Jeremy Iggers recently retired as executive director of the Twin Cities Media Alliance. His newest project is a website called www. GlobalTwinCities.com. He lives in south Minneapolis with his wife Carol and two cats.
I have to admit I was alarmed by the email that was forwarded to me last Friday, written by a neighborhood activist:
“Dear friends and neighbors: The outcome of Wednesday’s Park Board meeting was not good: the Finance Committee voted in favor of an amendment by (commissioner) Bob Fine to the negotiated contract with the Tin Fish; the amended contract, if approved by the full board next Wednesday, will force the Tin Fish to close. The Park Board is not playing by the rules and we stand to lose a beloved asset to our neighborhood and city.” Continue Reading
Anticipating our trip to Vietnam, Carol and I each had a big gastronomic question in mind:
I wondered how our favorite Twin Cities Vietnamese restaurants – places like Ngon, Jasmine 26, Saigon, Hoa Bien and Hoang Thien Y would stack up against the genuine article. Continue Reading
Life doesn’t always work out according to plan. My plan, as regular readers of this column may recall, was to be in Vietnam this week, sunning myself on a deserted beach somewhere near Hoi An. But a little medical hiccup at the last minute has postponed those plans, though we’re still planning to leave sometime soon. Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
So many meals, so little time – here are just a few quick highlights from my most recent adventures in eating:
Oh boy, pot roast! But not just any pot roast – this is pot roast as prepared by Kevin Kathman, the new chef at Jack’s, the former Java Jack’s at 818 W. 46th St., Minneapolis, which now bills itself as “the most exciting place to eat in Minneapolis.” Them’s fighting words, if you ask me, but Kathman does have some impressive credentials, most notably a stint at the French Laundry, and locally at Barbette and Restaurant Max. Continue Reading
Good food is where you find it, and my most recent discoveries run the gamut from pub grub at the Public House in the Warehouse District, the Sunday night cheap date night at Rinata in Uptown, and the dim sum at Yangtzein St. Louis Park. Continue Reading
The former Stasiu’s at 2500 University Ave. N.E. in Northeast Minneapolis underwent a makeover back in 2010 that transformed it into Stanley’s Bar Room, but it hasn’t lost its neighborhood tavern character. Stanley’s bills itself as a craft beer bar, with 32 craft beers on tap, but it is decidedly not one of those yuppified gastropubs. Continue Reading
My most memorable meals of 2011 were mostly at old favorites – like Saffron, 123 N. 3rd St., in the Minneapolis warehouse district. The cuisine is as good as ever, but their big news this year is that they stripped off the tablecloths and have repositioned the restaurant as a more casual not-just-for-special-occasions place. We did go there for a special occasion, Carol’s birthday in September, and had a terrific dinner — even without the tablecloths. Highlights included slow-cooked green beans with tomato ($6), a salad of watermelon and heirloom tomato with cow’s milk feta, charred jalapeño and basil ($8), and a nightly tagine ($19/$27) that combined Lake Winnipeg whitefish and Manila clams in a savory stew of green olives, potatoes and tomato. The guys at Saffron, chef Sameh Wadi and his brother Saed, are also responsible for the most memorable street food dish I had this year – the yum yum bowl (which is actually a box, $9) of steamed rice topped with chicken (vegetarian version also available), Chinese broccoli, poached egg, shiitake mushrooms, roasted peanuts, green onions, basil, cilantro, sesame seeds and a spicy aioli, served from their World Street Kitchen food truck just off of the Nicollet Mall (closed for the season).I also had a great dinner recently at another old favorite, Ngon, the Vietnamese bistro at 799 University Ave., St. Paul, which features local / sustainable ingredients, Minnesota beers and organic wines. Continue Reading
If you think of my brain as a refrigerator, then all the food stories that I haven’t had time to write about are like left-overs, sitting there in takeout containers, and not getting any fresher. So, it’s time to clear out the fridge… Continue Reading
I have to admit I was alarmed by the email that was forwarded to me last Friday, written by a neighborhood activist: 
