Internet Exposure

Pick one category, or a few, and give your phone a Fair Shake!

​As much as you try to plan your grand day of grazing, sometimes all the fair food choices can be a little overwhelming. Should you begin with a mini donut breakfast or go straight for the Sweet Martha's cookies? And why is it that when all you want is a corn dog, the only stands you can see are those selling pronto pups?

The Minnesota State Fair is offering a mobile version of its online Food Finder, a site that offers a description and mapped location of each food vendor. But a team from the local web design company Internet Exposure created a free app called Fair Shake that takes the quest for deep fried fare to the next level.

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St. Paul Summer Beer Fest kicks off the summer season

​The summer beer festival season kicks off this Saturday, June 25, with the St. Paul Summer Beer Fest. In its third year, this is the biggest and best organized of all the Twin Cities' summer celebrations of suds. Formerly held in the parking lot of Midway Stadium, the event is moving to new digs this year at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The extended forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, perfect beer-tasting weather. The combination of food, live entertainment, educational sessions, and of course beer, promises to make this another great year.

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Forget the hot dogs. How about a mac and cheese fritter or lamb kabob?

​If you're planning to join a few thousand of your closest friends for Grand Old Day in St. Paul on Sunday, food will no doubt be a big part of the experience. You'll find the ubiquitous corn dogs and cheese curds, of course, but for foodies looking for something a bit more interesting, here's where the action will be.

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Truth in advertising: "Guinness Is Good for You"

​The Irish have a reputation as professional drinkers. As well-known experts in the drinking arts, the Irish know that the consumption of alcohol isn't about getting drunk (well, not just about getting drunk) but about tradition, ritual, and camaraderie. And one of the traditions the Irish respect as much as any people on earth is the drinking toast. A round among friends calls for more than just a quick "Cheers!" It requires a bit of eloquence, humor, and even poetry.

Since we're all honorary Irishmen today, it seems right to carry on the tradition as we hoist our pints. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here are 10 of the best traditional Irish toasts:

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Mark Roberts

Beer fans savor MN suds at Winterfest

​The 2011 Winterfest beer festival sponsored by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild took place last Friday night at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. As beer festivals go, Winterfest is an intimate and elegant affair, if you can call 800 people flooding the halls of the History Center intimate. It's an opportunity for Minnesota brewers to show off their best efforts to an eager and supportive crowd.

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Beer Dabbler sold out, but you can still get tickets

​Once again Twin Cities beer fans have demonstrated their insatiable desire for good beer and their willingness to support those that provide it. Advance tickets for the Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival event scheduled for Saturday in Mears Park have sold out. But you don't need to be left out in the cold.

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The best of Minnesota beer at Winterfest

​Winterfest, the annual celebration of home-grown craft beer, returns to the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul on February 4. Sponsored by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild and open only to breweries that are current guild members, Winterfest showcases the best of the best of Minnesota-brewed beer. With attendance limited to 700, it is an intimate affair, made more elegant by the ornate corridors of the History Center. Tickets are in demand. This year's event sold out in less than a minute. Brewers pull out all the stops at Winterfest, bringing their most unique and enticing creations. There's a lot to love about what is in my view the Twin Cities' best beer festival.

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Beer Dabbler at the Winter Carnival January 29th

​The second annual Beer Dabbler Showcase at the St. Paul Winter Carnival happens on January 29 in Mears Park. The brainchild of Minneapolitan Matt Kenevan, the Beer Dabbler is not a beer-geeks-only event. As Kenevan describes it, "The concept behind the Beer Dabbler is to introduce great beer to people who may or may not be familiar with craft and micro brews. It is intended to be a fun event for people of all levels of beer enthusiasm." Last year's fest sold out. This year's event will be expanded, with the closure of Sixth Street allowing space for more beer, more food, more entertainment, and more attendees. The Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival runs from 3:30 to 7:30 PM. Admission is $25 in advance or $35 at the gate and includes a complementary tasting glass, unlimited tastings, and access to all the entertainment and activities. Advance tickets are available at www.beerdabbler.com.

So about this Winter Carnival event...an outdoor beer festival in St. Paul in January? Cold beer on a cold winter's day? Is Kenevan crazy? I asked him this very question.

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St. Cloud Craft Beer Expo coming January 22nd.

​There's a new beer fest in town. The first ever St. Cloud Craft Beer Expo happens in less than two weeks on January 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the St. Cloud Civic Center, 10 4th Ave S. Over 40 breweries are expected to be represented at the event. Food concessions will be available from the Civic Center. A $25 general admission ticket gets you unlimited samples and a commemorative tasting glass. Worried about driving home after the fest? A $50 admission includes a round-trip ride on a chartered bus from Midway Stadium in St. Paul. Act quickly if you want to ride the bus. Only a few spots left are left. The St. Cloud Craft Beer Expo is brought to you by Juno Choi and Mark Opdahl of Chop Liver LLC, the same folks who stage the very well organized St. Paul Summer Beer Fest.  More >>

Mill City Farmers Market

Get your market produce while you can; soon this place will be a tundra.

​Sure, Minnesotans are a hearty people. Our local produce? Not as much. Yes, there are tough crops that persevere deep into fall, thriving despite a brisk evening or an early frost. But sooner or later everything will be consumed by the snow and cold, and no matter how hard we try we'll be enveloped by conditions not suitable for life. But let's not think about that. Instead, let's focus on what we have left. Tomorrow the Mill City Farmers Market celebrates the fall harvest and its close for the year with events and food that will surely prepare you for the inevitable long, hard freeze. And if forecasts are right, it should be beautiful out.

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