City: St. Paul, MN

Category: Nightlife

Telephone: (651) 647-0486

Address: 1601 University Ave.

Description: Billing itself as the “Best Remnant of the ’40s,” St. Paul’s Turf Club combines upscale sophistication with the feel of an old-fashioned cowboy bar. Local, domestic, and imported beers are on tap, and the club features an elegant, curved wooden bar for customers to perch at, as well as booths and tables throughout the establishment. Long having a reputation for giving local original bands a much-needed performance outlet, the Turf Club is one of the hippest hangouts in the Twin Cities, with music almost every night for ridiculously low cover charges. The Turf Club clientele is refreshingly free of the “beautiful people” crowd found at many downtown Minneapolis dance clubs, and the music here ranges from foot-stomping country to ska. Downstairs is a second bar known as the Clown Lounge, which features local and guest jazz musicians. The lounge retains an intimate, basement-rec-room feel, with wood paneling and taxidermied fish. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re around on an evening this downstairs bar is open. It provides a good aural break if the music upstairs doesn’t turn out to be your thing.