People who even vaguely know me know that I make a lot of social events in Uptown. Weekdays, weekends. After work to late night. I’ve noticed things that are useful for event planners:
In general, there is an area of Uptown that mostly caters to the post-college “going out” kind of person. This is officially Uptown, according to Google Maps. There is another area of Uptown that caters to those in the early-career stage “going out”. This is Lynne-Lake.
In Uptown, you have popular bars such as the Uptown Tavern, Bar Louie, Calhoun Square, etc. In general, you also have a ton of shopping, and it’s more “trendy”. It easily attracts a younger crowd, as they don’t have their own style yet, so “popular” is best for them. Uptown is busier, too. It appeals to the masses. And that’s great sometimes. Comedy Sportz caters to the younger crowd, as it is short-form improv, meaning it requires less attention span and tends to include more physical humor.
Some of the best attractions in trendy Uptown are Bar Louie, Calhoun Square, and other popular bars. While it is a little between, Coup d’Etait is in Uptown.
Some different Uptown locations give a style a little different than most of Uptown. For instance, Famous Dave’s does not typically cater towards a young crowd. It’s one of the few places in the Cities that consistently has good jazz and a dance floor. There are dance lessons and dancing tends to be more organized than just club dancing. I secretly want to tell everyone my age who dances at a club to learn how to dance.
Obviously, nicer restaurants don’t cater towards the young crowd. I still need to explore Uptown south and west of Calhoun Square. That is on my summer itinerary.
Lynne-Lake is awesome, as it caters mostly to my age group.
My three favorite places are obviously HUGE Theater, Louie’s Wine Dive, and HUGE Theater. I just know a lot of people, so my opinion may be a little slanted.
HUGE Theater has “long form improv”, meaning instead of “Whose Line Is It Anyways”-like skits that last 10 minutes, they have one, 45 minute skit. The players are more intellectually engaging, and the shows are very entertaining. The disadvantage is that sometimes if I walk in late, I have no idea what’s going on, adn I usually have to wait until the next show to have a good idea.
The Bryant Lake Bowl is another area that is split. The bowling part obviously caters towards the young crowd, but they also have theatre.
Lynne-Lake generally has less parking than Uptown, but it’s pretty much always free.
The Herkimer is also a nice Lynne-Lake place. It fulfills the general “bar” needs without specialties like wine or bikers (there’s a biker bar right on Lyndale and Lake St.
Much like with everything in life, a good mix between Uptown and Lynne Lake is best. Each one offers its own uniquities.
