking personal travel either at the front end or back (or both!) of the business trip so that I would only pay for one leg of flight, but I’ll go more into that in a subsequent posts. While my meeting was on Monday, 4/25, I decided to take the Friday evening flight from BUR with a connection through PHX to arrive at 1am Sat so I could explore the Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP) region. I had been there several times for work, but have not had the opportunity to go around before. Here are my trip highlights:

Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar with Chef Tammy Wong is a must if you are craving delicious Chinese cuisine. As you walk into the front door, you are surprisingly greeted with beautiful ambience with a cool fish tank that you’ll likely watch longer than you would expect. The handmade egg rolls are probably the fattest, biggest and tastiest I’ve had in a long time and they are also sold at the local farmer’s market on the weekend. The thought of the Szechuan Wontons with scallions and black bean sauce is making me salivate at the thought of them as I’m writing this now. Lastly, Honey Walnut Shrimp is worth mentioning since the sauce is surprising light with zest of orange peel.

Patisserie 46 was recommended by Chef Tammy Wong and this incredible chocolate dessert satisfied my chocoholic cravings perfectly. The round ball on top was filled with hazelnut cream that I savored with every bite.

Matt’s Bar is home of the famous Jucy Lucy, a cheeseburger that has the cheese inside the meat patty instead of on top, resulting in a melted core of cheese within the patty. I cannot describe what a unique experience it is to bite into a burger and have hot cheese gush into your mouth – YOU MUST TRY THIS (the long line and wait is worth it!)

Prince passed away on April 21, 2016 and I was fortunate enough to visit his Memorial at Paisley Park a few days after. Unfortunately, I had missed members of Prince’s staff handing out what looked like purple satin hat boxes that had music, t-shirts and other goodies. Go across the highway and take a walk in the park and the lake. I found it very beautiful and relaxing.

Last but not least, I made a stop at the Mall of America (second largest mall in the US) which has undergone significant renovation in the past year since I was there last April. My favorite store is Typo, where I purchased erasable highlighter pens – I had bought some last year when I was there. I use these highlighters for work to highlight important terms and conditions on the contracts I manage and sometimes my hand highlights faster than my eyes are reading – so it is AWESOME to be able to erase what I accidentally highlighted!

GGibberish Tip: Embassy Suites typically offers complimentary nightly reception which includes free light snacks (pretzels, veggies & dip, popcorn, etc.) and beverages (pop-as called by Minnesotans – I call it soda, beer, wine and cocktails – I had a bloody mary). In the mornings, they offer complimentary made to order and hot breakfast (I had bacon, made to order omelette and fresh fruit).

GGibberish Callout: Since this will be a recurring annual work trip every April, do you have any must see/do/eat recommendations for me next time I’m in MSP?