US Bank Stadium – Experiences

Minneapolis, Minnesota, may be well known as the home of the largest mall in the country, Mall of America. Meanwhile, the city has a generous amount of other activities and destinations to offer. You could easily spend an extended weekend in “Mini-Apple” and have a completely filled itinerary. That’s why, if you’re attending an event at US Bank Stadium and only have a day to spare, you’re in luck. We’ve got you covered with a jam-packed, one-day guide that’ll satisfy any Minneapolis visitor. In addition to tours, shows, and funky bars, there is a plethora of food for you to try.

While the Midwest may not be considered a mecca of gastronomy in the United States, Minneapolis disregards this idea. This city serves up endless delicious, yet sustainable culinary experiences. Even the food at US Bank Stadium is top tier. If there is one thing to know about the Minneapolis food scene, it’s that the city’s restaurants support each other by cooking with locally sourced ingredients. This has created a web of support that impacts many businesses, from dessert shops sharing food across town, to restaurants shopping at the city’s farmers market. You can sense the connectivity in eateries throughout the entire city. There’s no shortage of places to grab a bite in Minneapolis, not to mention all the restaurants sprinkled along Nicolett Avenue, known as “Eat Street.”

The guide below takes you on a journey to independently owned, locally sourced restaurants and unique destinations surrounding US Bank Stadium. With all these attractions, it’s easy to keep busy in the Mill City.

 

Morning

Noon

Night

Morning

Minneapolis has no shortage of warm and homey eateries. It may be hard to choose just one for breakfast, but you can’t go wrong with a meal at HenHouse Eatery. Their all-day breakfast takes advantage of locally-grown ingredients to create meals reminiscent of a home-cooked meal. HenHouse, a 14-minute walk from US Bank Stadium, was created by three friends with foodservice backgrounds who decided to hatch up their own restaurant.

It’s easy to support this women-owned business when the environment is so warm and welcoming. The three founders share the common goal of creating a restaurant where everyone feels like family. So pull up a chair and nestle in while chowing down on an easily enjoyable breakfast favorites. The menu has options everyone can enjoy. HenHouse make specialty cinnamon rolls daily, offers healthy options like yogurt and avocado toast, omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, and classic fare like Eggs Benedict and pancakes. The list goes on!

After filling up on a wholesome breakfast at HenHouse Eatery, walk off your meal with a 22-minute stroll, or six-minute drive, to Guthrie Theater. The 22-minute walk may seem daunting, but along the way you can see the independent art museum Louvre it or Leave it, and cut through The Commons, a cozy park in the center of the city with great views of the skyline.

The Guthrie is an iconic architectural feat, similar to US Bank Stadium which sits just a six-minute walk away. Not only is Guthrie Theater a landmark, but a sought-after performance center as well. Because of its outstanding facade and popularity, the Guthrie offers tours each weekend. Guests can take the 45-minute Backstage Tour, where they’ll see parts of the theater like the main stages and costume shops. Guthrie Theater also offers a 75-minute Architecture Tour. On this specialty tour, guests get the inside scoop on how the one-of-a-kind building came to be, from the initial planning stage to its completion.

After your insider experience at Guthrie, you can enjoy the Mill City Farmers Market right across the street. Founded in 2006, this year-round market encourages visitors to eat locally and seasonally. This contributes to the sustainability of the Minneapolis farming community. Not only will you find plenty of meat, fish, dairy, and prepared meals, but artwork and natural body care items as well.

Right outside the Mill City Farmers Market are the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, which was once the largest, most advanced flour mill in the world. Visitors can easily explore after a seven-minute walk from US Bank Stadium. The former mill was the crown jewel of Washburn-Crosby Co., which is now General Mills.

US Bank Stadium

Multiple tragedies have befallen the mill, including an enormous, deadly explosion in 1878 and a destructive fire in 1928. After closing in 1965, the abandoned building experienced another fire in 1991. That was the last straw for the Minnesota Historical Society, which turned the ruins of the mill into a museum in 2003. One thing that has withstood the relentless damage is the vintage “Gold Medal Flour” sign sitting atop the collapsed building. Not only has that sign lasted throughout the years, but the brand as well.

All this history sits beside the lush, green Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park and the Mississippi River just feet away. While there’s so much to explore right outside US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis has more to fill the rest of your day.

Noon

After enjoying the area outside US Bank Stadium and surrounding Guthrie Theater, take a 6-minute walk through Gold Medal Park. The city named this large green space after the brand of flour, and contains art installments scattered throughout. There, you can sit beneath “Prophecy of the Ancients,” a dome made of stone and steel on top of Egyptian columns. Next, observe the bright red “Molecule,” a pair of slanted, steel beams creating varying angles. Lastly, explore the spiral sidewalk that leads to the top of a mound of grass, an art piece inspired by burial grounds throughout Minnesota.

US Bank Stadium

See how many art installments you can spot before you arrive at Day Block Brewing Company for lunch. In addition to a rotating selection of seasonal beers, Day Block serves pizza made from scratch. Keeping with the sustainable food theme, Day Block makes all their delicious pizzas with local, organic ingredients to support fellow Minneapolis business owners.

If you can’t choose just one of their specialty beers, you can order a flight of four. But a beer flight isn’t the only kind you can order. Day Block also offers house-cured bacon and Bloody Mary flights as well. After those distinctive appetizers, try the funky Taco Truck pizza with carnitas and fresh jalapeno. You can also dig into the K-Pop pizza, which features beef, kimchi, and peanut sauce. There’s the option to build your own pizza, but with over a dozen flavor combinations, you probably won’t have to.

After filling up on fresh, local brews and handmade pizza, a 10-minute drive will take you to Up-Down Minneapolis, an arcade bar with more than 50 retro games. Enjoy the nostalgia of ‘80s and ‘90s gaming by playing Nintendo 64, Skee-Ball, pinball, life-sized Jenga, and more. The best part is that each game only costs 25 cents.

Night

When you’re done reliving your childhood, stroll right across the street to HUGE Improv Theater. This theater has nightly shows featuring local talent and is staffed entirely by volunteers. HUGE’s mission is to educate the improv community throughout Minneapolis and is the only theater dedicated solely to improvisation. You can feel great about supporting this local theater while laughing the evening away.

US Bank Stadium

Jonathunder [CC BY-SA 4.0]

After the show, you have many dining options on and branching out from Lyndale Avenue. For example, Bryant-Lake Bowl is just a four-minute walk from HUGE Improv Theater. You thought you were going to visit an everyday kind of restaurant for dinner? Think again! Minneapolis has more fun in store for you. This dynamic eatery serves a variety of locally sourced food, from burgers, Pad thai, soups, salads, to pub food like spinach and artichoke dip.

In addition to being a delicious restaurant, Bryant-Lake Bowl contains a full bowling alley for patrons to enjoy. The atmosphere buzzes with friendly competition and live music, which plays almost every night. With all this activity going on, you can understandably spend the rest of the night enjoying food, bowling, and music. On the other hand, there is an incredible creamery right up the street that you may want to experience.

Milkjam Creamery, an eight-minute walk from Bryant-Lake Bowl, is known for its modern twist on an age-old dessert. They offer creative flavors with funky names, boozy floats, ice cream sandwiches, and more. In addition, Milkjam makes their ice cream sandwiches using donuts from local bakery Glam Doll Donuts. This way, you can try two local dessert joints in one.

Milkjam Creamery’s unforgettable flavors include P.I.M.P., which stands for “Pecans In Molasses Pumpkin”, and Cereal Killers. This flavor is an orange coriander ice cream base with candied fruity pebbles throughout. For 2019’s Women’s History Month in March, Milkjam named each of their flavors after influential female icons. For example, some flavors included Maya Angelou, Marie Curie, Rihanna, and Simone Biles.

You don’t have to be done with flights for the day, either. If you enjoyed your beer, bacon, or Bloody Mary flight back at Day Block Brewing Company, you’re in luck. You can end the night with an ice cream flight of four flavors of your choosing. Can’t narrow it down to four? Just order all of them. That’s right, Milkjam makes it possible for you to order every ice cream flavor they offer.

Once you’re done venturing through Minneapolis, you’ll still be only a ten-minute drive from US Bank Stadium! After this journey, we hope your feet are tired, your stomach is full, and your heart is satisfied with the unforgettable experiences the city has to offer.