It’s that time of year when twinkle lights and tinsel bring folks through the door of local restaurants.
The bar at Nico’s Tacos in Uptown, transformed for the restaurant’s holiday pop-up Nico’s Navidad. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
To that end, holiday pop-ups are springing up like daisies throughout the Twin Cities, and I had a chance to check out a few of them over the past week.
Hitting one of these decked-out bars is a great excuse for a holiday friends’ get-together or a festive date night, but they are popular, so I recommend reservations if you can get them.
Nico’s Navidad at Nico’s Tacos
This local taqueria and tequila bar has expanded its over-the-top Nico’s Navidad to all three locations (St. Paul, Uptown, and 50th and Penn) this year.
My daughter, who loves Christmas, was in town, and I wanted to meet up with a friend who lives in Uptown, so we hit the Hennepin Avenue location.
We were greeted by lights and greenery outside, giving way to a life-sized Grinch on the porch of the historic home the restaurant is in.
The restaurant takes advantage of its numerous rooms, with each sporting a different vibe. The upstairs bar was probably my favorite, with cotton-candy clouds over blinking lights, red and white garland, candy canes, and Santa hats everywhere.
The food menu is the same as always, but the drink menu has been updated to include tons of holiday flavors and cute names like Sleigh Queen, Claus’ Kiss and Grinch Guzzler. I tried all three of those, and can highly recommend any of them. They’re served in adorable ceramic Christmas-themed tiki mugs, too.
Nico’s Tacos: 2516 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 2260 Como Ave., St. Paul; and 4959 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis; nicostacobar.com
Jingle Giles at Earl Giles Distillery
Earl Giles Distillery in Northeast Minneapolis, all decked out for its Jingle Giles holiday pop-up. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Rick’s Pickle Dip at the Jingle Giles pop-up at Earl Giles Distillery in Northeast Minneapolis. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Every inch of this cavernous distillery has been covered in lights, garland, inflatable Christmas characters, bows, snowflakes and more.
And the food and drink menu have both been been transformed. Glittery drinks infused with all the flavors of the season — evergreen, gingerbread, candy canes, cranberries and more — are as tasty as they are Instagrammable.
And the fairly extensive food menu is like a Midwestern potluck holiday table and a trendy eatery had a baby. We loved Rick’s Pickle Dip, loaded with pickles, dill and bacon, and the fried Brussels sprouts, dressed for Christmas with dried cranberries and an airy walnut crema.
And no Minnesota holiday menu would be complete without Swedish meatballs, which are served in a little cast-iron skillet.
Earl Giles: 1325 Quincy St. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-345-5305; earlgiles.com
King Coil
A cocktail at King Coil Distillery in St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
The decor here might be a little sparse compared with some of the Christmas-threw-up-in-here aesthetics on this list, but there’s plenty of sparkle, and the drink menu is fully festive, featuring flavors ranging from burnt cookies to cranberries to blue-cheese-washed vodka to sugar plums.
In addition, King Coil is hosting a variety of holiday events, including “Elf” and “The Muppets Christmas Carol” trivia, ornament painting, and a last-minute holiday market. Check their website for details.
King Coil Spirits: 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul; 651-243-0380; kingcoilspirits.com
Dorit’s Tavern at Surly Brewing
The 3 Rules pizza at the Surly Brewing holiday pop-up, called Dorit’s Tavern. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
The creative minds at Surly have transformed the Pizza Upstairs space into a Gremlins-inspired dive bar (the name is a play on Dorry’s Tavern, where Kate works).
Besides the over-the-top Christmas decor and Gremlins decals, there is a stellar 1980s playlist, the movie playing on a loop, and some special holiday drinks. Green and red seltzers (this is a brewery, so in Minnesota, they can’t serve actual cocktails) can be served in a single serving or in a giant tin can and lit on fire — the cost is $84, because the movie was made in 1984. That concoction serves 6-8 people. But I prefer the Grinchy Jell-O shots, topped with a little dollop of whipped cream.
Food-wise, there’s a special 3 Rules pizza (named for the three rules that must be followed when caring for mogwai), topped with soppressata, pepperoncini, red sauce, garlic, basil and cheese, a jalapeno popper dip, a trio of pickle roll-ups and house-made pork rinds. We tried the pizza (fabulous) and the pickle rolls (just like grandma made).
The brewery doesn’t usually take reservations, but they do for this pop-up.
Surly Brewing: 520 Malcolm Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 763-999-4040; surlybrewing.com
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