A closer look at flyover land

Sad winter

It's a strange, strange winter when Nisswa tries to prepare for its winter festival and can barely scrape together enough snow for a few sculptures.

And dirty snow too. Sigh.

The Church Project

First Congregational Church, Anoka. Really, you have to love a church that devotes an outdoor sign spot to this:

Friday food

Sometimes you just have to get all girly.

Case in point: A pre-Valentine's tea outing to the Mad Hatter Tea Room in Anoka. A darling little tea room (actually, two little tea rooms) with a small retail shop specializing in tea and tea accessories.

But also, and very importantly, a lovely tea menu. I know, I know--it's bad enough I'm going to make you drool with just the words, but now I'm going to add photos!

Of pretty tea china, beautifully set out. Next to a lovely teapot.

The tea of the day was rose marzipan. I admit to being a bit skeptical, thinking that sounded awfully sweet. It was sweet, but not overly so, with hints of vanilla. Not only did I like it, I ended up buying some to brew at home.

First course: raspberry white chocolate scones with sweet cream and raspberry preserves. Divine.

Second course: Tomato basil soup with cheddar-bacon crostini. The soup was flavorful with nice chunks of tomato, and really, how can you go wrong with a cheddar-bacon crostini?

The main course: "Love bird eggs", herbed cucumber, shrimp and artichoke in phyllo dough, cordon bleu crostini, basil strawberry crostini with goat cheese and balsamic glaze, and--tee hee--a bacon mac 'n' cheese bite. The bird egg wasn't my favorite, but oh, the crostinis, the cordon bleu, the shrimp and artichoke....

The dessert course. Chocolate truffle raspberry cheesecake. The cheesecake was light as could be, almost more of a mousse than a cheesecake, and the little chocolate truffle was so incredibly intense that I was actually glad it was only a bite.

Going out for tea is a delightful experience all by itself, but when the food is above and beyond what you might expect from a "specialty" event, it's just adding a heap of sweet cream to the scone.

I might also point out that the Mad Hatter Tea Room is having a special Kentucky Derby tea on May 5. Hats are strongly encouraged. Mint juleps and Southern food will be served. How I wish I could be there. But if you can, make your reservation now--space is limited, and I'm quite sure there's fun and good food to be had. 

Just in time for Valentine's...

...comes this sweet (in the best way) story in the local paper today. 

February Festivals

Oops--a little late. Mea culpa. It's been that kind of winter already. It hasn’t been much of a winter, has it? Even some of the beloved winter events have either been cancelled or altered to cope with the lack of snow and cold. But never fear; here are some fun things to do.

Ely 
Winter Festival
Now through Feb. 12
If you can’t find something to do at this festival, you’re a curmudgeon indeed. Learn how to sculpt snow, take a dog sled ride, attend a dance, enjoy live music, visit the Dorothy Molter Museum, go snowshoeing or skiing, and attend the Mukluk Ball.

Grand Marais
Winter Tracks Festival
Now through Feb. 12
View outdoor art, including snow sculptures, and watch hardy artists painting in the elements; take a guided snowshoe hike; take the kids to the family festival; go downhill or cross-country skiing or ice skating; or take in a variety of live entertainment and dining options in the Lutsen area.

Waseca
Sleigh and Cutter Festival
Now through Feb. 25
Waseca celebrates its heritage with some fun old-time activities. A kickball tournament (yes, outdoors), vintage snowmobile ride, old-fashioned ice harvest, a golf tournament, and snowmobile races. 

Apple Valley
The Love Tour
Feb. 14
Leave the kids at home—this one is for the 21 and older crowd. Because it involves—ahem—mating rituals.

St. Paul
Mondo Juggling and Unicyle Festival
Feb. 17-19
Your chance to try juggling or unicycling—or just attend the Spectacular and see what the pros can do—and music and magic too.

A Scottish Ramble
Feb. 18
Stop by the Landmark Center and enjoy bagpipes, dancing, shopping, traditional foods, and, of course, kilts.

Apple Valley
Tropical Beach Party
Feb. 18-20
If you’ve had about enough of what little winter we've had, then head out to the Minnesota Zoo over President’s Day weekend. It’s beach time. Yes, really—there’ll be plenty of sand for everyone to play with.

Friday food

Not just any Friday Food--it's BURGER QUEST!

I know. It's been a while. I took advantage of having Teen 1 home from college over the holidays to go out on the Burger Trail again.

We decided to check out the Gold Nugget Tavern and Grille in Minnetonka. I'd heard good things, but had never wandered over there.

I'm glad I did.

We were only going to get burgers, but then we saw the menu listing cheese curds with the claim: "Better than the State Fair!" Pretty sure that couldn't be possible, we cynically ordered a batch.

You know what? I think this is the only order of cheese curds I've ever had that rivals the Fair. White cheddar, lightly breaded, nice and greasy, cheese all flavorful and melted on the inside. Wow.

The burgers got two thumbs up too.

Off the rather extensive list of choices, Teen 1 chose the Smokehouse--Cheddar cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce. He proclaimed it very good.

Teen 2 went with a novelty burger, the Signature Stadium Burger: a pretzel roll, American cheese, and nacho cheese dip on the side. He devoured it and also proclaimed it very good.

I went with a patty melt, and oh people, it was such a good patty melt. The bread was toasty-crispy, the onions beautifully caramelized, the Swiss cheese fully melted. Ah.

The fries were OK, not great, a little soggy. But the seasoned sour cream offered as a side was quite good, a bit on the spicy side.

So--the Teens both loved their burgers and said they'd go back, but once again--because basically they're both broken records on this subject--they still point to Lions Tap as their favorite. Personally, I thought this was far better than Lions Tap, but it's also a different category of burger; Lions Tap has a very limited menu of options (no patty melt!!), whereas Gold Nugget has a really fun list of options, and from what I can tell, they execute those options darned well.

No matter. We'd all go back. 

History and Art

Recently I visited the town of Waconia, west of the Cities, and couldn't resist the pull of the Carver County Historical Museum. I'm a sucker for these county museums; you never know what you might find. Some are wonderfully curated and artfully presented, others are more like flea markets. CCHS, I'm happy to say, falls in the former category. It's not a large museum, but it has a number of interesting exhibits, one focused on generations of veterans (fitting, since it's in the same building as the Carver County VA), another on tools, another on the growing immigrant population in the county:

There's even a small but interesting exhibit about the difficulties faced by what were previously small towns in rural areas, but are now increasingly growing and becoming more suburban-like, which can generate some contentious feelings. Surprisingly, according to the exhibit, it's the newcomers who complain most about the growth.

Growth issues aside, I like to look at the stuff. Look at this hand-carved secretary! How gorgeous is that? And how much time must it have taken?

This, my friends, is a hair wreath. Yes--made of human hair. Apparently that was a craft that was all the rage back in the day. 

The CCHS also has visiting exhibitions, and the one on display when I was there (I think it's there until early February) was--be still, my craft-loving heart--a display of Russian artworks and handmade lace.

The exhibit was called "Beauty Will Save the World: From the Russian North to the North Star." It includes this painting by Sergeiy Telenkov, titled The Young Lace Maker.

Fittingly, it's surrounded by plenty of lace, including this lovely and intricate piece:

There are other Russian art forms, too, including hand-painted matroshka dolls and the beautiful little boxes.

I'm a sucker for those little boxes, like the one in the center. Years ago, DH and I visited Russia (it was still the USSR then) and bought some and had dreams of collecting many more. They're tiny marvels of detail.

As are the birch bark carvings.

It makes me sort of stupidly happy to wander into a place like the CCHS, not sure what I'll find, and see such a well-done collection, obviously carefully curated and cared for. History is alive and well, and in my mind, that's a good thing.

The Church Project

On Highway 10, south of Rice. I have no idea who is behind this--there's no signage or markings that I could see.

January festivals

Things settle down after the holidays, but only slightly. Minnesotans tend to celebrate winter. You know how it is--if you can't fight it...

St. Paul
Wells Fargo WinterSkate in Rice Park
Daily through Feb. 5; check the website for hours and weather cancellations
Enjoy one of winter’s most charming rituals in one of the Twin Cities’ most charming locations. Ice skate rental available for $2 on a first-come, first-served basis (free for Wells Fargo customers).
 
Pine City
Winter Frolic
Jan. 14
Dogsled rides, games of snow snake, snowshoeing, curling, and hot cocoa by a warm fire at the North West Company Fur Post.

Minneapolis
Winter Kite Festival
Jan. 14 (or Jan. 21, if weather/ice aren’t favorable on the 14th)
The Minnesota Kite Society struts its stuff at this annual tradition on Lake Harriet. Beautiful, elaborate kites are flown, but newbies can get tips from the experts and buy inexpensive kits on the spot. Or bring your own. Or just watch the others while enjoying toasted marshmallows and ice-fishing demos.

International Falls
Icebox Days
Jan. 18-22
It was Icebox Days, then it was Blast on the Border, and now it’s—Icebox Days. Whatever you call it, the good people up on the Canadian border show that they have extreme stamina for the cold with this festival, including the “Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard” 5k and 10k runs, snow creations, poker, bridge, and darts tournaments, a chili cook-off, snowmobile races, and lighted snowshoe hikes in Voyageurs National Park. 

Bemidji
Brrrrmidji Polar Daze
Jan. 20-28
Broomball, sled derbies, jumping in the lake (definitely not for the faint of heart), a 5k run/walk, even a lighted night trail cross-country ski race. Oh, and lots and lots of food.
  
Brainerd
Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza
Jan. 21The prizes? $150k worth, including a truck and an ATV. The goal? The biggest fish. The best part? Proceeds go to more than 50 local charities, with this year’s primary charity the Confidence Learning Center. Oh—and no, they don’t sell beer on the ice. Just so you know. There’s also a Youth Ice Olympics that day.

Winona
Frozen River Film Festival
Jan. 25-29
Independent and foreign films abound in this annual festival. Besides an extensive film list, enjoy live music performances and programs lead by leading environmentalists and locavores.

St. Paul
St. Paul Winter Carnival
Jan. 26-Feb. 5
Take that, you stupid New York reporters of the late 1800’s; Minnesota is not “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter.” And with that, a cherished annual festival was created. Coronations, ice-carving contests, snow-block building, snow sculptures, a lavish torchlight parade, hockey tournaments, a 5k and half-marathon, maybe even snow soccer. Don’t be a wimp.
 
Duluth
Robert Burns’ Night Dinner
Jan. 28
The Duluth Scottish Heritage Association sponsors this annual event, this year falling on the 250th anniversary of the Scottish poet’s birth. Dinner, poetic revelry, traditional music and dancing. No mention of whether or not haggis is on the menu. Reservations required.

Duluth
John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Jan. 27-Feb. 2
The 29th running of this race commemorates, as always, the life of John Beargrease, Chippewa native who delivered mail by dog sled along the frozen North Shore in the late 1800s. It’s the longest race in the lower 48, and acts as a qualifying run for Alaska’s Iditarod. Several days of events surround the actual race, which starts on Jan. 29.

Scenes of the Season

Happy 2012!

Buffalo Lake.