Author: Ann Bauer

  • Now at Schiek's: Grade A Meat

    True story. Back in the mid-90’s, my friend M. got married. I didn’t much like the guy — he was shifty and weird — and for his bachelor party, his "friends" took him to a club downtown, where an exotic dancer slid her way across the bar, presented her spangled G-string to accept his $100…

  • The Not-So-Friendly Skies

    The subhead on this looks like it was written by someone’s 8-year-old. But as someone who was on standby yesterday for something like 95 hours. . . .I couldn’t help but read.

  • A Declining Week in Wine

    I have a wicked wanderlust. This is one of the reasons I ride a motorcycle: because on any given Saturday I’m willing to take off and hit a small town in South Dakota — as long as it’s one I’ve never seen before. I’ll also seize whatever random opportunity comes my way to get on…

  • The Staff of Life. . . .Shouldn't it be free?

    A reader e-mailed this morning to tell us about a South Minneapolis bistro (I won’t say which one. . . .because this is a common practice) where she and a friend enjoyed their entrées but were completely put off after being charged separately for the bread — a couple paltry, obviously store-bought slices of baguette…

  • Fin: An End to the Reverie at Dusk

    I drink at dusk in autumn. This is dangerous, as dusk comes a little earlier every day, cutting my afternoon off at 6:30, then 6, and then, suddenly, this past weekend, around half past 5. I can almost feel the lonely, lavender air come down like a curtain, or a veil. The world dims in…

  • Mea Culpa: I Forgot Zander

    When A Rebours closed earlier this fall, I — and just about every other food writer in the Twin Cities — bemoaned the dearth of fine dining in St. Paul. “I don’t know what’s happened,” I wrote on September 20. “There’s practically nowhere left in St. Paul to get a decent upscale meal. The only…