As a quick intro, but I will be writing a separate post that
covers off the move back to America, Matthew and I arrived in Minneapolis back
in July.
Since that time I have found a lovely job, spent time with
friends and family, met some wonderful new people, bought a second had Saab 900
and am now a homeowner. A lot has
happened and it has been a lot of fun.
The topic of this post is about being a tourist in your
hometown. I recently went out to lunch with an old friend who mentioned that they
had been doing some local touristy things recently.
I would say this is something that I was rather good at
before I moved away, the old hometown tourist, but I am really trying to make
an effort now that I am back.
There’s so much to explore and enjoy here in the
Land of 10,000 Lakes. We’ve got a lot going on here and it’s going to be fun to
take Matthew around and show him what’s so super about the cities and the
state.
There’s a bigger piece to this story as well, but I won't get too preachy. I think it’s very
important to support local businesses. These unique places are what make our
city an interesting place to live in. I won’t get on a soapbox now, but we
should really be thankful that people open these businesses and we should our
support by shopping local…
The other day I was at the Target out in St. Louis Park and
I overhear a conversation on the way to my car. One woman was saying to her
friend “It’s so great around here. You've got Target and Noodles and Verizon,
it’s really great.”
Yep, you've got all your big box stores right here in this
strip mall. Not that I am poo pooing Target or Noodles (I am sucker for the mac
and cheese with broccoli and tofu), but it just struck me a sad thing. That
people were exciting by such a generic retail experience.
Anyway…
Before I moved away I made an effort to go to new
restaurants and bars.I have my favorite haunts, but I am a firm believer in
trying new things.
I am big fan of lists and I was at the library going through
the Mpls St Paul magazine and they had an
article about where to get interesting/good food broken out by neighborhood. I thought it would be fun to try and see how
many of these places Matthew and I could get to.
When in doubt, start with a donut!
So I decided to start with donuts, which is a pretty tasty place to start. We went to A Baker’s Wife over on 42nd Street and 28th Ave in the Powderhorn neighborhood in Minneapolis.
The article mentioned that they had a cinnamon sugar donut
that must be experienced, so on Sunday morning we made our way over.
I’ve heard a lot of good things the A Baker’s Wife, but
I just never went there. No reason in particular, just never made it, you know
how it goes :)
A Baker’s Wife is a charming neighborhood spot; there were
lots of cute families going in to get a special Sunday treat. I went for
the cinnamon sugar donut, which was warm and yummy. Matthew had a nice flaky croissant.
I read online that their American tea cakes are to die for, so we’ll have to
try that one next time.
The intersection of 42nd Street and 28th
Ave is an old school kind of place. It feels like old Minneapolis, in a good
way. I found a blog called Twin
City Sidewalks which featured this intersection, I recommend taking a look
at the post and heading over to A Baker’s Wife.
Here’s to being back in a great city and hometown tourism.
Enjoy other posts about A Baker's Wife
