When in...Minneapolis Part Two

THE BITE
Restaurant Alma
528 University Ave. S.E.; (612) 379-4909
One of the most zealously organic, seasonal kitchens in town, this homey local favorite still knows how to turn purism into a party. James Beard?nominated chef Alexander Roberts cooks up an all-American wagyu beef roast but does some border-hopping too, with lemon orzo pasta and roasted pork paired with scallion pancakes.

La Belle Vie
510 Groveland Ave.; (612) 874-6440
The casual lounge dishes up grilled lamb burgers, though serious foodies will head directly into the chandelier-lit, swish main dining room, where Minnesota?s favorite chef, Tim McKee, cooks up multicourse tasting menus that may start with his signature seared foie gras.

MORNING AFTER
Walker Art Center
1750 Hennepin Ave.; (612) 375-7600
If the powerhouse contemporary art collection, well-edited gift shop, caf?, and sculpture garden aren?t enough, play a round on the artist-designed miniature golf course, where you can shoot a ball through Paul Bunyan?s manly splayed legs.

THE SOUVENIRS
Ingebretsen?s
1601 E. Lake St.; (612) 729-9333
An homage to Minneapolis?s blond Scandinavian roots, this shop offers everything from Norwegian sweaters to the signature Viking dish called lutefisk, a dried cod cured in lye that locals still gulp down at Christmas. Opt for the sweater.

THE READ
The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Borealis Books, 2004) is an anthology of the St. Paul?born writer?s elegiac heartland fiction.

THE FLICK
The Personals, 1982
Filmed on location, this bittersweet comedy lovingly pans the city?s lakes. The better DVD ode to the Twin Cities, though, may be The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Saucer-eyed Mary may read as dated, but Rhoda?s head scarves and sarcasm would be perfectly at home in the new, fast-moving, suddenly hip Minneapolis.

Part One | Part Two