If you want to show them the money, take them straight to the Bank, the stunning lobby lounge and restaurant in the new downtown Minneapolis Westin Hotel (where cocktails are $10). The place radiates old money, and well it should. The stately teak-paneled room adorned with bas-relief carvings and lotus blossom chandeliers was once the lobby of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank.
The best see-and-be-seen cocktail seating is at the teak-topped Gold Bar in the center of the room, but there are discreet, sofa-furnished conversation areas, too. Select from a 1,200-plus-bottle wine collection stored in the gleaming, open-to-view antique vault. Or if you really want to impress with your gilt-edged style, order the tangy Bank cocktail—vodka, Cointreau, sparkling peach wine, pomegranate juice, and fresh lime, garnished with flakes of gold.
