It’s already been called America’s gayest city and most bike-friendly city, and it lies in the most hipster state. Now Minneapolis has another distinction to add to its list: the country’s healthiest city (along with St. Paul), as determined by the American College of Sports Medicine. I suppose it’s fitting that I post this, since I’m a gay, biking, reasonably healthy Minneapolitan! (Okay, and maybe I’m the tiniest bit hipster…)

Frigid winters aside, Minneapolis is a pretty great city, and it boasts plenty of great opportunities for the GLBT community, bikers and health-conscious folk, and yes, even hipsters. I thought I’d compile a short list of my favorite local gems from each category, but I’d love to hear what you think too! Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @TheOfficeGay. Here’s my take:

Healthy Minneapolis

• I love food, so of course I have to mention the great farmers markets and coops like The Wedge that provide local and organic food.

• Speaking of local eats, there’s nothing I love more than a restaurant serving up local, healthy, delicious food! Two of my favorites are Brasa Rotisserie (try the braised beef and yams with andouille sausage) and Sen Yai Sen Lek (some of the best Pad See Iew in the city, and a fresh take on classic Pad Thai).

Biking Minneapolis • This goes along with the healthy section! There are tons of amazing trails, and a decent number of bike lines throughout the city streets. • As a late adapter, I’m still getting to know the city’s trails and treasures. One of my favorite stretches at this point, though, is the Stone Arch Bridge and the connecting trails along the Mississippi River.

GLBT Minneapolis

• The gay bar scene is begging for its own post, so I won’t delve into too much detail here. One of the best bars in my book is The 19, with cheap pitchers and a low-key environment.

• This might go better in the hipster or health categories, but everyone knows that you’ll almost never find more homos in one place than at Lake Calhoun on a nice day!

Hipster Minneapolis

• As the Buzzfeed article mentioned, there’s a great live theater scene here in Minneapolis, including the highly visible Guthrie Theater. But is that really hipster? Perhaps I should point to others off the beaten track, like In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre or the incredible Fringe Festival.

• Some of our other hipstery gems include our vintage clothing shops (Rewind, Everyday People) and impressive local music scene (Cloud Cult, Doomtree, Rhymesayers, etc.).

Let me know what you think in the comments sections!

TOG