#10065 Polkaing and People-Watching at a Bustling Bar in Minneapolis

Step into Nye's Polonaise Room and you'll swear you've entered a time warp: the decor is pure 1950s, the menu unabashedly old-school Polish—nothing fusion or modern here. But don't call it kitsch or a relic of a bygone era, because each night it's packed with an astonishing cross-section of the city, with hipsters and 80-year-olds polka-ing together, free of inhibition or irony. It's the de facto community center of "Nordeast" Minneapolis, a historic immigrant neighborhood where Eastern European delis neighbor hip boutiques and Bollywood video stores--Nye's is where everyone goes to meet friends, to converse, and, most of all, to let loose. Best way to take in the scene is to grab a seat in the piano karaoke lounge near the entrance, where you can watch the diverse patrons stream into the bar and listen to "Sweet" Lou Snider hold court at the keyboard while eager crooners, young and old (and many of them genuinely good), take their turn singing the classics. Order a pint of the local brew, Grain Belt Premium, and wait for one of the regulars to strike up conversation and welcome you as their own. It won't take long.