Tucked neatly into a shelf of dainty Victorian houses on the bluffs of St. Paul, the home of Charles Arndt and Kelly Bjorklund was the site of U.S. Senate incumbent Paul Wellstone’s February 9 fund–raiser. The Rake was in attendance to savor the food and sample the politics.
Contributors to the Wellstone campaign were confronted with a buffet that looked almost too good to touch. Sliced vegetables, presented attractively alongside a neat array of dips, were crisp on the tooth. In addition to the de rigeur spinach dip and its many variations, Bjorklund gave a clever nod to the Lebanese history of the neighborhood with a bowl of excellent hummus balanced with lemon and garlic. Fresh fruits dominated the west end of the table, where there was a striking presentation of fresh raspberries mounted in a hot pepper raspberry preserve on a foundation of cream cheese.
Senator Wellstone held the center of attention, but a tray of baby shrimp in whipped cream cheese and cocktail sauce with Spanish olives was popular too. Also favored was a creamy artichoke gratin with blue cheese, sweet red peppers, and garlic, though many were kept at bay as the senator’s sincere gesticulations over this area of the table did not stop for quite some time. But with a great selection of red and white wines and a truly international bin of beers within easy reach, guests were happy to a number. And at an entry fee of $25, the value was truly Democratic. Four out of four stars.
On the other end of the cities and the political spectrum, donors to Norm Coleman’s Senate campaign were invited for face time on February 12 at Jazzmine’s on Third Street, just around the corner from Sex World in downtown Minneapolis.
While Coleman has left little doubt that he would eat anything Dick Cheney feeds him to win this election, The Rake sincerely hoped the $100 minimum would win better fare for the party faithful. Alas, after the tedious battle for downtown parking at 6 p.m., Republicans found themselves paying their own way at the expensive bar and filing past a short table of uninspiring victuals.
The dim lighting of the cheese tray was of no consequence, as the selections all tasted about the same. The main attraction, barbecued pork in a sterno-heated tub, was odd given Coleman’s Jewish heritage. It had long since progressed from tender to mushy. Equally underwhelming were the grilled chicken skewers which, though blackened with grill lines, offered no hint of smoke or any other flavor unless dipped in the adjacent green sauce that tasted strongly of rancid mayonnaise. Excusing the pork, a staffer indicated that Norm does not eat at fund–raisers. That may augur a long season of dyspepsia for GOP contributors. One out of four stars.
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