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NEWS

You saw that Jim Christiansen has left the Unioncomplex for the dream of opening his own place Heyday, yeah? Nice. So what now for Union? According to Kam Talebi, owner and CEO of Kaskaid Hospitality, “Jim along with our amazing culinary team built a creative and exciting menu that has been extremely well received and we look forward to continuing to build on our culinary vision. In anticipation for Jim’s departure, we had promoted Matt Dickhausen and Lucas Almendinger to lead the culinary team at Union. Both have been with Union since inception and have had a strong role in the development and execution of the company’s culinary direction. They both come from extensive culinary backgrounds with previous experience at Sea Change, Tilia, started Corton Restaurant in New York which received two Michelin stars and more. “

The Lowertown ‘hood is about to get a kicky little bakery cafe. The Buttered Tin will open sometime next month with Alicia Hinze running the mixer and Jen Lueck running the show.

Northeast Social has launched brunch service, I expect this weekend will be jammed.

Also … drove by the Ideal Diner this morn’, and there’s an OPENING SOON and REMODELING sign along with a posting for cooks wanted.

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It’s Art-A-Whirl this weekend folks! Get arty up in the Nordeast, but don’t forget to snack along the way. Here’s two new updates to the list: The sassy Chowgirls will have their parlor open displaying local artists and photographers, plus they serve a mean pierogi (neighborhood represent!), pulled pork and vegan sandwiches, and boozy popsicles from 10,000 Licks! …. AND in an inaugural motion, the Froz Broz will actually be selling their artistically cultish ice cream to the public at Needle & Black’s studios, so pop by for a frozen treat.

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You’ll want to get the Taste of The Nation’s HOTlist on your calendar for June 10. It’s a rockin’ night for a great cause, and the room is stacked with top-tier bites.

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Three’s a charm and third anniversaries are charming, especially if it’s Haute Dish celebrating as they are this weekend. Tip your hat to them and join up for a little five course dinner this weekend (if rezzies are still available) which will include an all-start lineup of the goods that made them famous.

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You still have some precious minutes left in the 10,000 Minutes of Craft Beer!

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And it looks like there are still tickets left for Solo Vino’s now infamous rose tent tasting this Sunday! If you fear the pink, or fear the judgement from rubes who think all pink is Franzia, time to get educated. There are over 130 wines to sip and tickets cost just $35, and there’s a tent so let it rain.

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This Saturday on The Weekly Dish we’ll be chatting with Daniel Vaughn, author of The Prophets of Smoked Meat as we launch ourselves right into BBQ season! Tune in 1-2pm, FM107.1.

Word of note, there will be a lot of food trucks parked at galleries, so keep your eye on the tweets from your favorite trucks.

ARTY EVENTS

The open house at Brickmania goes on all weekend and is one of the cool, family-friendly stops. Wisely they’ll have Pizza Luce serving slices.

Adam Turman has been the artist darling of the food set for awhile (see his mural on Butcher & The Boar and at 612Brew) so you can bet his showing at Verve Realty will be well stocked with bevvies and nosh.

Friday at 110 Stinson Blvd will be worth your stop. One of the artists, Chris Poor of Arms and Armor, used to be my neighbor and would launch real metal spears into my back yard. Good times. So yes, there will be daggers, but also clay-firing, Burlesque posters likely with foodie panache, and actual eats.

Also on Friday, the Soap Factory is throwing down a little fundraiser in the name of the largest ball of twine. The Anti-Wrecking Ball is a carnival themed benefit for the preservation of roadside landmarks and there will be games, prizes, a cash bar and food truck fare.

Not to be missed is Barbara Bridges Ode to Gluten: a 9ft tribute to the grain that built Minneapolis. Check it out and complete a survey about your relationship to wheat and you cold win some vintage General Mills swag. Celiacs welcome.

UPDATE:

The sassy Chowgirls will have their parlor open displaying local artists and photographers, plus they serve a mean pierogi (neighborhood represent!), pulled pork and vegan sandwiches, and boozy popsicles from 10,000 Licks!

AND in an inaugural motion, the Froz Broz will actually be selling their artistically cultish ice cream to the public at Needle & Black’s studios, so pop by for a frozen treat.

AREA BARS/EATS

Stay tuned for the happening at The Sample Room, looks like the place will be rocking a pig roast on Saturday.

Stanley’s is blocking it off with their first beer fest & block party on Saturday. Here’s how it breaks down, the beer fest portion runs from 1-5pm and costs $59 for a ticket, but you get a sample glass and lanyard, over 90 beers to taste, photo with your friends, and a build-your-own pretzel necklace (ooooooooh). After 5pm, the fest turns into the block party (free for all, but free beer sips go away) and there will be hammershlagen, live music, and food to purchase.

Psycho Suzi’s is going all out with live music, drinks in coconuts, and a beer garden of course, but there will also be a puppy fashion show and a puppy kissing booth. Smooch a pooch, I guess.

Indeed Brewing is hosting a Rails & Ales launch party for their new LSD honey ale, with art, live music, and street food all day long.

At the Waterbury Building, P. Dorwart’s Create Catering always has a food stand churning out the goods to go with live music. This year: duck fat french fries, Chicago dogs, and Italian beef sandwiches starting at noon on Saturday. And right across the street, 612 Brew continues the festing from beer week right into art weekend with live music, beer art, and suds.

With food starting at noon and music around 2pm, Anchor Fish & Chips is a hot stop on NordEat Street.

The 331 Club, right in the heart of it, has a ton of good live music going on.

Grumpy’s Nordeast has been hitting it for 15 years, always a rollicking local live music good time.

Oh Fer Cute

Truthfully, I am still brimming with glittery happiness on this Fresh Forkin’ Friday from yesterday’s historic House vote. And it’s so perfect that it would happen on Mother’s Day weekend, because don’t all mommies of any flavor/size/political-wing really just want their children to thrive, be successful humans, and find love? I can now almost believe that one of my four kids could have the same chance at that as the other three. While that’s WAY more satisfying than any brunch dish, scroll down for the digging that we did on who might still have availability for your last minute maternal homage.

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OPENS

Pig Ate My Pizza opens today at 5 p.m., have you staked out your in-line-lawnchair space? DMG got the skinny on the meatzza sitch that’s about to go down in Robbinsdale.

Truce Juice Bar has opened just south of Lake/Hennepin in Uptown. It’s a fresh-pressed juice bar that takes all the good stuff and smashes it with a hydraulic press into healthy oblivion. Kale, carrots, apples, you name it. They can juice it.

Sun Street Breads is open again for dinner . . . on Monday nights only. FOR PIZZA! Yes, the mad bread scientists have launched Monday Pizza Night which happens from 6-8 p.m. cranking out 10″ crispy/chewy crusts (including a GF version) topped with everything from celery root and kale to house-made spam and pineapple to the simple elegance of just cheese. Each week there will be five kinds of pizza, a few salads, some treats (natch), and beer/wine/soda of course. You can head in for counter service or pop by for takeout.

New Food Truck alert: Chef Big E (Eric Austin) has launched Big E’s Soul Patrol food truck. Big E has had a tumultuous past, but he’s still in the game and on the streets of Minneapolis with some crispy jerk chicken, Memphis-style pork, and maybe some soul wings?

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You guys. There are still a few spaces left for Chef’s Night Off with Sameh Wadi on Monday. GET THEM!

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This one might already be gone, but there’s an uber-exclusive Butcher & The Boar & Bourbon dinner in the wee little private dining room for 18 lucky people who sign up. The ticket price is $125 but it’s an intimate four-course meal prepared by Chef Jack and includes bourbon IN the food and with the food.

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Is there any more pleasurable way of spending a few spare minutes than giving them over to 10,000 Minutes of MN Craft Beer ? The sudsy fun coincides with American Craft Beer Week and runs from May 13-19. There are a ton of events and tappings all over the metro all week long: there’s a local craft tap takeover at Republic, cask tapping of Schell’s Zommerfest Kolsch at Buster’s on 28th, poster/T-shirt sale with live music at 612Brew, the Dabbler’s Bullpen opens at the Saints game, and so so so much more. Two fun events on Saturday that I have to call out: Schell’s 2nd Annual Lager Lauf is a fun-run with a beer stop and finish line at the brewery (talk about incentive) and in the metro Stanley’s is throwing down with a little Beer Fest and Block Party.

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If you are at all concerned about getting your summer bar set up, you should check out this DIY bitters and cocktail seminar with Easy & Oskey at South Lyndale Liquors. Thursday May 16 (and again on June 13), the class features mixing, sipping, cracking wise, and more for a $20 ticket price which includes a $10 credit to the store that night.

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Mill City Farmers Market opens on Saturday! Our lovely Beth Dooley will be there doing baking demos and signing her new farmers market cookbook, which makes a nice Mother’s Day gift (ahem).

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Cafeteria is officially opening its Sky Bar this Saturday with a rooftop yoga class at 8 a.m. followed by a five-course Crispin Cider brunch, an afternoon hookah session, and late night cocktail party. Do it right and you’ll never have to leave the roof.

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LAST MINUTE for MOMS

DECENT AVAILABILITY, AS OF THURS. AFTERNOON:

• Icehouse
• Smack Shack
• Mozza Mia
• Cosmos
• St. Paul Salut (not Edina)
• Masa
• Pittsburgh Blue Edina (Not Maple Grove)
• Cafeteria
• BANK
• Napa Valley Grille (MOA)

THEY DON’T TAKE RESERVATIONS, EVER, SO GO AND WAIT!

• The Kenwood (8-2 p.m.)
• Tilia
• Bachelor Farmer
• Good Day Café (You can call ahead that day)
• Pizzeria Lola (11 a.m –10 p.m.)
• Brasa (both from 11 a.m. Sunday)
• Black Sheep Pizza (both from 11 a.m. Sunday)
• Parka
• Victory 44
• Hazel’s Northeast

HOMEY/DIVE BREAKFASTS

Copper Dome, Mickey’s, Al’s, Uptown Diner…

For the life of me, I STILL can’t understand why we don’t have a contest for the mass capture of the pesky invasive crawdads from our local waterways so the DNR can throw a giant, jubilant crawfish boil party to end all parties.

Until then, we can revel in the ways of the boil brought by Cajun 2 Geaux. The Bayou flavored food truck (which serves a little crawfish etoufee, btw) will be throwing no less than four crawfish boils this summer.

Here’s how it’s going to go down, the boils will happen from the truck at local breweries (brilliant!). Buy the $22 ticket and you’ll be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes. Plus there will be a jazz band, t-shirts, the full menu from the truck, and all sorts of cajun ballyhoo.

Get on these dates while you can!

May 25th  (2PM) @ Harriet Brewing 

May 25th  (5PM)  @ Harriet Brewing

May 31 @ Summit Brewing

June 15 @ Pour Decisions

I got this awesome necklace at Forage Modern Workshop!

This Fresh Forkin’ Friday I am feeling a little protective of the food and drink industry. I feel like the world is beating up on my people, and I don’t like it. I’m just beginning to dig into the drink tax issue, there are those who are FOR it and those who are AGAINST it, but I can’t seem to get over a 600% increase. That’s a lot for any industry to shoulder. On top of that there’s the minimum wage issue that has most small operators quaking in their boots, the large liquor-store lobby which successfully shut down Sunday sales again, and that guy at the end of the bar last night who threw his glass at the bartender  and shouted “Don’t you know who I am? I could buy this place 15 times over” because she wouldn’t serve him any more. I sincerely love our local tribe of cooks, servers, pirates, snorters, and insomniacs, but sometimes you gotta wonder why they do it.

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OPENS

Tavern 4 & 5 is now open in Eden Prairie for B/L/D, in what was once the Prairie Ale House space. Scott Foster, of the Nova Restaurant Group, gave the interior a bit of shine and brightened it up. It’s an American tavern story they’re telling with a wood fired pizza oven, modern pub food, 21 tap beers, and some house apple whiskey.

Peppermint Twist out in Delano opened earlier this week, a burger and a raspberry shake will make you feel better about the weather, promise.

EVOLUTIONS

It’s good to know: Harbor View in Pepin now takes credit cards!

The Sample Room is now sporting a full-effect Geoff Hausmann menu that includes trotter tots (yum), bacon fat popcorn, and a whole mess of tasty charcuterie including that foie bologna DMG wrote about.

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You know how you go to community bake sales and you feel like “Oh, I guess I’ll just get those rice krispie bars cause they probably suck the least” because you know everything else either has WAY too much vanilla or just tastes like it came from a tube (because it did)? Or is that just me? Anyhoo, you can rest assured that the baked goods at Saturday’s Blogger Bake Sale are the real deal. Get thee to Kitchen in the Market from noon to 3pm for moist and delicious snacks made by people who actually stake their digital reputation on them. Plus, it’s a benefit for Share Our Strength which feeds local hungry kids.

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It’s the James Beard Awards weekend, which means that you should head over to Butcher & The Boar tonight for a happy hour send-off for Jack. Also make sure you cross fingers for AZ and DMG, whose broadcast/journalism awards will be announced tonight! Good Luck everyone!

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And it’s Cinco de Mayo this weekend so the big West Side/District del Sol party is on Saturday. That means after my radio show I’m heading down to check out some low-riders, dig on some elote, and get a little margarita action at El Burrito which now has a full liquor license.

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OH, and it’s the Kentucky Derby this weekend! You can watch it out at Cantebury Park, where there will be mint julep specials and a $17.95 prime rib buffet, or you can watch it on the big screen at Brit’s where people actually dress to the nines with big hats, there’ll be plenty of juleps, and the fun will be boosted by a bluegrass band.

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PLUS, it’s May the Fourth.

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If you’re still cocooning, maybe ease out by checking out Mingle, a new showroom out in Plymouth that just opened this week. In its 25,000 square feet it has a ton of new kitchen models, and this weekend you can snack and sip your way through them all with chef demos and wine tastings so you can practice living the good life in your new space.

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OPENS

Mademoiselle Miel opens her honey kitchen and showroom to the public today! The little honey bon bons, sometimes made with smoky Scotch, will now have their own home in St. Paul at 342 Kellogg. The showroom will be open tonight from 6-10pm during the Lowertown Art Crawl.

Zeke’s Unchained Animal opened this week with, apparently, ugly carpeting. It’s a freshman effort from some young kids, and the place has that DIY vibe. Pizza, burgers, and a few sandwiches round out the small menu and brunch starts this weekend.

Cossetta is launching the final piece in their fabulous remodel today, the Pasticerria on the lower level will offer fresh Italian pastries and gelato (which happens to be the perfect follow-up to a slice of cheese pizza).

The Minneapolis farmers market kicks it OFF this weekend! There was a small and chilly Nicollet Mall market on Thursday, god love em’, but the Lyndale sheds should be hopping as the weather gets nice. Of note, the St. Paul market was supposed to start this weekend as well, but they’ve postponed a week to let the growers and vendors collect themselves.

On Monday, North 45 will open in the newly renovated Millennium Hotel, on the south end of Nicollet Mall. The space has the requisite barn wood walls and the menu aims to pay homage to the old Mississippi, with dishes inspired by the regions surrounding the river from the headwaters in Minnesota to the mouth in Louisiana: Mini Juicy Lucy burgers, New Orleans crab cakes, local beer battered walleye, shrimp po’ boy, etc.

And of course, new food trucks will be popping out every day! I had a fried tomato BLT slider from the new Moral Omnivore truck, it was good (though I can barely stomach that truck name). And Mr. Mustachios, which was mostly at the Nomad last year, made its city-lunch debut serving snappy dogs and running out of the chattered-up fries. Today they’re debuting a carrot dog!

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Nicollet Island Inn has started doing fixed price Sunday Dinner. If you find yourself on Sunday night, having spent the day frolicking in your yard, with no plans and nothing to cook, you can head over to the inn and enjoy a weekly changing three-course menu ranging from $28-$34 (with no charge for additional helpings). This Sunday’s entree is butter-poached monkfish, which is  probably better than that hot dog you were thinking of grilling.

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Here’s a sudsy HI-LO …

Next weekend is the ten-day Craft Beer Week in Madison (I like their math). There’s all sorts of ballyhoo, live music, cask tastings, sampler flights at local bars, heck there’s an app to help you best plan your drinking. Hotels and events are pretty affordable.

For the well-heeled beer enthusiast, I bring you the Kohler Festival of Beer at the end of May. The weekend long party at the nationally acclaimed spa includes cool events such as beer dinners, eggs & kegs breakafsts, a beer challenge golf tournament, kitchen demos, beer pairing seminars, and more. High-buck for lodging and some events, but some tastings are affordable.

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Head down to local wine pioneer Alexis Bailly Vineyards this weekend for a tasting of wines paired with Spanish tapas and Catalonian chocolate. No RSVP needed, just pop on down.

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A great sign of spring is the opening of drive-ins! Check out DMG’s list of her top picks, and know that the Dariette is OPEN! (Not yet for Peppermint Twist)

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OK, just to let you know that we will have MICHAEL POLLAN on the Weekly Dish tomorrow, talking up his TC visit (for which there are still tickets) and his new book Cooked, so let me know if you have any questions you are dying to ask him…. and tune in from 1-2pm!

I know we are ready to be done with the white stuff, but maybe you are thinking ahead to the glory days of summer and the Dinner in White that we wrote about in the August issue. Let’s have a moment to dream:

Inspired by the Diner en Blanc from France, this local edition is a grassroots effort by a collective of bon vivants who plot a special evening on the summer calendar to gather for a very special picnic. Hours before the event, the location is revealed and those in the know gather their friends, food, tables and chairs, fancy decorations, and all-white attire for a flash-mob picnic where you pack it all in, make revelry, and pack it all out. It’s quite an affair to see hundreds gathered with tables end to end, some of them decked with candelabras or luxe decorations, waving napkins and finishing off with sparklers. This one is set-up and “hosted” by anonymous organizers and the location is announced via a Facebook group page to which you can only be added by a current member (it’s just shy of 700 right now). They have announced their dinner date for 2013: June 22.

But wait, there is another.

There will be another Diner en Blanc inspired event this summer, one called PopUp Twin Cities. It’s much the same event, but this one is open to anyone and requires a $15 ticket because chairs, tables, bathrooms, and a little entertainment are all provided. You are still asked to wear all white, and pack your multi-course dinner and table-wear in and out with you, but this one puts a special emphasis on decorating your table to the highest height. Go all out, they encourage. The group organizing this event has held similar gatherings in other cities (San Francisco, L.A., San Diego) drawing close to 5,000 diners, but the president and founder of the group is from Maple Grove and decided to bring it home. The date for this gathering: August 3. Tickets will go on sale Fri., May 3 and anyone interested can email popup.twincities@gmail.com to get an invitation.

I say hit one, hit them both, make it a night Jay Gatsby would be proud of.

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OPENS

Acqua, the fresh little Italian joint in White Bear Lake, has opened their second location, Acqua Forest Lake in that little boathouse that used to be run by Joan Ida a million years ago. While the original one is only open for dinner, the new Acqua is open for lunch and family-style brunch as well. Today seems like a perfect day for Osso buco lunch and a drive to the lake.

If all goes well, Monday will mark the opening of the mysterious and intriguing new shop called Tacos, Nachos & Beer. What could it be … what could it be?

COMING SOON

News hit earlier this week that Surly Brewing has finally found a real home in the Prospect Park neighborhood which really bridges Minneapolis and St. Paul. Target date is 2014, so don’t get in line yet.

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Even though patio season is, uh, tardy, life will carry on! In fact tonight Longfellow Grill is reopening after a refreshing remodel and launching patio season with a little soiree that includes a Summit tap takeover. Included in the pull is an IPA called Hops Like A Kangaroo which Summit brewed exclusively for the Blue Plate Group in honor of their 20th anniversary and Aussie owner David Burley.

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And in other kanga news, apparently Hell’s Kitchen is serving kangaroo steak. And it’s winning!! Reports say they sold out on their first night, so chalk up another mark for alternative proteins and another shot in the face to the old stereotype that Minnesotans eat nothing but Bisquick and hot dish. (Though a kangaroo hot dish might be nice right now, right?)

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This weekend is the last of the winter markets! Both Minneapolis and St. Paul Farmers Markets aim to be open next weekend, and if the weather cooperates, the downtown Nicollet Mall market will open on Thursday the 25th.

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Monday is Earth Day, people. Love your mother earth even if you’re annoyed with her antics. Kick it off on Sunday with a little Earth Day brunch with the Chowgirls featuring Shepherd’s Way Farm cheese and a delish sounding freisago risotto. Or head to Red Stag for a benefit breakfast on Monday and listen to the Land Stewardship Project talk about their efforts for our local landscapes.

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Thursday Apr. 25 is your Dining Out For Life Day. You have a HUGE list of restos in the area that are donating a portion of the check to our local Aliveness Project in support of people living with HIV/AIDS. All you have to do is go out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, what could be easier?

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Were we too loud? We had tables closer to us than his who seemed to be having their own good time, who didn’t seem to be outraged by us. Perhaps he’d read Iggers’ “Cranky Geezer” post and was primed to be offended by noise, perhaps he had been dragged there by his companion and was dreading the evening from the start. Perhaps he had a really bad day and the wine wasn’t cutting through it as much as our ringing laughter was. None of that matters because he stood up from his table and took his water, with intent. He came over and pretended to laugh along with us. Like a coward, he didn’t speak to us, didn’t simply ask us to tone it down (which we would happily have done, we were all hospitalitarians at the table). Instead he sought revenge for his bad mood, he wanted to inflict, he sought to humiliate us. But guess what, you can’t really humiliate people who already know how to laugh at the world, and more importantly at themselves. At that table were women who have dealt with sibling death, loss of homes, near bankruptcy, failing relationships, you name it … which is why we gather to laugh, and laugh loudly. You think a little water on the head is going to silence us? In the end, all he did was give us another reason to laugh, and the humiliation, I’m sure, is all his own.

If we’d had a man at the table, do you think the outcome would have been the same? Well, we may not have strength but we do have savvy and not only did we snap a picture of the man, we managed to figure out his name and a little bit about him (xo, internet!) Do I want to publicly shame him by posting his name and face here? Yes, with the full strength and power that comes with my loudly obnoxious laugh. But I won’t, because unlike him, I have manners.

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OPENS

Potter’s Pasties bravely opened yesterday in the cute Como neighborhood! The truck has a home base and pasties are edible hand warmers, so get in there. I’m a fan of the The Pig pastie with pulled pork and apples. Take note, students in the Dinkytown area, they deliver!

COMING SOON

Mancini’s … to the State Fair!

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This weekend, come rain or snow,the CSA fair at Seward Co-op WILL happen! Go out and get charmed by a farm, sign up for produce, sample some wares and get springy!

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Tax day is Monday and Heidi’s wants to offer a little relief. For one month, starting Apr. 15, the restaurant will be waiving its corkage fee. Feel free to bring in your own bottle and you’ll still get the fancy stemware.

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If you’re thinking about taking in a movie, why not hit up the MSP International Film Festival going on, you’ve already missed  The Angels Share, a Glasgowian comedy about a whisky heist, but there are some other food/drink related flicks to check out. PLUS you can slink over to Aster Cafe afterwards for some tea-infused cocktails and nosh.

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Summit is releasing their new springy, Belgian-style Meridian Session Ale next week as part of the new Union Series of beers. Look for the new logo and fresh packaging in stores next week and a series of launch events to start with Earth Day.

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