Good health in America's midsection
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Healthy tourism.
For this native Chicagoan, that sounds as incongruous as plastic silverware, smooth jazz and Chicago tax break.
During most mid-Januarys I migrate to the Florida Keys. I eat Key lime pies on U.S. 1 along the way to Key West. Once I settle in the Last Resort, I swim, rent a bike and meet my friends at the Green Parrot for cold beers after sunset. The next day I do that all over again. Sometimes I live large and include the conch chowder from Turtle Kralls. That's my idea of healthy tourism.
This year I tried something different.
I went to Rochester. I think this Minnesota town (population 100,000) is the healthiest city in America's midsection.
That's due to the omnipresence of the Mayo Clinic. I found 60 miles of bike/walking trails and a surprising number of healthy ethnic restaurants that reflect the needs of the diverse Mayo Clinic staff. Approximately one of every 58 residents in Rochester is a doctor, according to the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau.
I saw mall walkers and joggers. I didn't see anyone eating Key lime pie.
The city's winding recreational trails are coal- and tar-like surfaces that are framed by sleek metal rails. In fact, with the cost of gas, you'd come out ahead to ride your bike the 370 miles from Chicago to Rochester.
I didn't visit Rochester for one of those extreme Mayo Clinic physicals that are so fancied by baby boomers. In fact, the clinic is closed on Saturdays. But I stayed at the International Hotel, 20 Second Ave. S.W., across the street from the clinic. The International Hotel opened in 2006 as the 25-room top floor of the Kahler Grand Hotel.
The Kahler was built in 1921. The first Mayo Clinic building opened in 1914. The Kahler lobby features pictures of guests such as Louis Armstrong, former Sun-Times writer Ann Landers and Olympic track great Jesse Owens, back when they were healthy. There's even a photo of Jack Benny, whose valet was Rochester. Small world.
The International is my kind of place. There's access to more than 360 newspapers and television stations from across the world, including Al Jazeera. In-room phones feature "Ask Mayo" buttons, which provide direct access to the clinic's registered nurses.
I could use one of these hotels in Key West to assist with my hangovers.
I just stared at the International's room service menu, the most impressive room service menu I have seen in all my years of traveling. A Middle Eastern menu (available 11 a.m.-11 p.m.) includes Dajal Mashwai (grilled cornish game hen served on basmati rice with toasted pine nuts, $37) and baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant with garlic and yogurt, $11). The after-hours menu (11 p.m.-5:30 a.m.) features Scottish smoked salmon (toasted bagel, cream cheese, sliced tomato, red onion and capers, $12). Why even leave the room? I could get hit by a car.
We wanted to have a night cap at the Lord Essex hotel bar. It closed by 10 p.m. That's a good sign of healthy tourism. (In 2004 the hotel opened a newer and hipper bar called Martini's Lounge. That's open until midnight.)
The International Hotel and Kahler Grand is at the cusp of the "Healthtel" concept.
During a quiet Saturday morning tour, Scott Greer, Kahler Grand Regional director of sales & marketing, said, "A majority of people are using Mayo Clinic as their main wellness provider, not as their 'last chance' doctor. Baby boomers are spending money. In between that whole gamut of tests, we have 60 retail shops downtown and restaurants. The highest-end clothing shop is in our hotel. We say while you're in Rochester, here's the retail, here's the walking trails, here's the golf."
I wanted to check out the Mayo Clinic Sleep Apnea Supplies store along the pedway, but that also was closed on a Saturday. (Check out the full list of Kahler Shops at www.thekahlerhotel.com/services_and_amenities /grand_shops.cfm.)
About 65 percent of the Kahler Grand's guests visit Rochester because of the Mayo Clinic. That explains why wheelchairs abound in the hotel lobby. Bell staff will wheel guests to their appointments. Oxygen may be delivered to rooms as required.
Nearly 100,000 patients travel within a radius of 120 miles of Rochester to go to the clinic. The migration dates back to the 1920s when patients took trains from as far as Mexico to Rochester. Today the Mayo Foundation is an $8 billion enterprise (with medical campuses in Jacksonville, Fla. and Scottsdale, Ariz.) and is the largest non-profit in the world.
I left my car parked at the hotel and walked around downtown Rochester. I normally don't recommend chain stores, especially when on the road, but the Barnes & Noble, 15 First St., (507) 288-3848, is worth checking out. It's built out of the shell out of the Chateau Theatre, a vaudeville house that opened in 1927. This accounts for many of the celebrity pictures at the Kahler. The theater closed in the 1980s and became Barnes & Noble in 1994. The reconfiguration of the castle motif was done with great integrity right up to the twinkling stars in the dark blue ceiling.
Locals like to say, "I sat under the stars at the Barnes & Noble."
Be sure to "check out" a copy of Chicagoan James McManus' fine 2006 book Physical (An American Checkup (Picador, $14), which is his account of trekking up to the Mayo Clinic for a monster physical exam. McManus also was smitten with the International Hotel.
I wandered off to Victoria's Italian Restaurant, 7 1st Ave., S.W., (507) 280-6232, for a beer. The restaurant is part of the pedway, so I didn't have to go outside. It was worth the walk, as I got to witness small-town shenanigans. A bunch of regulars were spraying Brut cologne to extend the flames of candles along the bar. At least if something went wrong they were within walking (or running) distance of the Mayo Clinic.
To get a feel for old Rochester, don't miss McGoon's Taxi Co., 7 Second St. S.W., (507) 288-8130, www.mcgoonstaxi .com. Owner Mark Klampe acquired the building, which was owned in the 1920s by his grandfather when it was a bus and taxi service offering sightseeing tours of the Rochester area.
At McGoon's, I had a Philly cheese sandwich ($8.95) as I took in the black and white photos depicting old Rochester while Willie Dixon's "300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy" played in the background. Klampe's grandfather was Howard "Goonie" McGoon, who inspired the Goonie's Comedy Club that is upstairs from the restaurant and open Friday and Saturday nights. Here's a tip: you can stay at the Kahler Grand for half price just by mentioning Goonie's name.
Mayo Clinic visitors could be a tough comedy club crowd, but then good health is no laughing matter.