All Night Dining (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Fridley: appointed, home, to eat)

[Beenhere4ever]

The stifling humidity made me want to go out for something to eat after midnight. I got a nice chicken and bacon sandwich at Denny's on Lake Street. But doing that reminded me of past eras where there were more options. Used to have all-nighters at Country Kitchen, Perkins and other places. One by one these seem to have dropped off the map. Right now I know of only Denny's and Mickey's Diner in downtown St Paul where you can go AFTER some other event for a snack and coffee (Perkins had the endless cup). And I'm wondering if the fact that the youngest Boomer's are now in their 40's with families is part of the reason why. When there were no kids to get up in the morning, you could watch the sun rise if you wanted to.

When I was in Toronto, gamers kept the game rooms open all night, which meant I could check email from home whenever the mood struck me. Those Internet cafes are pretty much extinct, too.

So that makes me wonder if two is the grand total for all night places. I found an article of late night places Best Places Open After Midnight In The Twin Cities « CBS Minnesota

But those places close anywhere from 2am to 4am. Takes you most of the way, and it is possible that people don't get kicked out if they aren't ready to go home. But it is a pale shadow of what we had in the 80's.

[QuietBlue]

Other than the Perkins/IHOP/Denny's trio, yeah, there is not much out there, unfortunately. Minneapolis and St. Paul do tend to shut down earlier than some other cities, so it's probably a reflection of that.

I was disappointed when the Denny's by me closed, not because I'm a huge fan of Denny's, but because it was nice to have a place where I could get something to eat at an odd hour (plus they are nice for people who work well into the night).

[MPLS_TC]

Flame burger is open all night

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by MPLS_TC

Flame burger is open all night

The one in Fridley? Or all of them?

[QuietBlue]

Originally Posted by MPLS_TC

Flame burger is open all night

That's right -- never been there, but I've heard of it. I used to know a night-owl software programmer (which might be a redundant phrase if ever there was one) who used it as his remote office.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by QuietBlue

That's right -- never been there, but I've heard of it. I used to know a night-owl software programmer (which might be a redundant phrase if ever there was one) who used it as his remote office.

There's a guy with his laptop every night at Denny's.

[MPLS_TC]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

The one in Fridley? Or all of them?

I believe both of them but for sure the one in little Canada. The other one is in hilltop or Columbia heights. Hilltop being surrounded by Columbia heights so I'm not sure the city. I wonder what steps could be taken to make Minneapolis a bit more of a 24 hour city?

[MPLS_TC]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

There's a guy with his laptop every night at Denny's.

Denny's is ok if you don't mind the sketchy people that show up in the middle of the night. The one on lake street that is.

[MPLS_TC]

Uptown diner is 24 hrs on the weekend. Mickey's diner is always open. Hard times cafe is open from 6 am to 4 am everyday.

[Beenhere4ever]

I can't fault the sketchy people. I'm one of them. Though I stopped sketching a long time ago when I realized how little talent I had. :P