If you don't mind a 10 minute walk, Saffron and 112 Eatery are two great places virtually across the street from one another. Both of these places would be fine for a solo diner and IMHO, have better food and a more interesting ambiance than the downtown places. Also in that area (the Warehouse District) and very good are Haute Dish and The Bachelor Farmer. 112, Haute Dish and BF feature locally sourced food and creative preparation. Saffron has high end Mediterranean fare, and the chef competed on the Iron Chef.

That being said, I have not tried the Copper Pot, and have been hearing good things.

http://www.saffronmpls.com/
http://www.112eatery.com/
http://www.haute-dish.com/
http://thebachelorfarmer.com/

I second the rec for Butcher and Boar. Very meat centric plus a much more fun atmosphere than the steak houses. Saffron is excellent too, though.

PHO

I second the nomination for PHO

I second the rec for A Baker's Wife bakery - very high quality baked goods in a charming, old fashioned, neighborhood bakery. Nothing looks "fancy" but the flavor is outstanding. Obviously plenty of butter involved. The owner was a pastry chef at some high-end place in NY in a former life, apparently.

My friend swears by the savory waffles at the Birchwood.

Ah yes, the house-cured pastrami at BeWiched/Icehouse is excellent!

Not to get into an ideological battle here, but grass-fed, or pastured, meat has been proven to contain many beneficial antioxidants and good fats.

"Eating moderate amounts of grass-fed meat for only 4 weeks will give you healthier levels of essential fats, according to a 2011 study in the British Journal of Nutrition. The British research showed that healthy volunteers who ate grass-fed meat increased their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and decreased their level of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. These changes are linked with a lower risk of a host of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and inflammatory disease"

Regarding flavor, while grass-fed beef does not have the rich, unctuous flavor of grain-fed beef, to me it tastes more like I remember beef tasting when I was a kid (many years ago,) with a true minerally, slightly gamey flavor.

BishopsBitter, a frequent visitor to the Twin Cities, reported that the Reuben at Mac's Industrial was "top-notch."

Clancey's and the Co-ops carry locally raised, grass-fed beef, which, to me, is the healthiest and best tasting meat, and well worth the extra cost.

Co-op locations:
http://www.themix.coop/?q=locations

If your are looking for great tap beer, a fun idea would be to visit some of our new local brewery tap rooms. Summit is having a grand opening of their tap room on the 28th. Fulton Brewery is downtown, near the ballpark, Indeed is in NE Minneapolis and and my favorite, Harriet, is in S Minneapolis. All are a reasonable bike ride from downtown. Summit is farthest at about 12 miles- you could take the light rail to MInnnehaha Park and bike from there, others are less than 4 miles from the hotel. The tap rooms often have food trucks parked outside, so that might be another dining option. Details are usually provided on their websites and Facebook pages.

http://www.summitbrewing.com/
http://www.harrietbrewing.com/
http://www.indeedbrewing.com/
http://fultonbeer.com/

I agree with the rec to skip Pat's Tap. There are much better beer bars in town.

Some of my favorites (in alphabetical order - search for websites for details of what's on tap

Acadia Cafe | 329 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis

Blue Nile | 2027 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis

The Bulldog Restaurant, NE | 401 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

Grumpy’s Downtown | 1111 Washington Ave., S. Minneapolis

Mac’s Industrial | 312 Central Ave SE., Minneapolis

Nomad World Pub | 501 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis

Republic | 221 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis

Stub and Herb’s | 227 Oak St SE., Minneapolis

Tilia | 2726 West 43rd Street, Minneapolis (GREAT RESTAURANT TOO)

I now have to add Filfilah to my list of great holes-in-the-wall places.

Thanks to this thread

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/850900

my husband and I had lunch there on Sunday and it was fantastic. We shared a combo plate which consisted of a lamb kebab, a chicken kebab, lamb/beef shawarma and chicken shawarma, and I would agree with KCMPLS's ratings. I usually avoid kebabs because I find them to be too dry more often then not. These were moist and succulent, with just the right amount of char on the outside. The shawarma was also very moist, which again often tends to be dry, and very flavorful. We also had a bowl of the red lentil soup, which was comfort food at its best - I would guess that lamb stock was used as the base since it had a lovely richness without being at all greasy. The combo plate came with a very nice Mediterranean-style salad and some house made Turkish bread. Highly recommended.

These places all fit the criteria for good beer selection, moderate prices and decent (if not quite Heartand or Frost quality) food. Whether or not they are conducive to conversation probably depends on day/hour of visit.

Happy Gnome - 498 Selby Ave
Great tap list served in proper glassware and while I didn't care for the food the last time I was there, which was some years ago, per their website it looks like they've improved their menu quite a bit.

The Muddy Pig - 162 N. Dale St
Again, great tap list with proper glassware, can't vouch for the food.

Bulldog Lowertown - 237 East Sixth Street
Excellent tap selection, proper glassware, and reasonably good bar food

Thai
Thai Cafe - 371 University St Paul
true hole in the wall (but clean!) atmosphere/Culinary School trained chef

Mexican
La Alborada Market - 1855 E Lake Street Minneapolis
tiny restaurant inside a large Hispanic grocery store. They always have something unusual and special beyond the usual taqueria fare. Ability to speak Spanish helps, but they can usually find someone to help if you don't (which includes me!)

Chinese
I second the rec for Keefer Court. We ate there recently with friends who had been to China and they thought the food was quite authentic and high quality. Definitely qualifies as hole-in-the-wall - there are maybe six tables?

Ethiopian
Blue Nile 2027 E Franklin Ave Minneapolis
While Fasika usually ranks higher among Chowhounders, the Blue Nile has very good, authentic Ethiopian food and has the added bonuses of a great tap beer selection (Belgian, West Coast IPA etc,) great music, both live and recorded, and a very charming staff.

Vietnamese
Pho 79/Caravelle 2529 Nicollet Ave. S. Minneapolis
I do not understand the fascination with Quang. I find their food to be ladened with MSG and the Pho tasting of powdered spices. The Pho at Pho 79/Caravelle however has a wonderfully deep, rich broth, and they offer many traditional Vietnamese dishes such as CÁ KHO TỘ - Catfish cooked in clay pot. The staff is very friendly to non-Vietnamese guests and they are thrilled to have you try their traditional dishes.

Nepali/Indian/Tibetan
Gorkha Palace 23 4th St NE Minneapolis
Always fresh, and always something unique, such as Yak meat or Jackfruit curry. Plus the walls are decorated with fabulous so-bad-they-are-great oil paintings depicting subcontinent themes.

My Ecuadorian produce guy recommended Guayaquil 1526 East Lake Street Minneapolis, although I have not tried it myself.

I second the recs for Saffron, 112 Eatery and Bar La Grassa as being the best options within walking distance (about 15 min walk) for sustainably raised small plate focused food. The choice will probably depend on who has a table available at the time you want to go - all are very popular and crowded on Friday night. Piccolo is great, but is not downtown. The Bachelor Farmer is another good choice downtown, about 4 or 5 blocks further away than 112/Saffron. Here is a link to a Food and Wine article featuring Saffron, BF and Haute Dish. The other featured restaurants are not downtown.

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/b...

I also second the recs to stay away from Juicy Lucys - blech! Yes, they are an interesting regional specialty, but I would rather have local veggies, cheeses, meats etc.

Prairie Pride Farm out of Mankato sells excellent naturally-cured bratwurst made from their heritage Berkshire pork at the St. Paul farmers market, on-line and at some Co-ops. I think they are pre-cooked though.

https://www.prairiepridepork.com/prod...

Here's a nice writeup from Food & Wine about "affordable" restaurants in the Twin Cities

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/b...

I think these are all great choices.

I second the rec's for Tilia and Alma - some of the most creative cuisine around and single dinners can often get a seat at the bar in both places. Plus they both have a nice neighborhood feel, which makes them very single-female friendly.
Another great little neighborhood restaurant is the Birchwood. It is very casual and reasonably priced, but everything is well made and sustainably sourced.
Being from NE, I am not a fan of the 1029/Smack Shack lobster rolls. IMHO, they must be made with fresh lobster, and these are clearly made with frozen.
If you are feeling a bit adventurous, the Twin Cities are famous for our South East Asian food. I am partial to Pho 79 on Eat Street (Nicollet between downtown and Lake St.) Many others will recommend Quang, but the last time I ate there I thought the Pho tasted of powdered star anise and everything seemed to be loaded with MSG.

http://www.tiliampls.com/
http://restaurantalma.com/
http://www.birchwoodcafe.com/
http://www.pho79mpls.com/

While the food is not that great, the Black Forest has a lovely patio, and excellent German beer on tap.

Blackbird is indeed beer-friendly, and the food is very good, but I have a feeling they might be packed on a weekend night. DItto for my favorite, Tilia, were beer is presented with the same seriousness as wine, and the food is fantastic.

Of these choices, I would vote for Saffron or Red Stag. Saffron has excellent food but not much of a beer focus. Red Stag has good food, does a great job with beer, and you could go to the Bulldog NE afterwards for a wide selection of craft beer. Another option for post dinner drinks would be the Acadia Cafe on the West Bank, if beer selection is a paramount consideration. They just installed a Cask Bar with three casks on tap. Atmosphere however is pretty collegiate/bohemian, which I find charming but some find annoying.

http://www.acadiacafe.com/

After, oh, about 15 years of dropping in to Keefer Court for Curry Buns and Wintermelon Cake, we finally made it over there for a meal. I had always noticed the small group of tables in the back, often inhabited by groups of Asian college students inhaling aromatic rice plates or noodle soups, and would make a mental note to put it on the future dining list. On Saturday, before attending a show at the Cedar, we decided to grab a quick meal. We enjoyed an order of succulent roast duck redolent with fresh spices, an attractively presented plate of pan-fried sea bass filets en-robed in the thinnest possible crust and perched on a few head of baby bok choy, perfectly al dente rice noodles with pork and pickled vegetables,and a simple preparation of stir fried Chinese broccoli. The service was friendly and attentive, and the food was even better than I had hoped. Highly recommended.

Not directly in the neighborhood, but we thought the fare at India Spice House in Eden Prairie was quite good.

http://www.indiaspicehouseep.com/

While I look forward to BB's ever thoughful review, here is a great resource for finding out about craft beer

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/deschute...

BB,

So glad you liked Tilia! I loved your description of the clairvoyant custodian and the tip-top nick beer lines.
Downtown, have you tried Saffron (high quality Mid East/Med) or Bar La Grassa (chef-driven bistro?)

http://saffronmpls.com/
http://barlagrassa.com/

A new contender for best Thai in the Twin Cities? Thai Cafe, 371 University, is an unprepossessing little storefront bistro, but the food is first class. The chef was professionally trained in Thailand and it shows in the beautiful presentation and high quality ingredients of the food. We had a whole fish with a lovely laab sauce chock full of fresh mint and delicate slivers of purple shallots, Sour Pork Rib - bite size riblets marinated for hours in a complex marinade and served with deep fried kaffir lime leaves, a perfectly balanced papaya salad and several other dishes. The service, by the chef's young daughter, was friendly, helpful, and non-obtrusive yet attentive. I can't recommend this place highly enough and fear for its ability to survive the construction maelstrom outside its door.

Ditto - great choices! These are definitely some of the highlights of the current TC dining scene. One suggestion I would make for future visits (or visitors) is to have your beer at Tilia. They always have a remarkable selection on tap, and treat beer with the same serious consideration as is usually reserved for wine and fine whiskeys.

I'm sorry to hear that. I have yet to try the place, and had been eager to after hearing raves. Now, I guess I'll cross it off the list. I'd be curious to hear your take on Gorkha Palace, if you get the inclination to give it a try.

I'm very interested to hear that the Tandoor was a pioneer in bringing culinary diversity to the Lutherans. I have heard great things about the current incarnation, but did not realize its history,
Re Brasa, I'm of the not-sure-what-the-raves-are-about camp. I find it kind of meh, compared to some of the amazing grilled meat extravaganzas I have enjoyed in warmer climes. I vastly prefer the chef's other venture, Alma, albeit rather more pricy.

Faugh - nothing worse than tainted beer lines! The Bulldogs usually do a good job of line hygiene, as well as matching beer styles with the proper glassware.

Regarding Indian food, around the corner from the Bulldog NE is Gorkha Palace (23 4th St. NE,) a very nice Nepali/Indian/Tibetan restaurant. They have a small lunch buffet and serve dinner until 9pm (closed from 2pm - 5pm.) They often have unusual things like jackfruit and yak meat in some of their curries and the atmosphere is charming.