🌙 Where to get falafel at 3 a.m.

Late Night Bites in the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities get a bad wrap for not having enough late-night options, but there are some true gems if you know where to look. On today's episode of the podcast, we ran through some of the best options to fuel up during a long night. [🎧City Cast Twin Cities]

• A warm hug: Juche offers the best Korean comfort food around until midnight, which is basically 4 a.m. in St. Paul time. Illuminated by TVs and neon signs, they have impeccable late night vibes, a wide variety of incredible sauces, and a bibimbap bowl for every mood.
• Infinite possibilities: Mac's Industrial keeps their Northeast Minneapolis kitchen open until 2 a.m., serving up an all-over-the-place menu that includes everything and the kitchen sink (and the sink is delicious). Nothing hits quite like a breakfast burrito and mini corndogs after midnight.
• Vegan love: Hard Times Cafe cooks up vegan food from scratch in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood until midnight every night. The worker-owned cooperative is a welcoming third space and a longtime West Bank staple. Be prepared as they are cash only, and get yourself the tempeh reuben – it rips.
• 24-hour halal: Baba Saj serves up fresh-made pita in Blaine at any hour. It's pretty amazing to know that you can get falafel for breakfast. Plus, if you want to bring your kids, they have a playground and plentiful kid-friendly food options.
• Late night date night: Nightingale is a favorite for restaurant industry folks as they keep slinging their full menu until midnight every night. Rejoice night owls! You can feel comfortable sitting down at 11:30 p.m. and enjoying a full-service meal.
• Bonus rec: I gotta show some love to my personal late-night favorite! Zhora Darling's kitchen is open until 1 a.m. every night. Their fries and burgers are really great, but the real secret is that this is the spot to go to get some late-night Fletcher's ice cream.

Hidden costs: A report from Human Rights Watch details deeper ways the Twin Cities were impacted by Operation Metro Surge, including dramatic increases in mental health struggles among residents, missed healthcare appointments, and an 85% increase in people seeking rent payment assistance. Calls to a suicide prevention hotline more than doubled during the surge. [The Intercept]

More room to roll: The St. Paul City Council approved over $2 million to improve the facilities at Merriam Park, including a new playground, basketball court, and an expansion of their popular skate park. Construction is set to begin spring 2027. [Pioneer Press]

Fences and frustration: Residents are frustrated with fences erected under Hiawatha Avenue to break up a homeless encampment in South Minneapolis, saying that it forces pedestrians to walk in busy traffic lanes in order to cross under Hiawatha. Local and state agencies recognize that fencing off encampments isn't a solution to homelessness, but say that it is necessary to ease safety concerns. Camp residents say that fencing just moves the problems associated with encampments to another location without addressing the deeper causes of homelessness. [Star Tribune]

AI downtown? Some downtown Minneapolis property owners see AI data centers as a potential lifeline for struggling office buildings. Advocates say converting vacant space could help stabilize the city's commercial tax base and point to the recent $235 million sale of the Sleep Number headquarters after major data infrastructure upgrades. Critics warn that data centers could cause detrimental environmental impacts without proper regulations, and the Minneapolis City Council will vote Thursday on a proposed six-month moratorium on new data centers. [Star Tribune / MPR News]

Better luck next time: A federal judge rejected subpoenas by the U.S. Department of Justice of Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and other elected officials in an investigation into whether they obstructed federal immigration enforcement during Operation Metro Surge. The judge ruled that the subpoenas "were not issued to investigate, but to harass, coerce, and retaliate." [MPR News]

Well-deserved: Congratulations to Minnesota Reformer reporter Madison McVan, who was recently named "Young Journalist of the Year" by the Society of Professional Journalists! Listen to her talk about her project of scanning and analyzing over 1,100 habeas corpus petitions to discover 273 cases of ICE detaining folks with valid work permits (a.k.a. people who came here "the right way") on a recent episode of City Cast Twin Cities. [Minnesota Reformer]

Tuesday, June 23

• 🆓 Free Coffee Courtesy of City Cast | Pilllar Forum
• 🆓 The 5th Annual Two Spirit Powwow | Minneapolis American Indian Center
• 💃 Beginner Social Dancing: Rumba and Salsa | Eastside Food Co-op
• 🆓 Off The Dock: Lasse + KCMO | Indeed Brewing
• 🍻 Trouble Brewing for Craft Beermakers | Bryant Lake Bowl
• 🎸 The Melismatics and Che Arthur | 7th St Entry
• 🎷 Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra | Jazz Central Studios

Wednesday, June 24

• 🆓 Free Coffee Courtesy of City Cast | Pilllar Forum
• 🆓 2026 Wedge LIVE Cat Tour | Wedge Neighborhood
• 🎷 Lasse Corson and His Friends from Kansas City | Berlin
• 😂 Advice Column Comedy | Sisyphus Brewing
• 🎼 Amir ElSaffar & Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch: Inner Spaces | The Cedar Cultural Center
• 🏳️‍🌈 Queers Crush Comedy | Black Hart of Saint Paul
• 🎸 Kim Gordon with The Fiery Furnaces | First Avenue

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