Saint Paul

Saint Paul Brewing | St. Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul Brewing Patio Ski Lift Swing
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Saint Paul Brewing is my absolute favorite patio. I know it sounds made up or ridiculous, but the first time we went there last year, I felt a rush of pure joy that has only happened to me a handful of other times like when I heard my favorite song performed by my favorite band live, when I was about to jump out of a plane with a human strapped onto my back, and when we secured our wedding venue and it hit me that we were actually getting married.

Don’t get me wrong, the beer is really good, too haha, but without a doubt, my obsession with this brewery revolves around the joy and wonder their patio gives me.
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Pazzaluna Urban Italian | Saint Paul, Minnesota

Pazzaluna Italian Restaurant Food
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Every year my mom treats my sisters, grandma and myself to dinner and a play. This year we wanted to switch it up from our usual go-tos; the Orpheum and the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. I was excited to try out the Ordway for 2 reasons: 1. the seating actually allowed me to have leg room! This is a rare feat at 5’10. In fact last year two women behind me where talking rudely about me, because they couldn’t easily see around me…I’m sorry for existing? Pay for better seats next time? and 2. it meant we got to try a new restaurant!

I will readily admit that when my coworkers asked me what play we were going to I had absolutely no idea (still don’t exactly remember the name and while the singing was beautiful I hated the outdated message that a woman is going to fall in love with a man who doesn’t love her back and “sacrifice herself” for his happiness…), but by 11am that morning I already had two dishes picked out at Pazzaluna Urban Italian … priorities.

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Minnesota State Fair 2019 | Saint Paul, Minnesota

Minnesota State Fair 2019 Cheese On A Stick
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I went into the Minnesota State Fair with an ambitious list of new foods and drafted my line-up of three other people willing to help; Noelle, Lisa & Tom…as you probably already guessed, we did not make it all the way through the list haha. The hard part about new fair foods is that it doesn’t take into account all of your Minnesota State Fair food staples OR the copious amount of beer you’re going to be drinking.

I think we made a valiant effort and secretly am thankful of the rain that swept in around 5pm so that we had a legitimate reason to leave with our mission incomplete.

6 hours. 11 foods. 6-ish beers. Minnesota State Fair ✓
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Cold Front Ice Cream | Saint Paul, Minnesota

Cold Front Ice Cream Saint Paul Minnesota
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We discovered Cold Front Ice Cream while visiting their next door neighbor, The Nook.

I was in love with them the moment I read their savage sign out front and knew it wouldn’t matter how full we were after dinner, because we were definitely going in there to support this locally owned establishment.
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The Nook | Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Nook Saint Paul
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I’m almost embarrassed to say this was my first time eating at The Nook in Saint Paul considering for 3 years I lived a mere 5 blocks away. In my defense, I was a regular at Shamrocks on West 7th, which is owned by the same people and has most of the same menu items! My favorite coworker happy hours started at Shamrocks and proceeded up Randolph. Literally, the best happy hour route there is in Saint Paul.

I’m happy to have finally corrected this wrong and luckily, because we went on a Thursday night, the wait (which was my previous deterrent, since it has a reputation for being pretty long) was only 20 minutes!

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Saint Paul Farmers Market – Downtown

Saint Paul Farmers Market
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The great part about the Saint Paul Farmers Market is that it’s open on Sundays. While I love the Northeast Farmers Market summer Saturdays in Minnesota are jam packed while Sundays are generally more free. Not to mention the farmers market is the perfect “productive” hungover activity; food, music, and you can say you’re doing something outdoors. Or in our case it was the perfect reason to meet up for brunch!

Lauren & Jackie On A Mission

Lauren & Jackie On A Mission

Farmers Markets are great for a variety of reasons; price, freshness, and you’re supporting the local farmers. I love buying vegetables here, because you get so many at such a great rate. It’s almost impossible for me to get through all of it before it starts to go bad!

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There are also some meat areas (which seemed a little risky to me, unless you were planning on leaving right away).

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And of course, being the Midwest there had to be a cheese curds station. My favorite was seeing that they sell milk in glass bottles. Total throwback.

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While it was Father’s Day, I did abstained from buying any of the gorgeous flowers, because my dad, like myself, doesn’t exactly possess a green thumb.

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There was also live music and some craft stations as well.

Parking:

The Saint Paul Farmer’s Market is located on the corner of Wall & 5th Street. Literally right next to the new Saints Stadium. While the location is great for walking as it’s only a couple blocks from Mears Park it is not great for Parking.

There was a lot right next to the market that was charging $20, which is ridiculous considering street parking in St. Paul is not metered on Sundays. If you’re ok with a 5 minute walk I would suggest parking on the other side of Mears Park. There’s a nice little parking strip on the corner of Sibley and 5th that I like to park in, because there is usually a spot and you don’t have to worry about your parallel skills. Bonus.

Other Travel Options:

A couple other travel options are of course the Greenline Light Rail and Bus. You can get a Free Metro Transit Pass that’s valid from 5am-2pm on the day of the Saint Paul Farmers Market on their website HERE.

Overall, if you’re looking for something interesting to do on a Sunday morning, this is your place.

Saint Paul Farmers Market – Downtown
Saturdays 6:00AM – 1PM
Sundays 8AM – 1PM

John’s Pizza Cafe | St. Paul

john's pizza cafe
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John’s Pizza Cafe is my ultimate positive reinforcement.  Before moving to Northeast I was a 5 year resident of St. Paul and customer of John’s. While I’ve never actually eaten at the store, I have been in there enough for takeout that I can assure you it has the pizza parlor vibe you’d expect; booths, pizza smell, and frosted red cups. Continue reading