Wall St. Journal declares one U.S. travel destination among world's hottest: Minneapolis

Of all the possible travel destinations this world has to offer, the Wall Street Journal has declared Minneapolis as one of the very hottest for the coming year — and the only one among the 10 in the good old U-S-of-A.

The national newspaper best known for reporting on all things money last week placed Minnesota's largest city fourth among its 10 "hot destinations for adventurous sophisticates, curious foodies and deep-pocketed beach bums."

The Journal's synopsis of the merits of Minneapolis focused exclusively on how it is "now luring curious foodies" and gobbled up 13 James Beard Award semifinalists this year.

"When Gavin Kaysen, chef/owner of the wildly popular Spoon & Stable [211 N. 1st Street], opened his modern bistro Bellecour last spring [in Wayzata], he booked 1,000 reservations in the first 24 hours," the newspaper noted.

The Journal also gave props to Thomas Kim, who left Los Angeles to establish the Rabbit Hole on 920 E. Lake Street, and Erik Anderson, "who sharpened his knives at the Catbird Seat in Nashville" and took over Minneapolis' Grand Cafe at 3804 Grand Av. S. this year.

The write-up made it clear that St. Paul was not a party to the praise, writing that Minneapolis is "the twin city that gave us Prince and Bob Dylan — and will host the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 4."

Dan McElroy, president and CEO of the Minnesota Restaurant Association, said Monday that he's "excited about the praise" from the Journal, adding that Minneapolis is "blessed with some really great places."

At the same time, McElroy continued, he can understand if the St. Paul side of the Twin Cities dining scene would feel left out.

"Why the Wall Street Journal chose to emphasize [just Minneapolis] it's hard to know," he said.

Here are the Journal's other hot destinations, in order: Faroe Islands, between Norway and Iceland; Puebla, Mexico; Kuelap, Peru; Dundee, Scotland; Grenada; Madagascar; Montenegro; Shanghai, China; and La Rioja, Spain.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482