Jaunted

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Sbarro's is Out and Pei Wei is in at MSP

We’re not shy when it comes to our true feelings for Sbarro at the airport, so we’re happy to report that we recently spotted one that has recently departed its airport location. You know that we’re already in love with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for plenty of reasons, and the exit of the pizza place is just another reason we’re singing its merits.

On a recent layover at the airport, we almost stopped in our tracks—on the moving sidewalk—when we discovered that Sbarro was on its way out in favor of Pei Wei Asian Diner. Sure it’s one chain restaurant for another, but we’ve always thought of PF Chang’s little brother as one of the best mass produced faux-Asian cuisine options around.

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Every Layover Brings New Reasons to Love Minneapolis Airport

A note before the weekend: if you're traveling through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this weekend—or really any time through the rest of the summer—we encourage you to stop for a moment and smell the roses, as it goes. MSP is quickly becoming our new favorite airport. Not for departing from or arriving to so much, but definitely for tranferring through.

First, that's sweet (and hidden) observation deck, then they've got vintage pinball machines and arcade games, and of course we cannot forget about the infamous Larry Craig bathroom. But now, during yet another layover, something else caught our eye: little laptop/phone charging trays affixed to poles near windows where the tarmac view is especially nice.

MSP knows they've got serious #avgeek numbers amongst their daily traveler population, and why not encourage them to do what they love best? That is, chilling out and just watching planes take to the skies. You'll find the majority of them hanging out between the bajillion Delta gates, but you know what? We'll go the extra mile for an outlet and a view.

[Photo: Jaunted]

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Weinergate of the Past: Where is the Senator Larry Craig Stall at Minneapolis Airport?

In the midst of all the Weinergate 2011 talk, it's important to step back and realize that America has a fine history of sexual political intrigue, and that sometimes we come closer to the history of it than we expect. Take, for example, the infamous Senator Larry Craig bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

It's been almost four years to the date (June 11, 2007) when Idaho Senator Craig was arrested for "lewd behavior" after making the foot-tapping signals to initiate a gay sex encounter in one of the numerous men's restrooms at the airport. As the story goes, the man he was signalling to was actually an undercover cop, and Larry was cuffed and booked.

The bathroom still exists just as it was, and just this morning was watched as travelers unwittingly passed by or through it. If you'd not like to miss out on the chance to note this odd little landmark in American Political History, we'll help you find it:

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iPads, 48 Beers, and Sandwiches by Andrew Zimmern Coming to Minneapolis Airport in 2012

Our pic of Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain at a past Travel Channel event

Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is gearing up to blow your mind...in terms of airport food. Just when travelers get used to running in to a Sbarro's, Cinnabon, or—if it's a fancier airport, a Starbucks with pastry case—great news like this comes along to brighten the day: MSP and Delta will begin work in January on whole new restaurants and dining options inside Concourse G.

All in all, it's to be a $2 billion renovation, states BizJournals. Hopefully sooner rather than later, we'll get to add a restaurant from Andrew Zimmern to our list of things to do on your layover at MSP. It's to be called Minni Bar, with a menu of globally-inspired sandwiches and who doesn't love sandwiches? Minni Bar will join Minnesota Beer Hall (with 48 brews on tap), Mill City Tavern from a James Beard-nominated chef, a modern Japanese restaurant and a local bakery outpost in the new terminal arrivals.

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Minneapolis' Airport Will Take You to the Candy Shop

It’s Friday, so we’ll try to keep things nice and light around here. What better way to welcome the weekend then a little trip to one of the country’s newest candy shops, and best of all, this one is located right at the airport.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has added Sugar Pop to The Mall section of Terminal 1-Lindbergh—that’s where most of the Delta flights do their thing. It’s colorful, fun, and a good diversion to all the cranky business travelers that are usually crowding the terminals and concourses.

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Gate-Side Pizza Delivery is (Hopefully) Coming to an Airport Near You

When you have a tight layover there’s often some important choices to make. Like missing lunch—or skipping a trip to the bathroom—in favor of catching the flight and scoring some hard-to-get overhead bin access.

Going hungry might not be the case at Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport in the future, as it looks like the airport is thinking about a new delivery service for those waiting at the gates. The best part of the new idea is that all the ordering will come via cellphone—or even iPad—so you can make your selection while you’re taxiing into the gate.

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Minneapolis is the Gayest City in the United States

We've recently been introduced to the gayest country to travel to, which, oddly, is Nepal, but what about the gayest US city? We use the superlative as it relates to the most gay-friendly city, as judged by The Advocate magazine using the most highly scientific criteria:

For each city, The Advocate added up numbers for Gay.com profiles, listed officiants for gay weddings within a 50-mile radius, openly gay elected officials, performances by lesbian sisters musical duo Tegan and Sara over the past five years, lesbian bars, gay and gay-friendly religious congregations and entries in YellowPages.com with "gay" in the business name or description.

And the winner of Gayest City to Visit in the USA is...Minneapolis, Minnesota! Congratulations, MN—you beat out other apparent shoe-ins, like New York City, Portland, Provincetown, and San Francisco. Time to put up some celebratory street signs!

[Photo: jimmywayne]

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Fancy Burgers and Wider Seats Await at the Minnesota Twins' New Target Field

In case you missed it, major league baseball has been getting ready for the 2010 season in both Florida and in Arizona, and after all that practice it’s almost time to get the season officially underway.

We’re big fans of ballparks around the country, and this year there’s one that’s getting us particularity excited. The new home to the Minnesota Twins—Target Field—is set to hold its first major league game this month. It’s also the first time Minnesota fans will be sitting outside to watch a game after years of being trapped inside a dome.

The Twins will first set foot on the stadium’s fresh grass this weekend, but it's only for exhibition games. The St. Louis Cardinals will be in town to check out the new stadium for themselves, but they’ll also be getting a couple last practice games in on April 2 and 3. There will be all kinds of special stuff to commemorate opening weekend, including the unveiling of bronze statues dedicated to Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. To see some real games where the outcomes matter a little more, you’ll need to stick around and wait until April 12 when the Twins host the Red Sox.

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Were The Northwest Pilots Just Perplexed By The New Facebook?

Note: These are not real pilots. Or are they?

By now, we've all heard about the Northwest Plane That Flew Too Far. But we haven't quite heard the full story on what caused these two fools pilots to stop paying attention during the landing. Until today.

Initially, the pilots said they were distracted by a "heated discussion over airline policy and lost track of their location." But it turns out that the pilots were not even handling the right controls.

The FAA has recently suspended the pilots--First Officer Richard Cole and Captain Timothy Cheney--because they copped to being on their laptops during the crucial moment. They still maintain they were discussing new crew schedules. But yes, their laptops. Laptops in the cockpit. Pilots diddling about on their computers while they were supposed to be landing a plane. Why not pull out your Blackberry and start playing Brickbreaker, for crissakes?

Not surprisingly, there will probably be a crackdown of laptops use by pilots in the future. Peter Greenberg even surmised that this sort of tomfoolery in the cockpit could lead to a flat-out ban of electronics for pilots.

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We're Already Looking Forward To 2010 And Target Field

The Major League Baseball season is almost half over, and fans are already flocking to St. Louis to take in this year’s All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. Since we’ll be following the pennant races before long, we thought it was only natural to start looking forward to the 2010 season. That’s because outdoor baseball will return to Minnesota for the first time since 1981, as the Metrodome closes and Target Field opens.

Last month, the final beam was put in place on the Minnesota Twins’ new home, and the project is on schedule and under budget. Now if it can stay that way, we’ll be in cheap seats in the Budweiser Roof Deck in no time.

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Say It, Don't Spray It: Axe Body Spray Not Welcome in Minneapolis

Heading to Minneapolis anytime soon? Leave your Axe body spray at home; it's not like the flight attendants have fallen into your lap yet, anyways. You see, Minnesota isn't too happy that Axe's hyper-sexual advertising campaigns have been working so well, causing kids to drench themselves in the potent scents and offend sensitive nostrils.

Apparently the overuse of Axe is so widespread in the City of Minneapolis School District, that they've called for a ban on the stuff.

You'd think that with all this hubbub, flying into Minneapolis airspace would involve descending through a fog layer of aerosol Axe spray, but instead it's simply a case of teachers trying to encourage teenage boys to shower more often. Says StyleList: "One concern prompting suburbia to sound the alarms is the idea that Axe Body Spray is somehow enabling teens to adopt poor hygiene habits."

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It's Southwest Versus Northwest On Twin Cities Route

Just as Jetblue announced that they'll be dropping their "desert run" between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City on April 30, which is coincidentally the #1 city in America for downloading online porn, Southwest has turned our frown upside down with a new route from Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Infiltrating Northwest's Twin Cities hub is a major coup for Southwest, who will be flying from MSP to Chicago's Midway Airport and taking no prisoners along the way. Today marks the first day of the service, and we've been following the @SouthwestAir Twitter through the morning as the the first passengers receive free backrubs and Southwest CEO Gary Kelley makes the rounds.

Competition is very fierce in the under-served Midwest routes, especially when it comes to secondary airports like Midway. According to USA Today's Today in the Sky blog, "airfares between the Twin Cities and Chicago, which had been as low as $100 round-trip, started to rise as soon as AirTran exited." Add to this Southwest's notoriously low fares, and we could be witnessing the sown seeds of a Northwest and Southwest fare war. Hopefully this means we will soon reap $100 flights once again.

Related Stories
· Southwest Enters Minneapolis/St. Paul "fortress hub" [Today In the Sky]
· New Routes Coverage [Jaunted]

[Southwest at MSP check-in photo via Southwest's Twitter]