Mann Edina 4
A four-screen Mann Theatres location in 50th and France, formerly the Edina Theatre. Indie new releases, curated programming, and a comfortable lobby that has resisted feeling like a corporate megaplex. The right west-metro arthouse.
The west-metro suburbs ringing Lake Minnetonka. Cumin, Hello Pizza, the Hotel Landing, Bawarchi Biryanis. Worth the drive when you want a different pace.
A four-screen Mann Theatres location in 50th and France, formerly the Edina Theatre. Indie new releases, curated programming, and a comfortable lobby that has resisted feeling like a corporate megaplex. The right west-metro arthouse.
A St. Louis Park bakery that has earned a serious following for sourdough loaves, danishes, and pop-tarts that make the supermarket version feel like a different food category. The cinnamon roll on Saturday is the Saturday move.
A specialty bakery west of the metro with a strong custom-cake program and one of the better macaron cases around. Worth the drive for a special occasion, or for a dozen macarons to bring home.
An Edina diner that has been doing burgers and malted milkshakes the same way since 1934. Walk in and it is essentially 1955 inside. The basket burger is the order. The chocolate malt is mandatory.
A pizzeria attached to a brewery, with a menu that changes when the kitchen feels like changing it. Names like the Smoking Goat. Beer pairings that actually fit. Worth the short drive from Minneapolis-proper.
Ann Kim’s third concept, this time built around the New York slice. The crust folds, the cheese pulls, the corner pieces are worth fighting your friends for.
A small Twin Cities chain doing some of the best contemporary North Indian in the metro. The butter chicken and the lamb vindaloo are reliable orders, and the lunch buffet at the Edina location is one of the best deals in town for the quality.
A specialty spot focused on Hyderabadi-style dum biryani, with the long-grain basmati cooked together with marinated meat under sealed dough. The chicken biryani is the order. Go hungry.
A casual South Indian and biryani spot that draws a serious crowd at lunch and dinner. The dosas are excellent, the chicken 65 is the right starter, and the biryani is competitive with anything in the metro.
A long-running Brooklyn Park institution doing classic North Indian with a serious tandoor program. The lamb seekh kebab is the order, the naan comes out blistered and right, and the staff treats you like family by your second visit.
A west-metro favorite for the lunch buffet, which rotates broadly across regions and is consistently fresh. The dinner menu is quieter but the appetizer plates and the chettinad chicken are worth ordering.
A 200-boat dock and a wraparound deck on Lake Minnetonka’s most-watched stretch. Worth the drive on a summer afternoon, especially if you can find someone with a pontoon. The Wharf burger is the order.
A Wayzata boutique with one of the strongest contemporary buys in the metro. International labels, a focus on pieces that actually wear, and a staff who remember what you bought last time. Worth the drive out to the lake.
An Edina boutique with a national following on Instagram and a strong contemporary buy. Trend-forward without chasing it, with a focus on pieces that earn their cost-per-wear. The kind of boutique that knows its customer well.
On the shore of Lake Minnetonka, in downtown Wayzata. A 92-room boutique with rooms overlooking the lake, a seasonal patio that competes with anything in the metro, and an easy walk to Wayzata’s shops and restaurants. Worth the drive in summer.
A west-metro wellness center in Minnetonka with pools, fitness, yoga, massage, and a holistic-wellness orientation. The combination of facilities under one roof is hard to find anywhere else in the metro.