Best Of

Best Bars For March Madness In Minnesota

March 12, 2015 / 7:00 AM CDT / CBS Minnesota

The Super Bowl is over and done with, the Twins don't start playing for a while yet, so what do you do to get your sports fix? College basketball, of course. It's March Madness and they're not kidding when they say madness. Filling out brackets, rooting for and against teams from all over the nation, arguing with friends over the prospects, the best players, the match-ups — it's a great time to be a basketball fan. Here are a few bars where you can get in on the action.

Tiffany's Sports Lounge
2051 Ford Parkway
Saint Paul, MN 55116
(651) 690-4747
www.tiffanysportslounge.com

Highland Park doesn't offer a whole lot by way of sports bars, but it doesn't need to. Tiffany's is dedicated to your game-watching experience, with screens available from just about every angle. The food is good, think pub food but done well, and you can take advantage of the drink specials that will keep your tab low. It's never fun to see your team lose and then get hit again with an enormous bar tab. You can really relax at Tiffany's as everyone there is only trying to enjoy the game. You'll be in especially good company if you're a Kansas fan, as Tiffany's is an official Jayhawks bar.

Obb's Sports Bar & Grill
1347 Burns Ave.
Saint Paul, MN 55106
(651) 776-7010
www.obbsbar.com

Obb's 19 big screens will have all the action for you. With nightly specials, you can kick back a few beers, eat some surprisingly awesome food and enjoy game after game of some of the most exciting basketball played all year. Not far from downtown St. Paul, you're still just far enough that you feel like you've stepped away from the city and into a little sports paradise where only food, drink and sports matter.

Sak's Sports Bar
1460 County Road E.
Vadnais Heights, MN 55110
(651) 484-6119
www.saksbar.com

It might not be quite warm enough to enjoy Sak's amazing patio for the game, but you're not missing anything by kicking back inside. Sak's is not your average sports bar, meaning you won't have to sacrifice quality to get great deals on food and drink, and you won't have to drink only domestic beer (unless you want to). Also, you won't have to deal with crappy service. The always-friendly staff makes sure your game-day experience is one to remember.

Lyndale Tap House
2937 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 825-6150
www.thelyndale.com

You want to root loudly and unashamedly for your team, but you don't want to go to the greasy sports bar around the corner. You want good drink specials, enthusiastic company and plenty of flatscreen TVs. Yes? Then you want Lyndale Tap House. There are always specials during games, and a new late night happy hour that starts at 10 p.m. will really take care of late game watchers. It's a friendly place, far away from the pretense that plagues some of the other bars in the area, but you get the quality, good service, and great aesthetic of a big city sports bar.

Corner Bar
1501 Washington Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
(612) 339-4333
www.thecornerbar.net

You don't have to watch the Gophers to enjoy college basketball so close to campus. However Minnesota's Big Ten tournament goes, The Corner Bar is that welcoming place that is always ready for a loud, cheer-heavy good time. You don't need to be shy about getting vocal when you're team is doing well, as no one worried about volume. They embrace the rough and tumble past of the neighborhood.

Adrian Schramm is a resident Saint Paul writer with a passion for all things local. Through his work with Saint Paul Almanac and Minneapolis Examiner at Examiner.com, as well as in the kitchens of bars and restaurants around town, he has discovered what truly makes the Twin Cities tick.

NCAA Tournament