My apologies for not getting some fresh drivel out into the blogosphere last week, I was traveling in a part of the world where I was cut off from access to the Internet, and I have to say it was refreshing to completely detach. There wasn't even phone service, and while I guess I could have pulled the satellite phone out of the crew case easily enough, I enjoyed the being disconnected too much to make the effort. What I do not like is the anxiety rush that I get upon re-entry, playing catchup with about a thousand messages and getting primed for the swan song of the holiday season in what will have to be record time. Once again, I missed Channukah completely.

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Every once in a while I have to clear the notepad of all the things I have been meaning to tell you about but for some weird reason haven’t found the time/space. Here we go…

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According to last Sunday's New York Times, roughly 20 percent of Hennepin County residents use food stamps. Any wonder why restaurant business is down? Actually, both are symptoms of the larger economic problem that have no causal relationship, but weren’t you staggered when you read that fact? One in five. These are horrible days in many respects. December would be a great month for all those in a position to do so, to donate whatever possible to local foods shelves. Second Harvest Heartland is a  great place to start.

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Wake up Minneapolis and rise from your lethargy!!! Write your local reps and council members and let’s pass some citywide legislation allowing for the quick rise of a mobile food community. I think that the summer of 2010 should be the Season of the Food Truck!

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Join the good people at Corner Table for the 5th Annual Jazz88 Restaurant Tour Late Night, this Saturday, November 21st. Chef Scott Pampuch will prepare a four-course dinner with wine pairings! It's a 9:30 p.m. seating, and it's limited to 40 attendees. Tickets are still available.  Please follow this link and read all about it.

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In The Washington Post a few weeks ago, Tom Sietsema rightfully raved about Mike Phillips charcuterie production at The Craftsman. Mike makes some mean cured and dried meats. I have had the opportunity to watch him cure fresh pork legs and begin the process that results in his top-notch prosciutto, and let me tell you he makes all the right moves. Sietsema points to the duck liver mousse, the rabbit terrine, the dry cured ham, salame, and pancetta as big winners. But the “sense of place” he writes about when he praises Craftsman’s food is what caught my eye, especially in light of my recent trip to Iowa (more on that later). I have been wondering out loud and in print for years—what food should Minnesota 'own'?

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Last week my pal Shane sent out an e-mail to his best and most well-traveled buddies. He and his family have had a crazy year and are going to do a big family trip this coming March. So he asked his peeps where they would go for a truly memorable two-week family vacation. Here are just a few of the ideas the six or so of us came up with—and, yes, we set aside the usual Paris-London type of conventional tourism:

+ A Santa Fe-Taos ski/snowboard and cultural trip.
+ Sicily, with a drive down the Amalfi Coast.
+ Bali, bouncing between Ubud and the coast.
+ Morocco, all of it.
+ Paris to Barcelona by car through the Pyrenees.
+ Tierra del Fuego, Chile, especially the Torres del Paine Mountain Park.
+ Laos/Cambodia
+ Vietnam
+ Thailand (making sure to end in Phuket for some beach time)
+ Greece
+ Kenya, including Lamu for a beach stop
+ Samoa, being sure to include Lalumanu Beach
+ A Botswana Safari with Unchartered Africa
+ Ecuador…start in Quito and head to Otavalo for the market and a night at Hacienda Pensaqui, then move on to Sacha Lodge on Lake Pilchicoa

What do you think would be the top three (and don’t just pick from this list, feel free to add on) trips you would want to take with your family?

Minnesotan Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the local food and wine scene that I know of, and they are ardent boosters of great food and chefs around the world. Their son is a talented young man who deserves this shot in a big way. His parents have been to more Michelin-starred restaurants than anyone I know outside our industry, and their blog can be found at andrewzimmern.com.

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Last weekend, I was at the Food & Wine Experience at the Kohler resort in Kohler, Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee. Make your reservations for next year now, and you'll thank me for giving you the early heads up on this Food & Wine Magazine-partnered event. Jaques Pepin, Ulrich Koberstein, Marcus Samuelson, Jon Ashton, Claudine Pepin, Tory Miller from L’etoile, Adam Siegel from Lake Park Bistro (2008 regional JBA winner), Joe Bartolotta, Hosea Rosenberg, and about a dozen other great chefs (and about 45 winemakers) did an outstanding job teaching classes, performing demos, hosting book signings, and, of course, executing an amazing tasting dinner on Saturday night. Food events of this size are always more fun than the monster-sized events where guests never get to meet the talent and share time with them. At Kohler, all the chefs spent hours interacting with guests and sharing the experience.

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Doug Flicker’s Piccolo will open in the old Agri space restaurant that is currently Café Agri at 43rd and Bryant, and it should be up and running by January. I know it seems counter-intuitive to believe that a restaurant designed to serve a relatively small menu of small plates to a small group of patrons (no more than 30 seats) makes a difference on the local dining scene, but sometimes it’s the impression that counts the most.

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