Month: October 2007

  • Wolfgang Puck: Eat Locally, Dine at 20.21?

    It’s really good to see that Wolfgang Puck has jumped on the sustainable, humanely-raised, locally-grown bandwagon, but when he came to town last week to promote his new food policies, I couldn’t resist asking him one tough question. The Austrian-born chef’s sprawling network of fine-dining restaurants, fast-casual outlets and catering operations around the country served…

  • Before the Apocalypse

    Were someone to tell me the world were ending tomorrow, I would pick up the phone immediately and make a reservation at Restaurant Alma. No doubt. Given a scenario where there wasn’t enough time to jet off to New York City or Paris, Alma would be my choice for a last meal. Actually, maybe even…

  • Fun With Radio Ratings

    In response to thunderous demand for radio ratings statistics — a task I find strangely titillating — the Slaughter offers these snapshots of what Twin Cities listeners say they were tuned to over the past summer. The disclaimer I will always issue is that as they are currently handled, by volunteers filling in written diaries,…

  • Crow, October

    October, before it had a name. Still, though, a month of low iron skies and protracted sulks and cold rain and bursts of crisp radiance that never lost their ability to dazzle and surprise. A flash of revelation even as the hammer fell: We will miss this world when it’s gone, or when we are.…

  • Escape From Ulaanbaatar

    Standing on the wide brick steps of the State Department Store, I scanned the crowd for Khaidavyn Chilaajav, director of the Union of Mongolian Writers, who I was to meet for dinner. Its plaza crowded with taxis and pedestrians, the store is still the hub of downtown, though no longer Ulaanbaatar’s only retail center as…

  • We've Come a Long Way, Baby

    MUSIC Walking in Minneapolis Singer-songwriter Marc Cohen — best known for “Walking in Memphis” — is in town tonight promoting his latest album, Join the Parade. Cohen has come a long way since Carly Simon discovered him. He’s even come a long way from that Best New Artist Grammy he won in 1991. In fact,…