George and Laura pivot from post-Aquatennial downtown into a huge weekend: WWE SummerSlam takes over U.S. Bank Stadium, Rondo celebrates on Saturday, and the Twin Cities vegan scene gets its patio moment.
WWE SummerSlam two-night run at U.S. Bank Stadium, Sat Aug 1 & Sun Aug 2 in downtown Minneapolis.
Rondo Block Party, Sat Aug 1, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. at Rondo Commemorative Plaza (820 Rondo Ave., St. Paul) — celebration and memory of the neighborhood cut by I-94.
Panda Fest outdoor Asian food festival at Mall of America, July 31–Aug 2.
Farmers markets Saturday: Mill City under the Guthrie (8 a.m.–1 p.m., 115+ vendors) and Midtown at Lake & Hiawatha (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) — right off the Greenway.
North Loop eats: Berto's and Dream Chicken now open inside Graze Food Hall, 520 N. 4th St.
Twin Cities vegan patio map: J. Selby's, Herbivorous Butcher (NE), Reverie, Hard Times, Trio Plant-Based, Hello Pizza, The Herbalist.
Sports carry the week without the Twins: Minnesota United vs. San Diego FC Fri Aug 1 at Allianz Field, St. Paul Saints homestand vs. Louisville at CHS Field (Aug 4–9), and Lynx four-game homestand at Target Center (Aug 2–9).
Heads-up: Uptown Art Fair returns as "Art on the Isles" Aug 7–9 at Lake of the Isles and The Mall.
Mill City Farmers Market
Twin Cities farmers markets list (Mpls.St.Paul Mag)
Meet Minneapolis summer events calendar
Star Tribune August festivals guide
Uptown Art Fair / Art on the Isles 2026
First Avenue shows
MNUFC vs. San Diego FC preview
St. Paul Saints schedule
Minnesota Lynx 2026 schedule
Twins 2026 schedule
New Twin Cities restaurant openings 2026
Minneapolis AquatennialGeorge: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked over the Stone Arch Bridge this morning and you could just FEEL it.
Laura: Feel what, George? The humidity? Because that's what I felt.
George: Okay, fair. It was a little sticky.
Laura: A little?
George: Okay, a lot. But no, I mean the ENERGY. Like the city's shifted gears.
Laura: Mm, yeah. Post-Aquatennial hangover into whatever's next.
George: Exactly. Aquatennial wrapped what, like Sunday?
Laura: Six days ago. The 26th. And now downtown's about to be a completely different animal.
George: SummerSlam.
Laura: SummerSlam. Two nights at U.S. Bank Stadium, Saturday AND Sunday.
George: I love it when the wrestling crowd rolls in. It's such a different vibe than a Vikings game.
Laura: It really is. You get people flying in from everywhere. Like, everywhere everywhere.
George: Ope, and they all want to eat.
Laura: "Ope, and they all want to eat." That's your whole show, isn't it?
George: That's my whole LIFE, Laura.
Laura: Fair.
George: But seriously — if you're one of those visitors listening, first of all, welcome.
Laura: Welcome to the Cities.
George: Second — please do not just eat at the stadium. Please.
Laura: Yeah, skip the seven-dollar pretzel, George has THOUGHTS.
George: I have STRONG thoughts. Walk fifteen minutes and you're in the North Loop. Graze Food Hall on 4th.
Laura: Oh, have you been since Berto's opened?
George: I have. And Dream Chicken's in there too now.
Laura: Both new. Both in Graze.
George: Both in Graze. It's kind of a perfect stop before or after the show.
Laura: See, this is what I like — you didn't say "the best." You said "kind of perfect."
George: What's wrong with "the best"?
Laura: Nothing. It's just — every food guy in this town has THE BEST somewhere. Half the time it's the place they went once.
George: Ope, called out.
Laura: I'm just saying. Minnesota nice does not require Minnesota exaggeration.
George: Duly noted. Kind of perfect. That's my new tagline.
Laura: Okay, speaking of food though — patio-ish weather this weekend.
George: Yeah. Not too spendy on the AC bill if you eat outside.
Laura: "Spendy on the AC bill."
George: What?
Laura: Nothing. Go on.
George: Okay so — vegan patios. This is where I wanted to go.
Laura: Go.
George: J. Selby's over on the St. Paul side.
Laura: Classic.
George: The Faux Fish sandwich in the summer? Come on.
Laura: I mean — yes. But you always start with J. Selby's.
George: Because it's good, Laura.
Laura: I know it's good. I'm saying — for people who don't know the Cities, there's a whole map.
George: Okay, map it.
Laura: Herbivorous Butcher up in NE Arts District. Reverie down south. Hard Times if you want the cash-only, three-in-the-morning kind of night, which — you don't, it's SummerSlam weekend, you need sleep.
George: Trio Plant-Based.
Laura: Trio, yeah. Hello Pizza. The Herbalist.
George: That's — that's a real scene now.
Laura: It IS a real scene. That's my point. It's not a novelty anymore.
George: You know, when I was a kid growing up on the north side, "vegetarian" meant you got a plate of iceberg lettuce and a dinner roll.
Laura: George.
George: I'm serious!
Laura: I know you're serious, that's what's killing me.
George: Look, I'm just saying — the fact that we can rattle off, what, seven spots without thinking?
Laura: Yeah, that's real. That's a shift.
George: Which — quick shoutout — that's exactly what mplsvegan.com is tracking. If you want the full map, that's the map.
Laura: The actual map. Not George's brain.
George: Not my brain. My brain is not reliable cartography.
Laura: Okay so, farmers market side of things.
George: Oh, Saturday. Both are up.
Laura: Mill City under the Guthrie, eight to one.
