Food and restaurants
From food policy and healthy eating to fine dining and gastronomic adventures. (Click here to subscribe in advance.)
Minnesota conference brings together immigrant and minority farmers
“The highlight clearly was that this is a immigrant farmers’ conference; its their conference,” said Glen Hill, the executive director for Minnesota Food Association. “They are represented, feel comfortable, speak and share, and they feel empowered.” MORE »
A neighborhood business for 100 years
I remember when Cossetta's was a small an Italian grocery store on Ryan and what is now Eagle street in St. Paul. It is a family owned business started in about 1911. They moved to West 7th street 25 years ago. Both of my children had jobs there at one time or another and jobs are a good thing.MORE »
7th Annual Immigrant and Minority Farmer Conference
For 4 years now we have attended the Immigrant and Minority Farmer Conference. Our alma mater (so to speak) Minnesota Food Association is one of the host organizations of this conference that in a very real way changed our lives. I remember 4 years ago being so nervous and really clueless about most things agricuutural.MORE »
SUNDAY PICK | Jungle love: Take your Valentine to dinner at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
"1-2-3-4-5, senses working overtime. That’s the sensation diners will encounter when the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory opens its gardens for a truly unique dining experience." Not since Mandy Moore's cover version has XTC's classic song been quoted so awkwardly, but the Conservatory staff ain't whistling "Dixie" when they say that they're offering "a truly unique dining experience." On February 12, 13, and 14, the Conservatory will be offering candlelit dinners in the North Garden and Palm Dome. You'll enjoy a "gourmet dinner prepared by Lancer Catering," music by the Baroque Trio, and "the soothing sounds of the water feature in each garden." All this for only $165 per couple. Darling, you had me at "water feature."
Treat taste test: Seven Stars Coffee House
Sadie the Wonderdoodle has lodged an official complaint with Sidewalk Dog.MORE »
Good practices
Somewhere in Brazil there is a piglet who has been squealing for her Minnesota swill.MORE »
THURSDAY PICK | Uptown Cafeteria: Designed for relaxation
It took me a while to really appreciate the design of Parasole's Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group. At first glance, it's a pretty lucid and simple gimmick—oh, right, cafeteria theme. Trays on the walls, lunch lady photos over the urinals, cute. But I keep returning to Cafeteria, and though the unpretentious and nicely priced happy hour food menu is one reason for that, the bright, appealing, smart design doesn't hurt. With a distinctive blue-and-orange palette, NYC-based Moschella + Roberts created a space that feels both comfy and classy. If you can stomach the two-figure cocktail prices—and if the jumpy Parasole doesn't shut Cafeteria down before the thaw—the Skybar is an excellent alternative to the crowded spray-tan meat market on the roof of Stella's.
Market Barbecue, Ted's 19th Hole and Cap's Grille
When I moved into town decades ago, it had very few barbecue restaurants. From the earliest days, I knew of Market Barbecue because I lived downtown. But I was disinterested in barbecue at the time, so it didn't matter. In the last decade, I did acquire an interest in barbecue. But it arose from trying food from a St Paul food truck, the very first food truck of which I was aware.MORE »
Bun bo Hue at the Hien Deli — the perfect winter warmer
We're leaving on Thursday for a couple of weeks in Vietnam - and maybe a side trip to Laos. One of the places on our itinerary is Hue, the ancient capital, so last week I headed for Eat Street (Nicollet Ave.) for a sneak preview of Hue's most famous dish, bun bo Hue. It's a spicy cousin to pho, the signature beef noodle soup, but prepared with a combination of beef, pork, and, in this version what the menu describes as Vietnamese ham - but Vietnamese lunch meat might be closer to the mark.MORE »
Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones & Butter: my memoir of our conversation about her memoir
Unlike Gabrielle Hamilton, author of the best-selling Blood, Bones & Butter and proprietor of a New York restaurant called Prune, I’ve never written a memoir. I’ve read a ton of them, though, so I get how it works. You start with a few basic facts about your life, grossly exaggerate them to make yourself sound more interesting, pretend you remember things that people said and put them in quotes, then arrange it all in a fashionably non-chronological order. How hard can it be?
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