Northside Taproom Opens with a Boom

Shortly after its inception, Boom Island quickly became my favorite beer, and not just because it's brewed right here in north Minneapolis.  Every concoction, from the darker Hoodoo and Brimstone beers to the Silvus pale ale and Witness, have a unique taste and are well worth the price.  The only problem was that the hours at their former digs made it hard to stop in for a growler.  Plenty of local stores carry the beer, but the growler is definitely the economical way to go.

So imagine my disappointment several weeks ago when I pulled up to the old spot, empty growler in hand, only to find that it was closed down.  Not for lack of business; quite the opposite...

Hawkman at the Lowry Cafe

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

The Johnny Northside blog already extensively covered the Lowry Cafe opening, but I finally made my way down there twice over the last week or so.  My first trip there was a birthday present from a friend who insisted I try the mushroom and Swiss burger.  Having already proclaimed Good Sports as having the best burgers in NoMi, I needed to see how Lowry's burger stacked up to the competition.

I have to say that...

City Pages Best of NoMi Roundup

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Here are the Best of 2011 City Pages winners with connections to NoMi:

Best Undiscovered Neighborhood:  Victory Neighborhood, Minneapolis
Best Local Blog:  The Adventures of Johnny Northside (Two years running!)
Best Burger:  Victory 44 (not really, in my opinion, but we'll get to that in a moment)
Best Neighborhood Bar (Minneapolis):  Tootie's on Lowry
Honorable mention for something that SHOULD be in NoMi, Best Bike Trail:  Grand Rounds, along the Mississippi River.
Various other downtown spots with North in their street address garnered top honors as well, but they are not technically in NoMi.  Out of all of those, however, the best bike shop jumped out at me because we need a bike shop here.  (And a REAL one, mind you, not some taxpayer/non-profit funded program-based notion that will dry up with future budget cuts.)

Now, about that burger (and the best blog)...