In defense of downtown Minneapolis

Today on my morning break, I was perusing City Pages's website. I came across this ridiculous think piece called 17 years of watching downtown Minneapolis go from vibrant to shaky to frightful. The title alone makes me cringe. Of course anything that City Pages publishes makes me cringe. That is a given. The writing is crap and worst part is that at one point (not sure if they still do it) but they would give fair reviews to the restaurants who bought ad space from them. How lame.

I decided that this ridiculous and over exaggerated think piece needed a response from someone who actually lives in downtown Minneapolis. I have been living in downtown Minneapolis since 2011. I moved to downtown Minneapolis from Loring Park. I moved because it was time for me to get out of renting and become a homeowner. I haven't looked back since then.

In the course of the six years I have been living in downtown Minneapolis, I have seen a lot of changes in my neighborhood. Some good, some not so good. I have seen Whole Foods go up in the place of the old Jaguar dealership along Hennepin Avenue and a lot of apartment/condo complexes go up. Also have seen new restaurants pop up and flourish (and some not so much) in downtown especially north loop. Then there is the US Bank stadium which replaced the stagnant and outdated Metrodome (just wished that taxpayers' money wasn't used and the owners used special glass to avoid killing birds).

I am not going to pretend that bad things doesn't happen in the city. Yes shootings occur in the area and they always happen like during the times between 2-3 am when bars, restaurants, and nightclubs closes. Fights certainly have occurred both during the day and night. I even saw a fight break up in front of the library a couple of summers ago. I remember reading online a fight that broke out at the Nicollet Mall light rail station in broad day light. And I know I have friends who have victims of some form of crime. Then not long ago a young woman was shot while waiting in line at Pizza Luce on 4th St around bar closing time. What city doesn't have issues like downtown Minneapolis? Hell! I even have spent a bit of time in downtown Chicago at night and never experienced any issues (but then again Chicago is a notoriously segregated city and I always stay in the downtown area when I am in town).

I have spent many nights out and about downtown Minneapolis. I have experienced any problems from the homeless or have been mugged. I always make sure I am aware of my surroundings when I am out, and that I put my phone away to focus on getting my ass home. I also don't stay out until the wee hours of the morning. Once a concert or Lynx game is over, I go straight home. I'll take the bus if the weather is shitty. It really irritates me when I see people screech about how dangerous and violent the city is when there are cities that are far worse off than Minneapolis like Baltimore, New Orleans, and Chicago. My biggest concern? Not getting run over by some asshole who runs a red light which is quite common. The homeless who panhandles doesn't bother me, I ignore them. IMHO the panhandling in Chicago is far worse than in downtown Minneapolis. Just my $0.02.

Downtown Minneapolis is far from perfect. I am so over the renovation of Nicollet Mall. It is neverending. I am not a fan of any of the Pedal Pub, Traveling Tap, or party buses where people from the suburbs go rent a giant bicycle or a bus to go out on the town and get shit faced. I am far less crazy about a bunch of white people from the suburbs who comes to town to get bloody drunk than I am of people from low income neighborhoods who are trying to escape the ugly reminders of their reality by hanging out either by the library or light rail stations. I refuse to live my life in fear. Some people should try that and not look down on those who are trying to survive. In the end, people just need to use some common sense when navigating the city. Still afraid? Go move out into the suburbs. Let me live my life here in peace but don't paint my neighborhood as something awful. This is not the south or west side of Chicago or worse Baltimore, Maryland. 

Chicago: My likes and dislikes

Yesterday I booked a hotel room for the end of March. I am going to the windy city to see my favorite symphonic metal band Nightwish at the Aragon Ballroom. I decided I would rather make the trek to Chicago to see them than haul my ass in a cab or in a Lyft to that shit hole The Myth. Also seeing the band was a good incentive to plan my next trip to Chicago. In lieu of my upcoming trip, I thought I would share my thoughts on some of the places I have visited and stayed at while in Chicago.

Central Loop Hotel - I will be staying at this hotel again in Chicago this spring for a second time. I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel in downtown Chicago. It is just four blocks away from The Art Institute of Chicago. The hotel is also not far from the red line which I will need to take to go to the Aragon Ballroom for the concert. 

Red Roof Inn - Magnificent Mile - My first stay here was pretty decent except for the slow ass elevators and drunk ass people  that greeted me when I checked into the hotel. My last stay there in 2016 was not so great. The front desk folks were rude as hell. They couldn't acknowledge me for a second while dealing with a computer issue.

Old Chicago Inn - I was here last fall for the Belly and Lush shows at The Vic Theatre. I had a wonderful time at this charming little bed and breakfast. David, the caretaker was super nice and helpful, and the free breakfast he provided was delicious. Yeah, the building is old so I could hear people come and go but no big deal. I loved the location since I could walk to the concert venue. Great little restaurants nearby. Lakeview is a beautiful neighborhood. 

Best Western River North - I stayed here in 2015. It was in under renovation so I was not impressed. Okay location. I hated how the rooms were numbered (hopefully that has changed since my stay). Judging by the photos on the website, the hotel looks much better. 

The Art Institute of Chicago - Sorry MIA but you just can't beat The Art Institute of Chicago's wonderful collection of art, especially with its Asian and Mediterranean art in its permanent collection. I just love wandering the halls of the this wonderful museum and getting lost in it for a few hours.

The Field Museum - My second favorite museum in Chicago. There is so much to see there you really need to plan as much time needed to see every inch of the natural history museum. For my  next trip in March, I plan to spend more than four hours there. Four isn't enough. Circumstances at the time prevented me from spending more time there but I saw as much as I could in four hours. This time I am going to take my time and not rush through the entire museum. I love seeing all the exhibits involving every indigenous culture all over the world. It is so beautiful.

Shedd Aquarium - The aquarium at the MOA pales in comparison to the Shedd Aquarium. Where else can you see a nautilus, a cousin to the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish? Not at the Mall of America for sure. I saw a nautilus this past spring. It was so cool. I also loved seeing a tank full of lampreys which essentially are real life vampires in fish form. I find them both creepy yet fascinating. My favorite is going up (or down) to see the coral reefs and its inhabitants. Only dislike is the overly excited school children. 

Lincoln Park Zoo - I spent my day here before the Lush concert. I had a blast seeing all the animals. I might visit it instead of the Shedd before going home if I take the train home in March.

Elephant and Castle  - I had lunch at this British style pub before I went home. Their fish and chips was delicious.  It was fresh and hot from the fryer. The service was excellent too.  Definitely want to go back there again. 

Billy Goat Tavern - Ate at the Wabash location twice this year. Cheap and delicious food. I love Wildberry Cafe but they get packed on the weekends so Billy Goat Tavern makes a great alternative spot for breakfast. I was stuffed from the ham and cheese omelette I had for breakfast before I went to The Field Museum. 

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe - I love this place for breakfast but because of how busy it is on the weekends, I will only hit it for breakfast on the day I leave to go home. Great food and coffee but some (not all) of their servers need to do a better job at being around for their customers. Just saying.

Epic Burger - I only been to Epic once and it was in 2015. I had a turkey burger, fries, and a strawberry shake. It took forever or so it seems like to get my shake. It was good from what I can remember.