Over these past couple of weeks I have been steeped in grape juice and stuffed with finger foods. This weekend, Minnesota Monthly is rolling out the red carpet for our biggest belly-busting, tooth-staining weekend of the year: the Food & Wine Experience. It’s the 23rd year and I am so excited to be a part of this massive event at Target Field. I’ve been tasting and touting the Saturday and Sunday fun time, and I want to give you a head start. These are the first three stops you’ve got to make when you get to the party.
Dusted Valley Stained Tooth Syrah
Sure there’s food, but this fete is all about the wine! I discovered this bottle while assisting the blind judging of what felt like a 100 different wines. This bottle is my new affordable buddy to bring as a hostess gift. It’s affordable, rich in flavor with a pleasant dry finish that doesn’t hang around too long. dustedvalley.com
Boostrap Coffee Roasters
I know that Jason DeRusha my eating co-hort and I are both nuts about this coffee. Whenever I get my hands on a fresh bag, I walk around the store huffing the heavenly, toasty scent of the beans. The coffee it yeilds is beautifully smooth and full of those flavor nuances that coffee nerds go nuts about. Even if you aren’t the type of afficianado that insists on a chemex and digital scale for home brewing <cough>DeRusha<cough> each cup tastes like a luxury. bootstrapcoffeeroasters.com
Pimento Jamaican Kitchen
If you’ve never tasted the alluring spices of Jamaican jerk, this Minneapolis restaurant is an excellent entry point. Long roasted meats are beautifully seasoned with an intoxicating aroma from the specific, pimento wood they use to smoke it. At the event, you can taste all of their different sauces from a kind Minnesota Milk to a powerfully kicky Kill Dem Wit It. I like it hot and will certainly making room in my goody bag to bring home an extra jar.
Tickets are still available here. If you’re there on Saturday and spot me stuffing my face, please say hi! You’ll know me by my stained-tooth grin.
