It’s going to be a good day if you’re wanting to hear writers read from or talk about their works. Robert Bly’s at the University of Minnesota’s Wiley Hall to read some of his poems. Katherine Lanpher’s at the Fitzgerald to plug her new book. But my sincerest recommendation goes to a thrid event: Iranian … Read more
just a few bites of info… Did you see our local pals from the Oceanaire Seafood Room mentioned in the New York Times article about the sudden proliferation of $40 entrees? The star of the article is a 1 3/4 ounce lobster dish from The Modern in NYC. It is priced at $42. When you … Read more
Just two things and I’ll leave it at that. If you didn’t see the Textile Center‘s Artwear In Motion runway show this past weekend, you can still check out the clothes at the center’s gallery (through Saturday). And the Jackson’s Juke Joint series lives on and on and on past the Viking Bar… it’s tonight … Read more
I’m gonna have to throw props to the Hold Steady ‘n Sean Na Na concert at First Ave tonight. Much as I like the guys, I can’t help but note that we’ve seen plenty o’ Hold Steady in the news lately, right? But what we haven’t seen a lot of–at least not in a while–is … Read more
Marie Antoinette, 2006. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Shirley Henderson, Molly Shannon, Steve Coogan, Marianne Faithfull, Asia Argento, Jamie Dornan, and Danny Huston. Now showing at theaters around town. Sofia Coppola adores couches. Couches and beds. Also, she seems to enjoy the alluring look of … Read more
Can we, just for a second, try to understand what Tyler Florence is doing with Applebee’s? He’s created four dishes that they’ve themed “Huge Flavor” by Tyler Florence. On the website they show him shopping at a market and chopping tomatoes (with an Applebee’s embossed knife) before he gently slices through the fresh mozzarella that … Read more
About a year ago, after Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak had celebrated his rout of Peter McLaughlin by diving off the stage into the arms of his supporters, I noticed John Blackshaw wandering through the crowd of well-wishers, a slight smirk on his lips and a look of satisfied exhaustion in his eyes. Blackshaw had … Read more
The brightness that sustains me is meant to blow away. Almost every day, I walk down to the college to watch the Buddhist nuns. The young Tibetans fold themselves crossed-legged on the wooden platform, funneling colored sand grain by grain onto a chalked pattern in the center. They wear cloth masks so their breath doesn’t … Read more
If you go down to the woods south of London, you may be in for a big surprise. Not the teddy bears’ picnic—that seems to be what a good many urban folk seem to expect in the countryside these days, as though farms were all film sets and the animals, a collection of animated stuffed … Read more
When the A & J Gem Café of Uptown closed, I was despondent. During the hazy days of postcollegiate life, comfort food had a different meaning. What comforted me was anything but mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes, which haunted my youth. After college, what comforted me was food that was something I could call my … Read more