Welcome to StuartCo’s “Playing Tourist” series, where we’ll be exploring different communities within the Twin Cities, and reporting back with recommendations for dining, shopping, and entertainment. Be sure to check out all of our stops here!
In the Twin Cities, we’re lucky to have not just one, but two fantastic metropolitan areas. On the east side of the river is St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota. StuartCo has a wide variety of housing options within St. Paul’s city limits:
Highland Ridge: Luxury living with resort-style amenities in the gorgeous Highland Park area
Lamplighter Village: A close-knit, active community on St. Pauls north end
The Madison Studios: A brand-new, all studio and junior one bedroom building
Riverview at Upper Landing: A community with exceptional amenities and services located along the river in downtown St. Paul
The Plaza: Spacious apartments alongside miles of recreational trails
Woodstone: Classic apartments in an amenity-rich community
And our senior living campus, which includes The Alton Memory Care, The Wellington independent and assisted living, and our affordable senior living community, Rockwood Place.
We sat down and chatted with two of our St. Paul team members to get their recommendations for fabulous finds in our capital city.
If you’ve ever walked through the doors of Riverview at Upper Landing, you’ve met Diane, administrative assistant and expert events planner.
Diane shared with us a few of her favorite things to do around the city.
There is an amazing ice cream company based in St. Paul called Sweet Science. Once a month, they travel to different breweries and you can taste different ice cream flavors for free! (The berry crumble ice cream will change your life.) It’s a great way to support a local business, see different breweries, and eat ice cream!
The Landmark Center is an awesome place to visit. They always have events going on (free ballets in courtrooms on Tuesdays, or the Ghosts of the Landmark Center Tour) and it’s a beautiful building full of history. It’s an experience no matter if you’re signed up for a tour, or you’re just there to wander around.
Tin Whiskers is a brewery located downtown that often hosts Settlers of Catan nights, where you can go play the game and drink their craft brews.
One of the most fun events in St. Paul is the Twin Cities Burger Battle. With 25 different burger venues participating, there are many burgers to try—it’s spectacular!
The Gangster Tour is my favorite thing to do in St. Paul, without a question. Starting at the Wabasha Street Caves, you’re taken on a two-hour bus ride throughout the city, led by a “Real Live Gangster!” St. Paul was known for gangster activity in the 20s and 30s—I learned so much, and had a blast! To schedule your own experience, click here—I cannot recommend it enough!
The Alexander Ramsey House (named after the second governor of Minnesota) is not just interesting to tour—they often put on really fun events, like History Happy Hour and Ramsey After Dark.
There are Peanuts character statues throughout the Twin Cities in honor of Charles Schulz (the cartoon’s creator,who happens to be from here)—it’s fun finding them and seeing what each one represents. (The one in the above photo represents an area where a number of Italian immigrants moved.)
And most of StuartCo’s St. Paul properties feature one of the statues on-site? Snoopy always welcomes Woodstone’s residents home after a long day!
Thanks for the great suggestions, Diane!
Next up, we’ve got Jacqueline Mackey.
A leasing consultant at Lamplighter Village, she shared with us her top three favorite St. Paul finds.
Imagine a burger that is really delicious and oozing with cheesy goodness… now that your mouth is watering, look no further than St. Paul’s own Casper & Runyon’s The Nook, where you’ll find the famous “Juicy Lucy.” Since 1938, The Nook has been a large part of the St. Paul food scene, with a large bar, a bowling alley, and a variety of delicious burgers, wings, and fries. The Travel Channel even named The Nook’s burger the best burger ever!
You don’t even have to be a baseball lover to enjoy CHS Field, home of the St. Paul Saints! At CHS Field, you don’t just get a baseball game, you get a full show—magicians, dancers, singers, you name it, all perform at different points of a Saints game.
You won’t leave hungry either! You can find a wide variety of food stations that offer everything from a gourmet meal to the all-American hot dog. CHS Field is also host to the beer dabbler where you can sample brews from over 100 different local and national breweries.
For the last 30 years, Dixie’s on Grand has been satisfying cravings for authentic Southern comfort food. Gumbo, catfish, and jambalaya are some of Dixie’s best sellers, and many of the recipes are from the chef’s grandmother, so there is a real sense of family when you eat here.
Every Friday and Saturday night, they have live music and dancing, and on Sunday, they offer a fantastic brunch with mimosas—first glass is complimentary and refills are only $.50!
Are you a St. Paul resident with a recommendation of your own? Let us know in the comments below!
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