Inside the Daily Planet, 10/26/07

Food and restaurants How sunshine freezes ice cream by Julia Degen, Special to the TC Daily Planet It seems unnatural, but the ice cream you are eating may have been produced with the help of sunshine. Since the production and storage of ice cream consumes a lot of electricity, Izzy’s Ice Cream on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul is running on solar energy. Chocolate cravings by Kelly Westhoff, Minnesota Women’s Press Shoma Hokanson’s love of chocolate has led to sweet success North Coast: The Tasting Menu is Back by Jeremy Iggers, Breaking Bread: The Rake My guess is, Ryan Aberle dreams of someday running a restaurant like Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago, or Thomas Keller’s Per Se in Manhattan. For the time being, though, he’s the executive chef at North Coast in Wayzata. During the summer months, Aberle runs a high volume feeding operation, turning out Thai chicken wraps and bacon cheeseburgers and Caesar salads for the crowds that pack the dockside patio. NEW IN BLOGS Learning the Cambodian Traditional Mask Dance by Sovanthy Meng, New Minnesotans Speak NEW IN VOICES Guilty relief by Annie McCabe, Minnesota Women’s Press Annie McCabe’s husband is home from Iraq, but she can’t stop thinking of Iraqi families