For those of you who have moved to MSP from outside of the upper Midwest... (Minneapolis: home, university)

[Socalgurl-stuck in-Mnpls]

Originally Posted by Thedosius

Remember, nobody can like something Socalgurl dislikes. Somehow, there must be something wrong with them, or some explanation why and how their opinion is not valid. She is the measure of all things. I still can't figure out how she has such trouble getting along with people here, though- maybe people here were just over-awed by her greatness.

Yes! Yes! Thank you very much for acknowledging my GREATNESS! Now bow down to your Queen!

[BPtransplant]

Originally Posted by Socalgurl-stuck in-Mnpls

I couldn't agree more! Everyone here is from the boonies!!! And the restaurants are absolutely beyond terrible! I guess the one positive is I learned how to cook since moving to MN- I can't remember the last time I went out and had a great meal! I stopped trying. And one more thing don't ever try eating sushi here--it will be the biggest disappointment of your life!

My neighbor here in the burbs dropped a line on me that made me spit the beer I was drinking out of my mouth. He visits LA ( Laguna Niguel area) once a year because his sister lives there.
He said, and I quote as best as I can remember:
"Having visited LA for sometime now, I have to say, the restaurants in the Twin Cities are better"
I laughed and then stopped when I realized he was being serious.
I looked at him and said really? What are you talking about like Mexican food? Because that's a big NO. Seafood? NO. Japanese? NO. Korean? NO. Vietnamese? Ever heard of Westminster? NO. I questioned him like that with a few other examples until he realized what he said was pretty foolish and naive. Having lived in LA for a number of years, the food scene and variety of it compared to here is not a comparison.

To be fair, I actually like the restaurants in the area and like the "food scene" ................for the most part.............but for a native (who has never lived outside of MN) to say something like that was pretty silly. I should expect that kind of thinking but it's difficult to process when you first hear it!

[daboywonder2002]

im from philly so here's my opnion

cons- no african american middle class, winter is horrible, expensive daycare, schools only care about standardized testing. BAsically a bunch of robot teachers. Downtown- you have to pay for parking everywhere. Back in Philly, you could always find a side street to park on. Isolation- no other major cities around. I dont want to drive 6 hours to chicago.

pros- decent jobs. Amazing thrift stores, 4 sports, can always find something to do if you have money. Target CEnter, STate theater, mall of america.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Originally Posted by BPtransplant

My neighbor here in the burbs dropped a line on me that made me spit the beer I was drinking out of my mouth. He visits LA ( Laguna Niguel area) once a year because his sister lives there.
He said, and I quote as best as I can remember:
"Having visited LA for sometime now, I have to say, the restaurants in the Twin Cities are better"
I laughed and then stopped when I realized he was being serious.
I looked at him and said really? What are you talking about like Mexican food? Because that's a big NO. Seafood? NO. Japanese? NO. Korean? NO. Vietnamese? Ever heard of Westminster? NO. I questioned him like that with a few other examples until he realized what he said was pretty foolish and naive. Having lived in LA for a number of years, the food scene and variety of it compared to here is not a comparison.

To be fair, I actually like the restaurants in the area and like the "food scene" ................for the most part.............but for a native (who has never lived outside of MN) to say something like that was pretty silly. I should expect that kind of thinking but it's difficult to process when you first hear it!

Similar story, a former neighbor of ours who was a corp attorney traveled to China. He was aghast when he told this story about being served chicken feet during a meal. The way he told the story, you would have thought he was served monkey brains or something of the sort.

You have to remember that for most midwesterners...(apologies for being very generic here and I know not everyone is like this), Italian food is considered exotic.

[Rhody2Mn]

I've lived in the Twin Cities for over 25 years and the quality of the food scene has improved exponentially, particularly in the core cities. We have better options than ever before and several have been nationally recognized (such as Bachelor Farmer).


While there's always room for improvement, especially in the suburbs where chains still dominate, the restaurant caliber continues to get better and better in the metro. Indeed, given the Twin Cities size compared to places like LA, it holds its own very well even if it's not "better".

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Similar story, a former neighbor of ours who was a corp attorney traveled to China. He was aghast when he told this story about being served chicken feet during a meal. The way he told the story, you would have thought he was served monkey brains or something of the sort.

You have to remember that for most midwesterners...(apologies for being very generic here and I know not everyone is like this), Italian food is considered exotic.

I know you are all having a lot of fun bashing Minnesota and dishonest stereotypes are necessary for you to justify your dislike of us, but this is pure BS. And trust me, we want you to be in Boston probably more than you do.

[montymontage]

Actually, i'd argue we need more ppl like socalgirl and wannabeinboston in minneapolis. Their anecdotes ring true and that it does is part of why Minneapolis is fun(ny) place to be.

There is nice food here (way too much awful rot on a stick); there are some amenities (god, i hate that word ); there is plenty of passive aggressive folks that provide a lot of humor. It's a small-ish city in upper midwest; nice place to rehab or raise kids--way too expensive for what one gets in return.

In the end, it's not as bad as the mentioned posters portray but they are on to something, without doubt. To me Minneapolis is great: if it's a choice btwn Minneapolis or Ames, IA or Lubbock, TX. Otherwise, it 'thrives' in a low-key-big-box-store kind of way. It's of interest to itself and rather livable, COL aside.

[Socalgurl-stuck in-Mnpls]

Originally Posted by BPtransplant

My neighbor here in the burbs dropped a line on me that made me spit the beer I was drinking out of my mouth. He visits LA ( Laguna Niguel area) once a year because his sister lives there.
He said, and I quote as best as I can remember:
"Having visited LA for sometime now, I have to say, the restaurants in the Twin Cities are better"
I laughed and then stopped when I realized he was being serious.
I looked at him and said really? What are you talking about like Mexican food? Because that's a big NO. Seafood? NO. Japanese? NO. Korean? NO. Vietnamese? Ever heard of Westminster? NO. I questioned him like that with a few other examples until he realized what he said was pretty foolish and naive. Having lived in LA for a number of years, the food scene and variety of it compared to here is not a comparison.

To be fair, I actually like the restaurants in the area and like the "food scene" ................for the most part.............but for a native (who has never lived outside of MN) to say something like that was pretty silly. I should expect that kind of thinking but it's difficult to process when you first hear it!

I laughed so hard at your post! I can totally picture it! Haha! When I first came here, I remember asking around work if they knew any good Korean bbq near by... they directed me to Famous Dave's LOL. I described what Korean bbq is and they looked at me like this . The whole Korean bbq grill table & cooking your own raw meat was foreign to these hillbillies! Haha

As for liking the restaurants around town, honestly I find them too bland and/or too salty. So damn salty! When I first came here I use to search high and low for quality restaurants, wine bars, lounges... If I only knew then what I know now LOL. Complete utter waste of time!

The very few places that I can remember that were okay (still very mediocre compare to Socal restaurants though) were:

Foreign Legion-DT
Masa restaurant-DT
Rosa Mexicano- DT
Pizza Luce- DT
Redstones-Eden Prairie
Kono Grill- Eden Prairie
Wakame Sushi- Uptown
Amazing Thailand- Uptown

[montymontage]

socal, there are few decent Korean places but there are hole in wall joints for most part, in dinkytown or in st. paul. though i agree w/ much of what you say, i will argue that eating downtown or in uptown in a recipe for disaster.

[Socalgurl-stuck in-Mnpls]

Originally Posted by montymontage

Actually, i'd argue we need more ppl like socalgirl and wannabeinboston in minneapolis. Their anecdotes ring true and that it does is part of why Minneapolis is fun(ny) place to be.

There is nice food here (way too much awful rot on a stick); there are some amenities (god, i hate that word ); there is plenty of passive aggressive folks that provide a lot of humor. It's a small-ish city in upper midwest; nice place to rehab or raise kids--way too expensive for what one gets in return.

In the end, it's not as bad as the mentioned posters portray but they are on to something, without doubt. To me Minneapolis is great: if it's a choice btwn Minneapolis or Ames, IA or Lubbock, TX. Otherwise, it 'thrives' in a low-key-big-box-store kind of way. It's of interest to itself and rather livable, COL aside.

Hahaha so accurate!!