Month: September 2004

Scotty could kick Dave’s ass. We got your ribfest right here, in Southwest Minneapolis. Scott Ja Mama’s is a screen-door two-seater joint that does a sweltering ribs business every week. It’s a call-ahead-and-order place, and we think the two seats are for the few who can’t escape the saucy aromas and make it to the…

It used to be called the Mill City coffee shop and people in the know have, for years, stopped by to while away the hours on its peaceful and lovely patio. You wouldn’t think that it could improve, but it has. Dramatically. Now Mill City is the California Building Café, with extended hours, a full…

Eating lunch in your office cubicle is tantamount to committing a sin against food; everything will eventually taste beige. Maverick’s is here to save your soul, sister. While their décor isn’t much better than your cubicle, their offerings are pure inspiration when it comes to “better fast food.” Imagine slow-cooked roast beef piled high on…

We’re not sure where the line lies between traditional folk music and contemporary world music, but we know Rokia Traoré seems to work both sides of the equation beautifully. Whereas we’ve recently been obsessed with Nordic roots—particularly Swedish sirens paired with cold dirges of distortion and modern big beats—we also hanker for the more homespun…

The title of Waits’ new record seems to reference his favorite themes: lost love, lost lives, and a lost mind. Think of it as an elegant soundtrack by which to warm your hands over a trash-can fire. As with any new Waits recording, expect a loose mix of broken-down hipster calliope music, dark tales, and…

It comes as no surprise that the Libertines’ instant cool factor had much to do with the fact that their debut album was produced by the Clash’s M.I.A. Mick Jones, granting them the ultimate punk-rock seal of approval. An appropriately snotty attitude with Kinks-like melodies made the first record, Up the Bracket, hugely lovable, and…