Mall of America in the Middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic!!

This blog is a flashback to 2020. A few months after this blog was started and before the first beer review was ever even filmed (the YouTube channel was just in the planning phases). We were in the middle of extremely uncertain times, and navigating the waters was difficult. We all remember that time. Things had improved ever-so slightly that summer, but we didn’t know what the winter would bring. We all had to press forward as much as we could and navigate our lives with the extra precautions and protocols in place. Scott & I still had to make our yearly pilgrimage to Minneapolis for work. It’s not often travel took place during the pandemic, so this was big for us. We were anxious to see how everything was operating, especially at the airport and the Mall of America. We wanted to explore all while we kept it safe. The result is this rough cut video below, make sure you check it out and subscribe to the channel. After watching, keep on reading because we have some photos, beer reviews, and a bit more below!

What Did We Do at the Mall?

Well, if you watched the video, you would know that it was super dead. Nickelodeon Universe was closed due to COVID (surprisingly, I had never done anything at the park anyway…but did in 2021…that will come later), the bars were closing early, and we didn’t really feel like shopping. We spent most of the time just bar hopping really. This was when Minnesota required contact tracing, so one of us had to give our name and phone number each time we visited somewhere. This way, it’s easier to contact patrons if an exposure occurred. We visited Margaritaville (where we had a good lunch) and Wahlburgers on our first day….having some beers and margaritas. Day 2 saw visits to Cowboy Jacks and Crave, while Day 3 saw us visit Rainforest Cafe and Cadillac Ranch. These weren’t the only places we ate and drank at though, that will fall under the hotel section below. I’ll briefly talk about the places below, however, and then there’s a gallery showcasing photos from each place we ate/drank at.

Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville – Truly, this is a place that we have to go every time we visit (or we try to). One…great margaritas….two….great food! Three….solid beer selection as well. We got the sampler platter this time because we wanted food but weren’t super hungry. Happy hour deals were going on so we drank a few margaritas (see the drinks section below) and the food was delicious. Now, we would usually order jambalaya here…but we didn’t this time. Highly recommend it though because its delicious! All in all, I always love a visit to Margaritaville. The atmosphere is great and the drinks are cold.

Wahlburgers – Call me crazy…but this was actually the first time I ever stepped foot in a Wahlburgers. I know, its crazy, I travel a lot and have never been to one. Well, it took until Las Vegas in 2021 before I finally ate at one. Anyway, we stopped in for some happy hour beers! We sat by the “fireplace” (as shown in the photo below and also in the video), which is in the patio area that looks up towards Moose Mountain Adventure Golf. A solid area to sit if you want to look out over other parts of the mall. Beer was delicious, but we’ll get into that a little later.

Cowboy Jacks – Cowboy Jacks is, well, a Western themed bar. It’s one of the places we stop at for pints because they usually have games on and because they have ice cold beer! This time around, I also ordered some jalapeño Wisconsin cheese curds…and holy mackerel were they delicious! Still a place I recommend.

Crave – Probably my favorite restaurant in the entire Mall. Seriously, they have a great drink selection (beer, cocktails, you name it) and the food is just off-the-charts. I had some tempura bites and the Godzilla Roll. Highly recommend both. Speechless in how to describe them so maybe another post is in order down the line!

Rainforest Cafe – Of course, a major location like Mall of America wouldn’t be complete without Landry’s presence (there’s a Bubba Gump Shrimp literally right across from Rainforest Cafe too). Also just realized that there is no accent in the name….so would that mean it’s pronounced “calf” or “cayfe”? Wondering….anyway….back on topic here. Rainforest Cafe’s are always a fun place to eat and drink. On this day, we just went in for a cocktail, but we got to experience a few of the famous storms while there.

Cadillac Ranch – The second Western themed bar at the Mall of America….and this one is complete with a mechanical bull (the baddest in town apparently…and no, I have never ridden it). Also a good place to just chill and drink some cold brewski’s.

Dick’s Last Resort, which was also a staple visit each time for us, was closed. Sadly, they would never reopen. The novelty was always fun, I absolutely LOVED going some place and all gloves were off…being treated like crap sometimes really is fun (in certain situations…it worked with Dick’s).

The Mall Itself

I’ll keep this section short…the video does a good job at showing it. This was the deadest I have ever seen the mall. It literally looked like a local mall (which is also sad to think about). Nickelodeon Universe was all shut up, nothing was running. Just was sitting in the middle of it all, yearning to be open again. Mall was super quiet, which made it even more weird. The photos below show the empty Nickelodeon Universe, complete with an empty Log Chute (which has yet to reopen), plus you’ll see some great photos of the exterior…other locations and more! The featured art exhibit, as seen below and in the video, was titled “Kaleidoscope” and was done by artist Christopher Lutter-Gardella. It features numerous monarch butterfly suspended from the ceiling at the entrance, along with a 30-foot one. They all were made by items out of waste streams. It was created to help us realize our impact on ecosystems and how we can help stop the decline of the monarch butterflies. Seriously, check out the background information on it when you can.

The Hotel (plus a quick airport blurb)

Alright, so we stayed at the Crowne Plaza – MSP Airport. This happens to be right up the road from the Mall of America too. It’s just a quick walk there, actually. The rooms are nice and the facilities are great too. We utilize their conference rooms for our training sessions (and yes, in the gallery below, that is a photo of me wearing a Disney Princess mask. These were made for my twin nieces first birthday party, and I just had to wear it!). Anyway, the hotel lobby has a bar & grill named “Aire Craft Grill”. Prior to COVID, they had terrific pizza…but you can’t go wrong with any of their food. Just take a look at the breakfasts and dinners I had there in the gallery below. If you’re ever traveling to the area and looking for a hotel, I highly recommend this one. Great value too!

As you can see…while it was a bit busier at the airport….this was STILL dead by normal Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport standards…

What About The Drinks?

Ok, clearly a main focus is on the beer. But, you know what? I typed enough as it is….so we’ll let the drink photos (both beer and cocktails alike) speak for themselves. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without me adding in my Untappd reviews as well. So, enjoy this gallery before we close things up. A galley literally just featuring….drinks…

Thankfully, times have changed and have gotten better. Still, we can’t let our guard down as COVID-19 is still a thing. We’re just in a lot better shape than 2020. We have returned to the Mall of America TWICE since this visit…so look for more content soon (including Nickelodeon Universe). Fun times are ahead, and we’ll even discuss some of these beer reviews. So…subscribing is a MUST! With that said, this is where we will end this post. We end with a cheers, right?

Until next time, thank you for watching/reading and subscribing. Cheers, everybody!

Universe of Adventures

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