Author: Ann Bauer

  • Wine for Thought

    I’m not a traditional Jew. My parents were mixed (one Jewish, one Catholic) and my upbringing was secular — more intellectual than religious. I do not observe the eight days of Passover or go to Shul. But I believe in Yom Kippur, which began at sundown last night and extends until this evening. This is…

  • Former A Rebours Owner Sets the Record Straight

    Back on the 7th of September, it was — for some bizarre reason — front-page news for the Pioneer Press when A Rebours, the little bistro on St. Peter Street, closed its doors. Now, I loved A Rebours. The classic menu and long picture window and ridiculously unpronounceable name. But I didn’t think its closing…

  • Free news from New York and great $9 wine!!

    C’mon, isn’t this every over-educated, artsy, navel-gazing intellectual’s dream? Well, I know it’s mine. First, the New York Times announced on Monday it would stop charging for certain “select” (read: everything with wit, context, opinion, or Thomas Friedman’s byline) articles. And today, they not only run a terrific piece on the legendary Alice Waters, there’s…

  • Grab your rifle and head to the MOA

    Last time I went to the Mall of America was about ten years ago. My sister was getting married. And my mother swore I would find a good deal on a rehearsal dinner dress at Nordstrom. I parked on Level 26. Entered through a door that I would find out later looked like every single…

  • Spanish Wine Syndrome

    Twice since I began this blog, someone has told me, “It’s painful to read your entries on red wine. I love the taste. But I can’t drink it; I get a terrible migraine if I take even a sip.” One, a male, said he’d been this way all his drinking life. But the other, a…

  • Frito Pie and Red Bicyclette

    My children have been blessed with a wonderful stepmother who is unlike me in most every way. She is tall, a statuesque brunette, while I’m the sort of mom a teenage boy can pick up and move out of the way. She’s concrete and detail-conscious where I am abstract and forgetful. She loves to shop,…