Neighborhood Exploration: Audubon Park, Minneapolis

Note: This is a new series of posts that I’ll be doing. Each post will focus on a specific neighborhood and I’ll share what makes each one great.

Since this is the first post in a series, I thought it would be fitting to start with my current neighborhood. Audubon Park, Minneapolis, MN.

Now that I have lived in this neighborhood for a few months, I feel super-qualified to point out all of it’s greatness. One of my favorite spots in the city falls into this neighborhood: the enchanted forest.

Enchanted Forest
This enchanted forest as I call it is actually a public stairway to get to a nearby park. If you don’t know it’s there, you’ll miss it when you drive by. Shortly after we first moved into our house I went exploring around the neighborhood specifically up to the park. I saw someone come out of what looked like the bushes. At the time it was hilarious and I chuckled to myself. Later, on my way back home, I glanced over towards where this person popped out and noticed there were stairs. Public stairs (is that even what they’re called?) are a bit of a novelty to me. I’ve never lived in an area with large hills like Audubon park has. Naturally I had to investigate and found this beautiful park area tucked away.

Food & Drink
Nearly outside of Minneapolis city limits, one might think good food is lacking. But there are still some amazing restaurants here. Top of the list is Chimborazo, an Ecuadorian restaurant with Wednesday date night. The first time we went there, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was packed and we had to wait in a back hallway watching workers run from the kitchen to the basement. Finally, after being seated, we got to pick from one of three entree options and then got a bottle of wine with it. Still unsure about what to expect from the food, I picked chicken. Turns out, it was amazing. If you’re not familiar with Ecuadorian food, I would say it’s a less-spicy Mexican. But, it is in no way lacking flavor.

Then there is Hazel’s, one of the best brunch spots in the city. Before even knowing about this neighborhood, I had been to Hazel’s and knew it lived up to it’s hype. It’s always packed on the weekends. One of the great things about all the restaurants in our neighborhood is that they’re all a little bit smaller in size than many restaurants. I like this because they always feel cozier and it seems like the servers are usually able to give you their full attention.

There’s also a co-op brewery within walking distance from our house. Fair State Co-Op Brewery is great because anyone can become a member. With that membership you’re able to do things like attend exclusive tasting parties, and vote on the next style of beer to brew. You also don’t need to be a member to go there. It’s simple on the inside, with long wooden tables but again you feel that coziness of almost being at home.

Beyond food and parks, Audubon park also has some great little shops. There is a vintage clothing store, a vintage furniture store, and a craft store. All which I think are all worth visiting. Plus they’re all within a block of each other and within walking distance from my house so it’s easy to get to them all.

Overall, I like our neighborhood. I think we picked a winner. Hopefully this gives you some insight as to why I enjoy it so much.

As always, thanks for reading!
-Amber