I know what you've often thought. I feel the same way. If only I could combine my love of ice sculptures, hockey and tropical themed Tiki bars. Well the great state of Minnesota has us covered. Of course there are some Tiki bars in central Minneapolis, but as always I like to focus on some of the more out of the way venues in other areas. Here are three of my favorites:

I'll kick off my tour of the Land o' Lakes tropical oasies with a spot that's just over the border from Fargo in Moorhead, MN. The bar is the Starbird Lounge, located at the heart of things on Center Ave. It's a great place to spend part of a great night. They lean heavily into the nestolgic mid-century aspect of Tiki culture and have a kind of "clean and simple" style to the place that is unique. They also feature non-alcoholic drinks, which is nice. I really enjoyed the Envalero... pineapple rum, campai, coffee and banana. A solid drink.

Next up is a little closer to Minneapolis, in the suburb of Clanhassen. Rum Row Tiki Bar is a cool spot. They do a really good job of highlighting the escapism of Tiki Culture here at this bar. It must work wonders when it's -25 degrees out in the winter. They get style points because they apparently try to embrace their situation by having an ice bar in the winter. Moxie my friends! Again, it's kind of a classy tiki bar, with cool black studded leather stools and a black stone bar. The bar area itself is really cool looking. They have music sometimes too.  As far as the drinks go they like to offer and mix rum from a lot of places. I tried an El Diablo, which was rum, tequila and ginger beer with some other goodies. It is strong, but it is friendly. I also had a Kissing Tree, which was two types of rum, Galliano, pineapple, lemon, lime and egg white. I really enjoyed it. Then I took a cab to the AmericInn....

Last up is my favorite spot. It reminds me of a place called Jimmy's in my home town because it's housed in an old Chinese restaurant. They also have a lot of cool bands play at this place. The Jade Fountain in Duluth, MN. Duluth is possibly the least Tiki town I've been to, but this bar is out of site. I shot some pool and had a Singapore Sling and tried a Vietnamese Coffee Cocktail basically a VietCoffee with Vodka and Kalua... very tasty.  The place is a little more "old school" with a chinese vibe added. Cool old tiki decor, a lot of red and gold, with a sense that my grandparents may have gotten drunk there when they were younger but now they have techno night. If you're in Duluth it's likely someone has forced you to be there. reward yourself with a visit to this joint. This tavern was very cool, really cool people, great location. I highly recommend it.