Edible Weekend

Corn With The Wind by Mark Hess

I feel a tasty weekend coming on….

Do you know what’s great about Irish Fair? It’s the names of the food vendors. FatHead Brennan’s Pie Shop will stuff you with cheese and onion pie. Tussie’s Tea & Sweets will settle you with a dense scone. The Ancient Order of Hiberians are not as frightening as they sound, and they sell lemonade for gosh and bi’garn. Don’t forget to tip back some Finnegan’s Irish Amber and contribute to society while you’re doing it.

Pizza Luce is seriously a pizza pioneer in the Twin Cities, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. I still remember my first post-Danceteria slice from the Luce on Fourth St., it might have been the first time I realized that artichoke hearts had a place in this world. This weekend, celebrate the good life at the Pizza Luce Block Party in Uptown. Live bands, frosty beer, beautiful ‘za.

August and September are the best times to go to weekend markets, people. It’s the harvest remember? This Saturday, the Mill City market is hosting a spectacular, spectacular Trout Fest. Local giants Tim McKee (La Belle Vie), Lenny Russo (Heartland/Cue), Jack Riebel (Dakota) and Jim Kyndberg (Bayport Cookery) will whip Star Prairie Farms trout into all sorts of crazy dishes. And you can pick up some freshly harvested veg to round out your plate.

On Sunday, my little hometown burg will throw it’s umpteenth Corn Days festival. When I was a kid, I used to bike up to the church and help shuck barrels and barrels of corn the night before the shindig. My sister was a Corn Princess in the 80’s and nothing will top the year I won $50 at bingo, and spent it all on snow cones and mini-donuts. Sunday I’ll drag my kids to my old neighbor’s yard to watch the parade, be pelted by candy, and giggle when the horses poop on the road. Then it’s an afternoon of beer and fresh sweet corn, $1.50 for all you can eat.