Italy is out, Texas is in. A visit to the website of Brix Wine Bar & Bistro confirmed a tipster’s report: Brix Bistro & Wine Bar in Saint Louis Park has closed, and will be replaced by Laredo’s Tex-West Grill & Cantina, a "Tex-West" theme restaurant: "Laredo’s will feature unique Tex-West entrees, authentic Mexican dishes … Read more
Get with the program, health-care providers of America, and get a clue about the prices you ascribe to your services. While you’re at it, we wouldn’t mind if you went so far as to tell us the costs upfront. Yes, yes; I know the industry if rife with corruption–er, negotiated discounts–and, in fact, the prices … Read more
So, it sucks to park the car on Hennepin Avenue in the winter – scaling the piles of snow hardened into ice, trying not to fall against (or under) the filthy auto, hoping that busses and SUVs will not take the car door off (or at least slow down if they do) when you get … Read more
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I drove out to Giapponese, the new sushi bar / restaurant in Woodbury. Sushi is everywhere these days, including the refrigerator cases of local supermarkets, and since the sushi restaurants all tend to get the same ingredients from the same suppliers, it has become a pretty generic … Read more
Believe me, I fully recognize that a guy pretty much has to be a moron and a glutton for punishment to criticize Diablo Cody at this point. Either that or he has to be a very, very brave man, a man with the stones of Anton Chigurh. I’ll plead absolutely guilty on the first counts. … Read more
SPECIAL EVENTTaste the Sea Enjoy a multiple course tasting menu with our favorite wine pairings monthly at The Rake’s World Flavors Tour. This month, join us at The View Restaurant and Lounge for Mediterranean cuisine. Start the new year off right with fresh and healthy fare inspired by classic dishes from a cultural melting pot. … Read more
This afternoon, actor Heath Ledger — of Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale, and more recently of I’m Not There fame — was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, allegedly (for a time) an apartment in Mary Kate’s building. Yes, that’s right, one of the Full House twins. [[That’s how rich the old gal is — … Read more
I finally saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood last week. I was impressed, but the twelve others in the audience didn’t seem to digest it as well. Several left during the less exciting last hour of the film. Others derisively asked "whose idea was it to see this movie?" as they were leaving. … Read more
It’s an odd feeling when a restaurant closes. If it had a big-name chef or the affection of local critics, the closing can cause much hullabaloo (as was witnessed one recent winter). If the eatery was not-so-celebrated, as is more often the case, the closing happens quietly, sadly. But what of the space? For a … Read more
I admit that after a lifelong obsession with automotive things, I never really got what the fuss was about Bugatti. Until I actually saw one, then sat in it, then started it up at the national automotive museum in Alsace. Its all clear now. Ettore Bugatti was the son of a sculptor who is exhibited … Read more