The Giants Art exhibit has arrived at Mia and it features art from the Dean collection, the personal collection of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz.

Celebrate black culture and history through this touring art exhibit. The Giants art exhibit includes 100 works of art by almost 40 artists. Including Arthur Jaffa, Kehinde Wiley and more.

The Dean Collection originally was curated and held at the Brooklyn Museum and is now touring around the country. It's last stop was in Atlanta.

I’m so glad it decided to come to Minneapolis! It is a beautiful collection with thought-provoking pieces. Giant Mia exhibit tickets are $20. Find the exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from March 8th through July 13th.

2410 3rd Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN

Now for the best part. I’ve partnered with Mia to give away two tickets to the Giants exhibit. To enter, you can leave a comment here and for more entries, enter the giveaway on my Instagram!

Is this the best burger in North Loop? I headed to Two Mixed Up to check out this black owned restaurant inside Graze Food Hall.

They have double smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, Philly cheese steaks, burger fries, cheese curds, Chicken Mac, cookies and so much more.

Here is what I tried:

Chicken Mac - Mac and cheese drizzled with honey and buffalo sauce and topped with chicken fried chicken pieces.

Texas Hoedown Burger – a double smash burger topped with American cheese Two Mixed Up house sauce, BBQ sauce and onion rings.

Onion rings - thick cut and so good.

S’mores cookie – a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with Hershey’s chocolate with a marshmallow center.

My Thoughts

The food was great, but honey let me tell you, that burger was delicious! It was everything I wanted it to be. Well seasoned and super tasty!

If you haven’t already, check them out!

If you are looking for Black History events in the Twin Cities, I've got you covered! Take a look at these community events going on all month long.

Black History Events in the Twin Cities

Flooding the River Book Launch & signing 

2/1 Black Garnet Books 

The Art of Remembering Black Lives in Painting 

2/1 MIA 

BHM Celebration Radical Joy & Self-care 

2/6 St. Paul Campus 

The Black Market 

2/8 The Lab 

The Sound of Gospel 

2/8 The Fitzgerald theater

MIA Family Day Celebrating Black History Month

2/9 Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Seeking for the Lost 

2/16 Weisman Museum 

The Origins of Rap and Hip-hop 

2/19 Martin Luther King Jr. Park 6-7:30 

Drumline Live 

2/21 Ordway Center 7:30 PM 

Sabathani Wall Street Market

Feb. 22nd

Fire Shut Up in My Bones 

Ordway Center 2 PM

This is a growing list and I will add more Black History celebrations as I find them. Also feel free to leave a comment if you know of any and I'll add it to the list!

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We finally made it over to C.R.E.A.M Cafe, and it was everything I hoped it would be. The owners of Soul Bow have brought us a new breakfast and coffee shop in Downtown Minneapolis.

I ordered the Mill City Croissant as well as the C.R.E.A.M Coffee Flight, which is a coffee sampler that featured sweet potato chai, Strawberry Lavender Matcha, Coffee Cake Latte, and raspberry white chocolate mocha. These were the flavors of the month in February for black history month.

The breakfast croissant was absolutely delicious and I will surely be back. I really liked the Strawberry Matcha, I’m just now getting into it Matcha, so it was it was lovely. But my favorite of the Coffee flight was the Sweet Potato Chai.

They also have a brand new cocktail lounge next door called Klassics, which I have yet to visit, but it is on my list for sure! Definitely support this Twin Cities black owned business!

428 S. 2nd. St.

Downtown Minneapolis 

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It's that time again! Time to start Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping. If you are looking to shop local this holiday season, I’ve got a few ideas for Black owned shopping events for gifts for the whole family.

OK y’all, grab your friends or your special someone and head to DuNord cocktail room! This new cocktail lounge in Minneapolis has New Orleans style and food that you you’re gonna love.

 

Du Nord Cocktail Room is owned by Shanelle Montana, wife of Du Nord Social Spirits owner Chris Montana and is located in the Coliseum Bldg. on Lake St. in South Minneapolis.

Du Nord Cocktail Room Menu

You can expect wines, beers, and cocktails along with small plates, Po’boy’s, and traditional sides like jalapeño cornbread, gumbo and turtle soup. Here's what we ate when we visited.

Pastor’s plate - sausage, pecans, olives, crackers, pimento cheese, stone ground mustard

Barbecue Shrimp -over stone ground grits

Fried Green Tomato Po’boy with Handcut Fries

Vieux Carre Smash Burger - White cheese + Alabama white BBQ sauce burger with fries

Bread Pudding with an Apple liquor sauce

First off, the fries are amazing! Dip them in aioli and thank me later. The Pastor's plate reminded me of a charcuterie board with all the fixins. 

Everything was delicious and the jazzy atmosphere is a vibe! I definitely plan to go back!
For a closer look, watch my video on Instagram.

DuNord Cocktail Room

2700 E. Lake St. Minneapolis

Check out more Minneapolis food reviews:

Nashville Coop Richfield Review

C.R.E.A.M Cafe Review

The Breakfast Club

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Hey Minnesota, guess what? Nashville Coop has a new Richfield location is now open.

Seems like everywhere you turn, Nashville Hot Chicken is popping up everywhere. Now you can get your Nashville hot chicken taste in the south suburbs.

Nashville Coop Richfield location

You can’t miss this shiny chicken joint on the corner of 66th and Penn Avenue. When we when you enter, you’re greeted by black and white graffiti that decorates the walls. It’s spacious and has plenty room to enjoy a family dinner.

Nashville coop menu

Here’s what we ordered:

Strips – three jumbo tenders, side of fries, coop sauce, and pickles. 

Sandwich Dash two jumbo tenders, butter, bun, side of fries, coleslaw, Coupe sauce, and pickles. ( I think this is my favorite my new favorite).

Texas toast – three jumbo tenders, toast, side of fries, coleslaw, coop sauce, and pickles.

Caramel shake, and Oreo shake.

When I first tried Nashville Coop's Saint Paul location, I was impressed by how good everything taste. 

More to MN food reviews to read:

C.R.E.A.M. Cafe review

Slice Pizza review

The Breakfast Club review

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 Trying slice pizza at Midtown Global Market for the first time.

I have to admit, the first time I tried this pizza. I was not a fan. I had a sausage pizza slice and I’m not sure what happened, but it just didn’t taste good at the time. But I’m a huge supporter of black owned businesses so I wanted to give them another try. And partially because my daughter absolutely loves this pizza and swears by it. 

The next time I came to try the Chicken Alfredo pizza and it was actually good. When I heard they offer the pickle pizza slice, I was super curious and wanted to give it a try and boy was it good.

Ever since then, I have enjoyed slice pizza. Maybe I just had an off slice. Hey it happens. But since then it’s been just fine.

There are three locations of Slice Brothers Pizza. Slice pizza in Saint Paul and the original Slice Pizza near downtown Minneapolis. So they must be doing something right!

Slice Brothers Pizza

Midtown Global Market

2900 Chicago Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN 55408

More to MN food reviews to read:

The Breakfast Club Review

Soul Bowl Review

C.R.E.A.M. Cafe

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 Hey Minnesota, it’s August and here are some of the best things to do in August in the Twin Cities!

August Things to Do in the Twin Cities

August is super busy with several things to do in the Twin Cities. Probably because winter is coming so we need to take a vantage of this last little bit of summer. Take a look below for summer fun all around town.

• August 2 & 3 Basilica Block Party – Boom Island

• August 3 Rondo Block Party – Saint Paul

• August 3 Powderhorn Art Fair – Minneapolis

• August 3 & 4 Uptown Art Fair Detour at Bachman’s Lyndale

• August 10 The Black Market – Saint Paul

• August 10th – 11th Downtown Minneapolis Street Art Festival

• August 11 Twin Cities Hair & Beauty Expo – Brooklyn Park

• August 16 35th & Nicollet Pop Off Party – Minneapolis

• August 16 All About Joy Block Party – Minneapolis

• August 17 On the One Music Festival – Bloomington

• August 22 - September 2 Minnesota State Fair – Saint Paul

• August 25-31 The Black State Fair – Minneapolis

Did I miss an event? Please be sure to leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list. Have fun!

 Want to know why Minneapolis is the Happiest City in the US? Keep reading to find out.

Image credit: Getty Images

The global Institute for Quality of Life took a look at many cities around the world including Minneapolis to give it it’s ranking. It looked at things like environment, economy and mobility to come up with its findings.

Minneapolis was the only city to ear the Gold ranking. Two Midwest cities were recognized, the other was Madison Wisconsin which came in at 7th place.

Minneapolis Parks are the best

One of the best things about Minneapolis is the parks and lakes. I can literally go less than ten minutes in any direction and hit a park or body of water. We have creeks, ponds, and lakes that are perfect for walking and riding your bike. Our parks are clean and family friendly.

Getting around Minneapolis

Minneapolis has one of the best transportation systems. MCTC buses run just about anywhere in the city and surrounding suburbs. And not to mention the miles and miles of bike paths. The trains can get you downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul in no time too. Also, you usually don’t have to walk miles to get to a bus stop or train, a few blocks at the most. Just be aware of your surroundings as with all public transportation.

Now I’m sure if you asked Minneapolis residents if they feel like Minneapolis is the happiest city in the US and you’re going to get many different answers. There are a lot of good and bad things about living in Minneapolis. I do feel that most would agree, even with it’s flaws, that they do like living in here.

The bottom line is this. If you’re thing of moving to Minneapolis, or just want to know what the city is like, come and visit us! There is so much to see, do, and experience that I’m sure you will enjoy yourself.

Want to know more about Minneapolis things to do? Take a look at these posts below!

Top 10 Family-Friendly Things to Do in Minneapolis This Summer

Juneteenth Events in Minneapolis & Twin Cities 2024

20 Things This Mom Is Planning to Do This Summer

Food spots

Revival Fried Chicken Restaurant Review

The Marquette Lounge New Menu Tasting

Black Owned Restaurants in the Twin Cities – Perfect for Date Night

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Looking for family friendly things to do in the Twin Cities this weekend? I’ve got a couple ideas just for you.

The Big Bounce House America Tour

The world’s largest bounce house is making its way to the Twin Cities area! The big bounce America is coming to Shakopee East middle school from Saturday, June 8 to Sunday, June 9 and the following weekend Friday, June 14 through Sunday, June 16. You’ll be able to enjoy bounce houses and inflatable attractions from the brand new deep-sea blast featuring a 900 foot long obstacle course, sports slam, and a space themed Wonderland airspace. Tickets start at $22 and include a three hour pass to the event.

Shakopee East middle school

1137 Marschall Rd. Shakopee, MN 55379

Jurassic Quest

If you want to take a drive to St. Cloud, you can visit America’s biggest dinosaur event, Jurassic Quest. Jurassic Quest is bringing fun for the whole family with a herd of life like moving and roaring dinosaurs, rides and attractions. The kids can participate in a giant fossil dig, raptor run races, and rope a raptor where kids can help lasso stray dinos, and put them back in their pins and so much more. Friday, June 14 through Sunday, June 16th. Tickets can be purchased online. Use code quest 15 for 15% off ticket prices.

St. Cloud Rivers Edge Convention Center

10 4th Ave., South, St. Cloud, MN 56301

Have fun!