Where to Throw a Party: Twin Cities

Enjoy a party overlooking the Basilica and downtown Minneapolis in the Walker Art Center's skyline room. The modern, high-design, window-filled space is part of an award-winning building designed with art and adventure in mind. The space seats up to 200 and is large enough to fit 450 people.

If you're looking to celebrate the old-school way--with giant steaks, sidecars, linen napkins and cocktails served with cherries--Mancini's in St. Paul is the way to go. Three rooms in this art-decco char house hold up to 40 people, perfect for smaller gatherings or for large ones where folks can mingle among all three.

For smaller family-style gatherings, the Fireside and Sophie rooms at the Victorian W.A. Frost make for cozy get-togethers. The food is award-winning; the decor charming; and the rental spaces able to accommodate up to either 16 or 40, and are expandable to accommodate up to 56.

The galleries of the Frank Gehry-designed building are the perfect place to host a catered gathering. Clean, minimalist and high-design, they turn every party into an art-filled event. The Dolly Fiterman Review Gallery accommodates up to 180 people for a seated dinner and up to 500 people for a reception.

For a laid-back but high-style party, the Varsity Theater and its sister the Loring Pasta Bar can't be beat. The Varsity offers a hip, cabaret-style atmosphere, with rich red fabrics and furniture, soft lights and a dark bar. And the Loring offers its raved-about Italian menu for added decadence.

Want to get your party on Minnesota style? Grumpy's in Burnsville offers just the place, with plenty of TVs for sports viewing, an atmosphere the Replacements would approve of and comfort food--like tater tots and onion rings--that keep the State Fair close to your heart year round.

Celebrate in serious style at this refurbished art-decco hotel. The first-level Speakeasy bar and upstairs Prohibition bar are must-stops for downtown party goers on weekends, offering a cool space to chill, people-watch and sip on specialty cocktails. And both bars can be reserved for truly only-in-the-know events.