Sometimes (in fact, probably more than sometimes) I think the best thing about Chicago is getting the hell away from it every once in a while. Tori and I enjoyed just that opportunity last weekend, and we did it in style, if you define "in style" as "nine hours on an increasingly stinky Amtrak train." By the time we arrived in Saint Paul, the style in the car could melt lead. Other than that odor, the vacation was a blast.
On that note, allow me the opportunity to bestow some Vacation Awards.
BEST RESTAURANT: As good as Mickey's Diner was (and it was good), I'll go with The Good Earth in suburban Edina. The service was fantastic, and the food... wow. Like Chicago's Uncommon Ground, the Good Earth's menu changes with the seasons, and they are heavy with the local ingredients. Tori, for example, enjoyed a cornmeal-encrusted walleye that was incredibly tender and tasty. I enjoyed a coconut curried chicken with rice and a sweet mango chutney that combined well with the spicy curry and the basil. Dessert was the best: I dug into an amazing strawberry shortcake which included a flaky corn-based biscuit instead of sponge cake, and the vanilla ice cream was pure white and creamy.
BEST DRINK: the lemonade at the Good Earth. I prefer a tart lemonade, and this fit the bill. There was no sugar added to the lemonade; it was instead sweetened with apples. The result was amazing; I may try this out for my own lemonade this summer.
MOST OVERRATED LANDMARK: The Mall of America was three hours of pure boredom. I had been looking forward to visiting the Capital of Cheezy Capitalism, but it's basically four regular-sized shopping malls shoved together with a theme park in the middle. If you're going to offer me the largest mall in the nation, give me an interesting shopping experience, not the same one, only longer. When you've seen one shopping mall, you've seen them all, and the M of A is no exception.
BEST BREAKFAST: Although my cousin-in-law's boyfriend's pancakes were really good, the Denver omelet I ate at Mickey's Dining Car in Saint Paul was the fluffiest, most buttery I'd ever tasted.
BEST VIEW: If I count the trip to and from the Twin Cities area, I'd go with the view from Amtrak's observation car as we rode along the Mississippi River at sunset. If not, the view of the Mississippi River (including Saint Anthony Falls) from the top floor of the Guthrie Theater fits the bill nicely.
MONUMENT MOST LIKELY TO EARN MY MOTHER'S UTTER CONTEMPT: The Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis. Mom never liked her, probably because of her (Mary's) eternal perkiness.
MONUMENTS MOST LIKELY TO MAKE MY DAD SMILE: The statues of various Peanuts characters strewn throughout St. Paul.
MOST EXPENSIVE PLEASURE, AS DESCRIBED BY MY WIFE: The ten-dollar cup of coffee she drank at Coffee & Tea Ltd. made from Kopi Luwak beans. Yes, those beans. You coffee addicts know what I'm talking about: that $420/pound coffee processed from the rear end of a nocturnal mammal. She drank it and apparently liked it. I took a tiny sip and really, really wanted to spit it out. Apparently weasel poop coffee is an acquired taste.
COOLEST BOOKSTORE: Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis is not only the coolest bookstore in the Twin Cities, but possibly the coolest children's bookstore in the country. Why the hosannas, do you ask? Not only does it boast two bookstore cats, but also three bookstore chicks, a couple bookstore ferrets...a bookstore menagerie. Finally, the restroom has a little secret inside if you turn out the light and look into the mirror.
BEST HOSTS: My cousin-in-law Eri and her boyfriend Jared were fantastic. They put up with Tori and me for four days straight, and that makes them very, very cool in our books.
All in all, going to the Twin Cities was a wonderful experience. In so many ways, they make Chicago look like Scuzville. Minneapolis and St. Paul boast gorgeous parks and lakes, the people are genial in the extreme (Minneapolis alone includes a whopping 205,000 certified nice people, compared to New York's 9981, Los Angeles's 7804, and Chicago's 22), and their baseball team might actually make the playoffs. I'm sure the cities up there are not as idyllic during the winter months, but during the warm months, it's hard to beat.