Restaurant: Twin Cities Grill, Bloomington MN

City: Bloomington, Minnesota
Location: Mall of America, 1st Floor North Side
Phone: 952-854-0200
Website:

There's nothing worse than being a regular (well, somewhat regular) to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and having to go to the Mall of America over and over. I'm frequently with a collegue that has never been there, and its an obvious thing to see if you're near the airport. However, when you get right down to it, the Mall of American is A SHOPPING MALL. Oh, its a big one, to be sure, but now that the rest of America has been well "malled" there's not a whole lot different other than the scale of the thing. Same Gap. Same "Bath & Body Works". Food court. Blah blah blah.

The amusement park in the middle is an interesting take, but business guys wandering around there don't exactly fit in.

So, the mall is endless levels of the same stores from your home town, with something occaisionally different. One visit is enough. Whenever someone suggests dinner there, my eyes instinctively roll back into my head.

The Twin Cities Grill however, is a plesant reason to have to go to the mall. It's real close to the door, provided you pick the right door, and its a place that's casual but nice. If you want casual, sit in a booth by the bar. If you want nice, sit at a table in the back. The place looks nice, with dark wood, a nice bar (for a mall), and is moderately crowded when I've been there (make a reservation if its for business).

The service was great -- not pushy, allowed us to talk -- drinks and wine were nice, and the menu is laced with some local things. I had the walleye, and there were a number of other fish choices. They have daily specials, and a good selection of different things, usually with a nice spin on them.

A good choice if you have to go to the mall.

(I couldn't find a home page for the Grill, but this link provides some information).