Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/food-and-restaurants/page/10/)
SENA News has had its eye on Keen Eye Coffee (2803 E. 38th St.) since it opened in the fall of 2013. Newsletter policy is to give a new business at least a year to establish itself before we write an article about it. When Keen Eye celebrated its first anniversary on Sept. 11, it became “eligible” for a feature story.
Tuesday morning I attended the 30th Annual Nordic American Thanksgiving Breakfast. The event is sponsored by the Sons of Norway and is a charitable venture (donations were collected for Second Harvest Heartland and the Minnesota Military Family Foundation) loaded with local celebrities, politicians, and 963 guests. I sat at a table in the back dubbed The Johnson Table. Of ten at our table, seven of us were Johnsons. The event was, as 2014 Event Chair Bruce Karstadt observed, “Fika on steroids.” (Fika is a Swedish tradition meaning to take a break, most often with coffee, with colleagues, friends, or family. It is both a verb and a noun.) Continue Reading
A milestone.
Even as a kid in New York City, I knew that “to lay an egg” was not a good thing. It meant you’d failed to do something you’d set out to accomplish – and everybody knew it. Why’s an egg synonymous with failure? According to numbers of Internet sources, it’s because an egg resembles a zero; and zilch is what goes up on the board when you fail to score. Continue Reading
Ready or not, the holiday season is here, with the trifecta of big shopping days Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday kicking off this weekend. Sure, Small Business Saturday may not create the frenzy as the other two, but for many, that’s part of the day’s charm. Aimed at boosting sales for local independent shops, the day gives smaller mom-and-pop stores a chance to shine and garner focused community support.Small Business Saturday received a boost in popularity with the sponsorship of American Express in 2010, offering a rebate for cardholders who spend $10+ on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Also, the American Express site and the Small Business Saturday Facebook page offer promotional tips (use hashtag #Shopsmall and #SmallBizSat on social media, for example) and other resources to help promote the day.Below we’ve placed a spotlight on a few shops and attractions around the Twin Cities that could use your support this Small Business Saturday and all year long! We invite you to add your favorites in the comment section.Related articles and blogs:Heads up Twin Cities, Plaid is the new Black FridayIndie First Day/Small Business Saturday, November 29<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/8482325/”>When is your fave time to shop for the holidays?</a>The Nicollet DinerHave you heard about the new 24-hour diner in Minneapolis? Continue Reading
We gather on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and recall the many years we’ve spent together as friends. We feast on mostly vegetarian fare in honor of those among us who don’t eat turkey, and every year the wine gets a little better, the roaring fire a little more comforting, and our bonds a little stronger. Every year I am more and more grateful for those bonds of friendship. Continue Reading
“Sometimes it’s not you that needs a change, it’s your environment that needs the change.”That’s about the only way to explain why in 2001 a chef born and raised in warm and sunny Miami made the “radical” decision to move to the less than warm metropolis of Minneapolis. So that’s what Chef Patrick Matthews did; and the growing legion of fans of his menu creations at Louie’s Wine Dive, 800 W. Lake St., Uptown Minneapolis, are thankful for the decision.Louie’s (www.louieswinedive.com/minneapolis) opened this past May to rave reviews with foodies loving Matthews’ take on classic American comfort cuisine. Though the menu at Louie’s is ever evolving – “I just love to get in the kitchen and create,” explained Matthews, the chef and co-owner of Louie’s – staples and foodie favorites are the braised short ribs, crab cakes, shrimp diablo and the grilled bone in pork loin chop (just seeing one of those coming out of the kitchen immediately turns heads).This article is reposted from TCDP media partner Insight News. Check out the links below for other recent Insight News stories:Flowers: Mobilize, engage citizensPOINTERGATE: KSTP should be ashamed for racist reportingMatthew’s, who has a degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales in Miami, said coming to Minneapolis was just what he needed to do to grow as a chef and as a person.”Minneapolis was a logical place for me to come and to learn from some great chefs and it also gave me a chance to stand out,” said Matthews.The list of great chefs and restaurants Matthews worked with and at is certainly impressive. Matthews has done kitchen time – mostly in the demanding role of sous chef – at some well-known places, including Wolfgang Puck’s 2021, Babalu’s, Axel’s Bonfire (Roseville), Crave (downtown Minneapolis), the Dakota Jazz Club and Aperitif Restaurant. Continue Reading
Abdirahman Kahin, owner of the West Bank’s Afro Deli, sees fewer customers during Ramadan, the monthlong Muslim daytime fast.
His restaurant is only open until 9 p.m., a time that’s too early for many Muslims to eat during the fasting period.
Over the past couple of years I’ve tried to focus on the seminal issue of the human right to access to food, an issue so complex, political and gnarled that I’ve given up the quest to plumb the depths – until Pope Francis brought it up. Truth to tell, the Pontiff didn’t conjure it up out of the rarified atmosphere of the Vatican – the challenge to unravel the issue has fostered countless efforts, stymied many and challenged human rights activists for a couple of centuries. Continue Reading
What image comes to your mind when you think of a “food chain worker?” Is it the efficient functionary at the super store? Or a friendly neighborhood organic grocer? Or do you take a more holistic approach and envision the field worker who plants and harvests your favorite veggies? Or the truck driver who gets the food to market? The packer at the cannery? The street vendor? Or the waiter at a neighborhood restaurant? These and scores of others are all links on the food chain – and members of the Food Chain Workers Alliance. (http://foodchainworkers.org) Continue Reading
It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. There are a lot of people who do not like fruitcake. In fact we could even say most people don’t like fruitcake. I am not most people. There is a lot of bad fruitcake out there that is dry and mostly inedible. My mother made fruitcake and we all liked it. She would soak it in sherry and then in rum for weeks before Christmas. I believe she got the recipe from my grandmother. Continue Reading