Galactic Pizza on CNN

Filed under: Restaurants

First, they get their own photo gallery , then their own video. Does CNN have a thing for Galactic Pizza? And who knew there was such a thing as pizzatube?

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at May 12, 2008 7:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

What's New at Mill City Farmers Market

Filed under: Shopping

Here's a list of hot new vendors ripped straight from the virtual pages of the Mill City Farmers Market website in the hopes that it'll drive people out to this week's market:

Brewery Creek Farm — bedding plants and a huge diversity of melons

Café Himalaya — Tibetan momo made with local ingredients

Nistler Farms — Asparagus and natural ornamentals

Omely Food — Handmade dim sum featuring market ingredients

The next market (at Chicago Ave. and 2nd St. South between the Guthrie and Mill City Museum) is this Saturday, May 17, and features a rummage sale, live tango music, a cooking demo by Chef Rachel Rubin and a yarn-spinning demonstration. Sign me up for the dim sum and cooking demo, for starters...

Posted by James Norton at May 12, 2008 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

 

Hey guys, I've cracked the recipe for restaurant-style Thai lemongrass soup

Filed under: Recipes

When you eat at a restaurant, do you ever contemplate how you would go about making your favorite dish? Does this overwhelm and make your mind boggle?

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Posted by Jessica Armbruster at May 9, 2008 7:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

Lakemaid, a beer for fishermen

Filed under: Product Review

It's a joyous day when we are sent free beer. It's even more joyous when it happens on a Friday, a day that starts off right with free doughnuts in the break room.

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Posted by Jessica Armbruster at May 9, 2008 5:18 PM | Comments (8)

 

Drink of the Week: Rubber Ducky

Filed under: Drink of the Week

Rubber Ducky
Cafe Maude
Sparkling blue raspberry lemonade and a yellow Peep
$3.50

We salute the artisan cocktail movement for merging the liquor cabinet with the kitchen--using fresh-squeezed juices, herb-infused liquors, and artsy garnishes to mix up creative concoctions. But compared to their crapulous cousins, non-alcoholic drinks have lagged. That's why we're especially impressed with the list at Cafe Maude, where all sorts of refreshing teas and fruity spritzers keep us sipping just as elegantly, sans the after effects.

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at May 9, 2008 5:20 AM | Comments (0)

 

Start Gearing Up for Okonomiyaki Sunday

Filed under: Restaurants

If you've had your fill of sushi and tempura — for the time being, at any rate — it's worth investigating the lesser-known demigods in the pantheon of Japanese cuisine as served in the US. You could try donburi ("rice-bowl dish"). Or robata (grilled skewers). Or o-nigiri (stuffed riceballs).

Or try one of my personal favorites: the battered egg and cabbage-comprised entree known as "okonomiyaki" (literally, "grilled what-you-like"). Okonomiyaki are about as varied as omelettes are in the States, so you can't necessarily generalize, but in addition to egg and cabbage, they often tend to feature okonomiyaki sauce (a thicker, sweeter version of a steak sauce), seaweed flakes, fish flakes, another protein (seafood, pork) and Japanese mayo.

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Posted by James Norton at May 8, 2008 6:54 PM | Comments (0)

 

Chino crosses a new line

Filed under: Restaurants

Passing by 29th and Lyndale in south Minneapolis, I noticed this new Chino Latino billboard:

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at May 7, 2008 3:32 PM | Comments (0)

 

Coffee Industry Buzz

Filed under: Events

If downtown Minneapolis seemed particularly abuzz this weekend, it's because the Specialty Coffee Association was holding its annual conference and exhibition at the convention center. Thousands of coffee producers, importers, retailers, and roasters came together for labs, lectures, and information sharing. If you wanted to, say, discuss preserving coffee plants' genetic diversity, or debate Starbucks' purchase of the company that makes Clover coffee machines, this was the place to be.

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at May 6, 2008 10:49 AM | Comments (6)

 

Midtown Farmers' Market: Open for Business

Filed under: Shopping

After a long, cold winter (one that seems to be still in the process of begrudgingly releasing its hold on the state), it's nice to get back to the summer and harvest-time normalcy of a good old outdoor farmer's market. Even if you need to wear a coat to stay warm.

The Midtown Farmers' Market opened up this past Saturday, attracting a healthy and enthusiastic crowd. There wasn't much in the way of produce, but meat, honey, egg, baked good and other vendors were present, making the trip well worth the effort. Most critically, a crepe-selling vendor (Creperie Mala) was present, allowing visitors to purchase delectable ramp, ham and gruyere crepes ($4) such as this one:

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Posted by James Norton at May 6, 2008 1:26 AM | Comments (0)

 

Living Green Expo

Filed under: Events

The Living Green Expo takes place this weekend in the Grandstand Building at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds , and it features all sorts of of food-focused booths, workshops, and demos--everything from local natural food co-ops to vegetable gardening and worm composting. Here are a few highlights:

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at May 2, 2008 10:04 AM | Comments (3)

 

Drink of the Week: The Silly Rabbit

Filed under: Drink of the Week

The Silly Rabbit
Town Talk Diner
Vanilla ice cream; Trix; three Marie Brizard liqueurs: Raspberry, Blackberry, and Parfait Amour; topped with whipped cream
$11

Town Talk Diner's Silly Rabbit gets its name from the saccharine, Trix-sprinkled richness you can only find where anisette commingles with vanilla ice cream in a 16-ounce goblet topped with whipped cream. Think of the remaining milk from a bowl of Trix, only frozen. And with booze.

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Posted by Matt Snyders at May 2, 2008 5:21 AM | Comments (2)

 

In Praise of Rainbow Foods

Filed under: Shopping

I don't mean to circle back to the running theme of moving house from Uptown to Longfellow, but it's hard to avoid. We eat local whether we like it or not, and restaurants and grocery stores are clear windows into what a given neighborhood is really "like."

Along those lines: There were three grocery stores (that I knew of/frequented) in Uptown. Lunds, which was typically frequented by white, well-to-do older people. Kowalski's, which was typically frequented by white, well-to-do younger people. And the ill-maintained Rainbow on Lake Street, which was frequented by... everybody else.

For various reasons, my wife and I eventually wound up doing most of our non farmer's market shopping at a large Cub Foods about four miles to west. This was not an ideal solution.

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Posted by James Norton at May 1, 2008 1:15 AM | Comments (2)

 

Is this the best cookie ever?

Filed under: Food

The other day, I was at Kopplin's Coffee in St. Paul and decided to pick out something sweet to go with my cappuccino. I was about to go for the standard chocolate chip, courtesy Rustica Bakery, when this homely, bittersweet chocolate one caught my eye.

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Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 30, 2008 1:42 PM | Comments (2)

 

Pizza knife by Van Vacter

Filed under: Gadgets

Let's say that you've got an addiction to pizza, and twenty bucks burning a hole in your pocket. The solution? Quite possibly, buying a "pizza knife" (prosaic lowercase name courtesy of the company).

What does you $20 get you? Well, the kind folks at Van Vacter^TM (a product line of Lassen Scientific, Inc.) are happy to inform you that each pizza knife (the ultimate pizza cutter^TM) uses patent pending Slicing-Slots^TM to cut cleanly through the pizza's molten cheese, leaving the dirty business of completing any given cut to the deadly-sounding Finishing Wheel^TM.

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Posted by James Norton at April 29, 2008 1:01 AM | Comments (2)

 

Heidi's makes Conde Nast Traveler's "Hot List"

Filed under: Restaurants

A big congratulations to Heidi and Stewart Woodman--their south Minneapolis restaurant, the eponymous Heidi's, was chosen for Conde Nast Traveler's annual "Hot List" of the "world's most exciting" new restaurants, clubs, hotels, and spas.

Read the review and then make your reservation--if you can get one.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 28, 2008 4:00 PM | Comments (0)