First Outside Dining of the Year!

I love the patios in Minneapolis. Sometimes they're a miss, attracting the bus and grime off the city streets, but sometimes they're on just enough of a thoroughfare to provide adequate people watching and keep your food clean.

Even though the weather was beautiful and the dining was fun, the best part of the day was getting together with a good friend, Uptown, and walking from place to place while chatting about all things wonderful.

Our first stop was the patio at Gigi's Cafe. The food was really good, and lots of the stress was taken away because you order at the counter and then just nab your spot on the street. We were there just at the right time to take advantage of the Happy Hour special ($3.00 glasses of wine) and their portobello mushroom appetizer, which we shared and was AMAZING! I also love just sitting outside, we got to be loud while we caught up on the events of the week.

Next, we wandered, looking for something a little more substantial, into the heart of the Lyn-Lake area. Uptown is friends with the brew master at the Herkimer, so we headed in that direction but along the way opted for the Asian flare of Moto-i, which is making a name for itself by being the first place outside of Japan to brew it's own Sake. Sadly, we were there for the food and not the Sake - and the food and the service weren't that great. Although, the rooftop was very Stella-esque and not crowded, so if we are in the mood for a crazy night with some Sake I'm sure we'll be back. Here's a picture of the view.

I love eating on patios! Yay for Summer!!