I never expected to find love at a roadside market. In Florida, no less. But there, down an aisle from stacks of bright oranges and piles of juicy grapefruit, was a small, plastic tub of guacamole so smooth and delicious, so perfectly spiced, that I fell head over heels. It’s uncommon to find guacamole that … Read more
Dirty Little Secret #62: I am obsessed with the hunt for the Winter Carnival medallion. Yeah, I know. My family doesn’t even really understand the extent. Sure, they’ve seen me on the computer noodling out the clues, looking through maps and aerial shots of Ramsey County parks, I can’t hide that. But I’ve been sneaky … Read more
So … now Auriga has announced that it will close this weekend after ten years. I really like the food at Auriga. I think it’s fresh, exciting and I think they believe in the perfect bite. One of my favorite meals was during a late night stop-in during a snow storm. We ordered some stuff, … Read more
So by now you know that Five has closed its doors permanently. So has Levain. Two foodie institutions gone, but why? Some people might take this opportunity to wax rhapsodic on the state of the scene, and apply huge, sweeping generalizations about what society is up to, just so that they can be The Expert, … Read more
I’ve been watching the second season of Top Chef, but I haven’t had that much to comment about. Last year I felt I could defend Tiffani because I’d met her, but this year I don’t really care about anybody. Maybe that’s the problem, I don’t seem to have a favorite, no one to root for. … Read more
Bored bored bored? Bored of hunkering down in your house? Bored of all the movies on TBS? You could have been a Russian Czarina, sloshing in vodka and noshing on blini. They managed to be glamorous in Siberia, why can’t you? The “culinary outings” from the Outing Lodge in Stillwater are some of the most … Read more
There is so much good to be done by simply roasting a chicken. The pre-roasted chicken that you can pick up at the grocery store is easy, yes. But the truth is that roasting your own is not that much harder. Master this task and you will be able to satisfy anyone, anytime. Let me … Read more
Haven’t had enough of three hour menu presentations by effete servers describing specialties that become more and more intricate as chefs plumb the dark recesses of their creativity? Visit Chez Louise and refresh the page to get more more more. Or if you seem to be the only one lacking a good comment at your … Read more
Heaven knows the European Community (or whatever they are calling it this week) fails to warm the cockles of the English heart. (How would you like life in Minnesota regulated in detail by a bloated bureaucracy, living on expense accounts in a foreign land?) But one of its pleasanter side effects has been a scheme … Read more
There are a few unwritten rules of food snobbery that come into play, especially when dining in a new hot spot or restaurant run by a big-name chef. One is for the dining party to order as many courses as possible, making sure to hit all areas where the kitchen’s repertoire is considered notable. Another … Read more