Barhopping: Bev’s Wine Bar and The Strip Club
These opposites are still plenty attractive, each in their own way.
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The two bars we’re looking at this time don’t have all that much in common. One’s in Minneapolis, one’s in St. Paul. One’s a wine bar, the other goes for cocktails. One complements the drinks with cheese plates, the other with hefty portions of macho grilled meat. One’s a bit oddly placed next to several porn shops, the other one just sounds like it might be a porn shop. But they have in common one thing for sure: They’re classy hangouts that know how to cook up a stylish atmosphere.
Bev’s Wine Bar
You wouldn’t exactly expect to find a place with such dark-lit ambience equidistant from Déjà Vu and Sex World, but there’s Bev’s, nestled up against a highway get-on in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District. And dark-lit means just that: About the only illumination comes from single candles on the tables. The wines available by the glass are good, if not spectacular: The French table wine (La Vieille Ferme) is easy to drink and slightly dry and metallic, while the pinot noir (Angeline) and the rosso piceno (Saladini) are both earthy. Likewise, the accompaniments are solid, if workmanlike: The ho-hum baguette can be ordered with exquisitely sharp cheddar, average brie, and tasty but basic olive tapenade. But put it all together with the eclectic but spot-on jazz and slow-simmering funk of DJ Jared Thiele on a Friday night, and you’ve got a wine bar that’s greater than the sum of its parts. As an alternative to the hustle and bustle of First Avenue on the weekend, or just a stop-off before a mellow evening of dildos and peep shows, Bev’s is a good option. Darkness: On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is partly sunny and 10 is blacker than midnight on a moonless night—11.5.
The Strip Club
The Minneapolis skyline tends to get the lion’s share of the attention—during commercial bumpers for Vikings games, on the covers of independent hip-hop records, at the State Fair’s Fine Arts building. But don’t sleep on St. Paul: Viewed through the giant plate-glass windows of The Strip Club, it’s a beaut. Opened about a year ago by Tim Niver and Aaron Johnson of the Town Talk Diner, the Strip Club boasts an impressive menu, but perhaps even more impressive is the drink selection. The Strip Club bucks the tyranny of vodka martinis and the ubiquity of rum and Cokes with specialty drinks ($8 apiece) like Danny the Bucket, which makes glorious use of the underappreciated Campari alongside lemoncello, lemonade, and lemon. The Campari’s bitterness is offset by the sourness and sweetness of the lemon elements, making for a light, refreshing drink. At the other end of the scale is the Poop Deck, which blends brandy with port and blackberry brandy for a heavy, sweet drink that’s perfect for wintertime. The bar also makes its own tonic and ginger beer (which appears in the fiery but sharp Jamo Toe with Jameson and apfelkorn). This place takes cocktails seriously—an all too rare thing these days—and the view makes it a lock for a mellow, enjoyable evening of imbibing. Cocktail know-how: On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is shaking a gin martini without vermouth and 10 is owning this poster—9.0.
Bev’s Wine Bar
You wouldn’t exactly expect to find a place with such dark-lit ambience equidistant from Déjà Vu and Sex World, but there’s Bev’s, nestled up against a highway get-on in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District. And dark-lit means just that: About the only illumination comes from single candles on the tables. The wines available by the glass are good, if not spectacular: The French table wine (La Vieille Ferme) is easy to drink and slightly dry and metallic, while the pinot noir (Angeline) and the rosso piceno (Saladini) are both earthy. Likewise, the accompaniments are solid, if workmanlike: The ho-hum baguette can be ordered with exquisitely sharp cheddar, average brie, and tasty but basic olive tapenade. But put it all together with the eclectic but spot-on jazz and slow-simmering funk of DJ Jared Thiele on a Friday night, and you’ve got a wine bar that’s greater than the sum of its parts. As an alternative to the hustle and bustle of First Avenue on the weekend, or just a stop-off before a mellow evening of dildos and peep shows, Bev’s is a good option. Darkness: On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is partly sunny and 10 is blacker than midnight on a moonless night—11.5.
The Strip Club
The Minneapolis skyline tends to get the lion’s share of the attention—during commercial bumpers for Vikings games, on the covers of independent hip-hop records, at the State Fair’s Fine Arts building. But don’t sleep on St. Paul: Viewed through the giant plate-glass windows of The Strip Club, it’s a beaut. Opened about a year ago by Tim Niver and Aaron Johnson of the Town Talk Diner, the Strip Club boasts an impressive menu, but perhaps even more impressive is the drink selection. The Strip Club bucks the tyranny of vodka martinis and the ubiquity of rum and Cokes with specialty drinks ($8 apiece) like Danny the Bucket, which makes glorious use of the underappreciated Campari alongside lemoncello, lemonade, and lemon. The Campari’s bitterness is offset by the sourness and sweetness of the lemon elements, making for a light, refreshing drink. At the other end of the scale is the Poop Deck, which blends brandy with port and blackberry brandy for a heavy, sweet drink that’s perfect for wintertime. The bar also makes its own tonic and ginger beer (which appears in the fiery but sharp Jamo Toe with Jameson and apfelkorn). This place takes cocktails seriously—an all too rare thing these days—and the view makes it a lock for a mellow, enjoyable evening of imbibing. Cocktail know-how: On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is shaking a gin martini without vermouth and 10 is owning this poster—9.0.
