Cake, tunes and booze--what's not to love?

On March 1, James Beard Award nominee and Best Bakery owner Michelle Gayer will be hosting a cakewalk at the Fine Line. The proceeds will benefit Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending childhood hunger.More >>

Joia Soda contemplates new flavors, needs your help picking

​Local, natural soda maker Joia has put out the call on Twitter and Facebook that it needs tasters. It's looking to expand its  flavor lineup and is offering a free tasting in exchange for a simple opinion. We participated in their taste test last night and can share that the new flavors have the same mix of spices and fruit with an added twist. As with their other offerings, cocktail mix master Dan Oskey (most often found behind the bar at St. Paul's Strip Club) created all the flavors.

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Looking for a proper fish 'n' chips?

​Every month Gather, the D'Amico-run restaurant at the Walker, brings in an area celebrity chef. This month it celebrates its own chef, Josh Brown. As it should: Gather has been garnering attention as one of the best new restaurants of 2011. 

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Get 'em while supplies last

​Sweets Bakeshops in St. Paul and Minneapolis are celebrating Sweets' two-year birthday on Sunday with a tasty promotion: It's giving away a free cupcake to customers while supplies last.

And that's not the only free sample they're giving away. Here are details on how to score your treats:

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The charity event includes a FREE tasting open to the public

​On Sunday, October 30, many of the best-known chefs in the Twin Cities are partnering with Dragsmith Farms at Solera to host a dinner celebrating the local harvest to benefit those who have a hard time putting food on the table. 

We sat down with Jorge Guzman, the chef at Solera, to discuss the event and how the idea came about.

The evening includes a full dinner with wine pairings prepared by some of the area's most inventive chefs as well as an earlier reception that is open to the public, for free.

Chef Guzman explains the details--including how you can score a reservation:

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If you can't spend an hour playing with your vending machine, is that truly living?

​There's nothing quite like scoring some poor sap's chips for free after they get stuck in the vending machine.

Well, downtowners can have that experience as many times as they want tomorrow in Peavey Plaza, where a huge bank of state-of-the-art vending machines are going to be on display and dispensing candy, cookies, chips and drinks for free.

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Bald pates = free plates

​Blue Plate Restaurant Company is hosting its third annual Bald and Free Day on Friday, October 14. In part a celebration of owner David Burley's own hair-free head, the area restaurants will allow fellow baldies to enjoy an entree of $15 or less at no cost to them.
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Bring a buddy, "forget" your wallet, get free coffee!

​In celebration of the National Coffee Day, today only, the font-challenged coffee chain is offering buy one, get one free on all types of coffee at all of its stores.  Just bring in this coupon on your phone or print it out.  Limit one per customer.  Line up early and bring your patience.

Caribou
Various metro locations, website

Carb-loading for the fair at Punch.

​We've seen the statistic that the average fair-goer consumes 2,000-3,000 calories during his or her visit. Eek!

In honor of the Minnesota State Fair's Thursday debut, Punch pizza would like to encourage its fans to get in an extra workout or two. Today through Wednesday, they're offering a two-for-one pizza deal to anyone who brings in the following coupon with a gym, fitness club, or yoga studio membership card.

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Get to Sweets this Saturday for free sugar!

​Sweets Bakeshop is looking for guinea pigs to taste-test some new cupcake flavors at its Minneapolis shop this Saturday.

Starting at noon, owner Ly Lo and staff will be bringing out free samples of 5-10 new flavors--rumor has it that Banana French Toast, Strawberry, and Lemon Meringue may be among them--as well as several fall seasonals. Feedback is encouraged, as tweaks to the new cupcake menu are still being made.

Previous Coverage
Sweets Bakeshop co-owner leaving
Sweets Bakeshop owner reveals future of new bakery
Sweets Bakeshop and Sugar, Sugar Candy