Photo by Tony Nelson

​Almost exactly a year after the killa bees descended on Epic last winter, the Wu-Tang Clan plan a return to Minneapolis on January 7 this year.  It takes brave souls to rap in the dead of winter in this town, but the New York crew is no stranger to snow -- or the warm support of Twin Cities hip-hop fans.

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Photo via First Ave's Facebook page

The Depot Tavern's Diamond Dog Eating Contest big winners Femme Eat All, Le Tenia, Pigflesh, and the Veterinarian.

​With all that was going on in the Twin Cities this weekend for the 4th of the July there was another first of hopefully a yearly holiday tradition going on in downtown Minneapolis. First Avenue's new restaurant "The Depot Tavern" held it's grand opening with it's bright new neon sign glowing with pride on 7th Street. Taking a nod from New York's yearly 4th of July tradition, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest the action was on the inside for the Depot's first annual "Diamond Dog Eating Contest". On hand judges Sean Tillman, Mark Mallman, Bobby Kahn, and DJ Jonathan Ackerman along with host Ian Rans of "Drinking with Ian" fame watched with scrutiny as the maiden voyage contestants tried their best to gobble down as many of the frightening bacon-wrapped dogs in a pretzel bun as they could in 10 minutes.

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Photo by Michelle Leon

​First Avenue's latest addition, the Depot Tavern, celebrated its grand opening last week. Haven't been yet? Judging from the sparse attendance we saw during the lunch hour earlier this week, we're guessing most downtown Minneapolis residents and office workers don't even know about the restaurant yet -- which is a shame, because everything we here at Gimme Noise have sampled off the menu so far has been great. More >>

photo by: Stacy Schwartz

​First Avenue began as a livery; feeding, shoeing, earning break-time nickels and whiskey off the odd hymn, and they ended up making a nice mint off the joint. Things change, huh? Despite the century or more ebb and flow of wayfarers through her freshly starkly black surfeit, the place has never served food [that you wouldn't feel guilty giving your dog], never provided anyone with a place to eat fried cheese and bacon-wrapped anythings, at least until today.

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The Gimme Noise desk, ever cluttered with mailers and leaflets, could essentially double as an incinerator of absurd promotional material, a waypoint on the journey to the bottom of the Mississip for so many double discs and failed opuses that, for all involved, would be best left nameless.

But every so often, a promotional tactic seems either so earnest or bizarrely misinformed that we must sit up and take note. The Mannheim Steamroller Cinnamon Cocoa pack, which came bundled with three of their holiday CD's, is a perfect example. Earnest or misinformed? Like their synth-brass revisions of beloved Christmas classics, a good deal of both. So, with noses pinched and lips on the cup, Gimme Noise bravely reviews Mannheim Steamroller Cinnamon Cocoa.

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Democrats looking to self–medicate, release anger, or just have a good time should fit in at this fundraiser.

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How many times in your life do you get the chance to eat sushi off of a naked person?

Even when I lived in Okinawa, word was you had to travel to Tokyo if you wanted to witness one of these events -- and if you were a gaijin, you'd better have connections. It was the potential experience more than the food that attracted me to Temple Restaurant & Shinto Lounge on Saturday night for the first of two nyotaimori and nantaimori evenings.

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So far, at least, there's only been one incident of confusion regarding the name of the new restaurant, Strip Club, in St. Paul. Co-owner Tim Niver told me that one day two guys walked in with dollar bills in their hands and asked, "Where's the other room?" (The guys, likely non-native English speakers, apparently didn't realize the name is a pun on strip steak. Neither did my friend's fourth-grade son, who, when his father felt compelled to explain what strip steaks and strip clubs were, responded, "Why would anyone want to see somebody take their clothes off? That's gross.")

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