Trying to walk in at Barbette at 8 p.m. on a Friday night probably wasn’t a great idea, but we were lucky – only about a five minute wait for a place at the bar. Before the first course was served, we were offered a table, but the bar felt so comfortable that we stayed … Read more
So why is it that the bad boys of the kitchen get all the good press? Take Anthony Bourdain — a foul-mouthed son-of-a-bitch whom a good friend of mine (an attractive, intelligent woman) told me just today is "her ideal guy." And Gordon Ramsay, the British chef who hosts a show called The F Word. … Read more
(A semi-regular Q&A with "Randy" the new Star Tribune Reader’s Representative, most frequently found on the corner stool at the Dry Dock roadhouse, in the shadow of the big microwave tower, Chaffey, Wisconsin.) Randy, Your Reader’s Rep: Dang but stuff piles up. I come back from baitin’ a few bear traps, havin’ a couple beers … Read more
So, I was cruising the fashion blog circuit earlier today when I happened upon a local writer (she shall remain link-less) who somehow seemed to sustain this incredibly luxurious, posh lifestyle. Day after day, the posts were about her sushi dinners, the diamond-encrusted electronics she had encountered, or a recent trip to the local furrier … Read more
The Pedro Infante film festival at the Parkway Theater. Beginning November 16 and running through the 29th. Who is Pedro Infante and why should we care? Why should we brave cold November nights and wander through the city streets to an old theater and watch these Mexican melodramas? For the same old reason we … Read more
Now that we’ve more or less cleared up that "illegal immigrants with driver licenses" issue, the line I was pleading for one of the Democrats to throw back last night was, "Wolf, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound? Do you ever get tired of this ‘gotcha’ crap?" Something like that probably would … Read more
WRITING FESTIVALA Decade of Prose and Poetry at Powderhorn Ten years ago, Roy McBride had the brilliant idea to gather together Powderhorn area writers and artists for a writing festival to celebrate grassroots, literary endeavors. The festival, which has continued to this day, hosts myriad events, from writing workshops to poetry/puppetry cabarets. Tonight’s event includes … Read more
A correction. In my last entry, I mistakenly listed the old — last week’s — Happy Hour wine at Sapor. Rather than the Austrian Gruner Veltliner, the Washington Avenue wine bar is now featuring a Spanish Protocolo Blanco (in addition to the Luzon Mourvedre-Grenache). I’m not famliar with this wine — a blend of Airén … Read more
I was born a clown, and in retrospect my parents were incredibly good sports about what must surely have been on a number of levels a shock and a disappointment. They’d been trying for years to have a child, and they accepted me immediately as a blessing and loved me unconditionally for what I was. … Read more
I have driven the new Mini Cooper. So has half the British Press (the one that matters–Jeremy Clarkson in particular–he is the "dog’s bollocks.") The universal rap on the new car is that it has been "Americanized." In other words, the automotive equivalent of a nice hot casserole. Its a little bigger, the dashboard is … Read more