“Where are you going for Thanksgiving?” The question was the standard response when I revealed my plan for the holiday. A smart remark on the weather typically followed. Honoring Kid’s convention, I switched to Celsius when the temperature is below 10°. When I boarded the plane, the weather widget showed the destination to be -7°C (19°F).
Before the journey, I asked about local flairs. “What’s the equivalent of Zingerman’s of Ann Arbor in Minneapolis?” So we went to Blue Door Pub. On this cold night, it was packed to the rim. After standing uncomfortably close to the patrons and in the heavy traffic lanes of the waiting staff for 15 minutes, we were seated at the bar. (I was half way into the first beer.) Quickly, we ordered Blucy, Tater Tots, Fried Beans, and Chicken Wings.
It is the Blue Door’s variation of the Juicy Lucy burger, a Minneapolis contribution to the world of deliciousness. They put bleu cheese inside the beef patty and cook until the cheese melts. I tasted the nice beef and the perfect blending of the cheese, plus its warmth. Excellent! The rest of the meal was equally good, particularly the fried beans and tater tots. The second beer went down very nicely with the satisfaction of a good burger.
For the Thanksgiving meal, we had turkey, brined for 24 hours, rubbed, and baked to perfection, American-style stuffing (as opposed to 油飯), Mac&cheese with Beecher’s, Honey-baked ham, corn bread, green veggie, pumpkin pie from the store, and home-made lemon meringue pie. It was wonderful, busy, fun, and an unforgiving defeat for the weight-control regiment.
On Black Friday, we went to the Great Mall of America. Our visit was more for the claim of “I’ve been to the biggest mall in the world” than anything else. (Indoor theme park with full thrill rides.)
Like many cold cities, downtown Minneapolis (the Nicollet Mall) is well connected with “sky bridges”, a set of corridors linking the second floors of buildings so that patrons don’t need to walk on the surface street, subject to the elements and car traffic. To our amazement, many simply strolled around this downtown in summer clothes: t-shirt and light footwear. Clearly they are experienced and know it is easier to shop in those free-spirited outfits.
This is not the first time I visited the Twin Cities but was the most personal one. It was sad to part with kids. When we landed at SeaTac, it was 47°F and sunny. Balmy.