For many of us, this Fresh Forkin’ Friday marks the first of our summer half-days. I am so PRO this benefit, as I think most of us are, because it delivers more than just a shorter work week … it delivers balance. For the nine months of the year that we are threatened with the possibility of snow, to really live the three that we don’t is a small act with a big impact. Those few hours on the end of the week that we take to linger longer at lunch on the lanai, to strip to the skivvies and lay on some sand, to squeeze a few more hours into the trip up north so that Friday dinner needn’t be drive-thru but a flame-broiled stick-feast around the fiery pit; those few hours and days are what keep the wolves at bay.

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OPENS

Yumi’s, the cute little sushi shop in Excelsior, had moved across the street into new and roomier digs. The Simply Nuts store was gutted and completely redone and now there’s a real bar (no more waiting in the doorway with your Asahi) and a longer sushi bar, a bunch more tables, and real bathrooms that don’t require you to go through the kitchen and down stairs. Same great sushi, friendly cooks, lovely host (although they need to hide the gong from Yumi when someone orders a sake bomb).

Speaking of frat boy behavior, The Pourhouse is throwing a grand opening happy hour today with free buffet from 3:30-4:40pm. The speakeasy-prohibition-themed bar and restaurant is in the Lumber Exchange and besides having six bars, jail-like bathrooms, a secret Hooch Room, and whiskey barrel decor, the menu is just stacked with American bar food named after our local gangstahs: Petters, Decker, and the like.

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Sunday is the first annual Minnesota Cheese Festival at the fair grounds! I couldn’t be more ready to have an afternoon of sampling Minnesotan and Wisconsin cheese, watching cheese-filled chef demos, and learning from the pros about great wine/beer/cheese pairings. I need to expand my selections for my daily cheese happy hour.

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Yo, it’s Grand Ol’ Day this coming weekend! Truly this is the inaugural summer fest, your first real chance to enjoy a corn dog or other stick cuisine. Sauce. It. Up. and then hit some of the great food trucks along the way.

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It’s also the Edina Art Fair this weekend, so be prepared to be flummoxed a bit if you were just heading to the Edina Grill for a snack.

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Your first get-out-of-town marching orders: Head to Lucan this weekend for a major Brau Brothers Beer Braufest (which is better than a bro-fest). Get down there tonight and get in on the BBQ, set up camp right on the brewery grounds, then wake up to the fireman’s pancake breakfast and take part in the softball tourney (the beer wagons there all day). It’s like your best version of a family reunion weekend … with a beer wagon.

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Don’t forget that the little Linden Hills Farmers Market opens this weekend….

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Tune into the Weekly Dish on Saturday when we’ll chat about dog-friendly patios and summer reading for foodists, not nudists.