5 things to do in Uptown Minneapolis

Uptown Minneapolis – 5 things to see and do in this trendy area including slices, sweet treats, and shopping. If you want to explore in the center of it all, Uptown Minneapolis offers great sightseeing & people watching.

Thank you to Moxy Minneapolis Uptown for providing a complimentary hotel stay during my time in Minneapolis.

Uptown Minneapolis is a vibrant, popular area surrounding Hennepin and Lake Street. It’s a fun place to set out on foot and explore. You’ll find no shortage of shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.

Treat yourself at Vegan East

Vegan East is a quaint bakery in the former Ecopolitan location.

After sampling their cheesecake at J. Selby’s, I could hardly wait to feast at their new brick & mortar location. They also have a location in White Bear Lake inside of the Avalon Mall.

In addition to selling my favorite cheesecake anywhere, they also have cinnamon rolls, ooey gooey s’mores bars, cupcakes, and ice cream sandwiches.

Hungry for breakfast or lunch? You’re sorted there too.

Their quiche is great for breakfast or brunch. It reminds me of the vegan quiche I like to make at home, but cradled inside of a pie crust.

They also sell PLT sandwiches featuring Herbivorous Butcher pastrami, and a deliciously full-bodied broccoli cheddar soup.

Feed your culinary enthusiast

Uptown Minneapolis is a prime location for people who love to cook. Stop at CB2 and Kitchen Window for cookware, serving ware, and cute bowls & plates.

Across the street from Kitchen Window is Penzey’s spices, where I like to pick up my favorite curry powder in hot or sweet. It’s great in curried tofu salad, curry lentil soup, and a curried baked falafel bowl.

Finally, if organic produce and vegan specialty products are what you crave, be sure to stop by the Wedge Co-op for your natural product needs. It’s just a few doors down from Vegan East.

Take a shelfie at Magers & Quinn bookstore

Magers & Quinn is a local bookseller that’s a regular stop whenever we’re in the Twin Cities. It’s Minneapolis’ largest independent bookseller.

They sell both new & used books. Plus, they have a nice collection of vegan cookbooks, souvenirs, and paper goods like these Minnesota-themed postcards by local illustrator, Adam Turman.

Hang out at the Moxy

Moxy Minneapolis Uptown is a trendy hotel that’s right in the middle of the action. There are restaurants, bars, and shopping all within easy walking distance.

Vegan soul food restaurant, Trio, and Vegan East are within about a mile radius. 

And when you’re ready to kick back at the hotel, grab a drink, play a game of ping pong, or spin a record in the lobby.

The hotel rooms are New York City-style. Small but modern in aesthetic. Bonus for musicians – there’s an electric guitar and amp in every room.

Moxy Minneapolis Uptown especially appeals to a young twenty-something crowd and dog lovers. We saw so many people with their pooches at this dog-friendly hotel.

Being right in the center of things, there’s a definite party vibe on Saturday nights (if the weekend we stayed is any indication). But it goes back to a professional crowd on Sunday & Monday.

Get a pizza the action at Pizza Luce

Pizza Luce is a beloved pizza chain that now boasts 9 locations in Minnesota. Pizza Luce offers lots of clearly marked appetizers, sandwiches, and salads that are vegan as-is or can be prepared vegan with a few substitutions.

They can put “rinotta” on any of their pizzas, which is a house-made ricotta-style cheese made from tofu and cashews. They also offer soy-free vegan cheese.

For vegan meats, they offer buffalo style & regular breaded mock chicken, regular & jerk tofu, mock duck, and veggie balls. They also have Herbivorous Butcher hickory bacon, shown above on a cheeseless pizza with pineapple.

While we were there, I was able to score one of their cheeseburger pizzas, which was a special. It was topped with crumbled Beyond Meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and special sauce.

Then we added Herbivorous Butcher bacon as an extra ingredient, because their seitan bacon makes everything better.

(The cheeseburger pizza is no longer on the menu sadly! But maybe with a bit of sweet talking they will make it a regular menu item. In the meantime, you can make this cheeseburger pizza recipe at home!)

Another favorite at Pizza Luce is the Pizza Athena. When prepared vegan, it’s topped with spinach, tomato, rinotta, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, red onions, oregano, and toasted garlic. 

Thank you again to Moxy Minneapolis Uptown for hosting my hotel stay while in Minneapolis. All opinions expressed are fully my own.