It’s been my experience that people under stress generally respond in one of two ways: they either shut down, sleep more, become lethargic and gain weight; or they become frantic, insomniac, impossible to calm and they lose. I’m a loser. When my first husband left our family — out of frustration and addiction and through … Read more
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
Editor Julie Caniglia The Nintendo stockSenior Editor Brad Zellar Monkey mindAssistant Editor Christy DeSmith Snoring (not my own)Online Editor Cristina Córdova My empireArt Director Evangeline Johnson Restless leg syndromeProduction Manager Amy L. Filipiak The bedbug Assistant Art Director Kristin Harper Night owl tendencies ContributorsAnn Bauer The 17-year-old who isn’t homeJeremy Iggers My prostateColleen Kruse Amphetamines … 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