KQ’s Best of the Twin Cities 2023: See The Winners

KQ’s Best of the Twin Cities 2023: See The Winners

Everyone seems to have a list of the best people, places and things in Minnesota… and now so do we – but ours is more fun! It’s KQ’s ‘Best of the Twin Cities.’ All the important arguments settled once and for all.

After tallying the votes for each category, we now present to you KQ’s “Best of The Twin Cities 2023” as chosen by you! (Winners for each category are highlighted in yellow.)

Thanks to everyone who voted and congratulations to all of our winners!

(Check out our winners from 2022)


Best Burger

  • The Nook (St. Paul)
  • Shantytown (Bloomington)
  • Matt’s Bar (MPLS)
  • Lion’s Tap (Chaska)
  • Blue Door Pub (Multiple Locations)

Best Ice Cream

  • Big Dipper Creamery (Blaine)
  • Nelson’s Ice Cream (Stillwater)
  • Conny’s Creamy Cone (St. Paul)
  • Grandpa’s Ice Cream (Fridley)
  • Dream Creamery (MPLS)

Best Pizza and Wings

  • Bricksworth (North Loop/Burnsville)
  • Maggie’s (Wayzata)
  • Red’s Savoy (Multiple Locations)
  • Serum’s Good Time Emporium (Anoka)
  • Broadway Pizza (Multiple Locations)

Best Tacos

  • Taco El Kevin (MPLS)
  • El Burrito Mercado (St. Paul)
  • Mrs. Taco (Andover)
  • El Taco Riendo (NE MPLS)
  • La Tapatia (Roseville)

Best Donuts

  • Bogart’s Donuts (MPLS)
  • YoYo Donuts (Minnetonka)
  • Thirsty Whale Bakery (North MPLS)
  • Duck Donuts (Woodbury)
  • Hans’ Bakery (Anoka)

Best Brewery

  • Broken Clock Brewing (NE MPLS)
  • BlackStack Brewing (St. Paul)
  • Indeed (NE MPLS)
  • Excelsior Brewing Company (Excelsior)
  • OMNI Brewing (Maple Grove)

Best Breakfast/Diner

  • Good Day Cafe (Golden Valley)
  • Al’s Breakfast (MPLS)
  • Hope Breakfast Bar (St Paul/St Louis Park)
  • Keys Cafe (Multiple Locations)
  • Fat Nat’s Eggs (Multiple Locations)

Best Dive Bar

  • 1029 Bar (NE MPLS)
  • Half-Time Rec (St. Paul)
  • Palmer’s (MPLS)
  • Schuller’s Tavern (Golden Valley)
  • Tony Jaro’s (NE MPLS)

Best Happy Hour

  • Station 280 (St. Paul)
  • Route 47 (Fridley)
  • Tailgate (Richfield)
  • Muddy Cow (Coon Rapids)
  • Billy’s (Anoka)

Best Patio

  • Lookout Bar & Grill (Maple Grove)
  • Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge (NE MPLS)
  • Lord Fletcher’s (Minnetonka)
  • Sweeney’s (St. Paul)
  • Sea Salt Eatery (South MPLS)

Best Food Truck

  • Angry Line Cook
  • Station No. 6
  • O’Cheeze
  • Potter’s Pasties
  • Butcher Salt

Best Liquor Store

  • Liquor Barrel
  • MGM
  • Total Wine & Spirits
  • Haskell’s
  • Top Ten

Best Record Store

  • Down in the Valley (Golden Valley)
  • Electric Fetus (MPLS)
  • Barely Brothers (St. Paul)
  • Know Name (Richfield)
  • Fly Vintage & Vinyl (Robbinsdale)

Best Music Venue

  • First Ave
  • Medina Entertainment Center
  • Armory
  • The Fillmore
  • Palace Theatre

Best Bowling Alley

  • Park Tavern (St. Louis Park)
  • Memory Lanes (MPLS)
  • Elsie’s (NE MPLS)
  • Blainbrook Bowl (Blaine)
  • St. Croix Lanes (River Falls, WI)

Best Place to Shoot Pool/Throw Darts

  • Two Stooges (Fridley)
  • Cardinal Bar (South MPLS)
  • Maple Tavern (Maple Grove)
  • SS Billiards (Hopkins)
  • Shooters (Burnsville)

Best Tattoo Shop

  • Uptown Tattoo (Uptown)
  • Jackalope Tattoo (South MPLS)
  • Leviticus Tattoo & Body Piercing (MPLS)
  • Beloved Tattoo (Roseville)
  • Hung Tattoo Parlor (St. Paul)

Best Mechanic

  • Tuan Auto Repair (St. Paul)
  • Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive (NE MPLS)
  • Hagen Automotive (Eden Prairie)
  • JPT Services (Brooklyn Park)
  • Sandberg Imports (South MPLS)

Best Park

  • Minnehaha Park
  • Harriet Island Park
  • Sunfish Lake Park
  • Anderson Lakes Park
  • Elm Creek

Best Place to Take Out of Towners

  • Target Field
  • Minnesota Zoo
  • Valleyfair
  • Downtown Stillwater
  • Minnesota State Fair

Best Suburb

  • Roseville
  • Anoka
  • Eden Prairie
  • Woodbury
  • Lakeville

Best Mural

  • Prince Mural (Chanhassen)
  • Hamm’s Bear Mural (at Dark Horse in St. Paul)
  • Music Wall (Downtown MPLS)
  • Prince Mural (Downtown MPLS)
  • Bob Dylan Mural (Downtown MPLS)

Best Gas Station for Bathrooms

  • Holiday on 46th and Hiawatha in MPLS
  • Speedway on County Road 46 in Lakeville
  • Kwik Trip on 85th Ave in Blaine
  • Shell off Old Shakopee Rd in Shakopee
  • Bobby & Steve’s in Eden Prairie

Best Gas Station for Food

  • Casey’s
  • Pump N Munch
  • Holiday
  • Kwik Trip
  • Minnoco

Best Open Mic Night

  • Sisyphus Brewing
  • Acme Comedy Club
  • Underground Music Cafe
  • The Terminal Bar
  • kj’s Hideaway

Best Charity Event

  • Tour de Cure
  • Randy Shaver Golf Classic
  • Dining Out For Life
  • Animal Humane Society Walk for Animals
  • Yellow Ribbon Alliance Field of Bands

Best Day Trip

  • New Ulm
  • Duluth
  • Stillwater
  • Chippewa Falls, WI
  • Brainerd/Nisswa

Best Christmas Lights Display

  • Glow Holiday Festival (CHS Field)
  • Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” (Duluth)
  • Winter Lights (MN Arboretum)
  • Sever’s Holiday Lights (Shakopee)
  • Kiwanis Holiday Lights (Mankato)
  • Sam’s Christmas Village & Light Tour (Somerset, WI)

Best Lake for Boating

  • Lake Minnetonka
  • Lake Winnibigoshish
  • Cass Lake
  • Lake Elmo
  • Gull Lake

Best Lake for Fishing

  • Lake Minnetonka
  • Mille Lacs
  • Lake of the Woods
  • Lake Vermillion
  • Leech Lake

Best Place to Snowmobile

  • Gunflint Trails
  • Caribou Trails
  • Kettle River Trails
  • Big Sandy Lake/Aitkin County
  • Willard Munger Trail

Best Golf Course

  • Interlachen
  • Hazeltine National
  • The Minikahda Club
  • Keller Golf Course
  • Rush Creek Golf Club

Best Place to Ski/Snowboard

  • Buck Hill
  • Highland
  • Afton
  • Wild Mountain
  • Welch Village

Best Motorcycle Ride/Rally

  • The Flood Run
  • Dirty Rotten Bikerfest
  • SCVR Chili Feed
  • Ride For Wishes
  • Annual Ride for Boobies & Beyond

Best (Worst) Pothole

  • Sheppard Road (Between Hwy 5 & 35E)
  • Highway 65 in Blaine
  • Long Ave in White Bear Lake
  • 10th Street in Oakdale
  • Kasota Ave (near Hwy 280)

Best Sports Team

  • Wild
  • Timberwolves
  • Vikings
  • Lynx
  • Twins
  • United

Best Coach (Dead or Alive)

  • Cheryl Reeve
  • Flip Saunders
  • Denny Green
  • Dean Evason
  • Ron Gardenhire
  • Bud Grant

Best Pro Athlete

  • Anthony Edwards
  • Byron Buxton
  • Napheesa Collier
  • Justin Jefferson
  • Kirill Kaprizov

Best Comedian

  • Robert Baril
  • Dave Mordal
  • Tiffany Norton
  • Tommy Ryman
  • Ali Sultan

Best TV/News Personality

  • Joe Schmit (KSTP)
  • Amelia Santaniello (WCCO)
  • Randy Shaver (KARE 11)
  • Ian Leonard (FOX 9)
  • Megan Newquist (KSTP)

Best Nationally Famous Minnesotan

  • Winona Ryder
  • Vince Vaughn
  • Nick Swardson
  • Lindsey Vonn
  • Chris Pratt

Best Minnesota Twitter

  • @cheycab
  • @mplsphotobot
  • @TheNordly
  • @LakeSuperior
  • @OpeLifeMN

Best High School Mascot

  • Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies
  • Prairie Seeds Academy Lycans
  • Shakopee Sabers
  • Edina Hornets
  • South St. Paul Packers

Best Minnesota Company Logo

  • Target
  • 3M
  • Polaris
  • Schwan’s
  • Toro

Best Movie Set in Minnesota

  • Mighty Ducks
  • Grumpy Old Men
  • Fargo
  • Jingle All the Way
  • A Simple Plan

Best Answer to “Why Do We Live Here?”

  • You can buy lefse in the grocery store
  • No alligators
  • No hurricanes
  • Bugs die every winter
  • Tons of lakes without a shark in sight!

Best Reason to Go to Wisconsin

  • Fireworks
  • Summerfest
  • Cheese Curds
  • Shake-a-day
  • To buy Spotted Cow

Best Song with a Minnesota Reference

  • “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota” – Weird Al Yankovic
  • “Outshined” – Soundgarden
  • “Dani California” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • “Truck Drivin’ Man” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • “I’ve Been Everywhere” – Johnny Cash

Best Side Job for a 92 KQRS DJ

  • Pull tab seller
  • Driving instructor
  • Bar trivia host
  • Record store clerk
  • Spin instructor