Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub Smoked fish and smoked porters

The distinction between a brewery and a brewpub can get a little blurry, especially if you've just spent some time at a brewery or a brewpub. So to be clear: while the Twin Cities have seen tons of craft breweries popping up, Northbound Smokehouse is definitively the first brewpub to open in Minneapolis in more than a decade.

The 38th St Station joint's a full brewery in the back and a bar/ resto up front, with a custom-made oak bar anchoring a 56-seat, wood-filled dining room with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto a patio, perfect for enjoying:

Beer: Their draft/ growler arsenal's brewed by a Town Hall vet. For now the bar's pouring six guest taps, and from their own stock, two rotating seasonals and four full-time house brews, including an American wheat made with wild flower honey, the 7.2% Big Jim IPA, and the more complex Smokehouse Porter, which is also who they'll send for your bags if you drink too much and need to stay over.

Food: The almost-exclusively handheld eats center around local, house-smoked proteins including the Smokehouse Platter (trout, salmon, whitefish dip, and smoked cheese), a shredded pork sammie, an intriguing smoked trout wrap (w/ green apples/ Havarti/ dill mayo), and a fried chicken 'wich dipped in waffle batter, just in case you were tired of your ankles being distinct from your calves.