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BEST MUSIC STORE Groth Music Co. The electric guitar was still in its infancy when Groth Music opened for business in 1939, but you can bet they had 'em, along with much of what "Minnesota's Original Superstore," as the venerable entity calls itself, continues to sell. Groth is particularly strong in percussiveness: Its offerings run the gamut from agogo bells ($20 and up) to mysterious-looking gourd-shaped udu drums (from $68.95). With its XXL selection of musically themed cards, mugs, jewelry, and just about anything else that can hold a note (visually), Groth poses temptations galore for even the most resolute nonmusician. And its selection of children's instruments, like its "always there but never too there" service, is incomparable.
BEST CD STORE (NEW) The Electric Fetus Dig if you will past issues of Best of the Twin Cities, and you'll find the Fetus is the perennial champ in this category, which is fitting, because the one-stop by 35W acts as the sun around which all the legendary Minneapolis independent record stores orbit. Still, after all these years, we should probably come up with another category for the place---like best staff, best stocking stuffers, best paraphernalia, best posters, best place to get inspired, best place to meet and fall in love with someone at the Elvis Costello in-store, best place to bring your kids to and let 'em roll around in the aisles and disrupt a Billy Bragg in-store, best place to feel the supernatural funk at a Larry Graham in-store, etc., etc., etc.
Readers' Choice: The Electric Fetus BEST CD STORE (USED) Cheapo Yes, we are in the age of iTunes and downloads and leave-me-alone-I'm-listening-to-MY-music cubicles. No, there is still nothing quite like the Zen of a Saturday afternoon or pre-club/pre-movie Friday night spent with the sound of souls searching the used racks for something new, old, or in-between; something that will perfectly get them through, get them to the next thing, get them high, low, over, out. In fact, we are waiting, not so patiently, for some member of the eternally gifted and inventive local music milieu--Romantica? Valet? The Hold Steady? Prince?--to record and sample this auralgasm and write a song around it. Something like, "Baby You're My Big Find (We Click Click Click Like the CDs at Cheapo)."
Readers' Choice: Cheapo BEST CD STORE/TRAVEL AGENCY/HAIR SALON Música y Algo Más Sometimes you want a cheap haircut. Sometimes you want a CD of Mexican hip hop. Sometimes you just want to get away from it all. Well at Música y Algo Más (a.k.a. El Tropico travel agency, a.k.a. Meta Morfosis salon), you can have the first two for less than $25, and the third for free--if you count daydreaming about vacations as escape. And if not, the place rents videos, too, and offers guitar lessons. A Spanish-language music retailer with thousands of discs, this store near Minnehaha Parkway follows a model familiar to many ethnic entrepreneurs catering to specific communities: The place is an all-in-one stop. The difference is the rich variety of the music covering the walls: This hangout sports everything from Puerto Rican rap to cumbia dance music to the latest accordion-powered album from St. Paul's own Conjunto Viento Norteño. Come for one thing. Stay for the other. Leave with something else.
BEST VIDEO RENTAL Video Universe "It's worth the drive!" the ad promises--and indeed it is. Matter of fact, we challenge you to find another store in the entire state that'll rent all five of these on DVD: Duck Soup, Last Year at Marienbad, the Criterion edition of Tarkovsky's Solaris, Disney's The Little Mermaid, and the first few commandments in Kieslowski's Decalogue--yours for a full week at the low, low price of $12. And the drive really isn't that long, at least not from downtown Minneapolis: Take 394 West to 100 North, make a right on County Road 81, and you're there. (The trip will take 10 or 12 minutes.) More DVDs here than any other rental outlet around, including your local Blockbuster--plus they'll put their pricey disc-refurbishing machine (it looks like a bowling-ball cleaner) to use on your scratched platters so that they'll play as good as new again. (They'll resurface a DVD for six dollars, a CD for four--and we can tell you firsthand that it really does work.) Oh, yeah, and they have a few tapes here, too: About half (that's 3,000 tapes!) rent for three days for just a buck apiece.
Readers' Choice: Blockbuster BEST BOOKSTORE (NEW) Amazon Bookstore Cooperative Let's just say you know someone who's laboring under the impression that feminists are cold and humorless, and let's further say that you'd like to do something to change that person's mind. First, you might gently suggest to your pal that he or she is a brainwashed schmuck. Next, you could send him or her to the worker-owned Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, whose staff is quite probably the friendliest and most knowledgeable in town. This 34-year-old shop, the oldest independent feminist bookstore in the country, is unmatched when it comes to feminist theory, lesbian lit, and ecofeminism, but their inventory goes way beyond that. You can also find business and finance books, cookbooks, poetry, underground and mainstream fiction, a good used section, CDs ranging from folk singer Ann Reed to R&B experimentalist Erykah Badu, DVDs, and lots more. And if you need a copy of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code or Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, you don't have to turn to that other Amazon--in other words, they're feminists, not separatists or snobs. Since it's a small store with limited funds, the stock isn't huge, but they can order just about anything, and we've found the turnaround to be quick and the customer service to be exceptional. The store is also home to several book clubs, including one for mystery buffs, and an activist discussion group called "Get Off Your Ass and Do Something!" Speaking of doing something, Amazon will be moving in a few months, and is seeking donations to help pay for the move.
Readers' Choice: Barnes & Noble BEST BOOKSTORE (USED) Cummings Books Somehow, walking into this Dinkytown used-book favorite, located just down the street from the equally fantastic Book House, always feels a little like stepping into a Victorian curio shop. Maybe it's the parrot adjacent to the cash register whose occasional squawks barely ruffle the place's drowsy charm. Or the uninhabited aquarium in back stacked with copies of Tolstoy. Though there's always someone around to help you navigate the shop's layout (roughly: fiction, science, and poetry on the first floor; history and social sciences in the basement), Cummings is best experienced as an unhurried browser. If you aren't looking for anything in particular, you're almost sure to be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
Readers' Choice: Half Price Books BEST COMIC BOOK SHOP Big Brain Comics From Berkeley to Boston, Wednesday counts as the high point of the comic-book purveyor's week; it's the day when new shipments--and the customers who crave their contents--arrive. Hence, the preceding day tends to run a little turgid, except at Big Brain, whose "Tuesday Triple Threat" monkey-wrenches this otherwise-ironclad law of geekonomics. The deal? Buy two items from the shop's generous assortment of toys and get a third of equal or lesser value free. You can pick up, say, a pair of Simpsons interactive play sets and walk out with a sparkling white Comet the Super Horse plush toy gratis. But bonus baubles are but a mere fraction of Big Brain's bait-and-bait-again strategy: The store offers mugs, watches, statuary, coasters, trading cards, CDs, and videos, as well as a constellation of comics ranging from Babar-innocent to the nautical naughtiness of the Eurotica imprint. Proprietor Michael Drivas even maintains a well-selected short shelf of books with few or no pictures, including a handful of hard-to-find McSweeny's titles and that landmark of medical scholarship, The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases.
BEST DVD RENTAL Cinema Revolution Jesus! They have The Gospel According to St. Matthew--that Christ movie by the Marxist Pasolini! Vive la révolution! What's radical about this next-generation video store--besides the "Burn Hollywood burn" posters and crimson decor--is the militancy with which the masses (no Disney here) are surrendered to the cause of maintaining the Cities' smartest, most selective video collection. There can't be more than a few hundred films here, tops. But the percentage of must-sees and rarities is absurdly high, the titles are arranged by auteur and country of origin (our world cinema leader Intercontinental would do well to prepare for the Revolution's imminent invasion), and they're all on DVD. Rentals are geared to the proletariat at $3 each for three days, but an even better deal is to join the "inner circle," wherein $20 gets you 20 titles from among holdings that include Mark Wojahn's What America Needs: From Sea to Shining Sea (our Twin Cities movie of the year), Melvin Van Peebles's Sweet Sweetback, and plenty of other stuff you wouldn't dream of getting from Netflix. How's that for gettin' the Man's foot out yo' ass?
BEST PLACE TO RENT FOREIGN FILMS Intercontinental Video If a four-alarm fire is going to devastate your highly unique video store, you might as well have it happen at a time when the rest of the industry is struggling to shift its inventory from tape to disc, and the customer is pretty much looking to forget the former format entirely. Newly reopened after the aforementioned blaze, this West Bank classic has updated to DVD with remarkable speed while maintaining the same old dedication to foreign titles both essential and esoteric. On a recent visit, we found 11 Zatoichis, a few Guy Maddins, the Dutch Verhoevens, the Anchor Bay Herzogs, several by Shyam Benegal, and more Asian action (including anime) than you can swing a set of nunchaku at. (This may be the only video store in the state where "Point me to the Takashi Miike" won't result in a "Huh?") A dozen or so imported DVDs here are so hot that the films haven't even opened in local theaters yet. (We'll skip mentioning the titles in deference to our dear friends in motion picture publicity.) And, as luck would have it, the fire didn't destroy all of Intercontinental's irreplaceable cassettes.
BEST PLACE TO BUY VINYL Cheapo O vinyl, ravished bride of hissiness, you will ever earn our praise. Your elegant brevity, your malleability in the hands of an artful DJ, the beautiful pop and scratch of your gradual deterioration--so much more like life than compact discs. Fortunately for us purists and Luddites, the Twin Cities provide no paucity of spots to buy oldfangled records: For hip hop there's Fifth Element; for collectables there's Hymie's, Hazen's, and Root Cellar Records; for indie-rock and off-the-wall stuff there's Treehouse, Let It Be, and Roadrunner; for dance there's Vital Vinyl and Let It Be (again); for classical there's James Mary Laurie Booksellers. And that's just, if you'll indulge the pun, scratching the surface. But for generalists, there's no place like Cheapo, where you can find a bit of all of the above-mentioned styles, and more, under one roof. They have a good selection of new hip hop, R&B, and rock albums and 12" singles, a decent supply of jazz reissues, and a regularly updated stash of imports. The real fun, though, is in scouring the racks upon racks of previously owned jewels and junk. Cheapo is where you can buy the vinyl version of both Atmosphere's Seven's Travels and Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, and no one will make fun of you at the counter. The St. Paul location on Snelling Avenue, while not quite as big, is still worth killing an hour or two in on a sunny afternoon.
BEST ELECTRONICS (AUDIOPHILE) HiFi Sound On the afternoon we visited, Finding Nemo was being thrown from a $22,000 CRT projector onto a 92-inch screen, which we momentarily mistook for a huge aquarium, so vividly rendered was the coral. (Best to leave the littler fish at home unless you're ready to take the plunge, that's for sure.) What we've always loved about this classy playroom (est. 1951) is the staff's willingness to take seriously even toe-dippers into the big-bucks pond of rarified audio and video, as well as the store's discerning combination of high-end toys (e.g., the $3,000 DVD player from Arcam) and more easily affordable A/V gems. Matter of fact, HiFi Sound has recently sought to distinguish itself from other "ultimate electronics" purveyors in the real and virtual worlds with a charmingly quirky round-the-corner collection of refurbished goods--reel-to-reel tape decks by Teac, sturdy-looking turntables (ranging from $100 to $650 and up), classic tube amps (with the tubes showing!), even that old late-20th-century relic known as the VCR--that are plenty enticing, and a little more within the clock-puncher's reach. And speaking of anachronisms, HiFi is building a mighty fine collection of vinyl, too: Duck in some day and grab an unopened copy of Prince's Purple Rain on wax for a mere 12 clams--or a Mobile Fidelity ("mo-fi") pressing of the Doors' debut platter for...uh, $150. This is still our first scheduled stop after picking up the lottery check.
BEST ELECTRONICS (PROLETARIAN) Best Buy Not even a warehouse chain as dedicated to best buys as this one can compete with the prices of low-overhead electronics retailers in the virtual world. So what Best Buy has offered increasingly in recent years--particularly through its cavernous store off 494 near 35W--is breadth of product and convenience of purchase. Most likely the prole knob-twiddler will want to conduct some of the bigger transactions--for a new home-theater amp, say--online. But where besides Best Buy can the impulsive, obsessive electronics nut duck in on a moment's notice and grab an armload of Monster Cable, a stack each of CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, a laser-printer cartridge, a PS2 disc, a pack of AA batteries, and a dustbuster?
BEST ART SUPPLIES Wet Paint There's a reason Wet Paint wins this category hands down every year: This Grand Avenue arts emporium, an independently owned store with deep roots in St. Paul, should be the first stop for the professional and the dilettante artist alike. Wet Paint's crowded aisles boast a reported 30,000 products, everything from oils, acrylics, pens, and charcoals to fancy decorating paper and craft kits to sketch pads and journals. There's also a vast selection of different types and qualities of paper (perfect for that counterfeiting operation you've been cooking up in your basement). What sets Wet Paint apart, though, is that the smart, mostly college-kid staff is always around to help you navigate the store's embarrassment of riches.
BEST BOUTIQUE Larue's For more than 25 years Larue's has brought its loyal clientele the most exotic and sensual fashions this side of Eat Street. Hand-dyed silk gowns, bridal confections with unfinished edges, roman glass, burnt silk, crushed velvet floral accents--you name it. If it's too luxurious for words, it's on a rack, somewhere at Larue's. Specializing in what they call "Goddess Fashions," Larue's offers many of their regal, flowing getups in plus sizes, while some are cut specifically with the tall and slender build in mind. Even more luxurious than Larue's wares is the service. For starters, if you mention what you have in mind, the staff will bring out garments for your inspection. It's suddenly clear that these are not people making rent working retail, these are folks with an eye for clothing. They'll tell you if something doesn't hang right. They'll speak up if you over-accessorize. They'll leave you feeling, and looking, like royalty. And those who have royal taste confined by the pocketbook of a peasant will want to check out Larue's annual Recycle Sale, where loyal customers sell their no-longer-needed Larue's wear for a fraction of the original price.
BEST FLEA MARKET Elko Trader's Market With the advent of online auctions, the whole world is a flea market, and a pretty awesome one at that. So if we go to a real live one, it better be an event. For the second year in a row, we're sticking with Elko Trader's Market. For one thing, there isn't a lot of new competition in the field. But even compared to the other far-flung established markets, the nationally recognized Elko mart still rates high. Because it's held on the three major holiday weekends--that's Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the floating Fourth of July to professional scavengers--it draws in more sellers (and buyers), creating both a buzz in the air and an extraordinary selection of antiques and oddities. Another plus is the indoor display space, which adds to the footage--and offers shelter from bad weather.
BEST FLORIST Bastian Skoog Urban Flower Studio Seriously funky floral arrangements with brave color and texture combinations, inventive structure, and imaginative materials are what separates this studio from your average floral designer. When we say imaginative, we mean imaginative. A bridal bouquet shaped like a box? Done! Work grapes into the bouquet? Done! Thinking less in terms of a bouquet, and more along the lines of an Asian-inspired rope of chrysanthemums? Done and done. With services ranging from huge undertakings like bridal design and corporate events to more modest bursts of brilliance such as hostess gifts or weekly deliveries to your home, the folks at this place bring a certain avant-garde flair to each and every project. A simple browse through Bastian Skoog's online portfolio, which offers page after page of flower and lifestyle porn, will prove it--not to mention what it will do to your imagination. You can even call for a consultation, but keep in mind that the studio only takes two events per weekend. Planning ahead is required.
BEST GARDEN CENTER Bloomsbury Market, Inc. If a slightly eccentric British blueblood opened the garden shed of her estate to the public, it might look something like Bloomsbury Market. The place is crammed with garden statuary, birdbaths, benches, pots, gardening tools, gloves, pots, vases, French seed packets, jackets, clogs, clippers--plus, of course, annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs, mulch, fertilizer and potting soil. Whew! But this isn't the half of it. Bloomsbury Market is home base for Bloomsbury garden fences, gazebos, arches, and trellises made of corrugated iron (coming unfinished to weather and rust, or in a lacquered black.) Bloomsbury also sells Cressida Bell's hand-painted velvet scarves, lampshades, note cards, and knickknacks. The folks at Bloomsbury are generous with gardening advice as well. The place smells of soil and myrtle, musty gardening books and damp wicker. Its frayed elegance is whimsical and charming, full of pleasures found at the finest estate sales.
Readers' Choice: Bachman's BEST HOTEL The Saint Paul Hotel Le Meridien, the newest hotel in downtown Minneapolis, offers an über-chic contemporary comeliness that's suitable for even a Beverly Hills brat. Sure, the rooms feature extra-special amenities like plasma screen TVs and Hermes soaps, but try walking in with your anti-haute couture Target clothes or valet parking your rusty, rattling '94 Mazda. It doesn't feel so special. But at the Saint Paul Hotel, the old-world charm is more welcoming, the employees are more gracious, and the elegance and sophistication are less stifling and anxiety-inducing. The Saint Paul Hotel has been a Twin Cities institution since its inception in 1910, and the hotel just feels more like home. A doorman who never forgets a face greets you outside, even in below-freezing temperatures; four-poster beds and feather pillows make the rooms more European sleek than self-consciously New York chic; and in the spring and summer, the perfectly manicured gardens surrounding the hotel offer a lesson in horticulture and meditation. Rooms without breakfast or dinner run from $179 to $349 a night, but the Saint Paul frequently offers cheaper website specials and romance packages that include in-room delivery of strawberries and champagne. The service at the pricey Saint Paul Grill leaves much to be desired, but a retreat to your cozy room for chilled mineral water and turndown service on your triple-sheeted bed washes the day's ills away.
Readers' Choice: Le Meridien BEST MALL Midway Shopping Center It used to be that forgetting where you parked was the most common form of shopping-mall amnesia. These days, the interiors and inhabitants of most near-suburban enclosed malls are so interchangeable--excepting, of course, MOA's shrieking Camp Snoopy centerpiece--that it's often a struggle to remember where you are, let alone where your car is. Urban strip malls, on the other hand, thrive on a naked sense of neighborhood orientation. And if St. Paul's University Avenue is the strippiest strip in town, then Midway Shopping Center is its most practical consumer nexus. Let Banana Republic, Williams-Sonoma, and the Museum Company keep their frivolous little footholds in overpriced, climate-controlled purgatory. Here at Midway, Bush-whacked denizens can stretch their paychecks to the fullest at Rainbow Foods, Fashion Bug, and two different dollar stores. Sneaker freaks can keep it bourgeois at Foot Locker while misers and moms grab two-for-ones over at Payless. Indeed, if malls are loved best by hardworking mothers, this one has outlets for cheap grooming (Great Clips), school supplies (Office Max), cold medicine (Walgreens), clothing/costume repair (Jo-Ann Fabrics), and perennial take-home diversions (Hollywood Video, McDonald's drive-thru), not to mention a little something for after the kids fall asleep (Big Top Liquor). Meanwhile, the Motor Vehicle Services office can spare you the pain of downtown parking, and Apollo Locksmith offers a notary public onsite. Note to Snoopy and the 'Dales: What have you done for me lately?
Readers' Choice: Mall of America BEST JEWELRY DESIGN Karin Jacobson On a recent birthday, we were at the jewelry counter at Herrodd's, with three hundred pounds in our pocket, and we chose not to buy anything because we knew we'd prefer whatever Karin Jacobson cooks up next. From cocktail rings to commitment rings, Jacobson's bodacious baubles combine design mastery with a youthful affinity for toy rockets, oversized gemstones, bugs, etc. And Jacobson works largely in silver and in lab-grown stones. This means her prices stay low. With a clean conscience and a shimmering finger, you'll be the envy of the catwalk.
BEST PAWN SHOP Pawn America There are shops that offer more selection per square inch, and some folks get off on that sensory rush. But sometimes we want a little room to move and to not feel like we're being watched (very closely). Pawn America has a range of store sizes, but the spacious Lyndale Avenue location in Bloomington really swayed us. We've been there on summer evenings when there was a little commotion, but other visits have been far cooler than you'd expect from a pawnbroker. Almost all pawn stores offer electronics, but Pawn America selections extend for rows upon rows. The offering of musical instruments includes quality name brands, not just dubious copies, and the choice of tools and machinery is more than adequate. But the clincher is the surprising selection of discount CDs that were far more enticing than the dust traps we see taking up space in many shops. Friendly service is plentiful, but seldom pushy, making Pawn America a good first stop for those more cautious than cutthroat.
Readers' Choice: Pawn America BEST THRIFT STORE Salvation Army This store, tucked in Minneapolis's warehouse district, boasts two huge, linoleumed levels of wall-to-wall treasure. From clothing to lamps to furniture to those unnerving paintings of the kids with giant doe eyes, this Salvation Army is indeed a salvation. The staff is always friendly--though they've heard it all, so don't ask about returns--and they frequently wheel around carts overflowing with enticing new stuff. Among the City Pages staff, recent bargains have included a perfect and lovely $75 Fisher stereo receiver and speakers, a $1.99 antique floor lamp (which still had a $29 sticker on it from a previous garage sale), and a 99-cent hair dryer from Brookstone. Brookstone! Raid your change jar and head over.
Readers' Choice: Saver's BEST USED CLOTHING Everyday People Clothing Exchange Either of the Everyday People stores--Dinkytown or Uptown--could win this award by itself. Hit both stores on one day, and you're guaranteed satisfying power-shopping, with no icky megamall hangovers or musty thrift-store smells to endure. If you missed the Sly and the Family Stone reference, you won't miss the vibe, with Al Green or maybe the Vines playing in the background while up in the front of the store, associates are buying once-overpriced threads so they can sell them to you affordably. Beware: The Exchange cuts both ways. Think before you bring in your closet castoffs--they'll probably be met with a wrinkled nose and a pass. Only the most trendy of the new brands, like Banana Republic, DKNY, or the Gap, and the best vintage, like best-kept fur-collared coats, will make the cut. But back to shopping: Did we mention the shoes? The shoes! You would never be able to afford knee-length leather boots otherwise. The Dinkytown location even has its own room dedicated to just jeans. It's a metrosexual-on-a-budget paradise.
BEST USED CLOTHING (VINTAGE) Lula's Vintage Wear Nestled in a cozy cluster of boutiques mere paces from the clamor of Snelling Avenue, stands one of Minnesota's most charming mysteries. How Lula Vintage Wear proprietress Haley Bush stays in business charging near-thrift shop prices for flawless duds from days gone by--all of it nicely cleaned and pressed--is anyone's guess. Maybe rents really are that much lower in St. Paul. Or perhaps the tiny shop's stock turns around quicker than Krispy Kreme's, just as it should. A white faux-fur bolero jacket from the '40s goes for a measly $24; an iridescent blue men's loop-collar shirt (XL, even) from the following decade costs $12--about half the usual closing figure for a comparable garment on eBay. Best of all, you don't have to squander precious moments rifling through piles of irrelevant cloth; everything at Lula is carefully organized by size and color.
BEST USED FURNITURE (VINTAGE) Theater Antiques Given furniture's potential expense, it's hardly surprising that some penny-pinchers opt for hand-me-downs, thrift-shop finds, or throwaways in the pursuit of durable home accoutrements. Sadly, none of those alternatives offer much in the way of choice. Granted, the carefully selected merchandise at Theater Antiques costs a bit more than the average dumpster score, but the delight-dividend more than makes up for the difference. Plus, bargains galore lurk in the mammoth facility's labyrinthine byways. Take the alluringly curvaceous teak Art Deco highboy with original hardware for $175--quickly, before someone else does--or the pristine space-age velveteen day bed at a mere $345. Slightly higher-rolling vinyl lovers can bask in style and functionality for a hair over $700--the price of a massive '70s modular wall unit with shelves, drawers, drop-down desk, work table, and record rack.
BEST TOBACCONIST Golden Leaf Stepping into the Golden Leaf is like taking a little field trip to a temple of tobacco. The near-intoxicating aroma of Burleys and Cavendishes, as well as the store's kaleidoscopic pipe and cigarette selection, can leave even the most diffident non-inhaler feeling just a bit enraptured. But the real benedictions lie in the shop's climate and humidity-controlled humidor, where, like cylindrical angels, some cigar-shaped objects soar upwards of 50 dollars. Fortunately, the high priests behind the counter are more than happy to enlighten.
BEST TATTOO PARLOR Twilight Tattoo Twilight Tattoo stands out at the corner of Bloomington and Lake. It's a little brick building with blue-trimmed windows that screams "quaint neighborhood watering hole" instead of "home of needle-made skin art." Owner Shane Wallin wanted to create a unique visual space for clients, and put as much thought into the building's distinctive design as he does into his custom-made tattoos. Inside, the studio further reflects Wallin's artful aesthetic, with a sleek, comfy couch and a pop-art painting by Wallin that covers an entire wall. Considered among body-art fanatics to be a true visual artiste, Wallin isn't just some dude who will slap a lame butterfly tattoo on your drunk ass and snicker as you cough over a cool hundred. The award-winning Wallin has been designing tattoos for more than 10 years, and he takes great pride in creating each one of his high-quality, one-of-a-kind walking art projects. "I'm proud of everything I do," he says. Apparently it's true: Every rose is unique.
BEST BODY PIERCING St. Sabrina's Parlor in Purgatory St. Sabrina's is easy to spot from the streets in Uptown thanks to the faux-church and stained-glass painted exterior as well as the eclectic group of patrons coming and going through the doors: Gothers, punkers, college stoners and wild soccer moms all come here, and people-watching is as fun as checking out the rubber nun hand-puppets and body glitter. Upstairs is the piercing parlor, which is part jewelry store, part doctor's office. You can peruse piercers' portfolio books to get an idea of what you are interested in, or chat up a knowledgeable employee behind the counter. The jewelry collection is unique and classy, with a stock ranging from titanium to white gold, as well as such gems as onyx, opals, and diamonds, all with reasonable pricing. Perhaps more importantly, the parlor follows guidelines set by the Minneapolis Health Department, is super clean (we've seen workers follow customers around with hand-sanitizer) and those guys and gals sticking you are all members of the Association of Professional Piercers. (They're more than happy to show you the autoclave where they sterilize tools if you're still squeamish.) Thanks to their skills and safety-first ethic, the pain from your piercing experience should be mercifully short and sweet--which, depending on your fetish, can be a good or bad thing.
BEST BIKE SHOP Kenwood Cyclery You want a bike--but not just any bike--and bikes are pricey. If you intend it to be your "other car," it may cost just as much. The folks at Kenwood Cyclery don't just sell any old bike off the floor, they help you find the bike you'll love and use for a long time. It may take a little extra time, but you'll get a cycle that suits you, whether you're out to win a road race or get to work on time. Once that mission's accomplished, you can accessorize from the selection of helmets, bike gloves, shirts, shorts, shoes, power bars and lots of advice. Casual riders will feel right at home when they start talking to owner John Coleman or any of the staff--they seem to love talking shop. Racers will know they are home, given the line of high-end bikes available. But if you're just in the market for a round-town beater, you'll also find used, refurbished bikes at very reasonable prices.
Readers' Choice: Erik's Bike Shop BEST SPORTING GOODS STORE General Sports Past winners have included some enormo-dome one-stops and second-hand gear chains, but let's hear it for this underdog, which has been in the game for more than 40 years. General Sports' one and only shop may not have every conceivable item, but it packs a lot into one location, and keeps up very well on the popular activities from season to season--as well as year-round on hockey, rollerblading, and school-spirit wear. It's not for bargain hunters; however, the General offers starter kits that put all the essentials together at a small discount. It's a nice feature for casual players and exasperated parents trying to keep up with the times (Lacrosse is the new soccer!). If that weren't enough, General Sports' real achievement is supplying all kinds of merch for the working game official. Have you always wanted one of those beanbags the football refs throw, or a little scorebook like the soccer refs carry? They're here, along with linesman's flags, umpire's caps, and whistles galore. Granted, most people prefer life on the other side of the zebra stripes, but if the refs in your rec league are looking shabby, you can tell them where to go. Literally! On a recent stop, we encountered two brothers who'd made the trip from Mankato for ump gear. Ask a local varsity basketball ref and they'll say the same. So there. We've made our call. You can argue this choice if you want, but do it nicely or we'll toss you.
BEST BABY GOODS STORE Treasure's Island Trust us: The last thing a new (or for that matter, any) parent needs is to blow hours staring at an overly lighted wash of strollers, cribs, car seats, diaper bags, breast pumps, nail clippers, bathtubs, and backpacks. Thankfully, Treasure's Island has been weeding out the more gratuitous items for over 50 years. The salespeople can show you how to wrestle--er, collapse--a stroller into a car trunk, and they're all too happy to hold forth about any product the store carries. We appreciate that despite their decidedly upscale clientele (many new parents from the Mayo Clinic drive to the Eagan location to stock up), they won't sell the $700-plus Bugaboo Frog stroller. "It's too expensive," one clerk sniffed, as she steered us toward a perfectly serviceable $99 option. And while several of their cribs could dent your child's college fund, the basement carries a solid selection of discounted models that will last--safety codes willing--for several generations.
BEST TOY STORE Target Oh, how we wanted to hand this one to Creative Kidstuff and their tasteful arrangements of development-spurring mobiles and nostalgic wooden trains. Our homegrown big box's offerings might not be hand-carved and painted by a Bavarian handwerker, but the sheer breadth of its inventory speaks better to the infinite varieties of activity that children call play. Walk past the slew of Barbies, Batmen, and Bratz and you'll find a dress-up section that is so delightfully overstocked that it appears as if a certain fairy godmother/buyer just couldn't stop waving her wand. The art-supply aisle calls to any petit Matisse, boasting more varieties of construction paper, crayons, and paints than the master collage maker could have imagined. And while we particularly like the child-sized sporting goods, camping gear and gardening tools, what we love most about Target are all the non-toy items that children adore. Montessori kids understand that egg-slicers, sponges, eyedroppers, spray bottles, cheese graters, and Q-tips are the instruments of purposeful and engrossing work. The rest of the child universe just thinks they're a blast.
Readers' Choice: Toys R Us BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKSTORE Wild Rumpus A children's bookstore that names itself after Maurice Sendak's most famous hubbub is obligated to maintain a certain degree of rebellion. Maybe that's why this Linden Hills mainstay allows so many of its resident wild things to strut and scratch and tell their own stories. From the Manx cats who have loved the overstuffed armchairs to the point of no repair; to Elvis, the bantam that plays hide and seek with aggressive toddlers, the animals at Wild Rumpus offer more opportunities for grabbing and petting than the Minnesota Zoo. The book selection is equally free-roaming. Alongside the standard Caldecott Medal winners, shelves are crammed with titles that will fit in any nook of the imagination--from poetry to world folk literature to mysteries and other spooky stuff. The staff works hard to make Wild Rumpus feel more like a community center than a place of commerce by hosting special events, such as a toddler story-hour and guest appearances by larger members of the animal kingdom. The staffers are also bona fide kid-lit geeks: We thought we'd stumped them when we requested a fifth-birthday gift for a spunky redheaded girl. Minutes later, a copy of Harriet Lerner's Franny B. Kranny, There's A Bird in Your Hair! emerged from a pile of options. It was, of course, a hit.
BEST USED CLOTHING (KIDS) Unique Thrift Stores No offense to Once Upon A Child, which offers junior's gently-used with sure, if bland, efficiency. But shoppers looking for surprises in selection, not to mention price, might consider regular visits to the Unique chain. Regular because, as at most thrift stores, you have to be there to stumble on finds like brown suede Hush Puppies for four Georges or a handmade '60s red corduroy toddler girl's coat trimmed in white rickrack. Of course, neither of those items will ever be found there again. But unless you're ready to spring $14 to $28 for vintage children's shirts, sweaters, and dresses at the very fun Oh Cool Baby store in Nordeast, Unique is the place to discover unexpected and one-of-a-kind used kids' clothing, on the cheap. Unique can also be depended on for better brands like Oshkosh, Circo, and the Gap--all at a more than reasonable price. Even better, everything is 50 percent off on national holidays like President's Day. (And then there was that pair of pristine Stride Rites for five bucks....)
BEST HARDWARE STORE Seven Corners Forget about hardware stores as sterile and unappealing as Wal-Mart, with their white linoleum and Muzak ambience, not to mention the difficulty of finding a store employee among the vast wasteland of garden hoses. Those who really appreciate the dirty, sweaty, messy, fine art of home improvement expect their hardware stores to feel the same--gritty, oily, and filled with a variety of products to sate the imagination of any plumber, electrician, or drywaller on a rampage. Much like a library for tools, items throughout Seven Corners stack high and low--every corner is packed with a tool that someone's project cannot do without. They've got a rainbow selection of hammers, dozens of WD-40-like products, and millions of screws, washers, and bolts arranged in buckets. But fret not if you can't tell a thingy from a whatchamacallit--there are employees who can answer most any question you ask with a reasonable degree of knowledgeable experience, and all without being condescending.
Readers' Choice: Ace Hardware BEST CAR WASH The Downtowner Car Wash As the temperature in Minnesota gets warmer, the funk emanating from your floor mats get riper. Winter has a funny way of keeping us from maintaining a proper sense of vehicle hygiene, and now the leftover meal in the back seat has festered into something unidentifiable as animal, mineral, or vegetable. No matter what the extent of the filth, the people at St. Paul's Downtowner Car Wash are who to see about dealing with it. Six months of cigarette ash, thirteen coffee stains, and whatever the green stuff on the door handle was? Gone in one quick visit. The Downtowner offers a full-service wash, hand waxing, and a multitude of detailing packages ranging from around $12 to $30. Standing in the waiting area one can see the washers, waxers, sprayers, and dryers take on a rhythmic cohesion rivaled only by Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompas themselves. And when the "Vehicle Ready" sign finally starts flashing, you will be struck by suddenly recalling that the grime-gray Corolla you've been driving since December was actually black when you bought it.
Readers' Choice: The Downtowner Car Wash BEST MECHANIC Glasgow Automotive Minnesota's virulent fetish for all things Scandinavian extends to the Volvo automobile, of which you'll find nearly every existing model, vintage, and level of salt-addled physical distress on Twin Cities roadways. More than a few local Volvo owners have found an ally in Mike Glasgow, whose two-stall shop on a glamourless St. Paul corner is neither tidy nor especially comfortable for guests. You want free flavored coffee, fake smiles, and Judge Judy while you wait? Jiffy Lube is that-a-way. You want your tattered 740 sedan to run for another 100,000 miles? Leave it with Mike and his knowledgeable, diligent, respectful staff for as long as they need. Evidenced by a few message-board raves at CarTalk.com, Glasgow is known to its cult of loyal customers as a place where straight talk, realistic assessments, and fair prices are the norm. It's a safe harbor for non-Volvos, too, but don't take offense if these guys are too busy to serve you on the spot--which, like any dependable urban mechanic, they often are.
Readers' Choice: Autópia BEST HAIRCUT Audie Howe - Lyn-Lake Barber Shop You'd think, based on the low, low price most barbers charge for a haircut, that they aren't nearly as skilled as the black-clad poseurs skulking around the chrome fixtures at that slick Uptown salon. And that the cut you'll get won't be as au courant as the one you'd get at the chain with the beyond-organic rep. Not so, kids. We're sure that there are still some barbers out there who send everyone home looking like either Moe or a Marine, but there are plenty who will make you look every bit as spiffy as Mr. or Ms. $75-Buys-You-an-Hour-of-Flattery-and-Hipster-Pretense. Like Audie Howe, dispenser of the $15, no-appointment needed or taken, haircut. In order to get a barber's license in Minnesota, Audie and his brethren need to know far more than just how to coax a mop into a flattering shape. They need to know the anatomy of the head in detail: the bones of the skull, the arteries, veins, and muscles, and where they all connect. They need to know what makes hair thick or thin, how it grows, how color isn't the only thing that changes as hair grays, even how hair differs from fur. If, after 1,500 hours of apprenticeship, an aspiring barber fails the licensing exam, they can't try again for another year. In the meantime they have to spend hundreds more hours practicing. You still want to pay $55 for the place with the aromatherapist, you go right ahead. It'll just be that much easier to get in to see Audie on a Saturday afternoon. Readers' Choice: Great Clips Advertisement
2004 Best of the Twin Cities HOME
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