Food and restaurants

Lots of food fun this weekend. Weather permitting, I'm going to jump on my bike on Saturday and do a gastronomic circuit, starting with the Mill City Farmers' Market, where May 18 has been proclaimed Backyard Bee Keeping Day. Lots of spring produce and bedding plants for sale, plus a cooking demo by market chef Heather Hartman, using honey from Beez Kneez, a local non-profit that delivers fresh local honey by bike. Beez Kneez will also be on hand at the Community Booth, providing information about the vital role that bees play in our food system. Music by the Cactus Blossoms, a terrific local country-western trio.

The buffet offerings are as varied as the clientele at Big Marina Grill & Deli, 4755 Central Ave., Columbia Heights—mostly Middle Eastern, with lamb shanks, chicken kabobs, kofta kabobs, stuffed grape leaves, grilled eggplant, felafel, hummus, tabouli, soups, samosas, baklava, and Greek and Middle Eastern salads and pastries. But there are lots of other dishes to choose from as well—shrimp, fried chicken, fish, barbecued beef ribs, pasta, veggies, and more. The price is a very reasonable $11 for lunch, and $14 evenings and weekends. An a la carte menu is also available, with salads, burgers, sandwiches, dinner entrees and combination platters for two, four or six. 

Did you ever wonder what would happen if the wild and crazy guys behind Travail Kitchen & Amusements opened a pizzeria? Would they, like, create a foie gras pizza? Or a Mussels from Brussels pizza, as a tribute to Jean Claude Van Damme, topped with mussels, brussel sprouts, and chorizo? Or maybe an appetizer made from pig feet and cheeks, and call it hoof-n-mouth?

I stopped by recently for a brat and a beer at the New Bohemia Wurst & Bier Haus, 233 E. Hennepin. It's a popular place, with more than 30 different local, regional, and foreign beers on draft and another nearly 50 different beers in bottles and cans.