Photo by Jason DeRusha
Never underestimate Minnesotans’ desire to have multiple gigantic TVs within eyesight at all times. The sports bar explosion over the last couple weeks is fascinating. Why? Who’s asking for this? What’s the motivation? The answers are different for each spot, as is the vibe. We didn’t eat a ton of food so I can’t give you a thorough review from a culinary standpoint—but these are sports bars. You get the idea! If it gets more people to get out of their home and away from non-stop food delivery… I’m all for it. Watching a game in community is a fun thing.
The Rabbit Hole, North Loop Minneapolis
The Rabbit Hole is like if you took Tom’s Watch Bar, crossed it with Bunkers, then crossed that with a nightclub, and moved it to the hottest neighborhood in town. We were there during their noon-3 p.m. Saturday bingo, which is in partnership with the nonprofit Firefighters for Healing. The place was jam-packed. People love bingo: old people, young people, tables full of young women, tables full of dudes. Co-owner Jay Ettinger told me he sat in every seat in every corner to make sure you could always see at least two TVs. Tons of neighborhood and bar experience here with fellow co-owner Deepak Nath, formerly of The Pourhouse and others.
Vibe: North Loop Party Bar. A younger crowd than I initially expected, but during the day it’s people of all ages. At night when there’s live music or a DJ, I might be too old.
Food: Elevated and expensive. There’s a $23 smash burger—two quarter-pound patties, very tasty and it comes with a side of waffle fries. So it’s no different than the $18 Parlour burger, really. But… a $23 smash burger!? I’ve already heard a lot about this from neighbors. It is a really good burger! Would people rather add the side and think of it as an $18 burger? Maybe. And yes, there’s a salted giant pretzel with Summit beer cheese sauce ($13).
Food Challenge: A 10-inch mozzarella cheese stick that reportedly can stretch up to 8 feet. If you eat four of them in 30 minutes, you win a T-shirt.
Secret Drink: Order the off-menu “Duck Around And Find Out” and enjoy a small bathtub full of citrus vodka and blue curaçao with a tiny rubber ducky. Cute!
The Rabbit Hole, 411 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis, therabbitholemn.com
Game Time Sports Bar and Arcade, Midtown Global Market
The former Eastlake Brewery is now a sports bar and arcade, and how do you not cheer for five childhood friends coming together to open a spot in the neighborhood. I spent some good time with co-owners Elvis Rivera and Deonte Hill, and the pride they have in this effort is contagious. You’ll find vintage games like Donkey Kong and Space Invaders, along with more interactive arcade games like a handful of pop-a-shots, electronic darts, a shuffleboard table, and more.
Vibe: Family-friendly neighborhood hang. It’s next to Manny’s Tortas. This sports bar has the fewest screens of the places we’ve visited and the collection of video games has some miles on it. I found it charming and approachable—but this isn’t Dave & Busters.
Food: Hot dogs are the main event here—Nathan’s all beef dogs with chili cheese ($10), elote-corn style, or peanut butter bacon (surprisingly good). The elote tots ($11) were a great sharable idea—sort of a “totchos” riff with street corn, jalapeno and cotija cheese.
Drinks: Named after sports teams and icons, the cocktails complement a solid tap beer list. I love that they have a section of the list highlighting minority-owned distilleries, so DuNord is on there, as is Jason Momoa’s Cantera Negra Distillery. I loved the coffee-forward espresso martini ($11)—it’s more clean / no cream. Hart’s Mic Drop ($13) with Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Reposado Tequila was a spicy marg riff, also quite nice.
Parking: Surface lot (meters) close to Lake Street, ramp behind MGM.
Game Time Sports Bar, 920 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis, gametimesportsmn.com
Parlay Sports Bar, Downtown Minneapolis
It takes stones to open a sports bar down the street from the sports bar that really spawned all these new entrants, Tom’s Watch Bar—so I was intrigued to check out what the owner’s of Crave had done with the main level of Union, their very successful rooftop venue on Hennepin Avenue in the theatre district. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in a bar at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night that was totally empty, but here we were. We did get fantastic service—attentive, too! Obviously, and perhaps unfairly to Parlay, the vibe was off. We arrived just after the pre-theatre crowd was leaving, and it was Feb. 15, with Gopher hockey the only local game on TV.
Vibe: Lots of screens including two 98-inch screens in the main dining area. Empty on our visit, but during Vikings season they had a DJ playing music and hyping up the crowd during commercial breaks. Lots of people walking through to get to the elevator to go to Union on the rooftop.
Food: Biggest menu of the bunch. We tried some average chicken wings ($8 for 6) with an overly salty dry rub, and then bailed because it’s no fun to hang out somewhere with no one else around. They have queso and nachos and cheese curds, as well as more upscale entrees like lobster mac and cheese ($32), steak frites ($30) and breakfast fried rice ($19).
Drinks: No prices on the menu, which both we and the bartender agreed was annoying. And it’s not like they’re hiding wild prices—our spicy blood orange margarita and mezcal old fashioneds were both very nicely made and $15.
Parking: The Dayton’s ramp is right there, and lots of parking in the theatre district.
Parlay Sports Bar, 731 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, parlaymn.com
