...the GIRL NEXT DOOR
Majors Sports Cafe: For years, I've heard male acquaintances extol the virtues of the suburban sports bar circuit. But not until recent visits did I come to appreciate these seemingly sterile, plasma TV-dominated environments for what they truly are: fertile grounds for meeting the honeys. One destination has particular promise: Majors in Bloomington, where MOA shopgirls and other service industry types spend off-hours drinking Appletinis. On a recent visit, a gaggle of beauties -- alternately clad in jean skirts and sundresses -- celebrated a friend's birthday with rounds of froufrou frappés and gratuitous flirting with all in sight.
... AN AVERAGE JOE
Blue Fox Bar & Grill: No place -- not even the storied bars of St. Paul's East Side -- lures more hungry-man hotties. The pickings are tossed in with plenty of blue-hairs, but check the ratio of sexy worker bees. Swing by this spacious blue-collar hangout for two-for-one happy hours or for the Texas Hold 'Em tournaments-cum-sausage parties on Wednesday evenings. For best results, stick near the bar or out front with the smokers; that's where lone gamblers linger before and after they fold.
... MONSIEUR RICHIE RICH
Redstone American Grill: Of course, plenty of moneyed men are scattered about the bars of the south and southwest suburbs. But ask those in the know about the best place to meet deep-pocketed divorced persons, and just one answer gets replay: Redstone. The one in Eden Prairie has a particular reputation (thanks in part to Kirby Puckett and a 2002 incident that may or may not have happened in the men's restroom). Outside you'll find plentiful acreage for double-parking the Lexus. Inside there's plenty of brown leather booths on which to slither.
...YOUR SUGAR MAMA
Zelo: Much as I want to toss this bone to such tony downtown establishments as Bank, or the cozy new hot spot Spill the Wine, this nine-year-old institution is still the best at luring attractive professional women. From the older after-work crowd to the comparatively youthful Friday and Saturday night minglers, this place is big with the ladies. And besides, it's close to all the high-paying downtown corporate gigs, yet mercifully deficient in these companies' recent-former-fratboy and blowhard contingents. Rather, this is where smart women escape the male co-workers who drool over interns all day.