The Rake Magazine

Year: 2007

  • Come Out Swinging

    SPECIAL EVENTS
    National Coming Out Day

    Feeling a little repressed and in the closet? Today is the perfect day to step on out. This afternoon, OutFront Minnesota will join dozens of Twin Cities businesses and organizations in celebrating what may be the most difficult and important act a GLBT person can do: coming out. The afternoon will feature inspiring messages by Open Arms of Minnesota Executive Director Kevin Winge, University of Minnesota Office for Equity and Diversity Vice President and Vice Provost Dr. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, and Quorum Scholar Joe Wright. Come out and get some encouraging words, or simply go and offer some much-needed support. Ignoring what’s behind those closet doors doesn’t do any of us any good. I mean, we really don’t need to be generating any more Larry Craigs now, do we?

    Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-335-6000; $45.

    Pillow Fight Minneapolis

    1007pillowfight.jpgAfter last year’s Pillow Fight success, droves of us have been anxiously awaiting tonight’s sequel. Grab your least favorite pillow and head out the door. It’s time to let off a little steam, get whacked upside the head a few times, and end the evening in laughter. Don’t let your age hold you back. This event is for everyone; and the longer it has been since your last pillow fight, the more you probably need this. Don’t fret; there are plenty of rules in play to protect you: soft pillows only, light swings, no glasses, and no swinging anything but a pillow. Spectators are welcome, but how lame is that?! I guess you can help clean up. Everyone is encouraged to bring garbage bags for this purpose. If you can’t quite figure out why you’d need them, check out these photos from last year’s pillow fight. (Thanks to MNSpeak for the link.)

    Friday at 6 p.m., Outside the Walker Art Center (grass circles), 1750 Hennepin, Minneapolis; free.

    FILM
    Elizabeth: The Golden Age

    Elizabeth.jpgCate Blanchett reprises her role as Elizabeth I, virginal queen of England. As usual there’s all sorts of innuendo about her hunger to get shagged by this or that prince or pirate. This time, England is under threat of Spanish invasion, and who should come to the queen’s aid but Clive Owen’s lusty Sir Walter Raleigh, eager to plunder both the Armada and her highness’s treasure chest (and we’re not talking doubloons here). The acting, as in the original Elizabeth, is robust and slightly silly; everyone appears to be on the verge of smirking. With the same strong production and costume design as the first Elizabeth, The Golden Age should be superb entertainment. –Peter Schilling Jr.

    Friday-Sunday at 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, and 10 p.m., Lagoon Cinema, 1320 Lagoon Ave., Minneapolis; 612-825-6006; $8.25.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    The Deception

    The Deception.jpgIts 2006-07 season was chock full of chestnuts, but now, finally, Theatre de la Jeune Lune opens its new season with an original production. The Deception is an adaptation of Pierre de Marivaux’s La Fausse Suivante, a dark eighteenth-century French comedy in which a young woman disguises herself as a man so that she can better learn about her new love. On discovering his true nature, scheming, lying, and hilarity ensue. Adapted by artistic director Dominique Serrand and longtime collaborator/acting ace Steve Epp, The Deception premiered in California this summer to positive reviews, so count on classic Jeune Lune fare: a bold, stylish adaptation rendered with vigorously physical performances. –Danielle Kurtzleben, photo by Dominique Serrand

    Saturday at 8 p.m., Theatre de la Jeune Lune, 105 N. First St., Minneapolis; 612-333-6200; $30

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Twin Cities Book Festival

    1007TCBF.jpgThe stalwarts at Rain Taxi once again put together this full day of lit love for the seventh annual Twin Cities Book Festival, which is now firmly entrenched as an autumn tradition and a welcome respite from the paralyzing onslaught of seasonal affective disorder. Think of the day as a sort of Renaissance Festival for bibliomaniacs. You probably can’t get a turkey drumstick or a unicorn painted on your face, but there will be the usual convergence of writers, publishers, book artists, and used-book peddlers, as well as readings, discussions, and events for kids. This year’s roster of authors includes novelists Chris Abani and Diane Williams, poets Laura Moriarty and Bin Ramke, and graphic novel writer/editor Andy Helfer. –Brad Zellar

    Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Minneapolis Community and Technical College, 1501 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; free.

    ART
    Bruce Tapola: Paintings for Germans, Sculpture for Snobs

    Bruce Tapola.jpgIf you’re going to be in Rochester for your annual colonoscopy, brighten the occasion with a trip to the Rochester Art Center to see the always interesting work of Bruce Tapola, Minnesota’s most famous somewhat-obscure artist. Venues ranging from esteemed institutes of art (in Milwaukee and Minneapolis) to a rented U-Haul parked in front of the Walker Art Center have spread his fame. Recent outings in Miami and Minneapolis, and a collaborative installation with his wife and daughter called I’m With Stupid, have enabled Tapola to further develop his broad range of media-inflected moody imagery. Here he again hammers on the closed gates of American culture, with his ambivalent cry: “I love you! I hate you! I love you!” –Ann Klefstad

    Saturday at 8 p.m., Rochester Art Center, 40 Civic Center Dr. S.E., Rochester; 507-282-8629; $12 (members $10).

    A Lovely Union of Food and Art

    1007JSHuck.jpgThe only thing better than good art, is good art combined with good food and drink. Barbette and Placement Gallery figured this one out and have joined forces to present a series of new exhibitions at Barbette every other month. This Sunday marks the official opening with a reception featuring artist John Schuerman. Join Shuerman for complimentary snacks and happy hour prices on beverages as you peruse his work about his reckoning with nature, consciousness, and the unknown. According to Shuerman’s own artistic statement, “This kind of art renders the unnamed, and language follows, creating new levels of consciousness, which in turn produces new art.”

    Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m., Barbette, 1600 West Lake Street, Minneapolis; 612-827-5710.

    If you yourself are an artist, head over to the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory on Sunday morning (8 to 10 a.m.) for a special Artist and Camera event. Marjorie McNeely Conservatory will be open before public hours to allow artists and photographers a chance to bring in tripods and easels, which normally are not allowed. The cost is $5.00 per person.

    WEB SHOW “AUDITION”
    Bring That Awful Gift to the Mall of America

    We’ve all gotten a gift at some point in our lives that has left us wondering, “What the hell were they thinking?” Now, you finally have a chance to make it work to your advantage and maybe get a few questions answered in the process. Comedian, writer, and political satirist Lizz Winstead is looking for people for a new web show she’ll be hosting for Lifetime. Yes, I know it’s Lifetime, but I promise Meredith Baxter won’t be anywhere nearby. I mean, it’s Lizz Winstead, right? If Lifetime is calling on Winstead to host a show, it’s because they’re looking to do something a little different here. The show, Gift Intervention, will come in 6 minutes snippets, each show exploring the thought behind a horrendous gift, with both the recipient and the giver present. That’s right, folks, Winstead will be doing a little gift intervention here to get to the bottom of the matter. So take your bad gifts down to the Mall of America this weekend (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), along with an awesome story, and see if you can get your six minutes of fame. If nothing else, it’s a great opportunity to meet a stellar woman.

  • A Damn Good Jug o' Wine

    I was in Rhinelander, WI, giving a reading last week and someone in the audience, hearing I was a wine critic, raised her hand and said, “You have to go to House of the Spirits before you leave!” I nodded and said I’d try, but she insisted, “NO, I mean it. It’s this weird little wine store where you walk in and something completely different and perfect just appears. Like that magic shop in Harry Potter.”

    Well, who could resist?

    bs_jug_circle_k_pn-big.jpg

    So the next morning, on my way out of this two-block town, I stopped at the combination gift store/real estate office/coffeehouse for some espresso and went into House of the Spirits, a place that was last decorated (and dusted) in 1962.

    Two steps in the door, and what should I run into (as if Dumbledore himself had planted it there) but a clear glass jug of Three Thieves Circle K Ranch Pinot Noir 2004, with a silver screwcap and one of those little monocle-like loops for you to hook your finger through.

    Three Thieves actually is made from about 75% Pinot Noir grapes and a quarter Syrah. Grapey, fruity, red, and juicy, this is a full-on, in-your-face John Wayne and Dean Martin, shoot-em-up kind of wine. Take it along in your saddlebags when you ride a horse along the Rio Grande. Swig it by a campfire. Guzzle it before getting the bullet dug out of your side.

    With an alcohol content of 13% it’s right in the mid-range of California reds these days. But here’s the surprise: at $11.99, it’s a steal. The jug is a full liter, so you get 6-8 glasses for your 12 bucks, instead of 5. And besides, it’s somehow great fun to pour from a jug. Even if you’re using Riedel.

  • Why I Like the Clevelands

    sizemore (Custom).jpg

    I was in the ticket sales office for the new Twins ballpark a few weeks ago. Actually, it must have been more than a few weeks ago because the Twins hadn’t yet given up and fallen off the pennant chase earth.

    On their big screen TV was a replay of the previous night’s game with Cleveland and Grady Sizemore was batting. I have a soft spot for Grady Sizemore for a couple of reasons. I was visiting a friend in Cleveland a few years ago and we went to Jacobs Field (a lovely park) and I happened to be there when Sizemore played his first game for the Indians. He got a couple of hits, I recall, and made a nice play in the outfield. Reason two: he’s a hell of a player.

    I mentioned to the Twins receptionist that I sure wish the Twins had someone like Sizemore instead of Joe Mauer. It was all I could do to keep her from throwing me down the elevator shaft.

    But, as they say in baseball, “You can look it up.” Sizemore is at least twice as productive…and he plays every day.

    I say we offer both Mauer and Cuddyer to Cleveland for Sizemore. I’m sure the response we’d get from the Clevelands would be quite amusing…along the lines of “What are you smoking, and where can I get some?” But who knows, maybe they’ll be smoking something and agree to the deal.

    Oh yeah, did I mention that I’d also trade Santana for C.C. Sabathia?

     

  • Gallery Grooves Is Next Week

    Please note: I mistakingly listed next week’s Gallery Grooves event in today’s events listing (but have since removed it). The event is on the 18th. Hope to see you then. And please forgive my error.

  • The Making Of Ezro

     

    I slid unwelcome into this world,

    unbroken, but battered by the disappointment

    of those to whom I was delivered.

    I scrambled above their unhappiness

    and learned to believe.

    I found a place to stand,

    and kept moving.

    I had one man’s truth, and flung it

    like a stone at this world.

    I cried in the moonlight beside

    damp fields. I was a young man,

    and heard the midnight dogs of your

    towns as if they were monastery bells.

    You cannot imagine how lovely your world

    looked from the outside, how moved I was

    to hear radios playing in the dusk.

    My ignorance was immense. The weight

    of my tiny life made me a bowed spectacle.

    Your libraries were sanctuaries, a refuge

    from the puzzle. I let myself go too far

    beyond what you could make the effort to

    understand. I knew I was a reminder of

    something, shambling among you, dirty because

    clean was your world. You yanked your children

    around me on the sidewalks, invented

    your own strange versions of my journey.

     

    But your children never forgot me.

    My message was how far I had traveled,

    how far I would travel still,

    that a man could so believe that he could

    wander so long with the truth snaking through

    all manner of transformations in his

    dull, plodding heart, and slithering so

    slowly toward his waiting tongue.

    stone prophet.jpg

  • It's All Good

    Holy shit, I’ve been wasting a lot of time watching baseball the last few weeks, and it’s been nice to have a few days off, even if that hiatus is the result of one of the least dramatic first rounds in recent memory.

    Like my pal Britt Robson over at On the Ball I can honestly say that all four of my picks in the division series advanced, and with a whole lot more ease than I could have imagined (with the exception of Cleveland; given the one-two punch of 19-game winners Sabathia and Carmona, I figured the Yankees had no chance).

    The National League series were the most fun, and the most revelatory. I’d only seen the Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Phillies a few times all year, and I’m not even sure I saw a single Arizona game. I sure as hell wouldn’t recognize anybody on that roster (with the exception of Eric Byrnes and Brandon Webb), and pretty much everybody else I knew only as names in the daily boxscores.

    It was more or less the same case with Colorado. I was familiar with Todd Helton. And LaTroy Hawkins, of course, and Mark Redman, although I was surprised to see Hawkins playing such a prominent role out of the bullpen. Both the Rockies and Diamondbacks are fun teams to watch, and I think the same goes for the Indians and Red Sox.

    The most encouraging news of this postseason might well be the payrolls of the remaining teams: Only one (Boston, at $143 million) fits the profile of a classic big-spending club. The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball, but the other three teams all spent less than the Twins this year, and all three are near the bottom of their respective leagues. Cleveland, at $61 million, ranked 23rd in the Major Leagues. Arizona spent even less (almost $59 million), while the Rockies, even with Helton’s massive salary, came in at 27th with a payroll of just under $41 million.

    Surely that’s good news, particularly when coupled with the collapse of the Yankees, Cubs, and Angels.

    It’s a shame that the NL series has to pit two teams that have already met 18 times this seaons (with the Rockies taking ten out of eighteen from the Diamondbacks).

    I’m going to disagree completely with Britt and predict a Red Sox-Rockies World Series, which I think will be a terrific match-up, with a boatload of runs scored.

  • Oktoberfestish

    lederman.JPG

    It’s true that I dream of opening a shop (or maybe just a booth at the Fair) that sells large, wearable pretzels. Simply loop around your neck and snack as you go. Sie sind toll!

    Maybe next year.

    This year, for a different kind of Oktoberfest where you might not find a boot-swilling lederhosen-clad hottie to hook up with (ahem), but you’ll clearly find better food, check out Oktoberfest at the Guthrie sponsored by vimlab.

    Bundle up and gather on the patio of Cue for some serious German vittles: beer braised brats, apple sauerkraut, butter spaetzle and onions, Bavarian potato salad, stew with Deutsches Weissbeir, warm cinnamon donuts, and big soft pretzels with three mustards. Plus beer, cider, DJ’s and horse drawn carriage rides … sehr gut.

  • It's only Thursday, for Crying out Loud!

    For whatever reason, there seems to be an unusually broad array of worthy events this evening. Are we gearing up for a long winter, or simply trying to cram everything in before we finally admit we’re in for the long haul?

    THEATER LECTURE
    Meet the Artist: Stacia Rice

    1007staciarice.jpgIf you’re able to sneak away for a lunchtime event, head over to Barnes & Nobles in downtown Minneapolis to hear local actress Stacia Rice and Guthrie dramaturg Carla Steen discuss the Guthrie’s stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre. (See our review of the Guthrie’s performance here — the second item.) Rice will talk about her background in the Twin Cities theater community and share readings from the Alan Stanford adaptation, with Steen offering further insight into the stage translation. A brief question and answer session will follow.

    12 p.m., Downtown Barnes & Noble, 801 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-371-4443.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Weimar Germany — Land of Cultural Creativity

    1007weimarweitz.jpgAlso during the afternoon, University of Minnesota Professor of History Eric Weitz will discuss his latest book, Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy, in which he illustrates “how Germans rose from the defeat of World War I and the turbulence of revolution to develop Berlin into the world capital of avant-garde art, modernity, cultural creativity, model working conditions and social benefits.” Interested in the sleepless metropolis of 1920s Berlin? This is definitely the place to go. Weitz is a fascinating well of knowledge. Watch him in this 2006 video on the Armenian Genocide.

    2 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.

    That’s not it for books and authors today. George Clayton Johnson, co-author of Logan’s Run and Ocean’s Eleven, will be signing books this evening (6 p.m.) at Dreamhaven Books. And the Hopkins Center for the Arts Pen Pals season kicks off this evening (7:30 p.m.) with author Kaye Gibbons.

    COMICS & AUTHORS
    King-Cat Pounces on Minneapolis

    1007kingcat.jpgJohn Porcellino began self-publishing comics in 1982, and introduced King-Cat Comics and Stories seven years later, when he was only 20 years old. Almost two decades later, Porcellino has come a long way from the photocopied, handmade comics with which he started. But let’s not belittle the original endeavor. Despite his success, Porcellino has remained true to his punk-rock ‘zine origins, and the man is almost singlehandedly responsible for the creation of La Mano Press, which materialized out of nowhere to publish Diary Of A Mosquito Abatement Man. Porcellino has been busy lately: “a huge, 400-page compendium of stuff from the first 50 issues of King-Cat was released a few months ago from the folks at Drawn & Quarterly; he’s got a strip in the new Chris Ware-edited Best American Comics Of 2007 book from Houghton Mifflin; and his new biography of Henry David Thoreau will be published by Hyperion in 2008.” Somehow, he has managed to find the time for a little mini-tour, and rumor has it he’s going to have a new King-Cat with him. Could we be so lucky? Tonight’s presentation will begin with a slide-show, Q&A, and signing. Then he and fellow comic writer Zak Sally will sit and play their guitars and sing for you a while. According to Sally, they’ll likely do “a Fleetwood Mac song and a Beat Happening song and probably not a Husker Du song, even though we maybe should.”

    6 p.m., Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Avenue S., Minneapolis; 612-338-4390.

    MUSIC
    Scott Yoo Conducts Beethoven’s 4th

    1007yoo.jpgOver the course of the next few days, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will perform a program of Coleman, Strauss, and Beethoven at several of its neighborhood venues — Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church tonight, Wooddale Church tomorrow night, and Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ on Saturday evening. Enjoy the regenerative energy of Coleman’s Long Ago This Radiant Day, the overwhelming hopelessness of Strauss’s Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings, and the warm consolation of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat.

    8 p.m., Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley; 952-432-6351 (SPCO: 651-292-3239); $10-$25.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    3 Parts Dead

    1007-3partsdead.jpgThe Old Testament’s most difficult book, the Book of Job, planted the seed of this new play. From the “unknowable nature of God” therein, which local playwright Alan Berks described as “one of the scariest things I can think of,” a new ghost story was born. Berks (who wrote the 2006 Fringe Festival hit, How To Cheat) also drew from more contemporary influences, such as the 1999 horror flick The Sixth Sense. But what makes this production doubly interesting is his collaboration with The Burning House Group. This foursome of physical performers is more often seen doing slapstick and nonlinear forms of movement theater. In this instance, both parties vow to combine old-fashioned narrative with clowning and choreography to create, from scratch, a frightful tale of a house with a mysterious, potentially haunted past. –Christy DeSmith

    Minneapolis Theater Garage, 711 W. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-623-9396.

    Also opening tonight (8 p.m.), at Sabes JCC, is the 1992 Obie Award-winning play by Donald Marguilies, Sight Unseen, a provocative and equally amusing story of a highly successful American mega-artist who embarks on a quest for the true meaning of his work and identity as a Jew.

  • Save The Brickbats For When It Counts

    It is going to be a looong season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is not surprising, of course. Nor is it as disheartening as it might have been watching a team without much future upside try to overachieve its way into a bottom-rung playoff spot. No, this is a team with definite long range potential–no guarantees on how much it will be fulfilled–that will be out of the playoff race by Valentine’s Day at the latest.

    If that sounds like too much of a snap judgment based on a single 92-81 loss in an early October exhibition game, well, then, you didn’t see the game. The sobering reality is that, without belittling the chance for improvement, the Wolves are offering spirited competitions between the inept and the clueless for key positions on the court, without any way of distinguishing between growing pains and permanently rude comeuppances. The team’s most versatile, talented, experienced, and heady player would require an identity transplant and a fat, anti-rebuilding contract to still be here next year. Most of the people in the large batch of hot young talent that has gotten visionary fans excited have revealed disfiguring flaws in their games–the odds of them becoming overvalued mediocrities are just as good as them becoming solid core starters, let alone stars.

    Alright, let’s stop speaking in generalities. The play of Randy Foye at the point probably will make or break more games this season than any other single factor. Today, Coach Randy Wittman started Sebastian Telfair instead of Foye, and benched Foye for the rest of the game right after the Celtics stole his casual second-quarter pass to the sideline–a rudimentary, let’s-set-up-the-offense double wrist-flick–for his third turnover in less than eight minutes of action. Perhaps Foye is dinged up (I haven’t read anyone’s account of the game), or perhaps Wittman is sending a loud message very early that half-assed execution won’t be tolerated. Either way, it is a lousy start for Foye, expected to be one of the two or three essential building blocks for the franchise.

    Telfair exhibited very little court vision and a lack of confidence on the dribble–he’s a shield the ball with the body dribbler, meaning he often has his back to at least part of the court. The old coach Hubie Brown appropriately griped throughout the first half that the Wolves kept moving well without the ball but that no one was feeding the cutters. Telfair was a culprit, ditto Foye. Marko Jaric was clearly the best Wolves point guard on the floor today, but it was a game we’ve all seen many times before–great anticipation, quick hands, disruptive defense, good tempo-setting; and falls in love with risk, plays like a kamikaze, caffeinates instead of calms his teammates, and shoots 1-6 from the field.

    Corey Brewer played like a rookie. Inexperience breeds incomprehension, forcing him to lose the top gear–that’s why they call it “getting up to speed.” He hustles on defense, is certainly coachable, and will probably learn when and how to penetrate. But he is a fair to poor shooter even when he has time to get his feet set and his aim straight; rush him and air balls will likely ensue. And his development is still well ahead of Gerald Green, who simplifies the concept of shot selection by jacking it up whenever possible. Rashad McCants was better than Brewer or Green and still committed a half-dozen glaring mistakes; it is just that he had more positives to balance them out. McCants has a clue; he’ll commit the smart foul when Paul Pierce is headed for a transition layup; make the extra interior pass for a teammate’s layup; and play the physical, mix-it-up style you want to see from everybody, not just the guys who are trying to stay out of the D League. But there is a question about McCants’s hops, folks. The drives to the hoop he made as a rook, almost inevitably drawing the foul, now can result in him getting lunched a fair bit, and more often creating a contact situation where maybe he was fouled and maybe he was stifled. The difference is small, but vital. McCants has lost the barrel chest he developed last year; a good sign, I think, in that he worked on his below the waist game instead having to resort to pumping iron this off-season. But those explosive first and second steps are compromised, and would thus really benefit from Shaddy being able to stick the jumper with some regularity. One game is a tad incomplete for a sample size, but Brewer is green and Green is, shall we say, in need of constant tutorials. McCants, who has been heavily coached by the likes of Roy Williams and Dwane Casey, could seize a good-sized role. But Brewer almost certainly will ripen with age and Green is a freak athlete–right now they’re both minor-league all-stars. If Shaddy can’t grab minutes now…

    Want some good news? Ryan Gomes guarded the hell out of Paul Pierce, especially in the second half. Al Jefferson could be a stud in the low block if the Timberwolves made him the first option most of the time and then went to Plans B, C, and D based on how opponents adjusted to a diet of Jeff. That is, of course, if we knew somebody could consistently deliver him the ball. Theo Ratliff could be a nice backup center for 8-10 minutes a game before the Wolves cash in on his expiring $11 million contract. And Ricky Davis can be your classic stat-stuffer on a bad team, single-handedly bringing the squad back from 20 down up to 7 down, or so–Tony Campbell with a little more athletic mustard and relish. Last but not least, Mark Blount, DNP.

  • Heidi's – Opening Soon

    Heidi’s, the long awaited new restaurant from Stuart and Heidi Woodman is set to open “next week,” say the Woodmans, in the former Pane Vino Dolce space at 819 W. 50th St. in south Minneapolis. The Woodmans made their reputation dishing up ambitious haute cuisine at two very high-end restaurants that have both gone out of business – Five and Restaurant Levain (replaced by the more affordable Cafe Levain.) This time around, they are aiming for something a bit more modest: Heidi says all appetizers will be under $9, and all entrees under $19. Stuart describes the cuisine as “modern French…basically food that is prepared in the french style but more modern technique and plate presentation.” Typical dishes will include peppered pork with a bordelaise sauce, served with crispy potato roesti; and sauteed barramundi with roasted parsnips and a mussel jus scented with pico de gallo. (Barramundi, by the way, is Australian sea bass, now being farm-raised in the U.S. Stuart Woodman describes the flavor as a cross between sea bass and snapper; it has gotten some positive press as a “green” species that can be farm-raised with less environmental impact than some other farm-raised species.
    There’s not much to see at Heidi’s website, www.HeidisMpls.com, but I imagine that will change soon.