August 2009
August 31, 2009Chiang Mai Thai’s Ginger Hop to Open; Honey to Follow
I just got off the phone with Charles Lodge, owner of Uptown’s Chiang Mai Thai, and got the scoop on his new Thai place called Ginger Hop, which will be opening in the old Times spot in Northeast, across from Nye’s. Here’s the low-down: It’s going to be pan-Asian, inexpensive (with most entrees priced from $8 to $12), will feature a big craft-beer list (not unlike the one at St. Paul’s Muddy Pig), has licensing to do live performances, and a couple different secluded spots for private dining or parties. Interestingly, Ginger Hop isn’t so much a second restaurant for Lodge as it is a first restaurant for the greater Chiang Mai team. Lodge will be one of four partners with his wife Katie Leitch, Chiang Mai’s numbers guru, Jake... Read more » Posted on Monday, August 31, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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August 25, 2009Barrio Taco Truck! Summer 2010
Street-food-loving Minnesotans, hold on to your hats: The taco truck of your dreams is coming. I talked to Tim McKee this morning and indeed he confirmed rumors I’d heard swirling: A bona fide 26-foot taco truck is currently whizzing its way to Minneapolis, from Miami, and once it is outfitted, licensed, and all that good stuff, it will take to the highways and byways and serve you some tacos—especially if you live in St. Paul. McKee reports that Minneapolis essentially “wants nothing to do” with taco trucks, but St. Paul is more accomodating, so we probably won’t see a Barrio taco truck pulled up on Nicollet Mall at 2 a.m. “We’re going to have to grow a little as a city before anyone’s going to let that happen, I guess,”... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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August 20, 2009Burn Your Brown Bags, Minneapolis; New Kabobs Serving A Good $4 Lunch
I just had the best $4 lunch of the year—and you can too! Here’s the scoop. Kabobs (thekabobs.com) is a great Hyderbadi, Indian, and Pakistani dive of a restaurant operating down on 78th and Portland, in Bloomington. They have another small offshoot, in Maplewood, and just opened “Kabobs Indian Grill” in the State Fair food court on the 4th floor of the Gaviidae next to Nieman Marcus. Their grand opening is set for September 1, but until then they are serving all diners a $4 sample plate of whatever they’ve got. My $4 got me: *Good well-roasted, tender naan bread Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (3) |
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August 17, 2009Burger Jones: Striving For Mediocrity
My favorite things about Burger Jones, as I published in my review, were the various Liberty Custard shakes, like the salted caramel milkshake, a scrumptious concoction. I am not the only person who thought so: The last time I was on Kare-11, the morning anchor, Belinda Jensen, was in such absolute agreement with my review (burgers blah, shakes amazing) that we ended up rhapsodizing about those Burger Jones/Liberty Custard shakes for a good 20 seconds. They were great! Yes, were. I was particularly disturbed to pick up the following comment off my review, from the owners of Liberty Custard: “Thank you for the nice things you said about the... Read more » Posted on Monday, August 17, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (11) |
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August 14, 2009Forward-Thinking Drinking
You know what I think was terribly unjust? The amount of flack chef Patrick Atanalian got when he was cooking at the (long gone) Vintage in St. Paul with amusing little flourishes like plates garnished with Gummi Bears. In retrospect, he was obviously just ahead of his time—dangerously, unprofitably, and mockably ahead of his time. Today all sorts of chefs use all sorts of frivolous ingredients: Jose Andres of Café Atlantico in Washington D.C. sprinkles desserts with Pop Rocks; Graham Eliot Bowles of Graham Eliot in Chicago sprinkles foie gras with Pop Rocks; at the Momofuku Milk Bar, you can get desserts designed to mimic Lucky Charms-sodden milk. But poor Patrick Atanalian was mocked from the Mississippi to Lake Minnetonka for his Coca Cola flourishes, by critics... Read more » Posted on Friday, August 14, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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August 11, 2009Lisa Carlson’s Bacon Ketchup Recipe—Revealed!
When I went to the Chef Shack at the Mill City Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago, it was an almost suspiciously wonderful experience: My baby fell asleep in her stroller as we approached the market, there was a line of perhaps a scant three or four people in front of me—compared to the 50 hungry souls who commonly stack up—and they weren’t out of anything, so I ordered just about everything. Then I parked the baby in a shady spot and sat with my three-year-old on those steps behind the Guthrie and gorged on bison burgers, big sea-salt-flecked, earthy, perfect French fries, goat’s milk ice cream and much, much more. (Check out the September issue of the magazine, out next week, for more on that... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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August 6, 2009Fresh Taste, Tasting Fresh!
Got plans for Sunday? The first two posters to name a local chef committed to local, organic, and/or sustainable cooking will win a pair of tickets to the Fresh Taste Festival, the annual food and wine show put on by my magazine as a fundraiser for MPR. If you’ve never heard of Fresh Taste, here’s the low-down. On Sunday we take over the Nicollet Island Pavillion from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You show up at the door and either buy a ticket ($65) or hit will-call for the one you’ve bought online in advance ($55) or won (free!). We check your ID to make sure you’re 21, hand you a wine glass, and admit you to: A chance to sample 75 organic or... Read more » Posted on Thursday, August 6, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (4) |
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August 2, 2009Julie & Julia Date Night
KC from Minneapolis writes: “I am taking my partner out to see Julie and Julia for her birthday. I am wondering if you have any ideas for fun birthday spots in the SW Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, Edina, St. Louis Park area.” To which I reply: Fun! That’s a great idea. A Julie & Julia date night sounds very romantic, and since the movie doesn’t open till August 7, it gives you plenty of time to plan. My first thought is, in honor of a film about Julia Child, how about something French? There are lots of good south Minneapolis options: Cavé Vin (super-south near Edina) is romantic and wonderful; how do garlicky frog legs and steak frites sound to you? It sounds... Read more » Posted on Sunday, August 2, 2009 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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