Manger Restaurant | Bayport, MN

Manger Restaurant Bayport Minnesota Hipster Hack Review
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Husband loves French cuisine so Manger Restaurant & Wine Bar in Bayport, pronounced “mon-g” and meaning “eat” in French, has been on our list for a while. We decided to celebrate an early Valentine’s Day with a dinner reservation last week and I’m excited to share!

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Minari | Northeast Minneapolis, MN

Minari Restaurant Review Northeast Minneapolis Hipster Hack
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My friend Mikayla invited me along to her girl’s night dinner at Minari and I was ecstatic, because on top of it’s only been open a short while and already having heard such amazing things, it’s gives me great joy to head back to my old Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood.

I’m happy to report that this trip was well worth it.

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Favorite Foods of 2024 | Twin Cities, MN

2024 Hipster Hack Food Review Twin Cities Minnesota
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Last year I did a recap of my 12 favorite foods for 12 months and it was so fun I had to do it again for foods of 2024.

Sharing in no particular order…

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Buca di Beppo | Saint Paul, MN

Buca di Beppo Saint Paul Minnesota Hipster Hack Review
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Husband and I were invited to Buca di Beppo in St. Paul to try out their menu and learn more about the history of their company and the history of that location’s building…including some ghost stories 👻.*

Buca di Beppo is a national chain that actually started in a basement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their humble beginnings were actually the inspiration behind the name, with Buca di Beppo translating roughly to “Joe’s small place,” in Italian.

*I do want to add a disclaimer that while I was gifted a dinner experience, my review and thoughts are my own.

See pictures of everything we tried below.

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Colita | South Minneapolis, MN

Colita South Minneapolis Hipster Hack Food Review
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I was lucky enough to get to Colita with my bests for a Friendsgiving feast.

I had never been, but have definitely heard about it and can happily say it lived up to the hype. They recommend sharing plates, which was a great idea for us, the only downside is that we were a group of four and many of the plates come with 2 items. My only critique of the experience is that I do wish that there was more on the plates at the price point, because we all left still hungry so it was more of a tasting menu than a meal.

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Olio | Bayport, MN

Olio Bayport Minnesota Hipster Hack Review
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I’ve been hearing about Olio in Bayport, Minnesota for a while, but it got put to the top of the list when my friend told me recently that it was his favorite and he didn’t want me to write a review about it so his “spot would blow up.” hahahaha. I’m such a good friend ☺️

Really though, I was happy to get the reminder, because that little strip of restaurants in Bayport doesn’t get enough credit or exposure.

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Hope Breakfast Bar | Woodbury, MN

Hope Breakfast Bar Woodbury Minnesota Hipster Hack Review
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I’ve previously visited Hope Breakfast Bar in St. Paul so I was excited to hear that they were opening one up so close to me in Woodbury.

We went for a Saturday brunch and lucked out that it was still warm enough outside to sit on the patio. Definitely recommend you have a reservation as the place is very small and generally book up at all locations.

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2024 Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Minnesota Renaissance Festival 2024 Hipster Hack Food Review
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I love a theme party and the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is the biggest costume party of the year! The theme is “renaissance” but within 5 minutes of being inside the gates you’ll see that the dress code isn’t universal; medieval, vikings, cottage core, witches, Zelda, Lord of the Rings characters, Dr. Who, Mario Kart, you name it – the gangs all here!

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