BEST BARBER SHOP

Boike Barber Stylists
1308 Second Street NE
Minneapolis

Is it less than manly to spend more than $15 on a haircut? The answer to that question is a qualified yes. For while it is indeed inappropriate for folks with a Y chromosome to drop a double sawbuck for a haircut and not get change, men who go to only one barber get their hair cut all the time. Say once a month. Maybe even every other week. Curiously, it is the men with the least hair who get it cut the most often--and this is certainly the case for the white-haired gentlemen at Boike. A cut here costs $12, though there's also a senior-citizen discount (naturally). Bringing a fashion photo of one's desired haircut would be ridiculous in this two-seat shop. The idea is to come often enough that the proprietor will merely nod at you while you drop into the chair and say something like, "Take a little off?" Another advantage of coming often: Art says reassuring things like "Your hair hasn't changed in the last five years, really," even if it has. (This verbal exchange operates on the same dynamic as mothers who don't realize their cute children have grown into homely teens.) The fact that Art does good work with the scissors and isn't afraid to break out the straight razor should go without saying. It is in the extrafollicular department, however, that this tonsorial establishment excels: Set within a mile of more than a half-dozen churches and three times that many bars, Boike is more tuned in to the old neighborhood than the community newspaper. Women drop by to ask about available widowers; hospital status reports are issued about ailing neighbors; church social events are dissected. The only drawback to this Nordeast landmark (besides the way hair sometimes builds up in frighteningly tall piles beneath the chairs): If there are any girlie mags here, they're too well hidden.

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