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BEST PLACE TO WATCH A MOVIE OUTDOORS Vali-Hi Drive-In Theatre
Having awarded this category to the artfully programmed Stevens Square Park movies-and-music series in past years, we're not now confessing our latent preference for the likes of Gone in Sixty Seconds and Driven over, say, Thelma & Louise and Putney Swope. It's just that Gone in Sixty Seconds and Driven can be damn fun to watch through a car window with a few of your friends shouting insults at the actors through mouthfuls of stale popcorn. And with only three drive-ins remaining in the Twin Cities metro, how long will such vintage pleasures continue to be available? Of those three, the Vali-Hi Drive-In Theatre edges past the fine competition (the Cottage View and the 65-Hi) for one reason: They let you bring your own food; they even let you grill it on site if you so desire. Indeed, what better way to express your distaste for a wiener like Kevin Costner than by biting into your own brat? The Vali-Hi is open for about half the year, between April and September, the exact dates depending on the weather. The cost is $6 for adults (those 12 and under are admitted free), and the first movie--of several, during the summer months--starts just after dusk. The sound comes through your car stereo, the screen is gigantic, the crowds are ample and diverse, and the experience of being out till quarter to four in the morning suffering through the bottom of a badder-than-bad Hollywood triple bill is a curfew-breaker like no other.
BEST SIGN OF SPRING The Powderhorn May Day Parade
The trees might be turning green, the birds might be singing, and the temperature might have risen enough to allow us to trade our puffy, down-filled jackets for lighter windbreakers. But six months of relentless winter always leaves us a little paranoid: It may snow yet again. It is only with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre's annual May Day Parade that we can shed our fears of winter and join in a communal celebration of rebirth that is as joyous, giddy, and oversize as our emotions. When those two-story-tall puppets begin their haunting, wordless journey to Powderhorn Park, whatever remains of our seasonal depression slips away. The relief of it is enough to send spectators into tears when, along with the tens of thousands of other attendees, they begin to sing a song that finally banishes winter for another six months: Gene Autry's "You Are My Sunshine."
BEST PLACE TO BIRD WATCH Maplewood Nature Center
The easiest place to bird watch these days might be one's computer. The Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (www.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/) maintains a list--approved by their "records committee"--of some 423 species spotted in the state. And the sad fact is, however many hours you spend with a pair of binoculars glued to your face, you're not going to see a magnificent frigate bird--a glorious tropical creature with a wingspan of some seven and a half feet, which has on extraordinarily rare occasions been blown by hurricanes from the Gulf Coast to our frostier climes. All the same, once Minnesota's arctic winds abate and the biblical flooding subsides, friends of the birds are wont to head outdoors to experience the more frustrating and stirring process of identifying birds. This is when you should zip down I-94E to Highway 120, where a turn northward will take you to a small city-owned nature center. This site includes wetlands and woodland habitats, a number of groomed paths, and a wooden boardwalk out onto a lake. It is here that one can spot such waterfowl as pie-billed grebes, great blue herons, green herons, and common egrets. During migration times, when a bird's commute can take longer than a drive on 494 during rush hour, the nature reserve plays host to a great variety of warblers: northern parulas, chestnut-sided warblers, mourning warblers, and others. (Early-spring wildflowers can also be seen here in abundance.) For those who wouldn't know a scarlet tanager from a cardinal--or from a crow--the Minnesota chapter of the National Audubon Society runs a full calendar of tours and activities: www.audubon.org/chapter/mn/; or call the helpful Suzanne Plass at the nest in St. Paul; (651) 225-1830.
BEST FISHING HOLE (URBAN) Lake Elmo
For anglers seeking obscure quarry like freshwater gar or paddlefish, the Mississippi River probably tops the list. Looking for big catfish? Try the Minnesota River. Largemouth bass? Lake Minnetonka is your spot. But for an angler chasing the ultimate freshwater-fishing thrill, nothing beats Lake Elmo, a smallish but intriguing lake located in the Washington County town of the same name. In July 1999, a Woodbury fisherman named Josh Stevenson discovered firsthand what the 206-acre waterhole had to offer when he reeled in a 34-pound, 12-ounce tiger muskie--the biggest of its kind ever caught in the state of Minnesota. Stevenson's catch was a stocked fish, a product of the Department of Natural Resources' 15-year-effort to increase the number of big predator fish in metro lakes. In addition to the tigers, the DNR also regularly supplements Elmo's fishery--which includes a healthy population of crappies, perch, northern pike, and other panfish--with walleye. With its steep drop-offs and varied structure, Lake Elmo presents a challenge to even experienced anglers, so arm yourself with a depth finder and decent lake map. Oh, and a net. A big one.
BEST PUBLIC PARK Powderhorn Park
While most parks offer greenery and hiking trails designed to take visitors as far away--at least psychologically--from the city as possible, Powderhorn revels in its urban community vibe. In addition to hosting the Powderhorn art festival, a massive Fourth of July fireworks display, and at least one summer installment of Shakespeare in the Park, it also has an annual Mayday parade attended by thousands. This rolling 65-acre park functions geographically as a centerpiece for south Minneapolis. It has full-size football and soccer fields, numerous walking trails, baseball diamonds, four playgrounds--with swings, sandboxes, and various jungle-gym stuff--tennis courts, and horseshoe pits. For anglers, Powderhorn Lake is stocked annually with crappies, sunfish, and northern pike. In the winter, the lake is plowed and groomed for hockey and broomball rinks, and there's a warming house for those particularly bone-chilling nights. And because of its long, steep hills, Powderhorn offers some primo urban sledding. Best of all, the tiny parking lot is free, and there are plenty of spots on the surrounding city streets.
BEST PLACE TO CAMP The Boundary Waters
From the obscure little gems like the Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area to the famous recreational playgrounds of the Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota is dotted with literally hundreds of great places to pitch a tent. But the best? That's a no-brainer. The Boundary Waters aren't a Minnesota treasure, they're a national one--and one of the few remaining places in the lower 48 where a world-weary soul can actually escape the reminders of our relentlessly expanding civilization. Here, there are no red-blinking cell-phone towers to clutter up the night sky. No rumblings from internal combustion motors to drown out the wail of the loons. No pavement. No commerce. Nothing, really, but wilderness. With more than 1,000 lakes larger than ten acres, some 1,200 miles of canoe routes, and the largest tract of virgin forest in the eastern United States, a person could spend a lifetime in the Boundary Waters without ever fully knowing the place. The glory is in the trying.
BEST PLACE TO HIKE (URBAN) Nicollet Island
What in God's name is this place doing in the middle of a city? A little less than 50 acres in size, this island seems as if it floated upstream from Stillwater, perhaps, and somehow got lodged in the throat of the Mighty Miss. A few years back, a circumnavigation of this island offered hints of the somewhat seedy neighborhood it was only a decade or two ago. The houses were ramshackle, the paving blocks deteriorated (and today's kitschy "historical" lampposts nowhere to be found). A stray car could be encountered up on blocks in deep grass (the island's famous donkey, Sheba, was exiled to Iowa back in the 1980s). The untamed, rural feel of the island in that era was only one way-station in Nicollet Island's transformation. In the early 1800s, native Indians were believed to have had a camp here for tapping maple sugar. In the 1840s, real estate developers (who have long shaped the face of Minneapolis) tried to sell the island as parkland; later they set up an industrial zone on the island's south side. After a wire suspension bridge to the mainland opened in 1855 (pedestrians paid five cents to cross; each swine cost another two pennies), Nicollet Island went from a chic neighborhood of carriages and shops (the 1880s) to a built-up industrial and commercial zone (the 1930s to 1950s) to a run-down backwater (the 1970s) to a chic neighborhood of gingerbread houses (the 2000s). It's easy to lose one's bearings here--until a view of the big glass skyline becomes visible again through the trees. One half suspects that someday one of the island's residents will find an anchor hidden somewhere behind De La Salle High School, give it a good yank, and send this big grassy boat afloat to some unknown destination downstream.
BEST PLACE TO HIKE (WOODSY) Winchell Trail
Aside from the occasional clusters of forest and scattered lakes, we live in a flat expanse of citified prairie that bears a disturbing resemblance to greater Des Moines. There are, however, exceptions, and none is more striking than the Mississippi River gorge. It's no accident that the first white settlers--and the Dakota before them--were drawn to the banks of the Mississippi. There were practical reasons: The river made for easy travel and trade, and it provided raw power for the grain and saw mills upon which the 19th-century economy was built. But the mighty river offered something else, something equally important: a whopping dose of natural beauty. Despite the heavy industrialization of the river, you'd be hard-pressed to find a stretch of the Mississippi in the entire metro area that doesn't offer some enticement to the ambitious hiker. For our money, nothing beats the Winchell Trail. It was originally blazed as a footpath by the Dakota tribe, then improved by city workers in 1912; a second round of renovations was performed under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration program in the Thirties. By the looks of things, not much has gone on since then. Some of the stairways are crumbling. The old chainlink fences have sunk into the earth. Handrails are missing. And guess what? We don't care. In fact, the generally decrepit conditions ensure that the Winchell Trail isn't used much by joggers, rollerbladers, or mountain bikers. Which means a hiker can soak up the breathtaking vistas, uninterrupted by some loutish exercise fiend whizzing by and shouting, "On your left!"
BEST BIKE TRAIL The Midtown Greenway
Yeah, it's only two and a half miles long, and yeah, its completion was delayed three years. But when the Midtown Greenway finally opened in August, Minneapolis bicyclists had something to shout about: a safe, quick alternative to risking life and limb on busy, east-west roads like Lake Street. Not only that, the greenway created the crucial link in a network of trails that gives bicyclists a smog-and-traffic-free ride between the downtown core, the lake district, and the western suburbs. The decision to route the greenway along a stretch of railroad track was inspired, both for practical and aesthetic reasons. Because most of the old railroad tracks were constructed below or above street level, bicyclists on the greenway only have to contend with three stop signs. In addition, the trail offers some lovely vistas, most notably the splendid view you get when crossing the channel between Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. Like the best public-works projects, the Midtown Greenway will only improve over time. If all goes as planned, the eastern leg of the greenway should be completed by 2003, which means you'll be able to ride your bike from Uptown to the Mississippi River without having to slow down to curse those damnable motorists.
BEST PICNIC SPOT Como Park
American cities sprawl off into unreasonably vast distances, overladen with four-lane highways and drive-thru shopping centers. Even walking to the grocery store is becoming a near impossibility in our car-dependent rim cities. Como Park in St. Paul, designed much like the urban parks in the great cities of Europe, is a rare exception to this dehumanizing rule. Its paths wind through wooded hillsides, and its placid lake waters welcome all manner of waterfowl and watercraft. Atop one of the park hills stands a beautiful, très European glass and aluminum conservatory. Built in 1913, it houses a wide array of tropical plants and flowers. Visitors and picnickers can also visit a zoo, a restored 87-year-old carousel, a Japanese garden, and walk, walk, walk to their heart's content across some 500 acres of beauty. For all of this we owe thanks to Frederick Nussbaumer, a European transplant who, as park superintendent at the end of last century, brought his firsthand childhood knowledge of Europe's parks to the design of Como Park.
BEST DAY TRIP
Hmmm. Let's see, Minnesota day trip. We could go north and have our picture taken with a giant blue ox or south and jam into a crowded warehouse full of pink-colored pottery. It's so hard to decide. Or we could just stay home and take a nice stroll around downtown Minneapolis. Doesn't that sound better? Sure, you'll have to pick your way around a lot of scaffolding and cones and stuff. But when you think about it, there's almost nothing you could do in Stillwater that you couldn't do here. First, park your car. We don't know where. The point is to ditch the car so you can actually get around the city in a day's time. Okay, now head for the river. Trot across the restored Stone Arch Bridge where you'll have a great view of the St. Anthony Falls. From there you can follow a woodsy two-mile trail along the Mississippi riverfront; or cross the bridge to St. Anthony Main and grab a seat on the breezy outdoor deck at Tuggs River Saloon. Put your feet up on the railing and sip a tart mix of vodka and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Next, hop over to Nicollet Island. A tiny oasis in the middle of the city, this spot offers soft grass for stretching. Take a moment to scan the city's skyline for some landmark that could lead you to another stop. Maybe Kieran's Pub for a pint of Guinness and a burger? Maybe The New French Café for a cool glass of wine and white bean soup with crusty bread. Perhaps you will spy an antique store where, if you're so inclined, you can drop a grand on a giant, used wooden Jesus. Whatever you choose to see on your day in the city, it will surely be better than spending a Saturday cooped up in the car just to see the world's largest prairie chicken.
BEST BEACH Hidden Beach
As its name suggests, Hidden Beach offers a measure of seclusion rare for a city beach. Tucked in the woods on the east side of Cedar Lake, its sands are not even visible from the nearest roadway, Upton Avenue. There are no parking lots nearby. There are no roped-off swimming areas. And there are no lifeguards to enforce the dreaded "safety breaks" that swimmers must endure on the city's "official" beaches. It is, in short, gloriously unregulated, which is one reason it has long been considered Minneapolis's premier nude beach. But if Hidden Beach may be problematic for people unnerved by the sight of bared flesh, it's hardly the French Riviera. Nine times out of ten, the swimmers and sunbathers here meet a Disney standard for decency. On a hot summer day, the beach attracts an entertainingly diverse crowd--Hacky Sack-playing hippies, guitar-strumming wanderers, mudbath-taking burnouts, freaks, teens, stoners, geezers, Uptown pretenders, and plenty of regular folk.
Readers' Choice: Calhoun Beach
BEST PLACE TO JOG Lake of the Isles
Saturday afternoon in mid-March and the endless winter has finally begun to lose its bite. The temperature is a balmy 45 degrees and the sun (sun!) is shining. Staring out our dank apartment window, we can no longer resist the lure of the outdoors. So we turn off the TV, put the unopened beer back in the fridge, and lace up our dusty running shoes. The sidewalks are still a bit icy, yet the outer path around Lake of the Isles is in remarkably good shape. Sand has been laid down to keep the footing sure, and dodging the inevitable slush puddles becomes a welcome distraction from the sensation that at any moment we might cough up a lung. Smiling people clog the pathway like they've just been liberated from a four-month stint in the slammer. The snow-covered vista has a stoic beauty--made all the more appealing by the knowledge that it will soon be gone. And before we know it we're in the home stretch of the three-mile circuit, still breathing like a wounded mule heading up Mount Kilimanjaro, but feeling positively ecstatic. A few drops of sweat (sweat!) roll down our cheeks. They could just as easily be tears of joy. Never before has 45 degrees and sunshine felt like such a divine blessing. Those people in the Sun Belt don't know what they're missing.
BEST PLACE TO ROLLERBLADE Rollerdome
There are many beautiful paved trails in Minnesota--trails that wind through beautiful river bluffs and past exquisite prairie vistas. And many of these trails were considered for this category. But alas, the Northland, beautiful though it may be, is off-limits to skaters at least six months a year. Fortunately for the in-line-deprived there is help: Rollerdome. From November through April, the Metrodome's otherwise desolate upper and lower concourses become a makeshift roller rink, flatter and smoother than the best outdoor trail, complete with hippy-dippy music. The parking is free, admission is a mere six bucks ($5 for students, $4 for kids, thanks to sponsors such as Rollerblade, Chevrolet, and Power Bar), and wouldn't you know it? The place draws skaters from every walk of life--from the knuckle-kneed newbies trying out their new Xmas gifts to the wannabe Bonnie Blairs, to those folks who wear space-age helmets and skate in groups of three like weird dancing robots. Who are those guys, anyway?
BEST TENNIS COURTS Augsburg Park
Richfield, anyone? While many park officials are likely cringing at the sight of asphalt scarred by a six-month winter, these half-dozen courts just south of Minneapolis have fared remarkably well and will no doubt be in full swing come mid-May. Nestled on the edge of Augsburg Park near a residential street and behind the Hennepin County Augsburg Park Library, they're among the few lighted public courts in the metro area, catering to players ranging from novice to tenacious. It's easiest to secure a spot during daytime hours (the courts are open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.), while summer leagues often dominate the early evening. Court time is free, although a $3 reservation, available at the park, is strongly encouraged for nighttime play. There's a large backboard on site to keep impatient waiters on their toes.
BEST GOLF COURSE Francis A. Gross
There has been a rash of golf-course development over the past few years, particularly in the exurban metro. While these fancy-schmancy clubs might attract fleeting attention from the new-economy linkheads (the much-raved about course in Prior Lake, the Wilds, costs $99 a pop), regular folk jonesin' for good, cheap golf need look no further than the northern tip of Minneapolis. Francis A. Gross, which has been operating since 1925 and sees 55,000 duffers a year, fits neatly within its urban landscape. The flat terrain is mostly dry. Mature trees line the fairways, making for a good walking course. And some minor summer renovations will double the number of water holes from two to four. Gross is playable for the novice golfer, yet challenging enough to interest the expert. Gross's signature hole is number three--a deceptive, 179-yard par three that slopes wickedly from the tee to the green. Perhaps the course's greatest asset, though, is affordability. Eighteen holes will cost you $24 on weekdays. On the weekends that price goes up only two bucks, meaning that the market needn't dictate your handicap.
BEST SLEDDING Theodore Wirth Park
Given the length and severity of the winter that has finally, mercifully passed, the thought of putting on snowpants and schlepping a sled up a steep, icy hill on a butt-cold afternoon is probably the last one you'd care to entertain. But in a few short months (!), when the temperature drops again and the kids are sliding down the banister--or perhaps the inner child in you could use an altered state--you may be wondering about the best spot to schlep a sled up a steep, icy hill on a butt-cold afternoon. And that spot is Wirth Park, where speed freaks of all ages bring their sleds, toboggans, snowboards, inner tubes, and saucers to turn the winter wonderland into an icy Indy 500. On the afternoon we visited, loyal Wirth daredevils had sculpted a few snow jumps (or obstacles, as you prefer) to make the peerlessly long ride down even more harrowing. As an added bonus, the Wirth hill (which is lighted at night) allows you to ponder the Minneapolis skyline while falling to your doom. And inner tubes are available for rent just in case good ol' Rosebud isn't going to give you the sense of frozen shock that you secretly crave.
BEST PLACE TO CROSS-COUNTRY SKI Lebanon Hills Regional Park
We don't have the knees to be graceful downhill-ski bunnies. But we can handle ourselves fairly well on cross-country trails. And a favorite spot for testing our elements is Lebanon Hills Regional Park, where miles of beginning, intermediate, and downright difficult trails can be accessed from trailheads at Jensen, Holland, and Shulze lakes. The latter spot is the busiest during the winter. We figure that's because it offers a warming house on weekends; there, clumsy folks can fumble around on the same starter loop that their more fit friends use to "warm up." Having spent that quality time together, those who are worn out can head for the heated restrooms before flopping down in the warming house for cocoa. Meanwhile the ambitious can zoom off down 11 miles of winding trail, where--sliding effortlessly among the sleeping elms and cottonwoods--they will hear only the chirping of birds. Maps are available at all three trailheads and parking is free. The park is open from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, but call ahead to get an update on trail conditions. And don't forget the sunscreen.
BEST PLACE TO ICE-SKATE The Depot Skating Rink
There's something reassuring about our ability to transform nearly everything on earth into a disco. Thirty years after the last train pulled out of the old Milwaukee Depot, this steely monument to the industrial age still looks like something out of a Monet painting. But inside the muscular metal arcade--built a century ago to shelter our mightiest locomotives--there is an ice-skating rink, complete with mirrored balls, speakers that pipe Cher, Cher, Cher, and a hot-dog stand. The song sets could use some help from one of our better club DJs. (When Madonna's "Music" piped up one day, a figure skater was heard to exclaim, "Finally! Something not from the Eighties!") And, yes, the public-skating hours are difficult to memorize. (Through June 17, the rink is open Monday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; on Friday from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., and from 8:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.; on Saturday from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., and 6:45 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.; and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. After June 17, hours will be extended further. Got that?) But the train-shaped Zamboni is to die for (or laugh at). For a cheap admission price ($5 for adults; $3 for skaters under 17) you and your friends can try couple-skating, group skating, or solo flopping. The showoffs in the rink's center are usually happy to offer tips. Beer and cocoa are available to the injured. And, of course, there's always Cher.
Readers' Choice: The Depot
BEST BOWLING ALLEY AMF Southtown Lanes
Let's face it, bowling is not best enjoyed as a sober activity. Sure, there are plenty of people who take this "sport" seriously, and the sheer number of league games that take place at this particular alley attests to its status as a well-kept venue. The nights, though, are left open for the rest of us, who may need a little liquid courage to really get the ball rolling, so to speak. Victor's, Southtown's attached bar, fits the bill nicely, with stiff drinks and plenty of other distractions like several Golden Tee games, dartboards, and an overwhelmingly purple poolroom. Best of all, the true meaning of the word cosmopolitan is on display here every Sunday night, when Xtreme bowling--that is, unlimited games for $14 after 9:00 p.m., with the addition of black lights and loud music--attracts a very diverse crowd. A recent evening spent among the crashing of the pins found us eavesdropping on mullet-headed beer guzzlers debating the merits of Julia Roberts's Oscars dress, enjoying the spectacle of young parenting and overstimulated kids, and observing teenagers of every color pushing flirting rituals into high gear--it's easy to get over feeling awkward when everyone is wearing goofy shoes.
Readers' Choice: Bryant-Lake Bowl
BEST NEIGHBORHOOD GYM YWCA Midtown
We're not knocking the other two YWCA facilities in Minneapolis, but let's face it, natural light--which is so essential to the indoor workout, especially in the land of seven-month winters--isn't easy to come by at the Uptown and Downtown locations. At Midtown, the $21.4 million center that opened August 1, windows are everywhere. Staff members are eager to proclaim that this is the largest YWCA in the country, and indeed, spacious simplicity is the rule. There's the solid red brick and peppy yellow exterior, an arc-shaped area upstairs for free weights and exercise machines, and the aerobics studio with its suspended wood floor for extra give. And again, there are windows galore: along the running track, with a cushiony surface that takes the jolt out of jogging; circling the field house, which Minneapolis schools use during the day but is otherwise open for tennis, golf, volleyball, even batting practice; and by the family pool, the lap pool, the whirlpool, and a steam room. Classes, kids' activities, and daycare are all available. Memberships, priced for adults, families, seniors, students, and youth, can be paid in one lump sum or through a monthly debit. For example, a single adult could pay $520 for a year, or pay $153 down and $39 a month. Be sure to do the math, though--a paid-in-full six-month membership can turn out to be more expensive than the monthly payments.
BEST PLACE TO LEARN TO DANCE Tapestry Folkdance Center
A year and a half after settling into its new space, the already reputable Tapestry has improved its repertoire by leaps and bounds. With two new dance spaces, featuring glossy maple floors, the center has room to balance its own programs with outside rentals. The classes are truly cross-cultural spectacles: Irish steppers will test themselves with salsa; English country folkies can be found shaking their stuff in beginning belly dancing. There is a crop of highly devoted regulars, of course, but they will embrace anyone without a partner, making it the ideal place for the shyest of toe-tappers. The open-door classes and events usually cost less than a first-run movie, and, unlike nightclubs and bars, it's smoke- and alcohol-free, so drop in and jig until you've worn your weary soles thin.
BEST PLACE TO PRACTICE JUGGLING Minnesota Neverthriving Meetings
On Monday nights at 7:00 p.m., they start to trickle in, sometimes just a handful, sometimes 20 or 30 of them. They smile and greet each other, or introduce themselves as if it's their first time. In a flash, balls, clubs, and rings are flying. And for the next two hours, in a gymnasium shared by the Matthews Park Center and Seward School, the Minnesota Neverthriving have fun honing their craft. So, you ask, what on earth is a "neverthriving"? It is the descriptive term for a group of jugglers. A gaggle of geese. A murder of crows. A neverthriving of jugglers. The meetings are informal affairs, where everyone is on equal footing. Sure, there might be some internationally acclaimed performers there. But even if you've yet to keep three balls going for more than five seconds, these folks will make you feel welcome. It is, however, worth calling ahead before you go. Sometimes meetings of the park or school boards displace the neverthriving. Besides that, the group usually dwindles during the summer months, so you may have to go back to spending sunny afternoons practicing by the lake--and dealing with the perplexed looks of passersby.
BEST BATTING CAGE Amusement City
As Dome-detractors will tell you, baseball is meant to be played outdoors. And, as Dome-defenders will tell you, that doesn't mean a whole lot in Minnesota, where spring can find home plate buried under a snowdrift. Minnesota's tardy summers also force a compromise for amateur sluggers hankering for a few swings. During the winter months, the only options around are indoor sports complexes like Grand Slam in Coon Rapids. (This huge funhouse, featuring indoor minigolf and laser-tag, is also the place to bring the baseball-loving wee'uns for birthday parties.) When the weather does finally come around, though, you can't beat the more grown-up diversions of Amusement City; which, with its ramshackle atmosphere and big, pink elephant statue, is like a dollop of Coney Island in Maplewood. Knocking around a few fastballs here--with a turn on the go-cart track, an ice-cream cone, and a round of minigolf thrown into the mix--might be the perfect way to spend a summer evening. Given Amusement City's generous hours (10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day), this could also be the best place in town to play hooky.
BEST BOXING GYM Glancey's Gym
Back in 1991, when Jim Glancey bought the former Anderson Meat Company building on St. Paul's East Side, he hoped to train and manage professional boxers. But like many who proceeded him, Glancey quickly learned that it's tough to make a buck on the prairie's pro fight circuit. Rather than giving up, the retired pipe insulator decided to focus on training kids. He has never looked back. In addition to offering instruction on the sweet science's finer points, Glancey places a heavy emphasis on civility and sobriety (in 2000, Glancey's sent more fighters to the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Championships than any other gym in the region). Glancey, who lives in an apartment upstairs, has remodeled the downstairs extensively, and furnished the old meat lockers with two rings, a full complement of punching bags, weights, and lockers (at 14,000 square feet, it is among the largest boxing gyms in the Midwest). Legend has it that Glancey's is haunted by the ghost of a fighter named Clyde Mudgett. A two-time amateur champ and journeyman professional, Mudgett perished in the building's smokestack in 1983, while attempting to burglarize the place. At night, so say the believers, you can hear him tapping away on the speed bag.
BEST BOXER Will Grigsby
It probably says something about the Minnesota fight scene that the boxer who had the best year fought only once, was stripped of his title, and was twice arrested in highly unsavory circumstances. But the simple fact remains: St. Paul's "Steel" Will Grigsby is the slickest, most accomplished fighter to lace on the gloves in Minnesota in a long, long time. Outside the ring, the 30-year-old former International Boxing Federation junior flyweight champ had a rough 12 months, beginning with his arrest last May for allegedly staging pit-bull fights and ending with a February arrest for assault. But inside the ring, Grigsby demonstrated once again why Jim O'Hara, grand old man of Minnesota boxing and executive secretary of the state boxing board, once likened Grigsby to the legendary Willie Pep. In July, after losing the IBF title in 1999 to Mexican great Ricardo Lopez, Grigsby took a shot at the vacant World Boxing Organization title against the well-regarded contender Nelson Dieppa. Some observers worried Grigsby's confidence might be shaken by the spanking he received from Lopez. Others figured his outside-the-ring problems would distract him. They were wrong. In a 12-round decision, Grigsby demonstrated once again the fierce counterpunching and ring generalship that made him a champion in the first place. After the fight, Grigsby was stripped of the WBO belt for testing positive for marijuana (which, last we checked, was more likely to enhance appetite than performance). It remains to be seen whether Grigsby will get his personal life in order, but there's little doubt he is still the best boxer in these parts.
BEST TIMBERWOLVES PLAYER Sam Mitchell
In the waning minutes of a midseason, 21-point rout at the hands of the Portland Trailblazers, superstar Kevin Garnett sat on the Timberwolves' bench, head draped in a towel, unable to watch the massacre. Had he looked up, he would have seen Sam Mitchell scrapping for loose balls and hitting jumpers, the very definition of dedication. In the midst of the Wolves' most tumultuous year yet (the tragic death of Malik Sealy, the scandalous loss of Joe Smith), the 37-year-old forward has been a graceful authority figure. Yes, KG continues to reign as the franchise player, Mitchell's playing time has diminished to single-digit minutes (without a single squawk from him, by the way), and his scoring average is meager. But consider that no other player embodies what Garnett himself proudly refers to as the "family-oriented" spirit of this midlevel franchise. He played in the team's inaugural game in 1989, has since slipped comfortably into an unofficial role as player-coach, and, perhaps most critical, has helped pick up the slack in player/administrator relations left by suspended general manager Kevin McHale.
Readers' Choice: Kevin Garnett
BEST VIKINGS PLAYER Randy Moss
By mid-December, as the Vikings' season was proving once again to be a cruel mirage, the critics began casting about for someone to blame. Predictably, and rightly, the squad's defense took most of the heat. When the late-season collapse worsened, though, it became fashionable to point a finger at the team's most sensational player, wideout Randy Moss. ESPN commentator Merril Hoge got the ball rolling with a commentary in which he presented videotape documenting Moss's propensity for goldbricking. Local and national commentators, most notably the Star Tribune's Dan Barreiro and Fox-TV's Matt Millen, piled on Moss critiques of their own. Then, in the wake of the Vikings' season-ending loss to a mediocre New York Giants club, offensive tackle Todd Steussie took Moss to task publicly. Well, we'll concede that Moss doesn't give his all on every play. But the fact remains, the Freak is among the greatest--if not the greatest--big-play artists in the league. In just three seasons, Moss has racked up 43 touchdown receptions, averaging over 18 yards a catch and totaling some 4,163 yards. At that rate, Moss will eclipse the career numbers of Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of all time. In the new NFL, free agency and the salary cap have brought an unprecedented degree of parity to the league; as a result, the outcomes of games hinge more than ever on big plays. And no Viking comes up with the Big Play more often, or more spectacularly, than Randy Moss.
Readers' Choice: Randy Moss
BEST TWINS PLAYER Matt Lawton
We flirted with bestowing this honor on Jacque Jones, the Twins' young, powerful outfielder with oodles of potential. But Jones could hit .300 and drive in 100 runs this season, or he could be shagging flies in Edmonton by the time the mosquitoes start biting. There's also a strong case to be made for anchors Eric Milton and Brad Radke. God willing, the two starters will lead the Twins to their first above .500 season since players began wearing batting helmets. But it's hard to get too riled up about a pair who managed just 25 wins between them last season. That leaves us with Lawton. No, he ain't Kirby. But the diminutive, pudgy, deceptively quick outfielder certainly resembled Puckett at times during the 2000 campaign: playing stellar in right, batting .300, leading the team in RBI's, and swiping more than the occasional base. Plus we like the bewildering fact that he throws right-handed but bats left-handed. It's about time the Twins sent a delegate to the All-Star game who isn't a charity case.
Readers' Choice: Brad Radke
BEST LYNX PLAYER Betty Lennox
There are only two realistic choices here: Katie Smith and Betty Lennox. The two WNBA All Stars accounted for a whopping 54 percent of the Lynx's scoring last season, averaging 20 and 17 points per game respectively. On top of that, the dynamic duo were responsible for more than a third of the team's assists and finished one-two in steals. Makes you kinda wonder what the rest of the team was doing all season. We give Lennox the slight edge for two reasons: youth and rebounding. The 24-year-old Louisiana Tech product was last season's runaway Rookie of the Year and is the chief reason to be optimistic that this season the Lynx will top their back-to-back 15-17 seasons. Then there's Lennox's size--or lack thereof. Some of her opponents stand a half-foot taller than her diminutive five-foot-eight. So it's nothing short of astounding that the rookie notched three double-doubles last season and led the team in rebounding with 5.6 boards per game. Those are some tall stats.
Readers' Choice: Katie Smith
BEST WILD PLAYER Marian Gaborik
You were all thinking we were going to bestow this accolade on Darby Hendrickson because he's our homie, Richfield native, and an alum of the University of Minnesota men's Gopher hockey team. But we just can't do it. Not with Marian Gaborik, a 19-year-old left wing from Trencin, Slovakia, breaking club records left and right. Gaborik was the Wild's first-ever draft pick, acquired in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He subsequently became the youngest player to score the first-ever goal for an NHL expansion team (scoring the first shot in the Wild's inaugural NHL game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim). Since then Gaborik has tied for the lead among all NHL rookies in shots (179), placed fifth in goals (18), and tied for fifth in points (36). He finished the Wild's inaugural season tied for the team lead in goals and ranked first in shots and points. Not coincidentally, Gaborik will be among seven Wild players set to participate in the 2001 World Championships in Germany. Our only disappointment is that there he'll be representing Slovakia.
Readers' Choice: Manny Fernandez
BEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE Joe Mauer
This year saw some staggering accomplishments in high school sports. Matt Nagel of Frazee became the only wrestler to win five state championships. Roseville's Renee Curtin ended her five-year career in girls' hockey with a record 544 points and two state championships. Still, in a year of standouts, only one athlete dominated in three sports: Cretin-Derham Hall's Joe Mauer. Resembling St. Paul's own Dave Winfield, Mauer reigned as the state's top quarterback in football, a long-range shooter in basketball, and a power-hitting catcher in baseball. He has led Cretin-Derham to the state playoffs in all three, and led his football team to the state championship his junior year. With 41 touchdown passes this season, the graduating senior was named the Gatorade's National Player of the Year in football. The Twins are still wooing him with a million-dollar contract. But alas, Mauer seems bent on attending Florida State to play college football.
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE Ben Hamilton
One of the first lessons taught in judo is that a small fighter can use a larger opponent's strength to his own advantage. Well, Big Ten college football isn't exactly judo. And that makes this Gopher senior's impressive record as center all the more striking. At six-foot-five and 283 pounds, Hamilton is practically a runt compared to the defensive linemen trying to run him down on their way to sack the quarterback. Yet the All-American, who has started for the Gophers since he was a freshman, has allowed just one sack since the beginning of his sophomore year--and during that spell he's also had 188 knockdown blocks. He has shared Minnesota's offensive MVP honors, and in 2000 he became the first Gopher ever to be named a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award. The secret to his success--coaches, opponents, and fans all call him one of the most dominating players in football--is masterful technique, quick footwork, and a thoughtfulness that overpowers brute strength. And that thoughtfulness reaches beyond the field: Hamilton, a mechanical-engineering major, maintains a 3.25 grade point average. In addition, he's no stranger to personal conviction. Perhaps you recall the stir he caused last fall when he declined to take part in Playboy's preseason All-America team? "I didn't want to give people the wrong idea about my life," Hamilton was quoted as saying at the time. "I didn't want people on campus saying, 'Hey, you're a Christian guy; what are you doing in a magazine like that?' I felt like I was sending a mixed message."
Readers' Choice: Dusty Rychart, University of Minnesota Gophers men's basketball
BEST COACH Dan Monson
The guy takes his team out on the hard court and leads the Gopher fans in the U of M rouser after every game, win or lose! Need we say more? Okay. Fine. Relatively speaking, the NCAA went easy on the U's basketball program last October. Still, the already undersize, star-starved hoopsters--facing five fewer scholarships, significant recruiting restrictions, and a marred national image--looked like a lock for long-term care. Gopher faithful prepared themselves for the inevitable: at least four years staring up at the Big Ten standings; lackluster media coverage resulting in half-empty bleachers; and a drawer full of N.I.T. T-shirts. Second-year coach Dan Monson had other ideas. His well-schooled, highly motivated team burst out of the gate with 12 wins, over a host of respectable opponents including Georgia and Florida State. Then the Big Ten season began with three barn-burning, defensive triumphs over Wisconsin, Purdue, and Indiana. Suddenly Williams Arena--just stripped of its 1997 Final Four banner--was rocking with pride. At the same time, Monson was working behind the scenes to recruit the six-foot-ten-inch Duluth East star, McDonald's All-American Rick Rickert, and MCC transfer Jerry Holman. Inevitably (and predictably) this season's successful run was short-circuited by key injuries and a lack of talent. But no one was taking the Golden Gophers for granted, and it's a good guess that as long as Monson hangs around, no one ever will.
Readers' Choice: Flip Saunders
BEST CHUTZPAH Gophers football coach Glen Mason
Following the Gophers' humiliating loss to North Carolina State in the Micronpc.com Bowl, you might think coach Glen Mason would either hang his head in shame for a couple of weeks, hit the streets and sign some hot recruits, or go on the mother of all benders. Mason settled on a fourth option: He attempted to hustle his way into one of the most prestigious gigs in all of college football, head coach at Ohio State. While Mason's brass-balled bid to become the top Buckeye flopped (Ohio State hired a Division II coach instead), you gotta admire the guy's chutzpah. It wasn't the first time Gopher fans got a view of Mason's naked ambition. In 1999, after just his third season with the team, Mason interviewed for jobs at both LSU and Michigan State. While he claimed to never be serious about either gig, he quickly wangled a lucrative new contract out of the U of M, doubling his annual salary to one million. Who could have guessed then that Mason would put himself on the market again just a year later? After a 6-6 season? After blowing a 24-point lead in a bowl game? One can only imagine the demands Mason will make if he ever actually gets around to winning in the postseason.
BEST CLASS ACT J.B. Bickerstaff
J.B. Bickerstaff catches the wrong kind of breaks. As the emotional core of the Gopher men's basketball team for the past two years, he saw each season come to an end courtesy of a broken leg. (This after sitting through the program's term-paper scandal.) The second break was especially painful, as it dashed a once-promising college career and dreams of the NBA. Bickerstaff remained loyal to the end, though, moving from team leader to cheerleader and becoming an eloquent spokesman on the local sports talk-show circuit. As the team's season limped toward the National Invitation Tournament, Bickerstaff was on the sidelines, offering cheers, waving towels, and occasionally giving quiet instruction to his very young teammates. The final game of the season in the second round of the NIT tournament saw the Gophers scrap back from an 18-point second-half deficit against Tulsa, only to lose on a last-second shot in overtime. It was missed badly by sophomore Shane Schilling, who hung his head at mid-court. As the fans cheered "J.B.! J.B.!" to bid Bickerstaff a fond farewell, he walked over to Schilling, embraced him for several seconds, turned to the crowd, and started pointing to the young shooter. The crowd sensed the gesture and cheered even louder for Schilling, who just moments before had been the goat.
BEST JOCKEY Derek Bell
Since Canterbury Park reopened in 1994 Luis Quinonez has dominated the track, winning five consecutive jockey titles. But with Quinonez opting to race elsewhere last summer, the door opened up for Derek Bell, the second-best jockey at Canterbury in 1999. Despite breaking his shoulder in January and having to miss six weeks of action, Bell decimated the Canterbury field last year. He had a dozen more wins than the closest contender and finished in the money in half his races. Expect the 31-year-old jockey, who has been riding full-time for only five years, to build on his success this summer at Canterbury: He just finished Tampa Bay Downs' winter season as the leading money winner. Doug Oliver, a top trainer at Canterbury, says Bell's success is no coincidence: "He's there early every morning, and he works hard."
BEST CASINO Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
The "bigger is better" principle does not apply to all things. (Think house pets. Alimony payments. Melanomas.) But with casinos, size does matter. Gambling is an inherently grandiose pursuit, and for our money, at least, the bigger and gaudier the venue, the better. For the winners, a roomy casino means a bigger crowd to play to, a better forum for public adulation (or envy). For losers, bigger joints have separate advantages. There are more varied psychic escape routes. One can salve the wounds by taking in a show, or skulk out of the place without anyone really noticing. By this simple standard, Mystic Lake is the best of the 11 major casinos in Minnesota. And by this standard, it is also continually improving. Since opening in 1992, Mystic Lake has expanded from 1,000 slot machines and 76 blackjack tables to more than 3,100 slots and 100 blackjack tables, with a corollary growth in amenities such as hotel rooms, conference rooms, etc. We also appreciate the (relatively) stylish design of the place. The circular architecture of Mystic Lake's main building is an appealing deviation from the big-box design of its fellow establishments, and the spotlights that shoot into the night sky in the configuration of a tipi are a nice, if subtle, acknowledgment of the heritage of the casino's Native American proprietors, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Finally, we appreciate Mystic Lake's 120-foot buffet line, said to the be the largest in the Midwest. For suckers like us, such opportunities for indulgence really take the sting out of the losses. That is, until the heartburn kicks in.
BEST PLACE TO LOSE YOUR SHIRT Canterbury Park Card Club
Go ahead and toss your money down the toilet at one of the state's cheap Sin City knockoffs. Just don't come crying to us when you've blown the Wisconsin Dells family-vacation fund in one debauched weekend because you were too foolish to heed the cardinal rule of casinos: In the end, the house always wins. The poker tables at Canterbury are different--sorta. Though the club takes its cut (up to four bucks per hand), you're not playing against the house; you're facing off against the seven or eight fellow card fiends at your table. Translation: You can actually win. Of course, that makes it a game of skill, and because the house gets paid, the margin of error is slim. That said, a session of poker is a far more satisfying way to blow dough than dumping $200 down a one-armed bandit calibrated to ensure that you walk out with less than what you had when you came in. Win some. Lose some. Feel the adrenaline rush of landing a flush on the last card (and the despair of folding what would have turned into a full house). And if you get burned out on cards, take advantage of Canterbury's other bona fide game of skill and throw some bucks at the ponies in the simulcast area--or, during the warmer months when live racing is featured, in the great outdoors.
BEST BINGO GAME West Seventh Bingo
Bingo, unlike bowling, is a blue-collar Midwestern diversion that has never really caught on beyond its core constituency. One reason, perhaps, is that, according to popular perception, said constituency consists primarily of chain-smoking retirees in support stockings. Another reason is that, unlike bowling, you can't play bingo ironically; if you don't get into it, the game will bore you to tears. Still, it's a shame that more people don't give bingo a try; compared with the brutally regressive tax of the lottery or the dispiriting chintz of casino gambling, bingo is a sociable, quaint, even fun way to lose your money. One excellent place for the bingo neophyte to begin is this low-key, midsize neighborhood hall, which alludes in spirit to the days when bingo palaces were centers of St. Paul society. Sessions begin at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. nightly (with an extra game on Tuesday afternoons). And at $10 a card, you can decide whether the game suits your taste without breaking the bank.
2001 Best of the Twin Cities HOME
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