September 2008
September 25, 2008Old Lady Candies, For the Old Lady Candy Lover In You
In a fit of pre-baby nesting, I bought curtains from a place named Country Curtains. As you can imagine, this has put me on all sorts of crazy mailing lists, and I now routinely receive catalogs advertising all sorts of essentials for the demented, like dog-strollers or window draft-blockers shaped like chains of dancing dwarves. Then, one day, the Vermont Country Store catalog came in over the transom. If you’ve never seen it—and I hadn’t—it’s the ultimate old-lady catalog. You can buy flannel house-coats, flannel sleep caps (no kidding), slippers galore, and perfumes of yore, like White Shoulders, Evening in Paris, and Jungle Gardenia, “the fragrance favored by Barbara Stanwyck.” On further inspection, though, I realized it also... Read more » Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (3) |
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September 22, 2008Dining, American Girl Style
When I first learned I was having a baby girl, I was terrified: “Will this mean Disney-princess culture is going to worm its way into my life?” Ugh. I now realize my fear was misplaced. I should have been asking, ‘Does this mean I will have to shell out $450 for a birthday party?’ Yup, $450 is how much it is going to cost you to have a birthday party for eight girls at the new American Girl store that’s opening this November 15 at the Mall of America. For $450, you get cake, food, games, a group photo, and your choice of theme. If you’re feeling particularly cynical—and I am—you will surely note that three of the four themes involve making accessories for American Girl dolls. If $450 seems like a lot of money to... Read more » Posted on Monday, September 22, 2008 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (2) |
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September 5, 2008First Glimpse: Barrio
Went to Barrio the other night, and it was fabulous. The corn soup was silky, full of fresh kernels of perfect summer corn, enriched by blue cheese and made elaborate and complex with herb oil—it was wonderful. The guacamole was the best I’ve had in my life, just lush and satiny, and the tortilla chips are sturdy, crisp, house-made creations dusted with cumin, chili, and sea-salt. I’d rather have them that most French fries, which is saying something. I’ll have a full review in November based on multiple visits and putting them through the full critical rigamarole, but if you’re the kind of person given to rushing to the hot new thing, rush on over. Shockingly, for a place where most everything is priced from $3.50 to $7, (the menu is mostly small... Read more » Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (5) |
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September 5, 2008The End of the Twin Cities Food Scene?
My phone rang this morning: It was a frantic local chef, one of the founders of Minneapolis’ restaurant culture. Inspectors had been in her restaurant four times during the Republican National Convention, while there, informed her that it was illegal for restaurants to buy food directly from farmers, or from farmer’s markets. “He said we could not go to the farmers’ market, period. I didn’t then tell him, ‘Well I also have farmers delivering to my door….” He said: You have to get your food from a distributor. Nothing can come from anywhere but a distributor.” Yes, it’s apparently now illegal for restaurants to buy food from farmers. Any of it. Vegetables, herbs, apples—anything and everything. All foods... Read more » Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (12) |
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September 5, 2008When is a Wisconsin Wine from California?
I got a press release from Chateau St. Croix last week trumpeting their rosé’s “Best of Show” win at the Indiana State Fair International Wine Competition. Throwing aside the obvious things to be snobby about—Indiana wine award?—this brings up an issue that has confused me for years. Namely, even though Chateau St. Croix is in Wisconsin, this winning wine is a California one, because they brought in grapes grown in California with which to make their wine. So while the press release wants me to herald the story: “Wisconsin Winery Wins Prize,” the real story may be: “California Wine Better Than Others In Indiana,” which is not really news at all. I had a spirited discussion with Nan Bailly, the winemaker at Alexis... Read more » Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008 in Dear Dara | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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