What a bunch of self-congratulatory back-patters we Twin Citians are. Especially this year: First came the Minnesota sesquicentennial, with its requisite recalling of great moments in the state’s 150-year history. (Flour mills! Bundt pans! Hubert freaking Humphrey!) Then came the Republican National Convention, the run-up to which was the civic equivalent of a hostess adjusting her skirt and checking her makeup in the mirror… for a year and a half. (Arts festivals galore! Interstate landscaping! The construction of an entire freaking bridge!) Look around: There’s a strut in everyone’s step these days. Have you ever seen a couple of cities so pleased with themselves?

Well, allow us to pile on the positive reinforcement, because you know what, Minneapolis/St. Paul? You deserve it. You’re great, you know it and you own it, repressed-Lutheran stereotypes be damned. We love your artists. We love your restaurants. We even love your bundt pans (see our appreciation of them on pg. 49). So don’t shy away from a little peacocking. If you need 99 more reasons to do so, read on. But be warned: The METRO 100 isn’t a “best-of” list. You can get those anywhere, and they’re great if you want to know where to get your car washed. But this is the stuff we adore about the Twin Cities, the stuff we brag about to those friends who moved to Seattle three years ago. (Don’t worry: They all move back eventually.) Read it and strut on, Twin Cities. Strut on.  —Chuck Terhark

 

1. The Blizzard
There are almost as many reasons to leave this iconic frozen treat off this list as there are to put it on. To wit: It wasn’t invented in Minnesota (Iowa). Neither was the Dairy Queen brand (although it is headquartered in Edina today). There are better ice creams made locally (Izzy’s). And there’s that whole obesity epidemic thing. But then the local Wonka-lab partnered with the Girl Scouts last July to concoct the heavenly Thin Mint Blizzard, and everything changed. Here’s hoping for a Samoa version next summer. [Area Dairy Queen locations; dairyqueen.com]

2. Louise Erdrich
Since publishing her first novel—the critically acclaimed Love Medicine—in 1984, local author Louise Erdrich hasn’t let up, releasing a must-read every few years, in addition to opening BirchBark Books off Lake of the Isles. She’s one of the most prominent writers of our time, but what we like best is that she sticks to her guns: Last year she refused an honorary degree from the University of North Dakota due to their fighting Sioux logo. [BirchBark Books, 2115 W. 21st St., Mpls.; 612.374.4023; birchbarkbooks.com]

3. Wing Young Huie
Most photographs of the Twin Cities are scrubbed clean of any true grit: the Stone Arch Bridge, the Spoon and Cherry, the Cathedral. Wing Young Huie shoots the real Twin Cities. His grandest achievement to date came in 2000 with the astounding, ambitious “Lake Street U.S.A.” project, wherein the photographer hung more than 600 huge portraits of Minneapolis’s most dynamic road along its six-mile stretch. Before that came “Frogtown,” a similar urban study, this one hung in a round-the-clock exhibit in an empty lot in the storied St. Paul neighborhood. Last year Huie found more critical acclaim with the release of the book Looking for Asian-America: An Ethnocentric Tour. Next up: Huie plans to give the Lake Street treatment to University Ave. in St. Paul, preserving a moment in the corridor’s history that will forever change, for better or worse, once light-rail construction begins. [Wing Young Huie Photography & Gallery; 2525 Franklin Ave. S., Ste. 100, Mpls.; 612.375.0191; wingyounghuie.com]

4. Dr. Mambo’s Combo at Bunker’s
Prince may be a part of Minneapolis’s music history, but his former bandmates, now known as Dr. Mambo’s Combo, are both legendary and active locally. The group performs Sunday and Monday nights at Bunker’s, where the thronging faithful have been grooving to their version of “Little Red Corvette” for years. [761 N. Washington Ave., Mpls; 612.338.8188; bunkersmusic.com]

5. Experimental College
Everyone experiments in college. Some do keg stands; others blow up all of our preconceived notions about the American educational system. The Experimental College was founded in 2006 by a collective of Macalester students with a vision of offering an alternative to your everyday $50,000 bachelor’s degree. By allowing anyone to teach whatever they like in improvised classrooms (libraries, mostly, though “Basic Bike Maintenance” convenes at the Sibley Bike Depot in St. Paul), ExCo takes crippling debt out of the education equation. No accredited teachers or degrees, but also no homework or tuition. Here! [excotc.org]

6. Tanpopo Noodle Shop
Ask any foodie about Japanese food and even the smart ones mention sushi. But Yoshiki Yonemura, owner of Tanpopo, says it ain’t so. Her version: fragrant broths, handmade soba and udon noodles and local vegetables from the nearby farmers’ market. “Every Japanese restaurant focusing on sushi is like every American restaurant focusing on steak,” she says. “It’s just not the way people eat.” How do people eat at Tanpopo? Sublimely. [308 Prince St., St. Paul; 651.209.6527; tanpoporestaurant.com]

7. SS Billiards
Video games are fine, but for our quarters, nothing beats the rush of flinging a little silver ball up a maiden’s tower, past a dragon, between a couple of trolls and into a flaming castle door. (Triple jackpot!)Yes, SS Billiards has Medieval Madness, plus about 30 other games you’ll enjoy just as much. So why not make a day of it? To quote the SS Web site: “Feeling bored and lonely? There is always pinball to be played at SS Billiards.” Good to know. [732 11th Ave. S., Hopkins; 952.938.9259; ssbilliards.com]

8. The Electric Fetus
The Electric Fetus is the cockroach of record stores: When all others are gone, it will remain. Having turned 40 this year, the Fetus has survived psychedelic rock, disco, Limp Bizkit, Napster and, now, the steady collapse of the recording industry. Home of the town’s top in-store performances, new and used vinyl, glass pipes for tobacco (wink) and a catalog worthy of perusal by casual fans and collectors alike. [2000 4th Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.870.9300; electricfetus.com.]

9. Grand Old Day
Once a year, St. Paul parties harder than Minneapolis. This occurs on Grand Old Day, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year. Thousands of Pig’s Eye residents wander up and down Grand Avenue every June, getting tanked, munching on fried food and listening to the occasional so-bad-they’re-good cover bands. It’s basically a really narrow state fair without much of a raison d’etre—and we think that’s, um, grand. [grandave.com/grandoldday]

10. West Seventh
Bordered by downtown St. Paul, Highland Park, Summit Hill and the Mississippi River, this lively neighborhood housed Italian, Irish and German immigrants in the 19th century. These days it retains a staunchly middle-class vibe while fostering a burgeoning art scene that could someday find a focal point at the old Schmidt Brewery, which developers are working on turning into live/work artist lofts. West Seventh Street itself is the neighborhood’s lifeline, with its broad sidewalks and mixture of funky bars, great restaurants such as Mancini’s and Cossetta’s, and old-school repair shops. It’s like a blue-collar Champs-Élysées.

11. The weeHouse
A superbly modern—and affordable—pre-fab abode? That feels like our very own grown-up clubhouse? Wee! [Alchemy Architects; 856 Raymond Ave., St. Paul; 651.647.6650; alchemyarch.com]

12. Team Diarrhea
An aptitude for tracking down the sources of food-borne illnesses isn’t the sort of bragging right you’ll find on Twin Cities tourism brochures, but it’s something we’re pretty proud of. Especially the tomato-lovers among us: After the CDC responded to last summer’s salmonella outbreak by incorrectly warning the whole nation to order their burgers sans tomatoes, a group of grad students from the Minnesota Department of Health (called, affectionately, Team Diarrhea) calmly picked up the phone and said, “No, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s the jalapeños. You’re welcome.” This just two weeks after they accepted the assignment. Nice work, Team D. Now hire a branding consultant and work on that name. [health.state.mn.us]

13. Broders'  Italian Cucina and Pasta Bar
The world is completely, stupidly full of Italian phonies—those who claim a respect for the food and culture, then pilfer and co-opt bits and pieces and try to pass it off as authentic when it’s all just gondola murals in a sea of red sauce. Enter Broder’s, a 25-year Minneapolis institution anchoring the real ideals of Italian cuisine: simplicity, integrity, community. Here you will find: good, rustic peasant fare that’s more fortifying than fussy; ingredients imported from Italy; fresh pastas made on-site daily; and a deep, abiding respect for the human continuity of it all. Sadly, after battling with a life-long heart condition, Tom Broder passed away last July. His wife, Molly, and their son, Thomas, continue to run the family business, to the benefit of all Twin Citians. [5000 Penn Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.925.3113; broders.com]

14. Charles Baxter
Like so many great writers, Charles Baxter has the uncanny ability to make ordinary situations extraordinary. Take Baxter’s oft-anthologized short story “Gryphon,” in which a substitute teacher dazzles/terrifies an archetypal 4th-grade class with “substitute facts” (she claims that 6 multiplied by 11 sometimes equals 68) and tarot-card readings (she tells a boy named Wayne that he will soon die). In addition to crafting pitch-perfect novels and short stories, Baxter, a one-time Guggenheim fellow and National Book Award finalist (for his novel The Feast of Love), is a respected essayist and literary critic, as well as a beloved creative writing professor at the University of Minnesota. That makes him the most well-rounded ordinary extraordinary writer we’ve got. [charlesbaxter.com]

15. Peace Coffee
The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup—assuming you can sleep at night knowing your coffee purchase was grown by impoverished farmers paid a fraction of their crop’s market value, that is. That heavenly aroma? It’s injustice. And pesticides. We drink Peace Coffee and sleep like babies. With 15 varieties—all roasted, packed and distributed under one roof in Minneapolis—Peace Coffee operates under a sworn oath of social, economic and environmental responsibility. Not only do they only deal in 100-percent organic, shade-grown and fairly traded coffees, they also deliver by bike. [2801 21st Ave. S. #130, Mpls.; 612.870.3440; peacecoffee.com]

16. Minnesota Historical Society and Press
The various chapters of our state’s history have been preserved and celebrated by the Minnesota Historical Society, lest we forget from whence we came. Combining education with entertainment, the society conveys various integral facets of our state with its 26 historical sites and museums, including the history center (you could waste a day in the library alone), Mill City Museum, Fort Snelling and the Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior. And the MHS Press has been around for a while, too, publishing books and magazines on history, art and culture from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. The society has been even more relevant this year, as it helps celebrate Ol’ Minn’s 150th birthday—or sesquicentennial, if you’re up for a pronounceability challenge. [345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; 651.259.3000; mnhs.org]

17. Art Car Parade
Blessed are the art cars, for they shall inherit the road. At least, we hope so. Minnesota’s Art Car Parade gathers art on wheels from the Midwest and beyond in one procession of vehicular creativity. While this year saw Minnesota’s finest automobile artistry convening around the city instead of their usual roll through Lyn-Lake, it still left us with an uncontrollable desire to epoxy something—anything—to our cars. [artcarparade.com]

18. Allen Christian and the House of Balls
Allen Christian is the Willy Wonka of Twin Cities art. Like Wonka’s chocolate factory, Christian’s North Loop art space has a funhouse feel, with surprises around every corner. Named for the sculptor’s affinity for bowling and self-proclaimed ballsy approach to creativity, the 18-year-old House of Balls is part gallery (it overflows with heads carved from bowling balls and found material sculptures); part art studio (the basement houses sanders and welding tools needed for his work); and part museum of Christian’s life (photos of his kids are everywhere, as are random artifacts such as the chipped headstone he “salvaged” from a defunct monument manufacturer). Visitors are likely to be as overwhelmed by Christian’s generosity and kindness as they are by his sensual surroundings. Just as Wonka graciously (and a bit mischievously) invited the public to view his factory’s inner workings, Christian encourages the curious to stop by and watch him work. But even as he demystifies his art by letting us in, Christian remains mystical thanks to his magical house and enigmatic personality. Sounds like a certain candy man we know.  [212 3rd Ave. N., Mpls.; 612.332.3992; houseofballs.com]

19. Land Stewardship Project
It’s hard not to love the Land Stewardship Project. The 26-year-old organization is a private, non-profit grassroots group composed of farmers and rural and urban residents who work together to preserve our natural resources and help create a positive change in our food and agriculture systems. It’s also a great resource for consumers looking for information on Community Supported Agriculture shares, local food dinners and recipes. Mark your calendar for its annual Community Food & Farm Festival, where you can sample goods from Minnesota producers, held the first week of May on the State Fair grounds. [2200 4th St., White Bear Lake; 651.653.0618; landstewardshipproject.org]

20. Intermedia Arts
Started in 1973 by a group of U of M students looking to put video cameras into the palms of the people, Uptown-based Intermedia Arts has blossomed into a multi-media arts center that engages the community with forward-thinking arts programming and classes. Recent IA highlights include last summer’s Project Girl, an exhibition dedicated to empowering women and girls through art; and the Unconventional Gathering Place, a multi-media art show that concentrated on participatory democracy and bringing together artists, journalists and citizens during last month’s RNC. In a world where “community art” frequently equals a “Fun with Watercolor” class at the local community center, IA takes an interesting and challenging approach to its art-for-everyone mission. [2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.871.4444; intermediaarts.org]