Dawn Brodey

The chariot of the dining bicyclist.

The Twin Cities are regularly voted among the most bike-friendly in the country. Bicycling.com currently has us in the #1 spot although we regularly swap the prestigious ranking for second place with Portland, Oregon.

Similarly, publications such as Travel and Leisure also have the Twin Cities and Portland sharing top spots for best cities for foodies.

The situation has us asking two big questions: One, how do we get rid of Portland; and two how do we best pair our Cities' tremendous and unique opportunities to bike and eat out?

Biking to dinner can be a trick. Does the establishment have a bike rack? Will my helmet hair and wrinkled right cuff solicit snubs from the other diners? Do they serve Surly?

Well Hot Dish cooked up a sample course for your courses: A scenic, bike-friendly, 10-mile loop with recommended stops for beer, apps, dinner and, since you've earned it, dessert. On your next date night, why not ditch a couple of wheels and take this road less traveled.

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Courtesy of the Herkimer

Herkimer's outdoor sports stadium.

For over 13 years, The Herkimer has been serving up more than just beer and food - they have also sponsored a variety of sports leagues from kickball to bean bags.

Caroline O'Halloran, social media and marketing manager for Herkimer, tells us their roster also includes volleyball, softball, hockey, dodge ball, and shuffleboard.

See also:
Herkimer: Best happy hour in town?

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Chocolates and candlelight: You still have time to make Valentine's reservations

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Even though it's been a beastly hot summer, Minnesotans would be wise to take advantage of outdoor dining opportunities when they present themselves, before autumn takes hold. 
Still, sitting on a stifling hot patio is a bit of a hard sell this month.

However, Biella Italian restaurant in Excelsior provides an excellent alternative -- a dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka.

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Hell's Kitchen's creates cocktails personally designed for each patron

If you're looking for a new way to get over the midweek hump, Hell's Kitchen has recently created a new option. Hopping on the same bandwagon as other major Twin Cities restaurants, Hell's Kitchen is invading the craft cocktail scene: From 9 p.m. until close every Wednesday night, you can head down to the restaurant's back bar and experience Craft Cocktail Wednesday.

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Jana Freiband

Northeast Social is coming to Eat Street this November.

Eat Street is going to get Social this fall.

Northeast Minneapolis hotspot Northeast Social is opening a new restaurant on 26th and Nicollet, where the Caterpillar Lounge and Tacos Morelos used to be. The new location will be called Eat Street Social. The plan is to keep the flavor of Northeast Social with American contemporary-style bistro--but add a Brazilian happy hour and brunch on weekends, which isn't done at the Northeast location.

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Walker Art Center

​Picnicking days are coming to a close, but here's one of your last opportunities: Walker Art's Open Field is hosting a picnic Friday, September 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. 

This year they've added a grill to the sculpture garden and smartly stocked it with food, beer, wine, and martinis.

The event is said to be a discussion about art, yoga, and the land speed velocity of your average kite flyer.  It's a broad subject, but not a bad way to spend one of the dwindling summer evenings.

While you're invited to bring your own picnic fair, the Walker will be providing at least one free treat.

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Remember last Valentine's Day, when you promised yourself that next year you wouldn't be an idiot again and wait till the last minute to make dinner reservations? Well, the time is now! Many of the Cities' best restaurants are going all out to lure diners, and Open Table has thoughtfully compiled a list of nearly 30 popular eateries with special plans for their holiday gold mine. Here are 10, with more to come.

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LinksmanJD/Flickr

Eat Me Daily scores a find in the June issue of Cosmo, a sidebar encouraging women to join kickball or dodgeball leagues, crash "dude-specific" book signings (who would that be, like, Jon Krakauer?) and pretend to be politically active in order to meet guys. Where else can lonely singletons hope to score a date? Chipotle Mexican Grill! Ladies, get swoony while you watch your potential new boyfriend consume a burrito the size and approximate shape of a healthy puppy! While the piece isn't available online, if you search "meet a guy" at cosmopolitan.com, 497 results pop up. Among them is an article called "The Best Places to Meet a Guy," which also encourages ladies to patronize sports bars (but only on Sunday or Monday nights), frequent "grad school" coffee shops and eat at steakhouses in quest of Mr. Right.

If you're not the type to drive to Chanhassen or Stillwater just for dinner--here are a few more stops to make the trip worth your while.

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