Ann Bauer Perhaps I’m the only one who wasn’t paying attention to the complications caused by the European Union. But I’ll admit, I’m surprised. When we booked our trip to Italy — after receving an unexpected bequest from my husband’s mother — the euro (which had been under a dollar not long before) was trading at about … Read more
I spent my 42nd birthday on a motorcycle, riding through the hills of Umbria and stopping for a late lunch in a beautiful little village called Orvieto. It was, from beginning to end, magnificent. Famous mostly for Classico, a distinctive white wine blend, Orvieto is slanted straight up and home to a remarkable cathedral that … Read more
I have learned many things after only two days in Rome. I have learned, for instance, that I, who think of myself as a forthright women — pushy, even — have nothing on the people here who will grab a stranger’s arm and lead her into a restaurant or insist on turning heat on in … Read more
We arrived in Rome yesterday around 2 p.m. This after 18 straight hours of travel, consisting of two hours in the MSP airport (who knew we’d whip through security in 30 seconds?), eight hours on the flight to Amsterdam, four hours in Schipol, and another hour 58 minutes in the air. I don’t sleep on … Read more
It seems every time you pick up a newspaper, someone new is issuing a mea culpa for having written, published, or promoted a completely fake memoir. Starting with Rigoberta Menchu, back in the ’90s, then continuing through James Frey and his Million Little Pieces to the middle-aged woman who wrote about being a male teen … Read more
I’m typically leery of wines with cute, punny, or outrageous names. Goats do Roam. The Unbearable Lightness of Riesling. Fat Bastard. They’re all truly dreadful. So I was expecting little when I uncorked the Rosenblum Cellars Côte du Bone Roan 2005 from Chateau La Paws. Here’s a surprise: I loved it. And that was before … Read more
I’ve been hanging out lately at a great little place called Fireroast Mountain Cafe, which besides having wonderful soups, sandwiches, and pastries, serves a perfectly brewed cup of Puerh, which is a rare and wonderful thing. A fermented tea that contains microbes — like yogurt of kefir —Puerh has an earthy, amber, slightly caramel flavor. … Read more
It started like this: My 13-year-old daughter walked into a room where I was reading and my husband was opening a bottle of wine (which she would tell you is what we’re always doing, except when we’re working or yelling at her) and said, "You remember when I went to Karl and Julia’s when I … Read more
It struck me as inconsistent when I discovered this: You can gamble away everything you have at Mystic Lake Casino. Your savings, your kids’ college funds, the church collection you were supposed to deposit. You can eat 10,000 calories in a single sitting at the Mystic Lake buffet for the nominal price of $9.95. But … Read more
In an article about Charles Billington, a University of Minnesota endocrinologist who also happens to be one of the nation’s leading obesity researchers, I mention that when Billington himself dines out, he goes mostly to Heartland, the little storefront bistro on St. Clair Avenue in St. Paul. Why? Because Heartland’s gourmet Midwestern fare embodies just … Read more