GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR? For a creative wedding cake, try the flower-frosted cupcake displays from Doll Laboe’s It Takes the Cake in Minnetonka. Or sample the bricks and wedges that look like cheese from Jessica Bartl’s Jessica’s Cakes in West St. Paul. They are really cake—though not cheesecake.
One of my favorite breakfast spots is the tiny, 15-seat Colossal Café on 42nd Street and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. Chef/owner Bess Giannakakis serves breakfast and lunch six days a week. Try the homemade pancakes, omelets, soups, and sandwiches.
Check out these great new books for food-lovers: Talking with My Mouth Full, by former Minneapolitan Bonny Wolf, now a food commentator on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, is filled with memories of crab cakes and Bundt cakes and amusing stories of heartland holidays in the kitchen. Local chef Lucia Watson’s book Cooking Freshwater Fish, produced by In-Fisherman magazine, features more than 50 contemporary approaches to classic fish recipes. The Taste of the NFL Restaurant Guide, based on the series of charitable events started by local restaurateur Wayne Kostroski, features 150 restaurants from across the country recommended by top chefs. Book sales raise money to tackle hunger. Headed south? Attend Taste of the NFL’s Super Bowl Party February 3 in Fort Lauderdale.
Mark your calendars for the annual Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience, on February 23 through 25 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Shea Gallante, the award-winning executive chef at Cru restaurant in New York, will participate in the Minnesota Public Radio Winemakers’ Dinner on February 23 at International Market Square. For details, go to www.foodwineshow.com.
Sue Zelickson is the host of WCCO Radio’s Food for Thought.
