A closer look at flyover land

Friday food

This week was Restaurant Week in the Twin Cities, and I wish I'd had the time and opportunity to take advantage of more of the offerings. I only made it to one, and it's someplace I've been many times, but not recently.

I was glad to be back.

Campiello in Eden Prairie. Campiello's been here for, oh, I don't know--a very long time, in a strip mall-type location near a business park. But it still manages to be an attractive place, and I give them points for taking what could have been a dreary side yard overlooking Shady Oak Road and turning it into a lovely outdoor spot:

A perfect place (in a couple of months, anyway) to enjoy one of Campiello's stellar martinis. They used to have a drink called the Bone-Dry Martini, which is still my favorite of all time--Grey Goose vodka with a splash of Glenlivet Scotch, and a lemon twist. Oh, that's a nice martini.

No martinis on this visit, however, since it was lunch on a workday. I thought Restaurant Week was supposed to mean special limited-time offerings, but Campiello had their regular lunch specials as the highlight of the week. On the one hand, that's kind of lazy and not quite in the spirit of things; but on the other hand, it means I could go back again and have this same lunch for $9.95 again.

They cheated, but we cheated too, ordering calamari off the regular menu.

Lightly battered, with a zippy lemon-parsley aioli. Yum.

The lunch special offers a choice of soup or salad, and I went with the Campiello House Salad.

Greens, olives, boiled egg, tomatoes, and feta, with a red wine vinaigrette.

There was also a choice of several entrees. DH went with the penne with chicken, artichoke, basil, garlic, and lemon.

He said it was good, not astounding, but tasty.

Mine was delicious.

A tuna tartine "Nicoise" salad on toasted Tuscan bread with radishes, cucumbers, and boiled egg (yes, I hit my egg quota for the day). On the left are housemade potato chips--and they were amazing, sliced sliver-thin and fried perfectly, crispy but still a little chewy. Could have used more salt, though; they are chips, after all.

The tuna was wonderful. It had a flavor I couldn't quite recognize, and the server finally clued me in: basil. Surprising--it didn't taste like basil at all, but added an unexpected kick to the sandwich. I loved every bite.

So, yes, while they could have done something unique for the week, the bonus is that I could--and definitely would--go back and have the tuna again.

Campiello is a lovely spot:

With one big problem: the noise level is excruciating. The restaurant was busy--glad to see that, on a weekday at lunchtime--but not completely full, and no large raucous parties, yet DH and I could barely hear each other, and even the server (stellar service) had trouble hearing us. I wish restaurants like this one could find a way to mitigate noise more effectively, because it does put a damper on an otherwise charming place to dine.

The tuna, however, helped make up for that.

Did you take in any of Restaurant Week? What, where, and was it good?

Planning for the Oscars

I love the Oscars. It's not a rational love, nor a particularly informed one, although I have seen 6 of the 10 best picture nominees, and my decidedly non-professional opinion is that the award should go either to Hurt Locker or Inglourious Basterds. Avatar? Deserves any of the technical awards, but not best picture. What's your opinion? (Caveat--if it's different than mine, it's automatically wrong. Just don't say you weren't warned.)

At least I'm not alone, as the TC Daily Planet reports today:

"The Academy Awards are the hottest ticket in town," the taxi driver said on my way to the Kodak Theater, site of the 82nd annual show. But Minnesotans won't need to travel out west to enjoy the Oscars. The red carpet is being rolled out at several Minnesota locations.

While the only local Academy-sanctified celebration is Oscar Night America, put on by the Aegis Foundation at the Hotel Ivy, that hasn't stopped other Awards events from springing up.

Indeed, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences encourages and promotes an "Oscar Party Kit to Throw Your Own Oscar Viewing Party"—complete with a cocktail recipe named "The Red Carpet Fizz." Even Oscar's Master Chef Wolfgang Puck includes a video on how to make "Smoked Salmon Blinis." The site includes insider tips on "how to host an Oscar party that is affordable, fun, and fabulous."

For the first time this year, the Fergus Falls Center for the Arts is hosting an "Awards Night" on Sunday. The Center shows many Oscar-nominated films during the year.

"We will be projecting the live telecast on the big screen," says Kristin Fondriest, the center's production assistant.  "For a number of years, people have requested we do this."

Fondriest points out that although it's not an official Oscar-approved party, the event will have a red carpet, paparazzi, food, and door prizes for the best dressed. Their tuxedo-clad MC is local Fergus Falls teacher Hal Johnson. Musicians from the area will perform live chamber music, including movie scores. Ballots will be distributed for guests to vote on who they think will win. The Center's Youth Advisory Committee got involved by organizing and helping put it together.

"It has the potential of being a really fun event," says Fondriest. "I am definitely dressing up. I myself am really interested in film and movies so I think it's great that I will be with a bunch of people like me on Awards night." There is no charge to attend the Fergus Falls event, she said, but reservations are encouraged.

The Theaters at the Mall of America are putting on a "VIP Oscar Party" on Awards night. Patrons age 21 and up will have access to live viewing on a 40-foot screen.

"This is the first time we are [showing] the Oscars," says Joe Carslon, theater operations manager. "We will have the very rarely present red carpet going all the way down the hallway. We use the red carpet only when stars come up here, like Kevin James of Mall Cop. It's also the first time we will be serving mixed drinks instead of just wine and beer. We will have an actual bartender."

The theater's event includes a fashion show and makeovers, swag bags, Oscar trivia, and prizes. The only way to get in is with a "golden ticket" available through emailing the theater and stating why you want to walk the red carpet.

"It's going to be a fun party and an alternative to watching the Academy Awards," says Dan Jasper, public relations manager for the Mall of America.

Lucinda Winter of the Minnesota Film Board says this will be a good year to tune in. "There are a bunch of reasons to watch the Oscars this year. Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man was all filmed here and is nominated for two Oscars," she says.

Nominees with local roots are Bloomington's Pete Docter of Up and Food, Inc. which is nominated for Best Documentary. Food, Inc. was produced by River Road Entertainment, which is owned by Bill Pohlad. Nominated films Young Victoria and Bright Star are also affiliated with Pohlad.

Patrick Corcoran of the National Association of Theater Owners says while 2008 was a good year for movie ticket sales, 2009 was better. Even before the popular Avatar, box office receipts totaled 4.1 billion, he says. Then, Avatar was released. "This past year, for the first time, there were over 10 billion dollars in ticket sales," he says.

Corcoran said recession-weary Americans may explain the increase in box office transactions. "People are cutting expenses and looking for cheaper leisure activities closer to home. The economy is part of it and what films are out there, that determines it," he says. "The last seven or eight recessions the box office attendance went up. People are looking for the least expensive form of entertainment and that is the movies."

Winter thinks one reason movie ticket sales are strong in Minnesota has more to do with our cold weather. "Especially this winter," she said.

What?

Academy Awards viewing parties Sunday, March 7. Hours vary, check with the venue.

Where?

"VIP Oscars Party 2010." Theatres Mall of America and Metromix."Awards Night." Fergus Falls Center for the Arts."Oscar Night America." Aegis Foundation."Oscar Party Kit." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Web site.

Copyright: 

©2010 Barb Teed

Reprinted with permission of the TC Daily Planet

March madness

Looks like it's coming in like a lamb. Want to place any bets as to whether it'll go out like a lion?

All kinds of good stuff. Over at Wander Minnesota, I posted the upcoming March festivals and events, including some of those all-important St Patty's Day events.

This week is perfect if you're in the mood to try a new restaurant without breaking the bank: Restaurant Week.

Finally, March 14 looks like an important day for the folks who lost their restaurants in south Minneapolis recently. Fork the Fire! lists three fundraising events around town, with many, many local chefs contributing their time and talent. Mark your calendar and make your reservations. 

Friday food

In one of those "well, shoot, there goes my shot at Mother of the Year AGAIN" moments, this past week Teen 2, diligently working on a science project involving building a model representing the anthrax bacteria, rummaged around the kitchen looking for things to build said model and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, hey! Mom, that beer that's your favorite? The Cynic Ale? That would make a perfect model!" And off he trotted to the recycling bin where there just happened to be an empty can, which he then used.

So not only did my son turn in a science project built out of a beer can, he knew it was my favorite beer.

Yup, that Mother of the Year thing, not happening anytime soon.

But at least I have good taste.

Surly Brewing is a local company (Brooklyn Center) that makes some mighty fine beer, with wonderful names like Cynic Ale (still can't decide if I like the taste or the name best), Furious, and Bender. Oh--and Coffee Bender. Yes--coffee-flavored beer.

Surly offers a tour nearly every Friday which is free, except for a food-shelf donation, and it's great fun. Possibly because of the fun--and because one can get a fair amount of free beer--the tours book up quickly. I had to stalk their website several times a day for a week to land a slot, but I was glad I did.

Not that it's a big, fancy operation.

But that's part of its charm. This is one guy's passion, started with home-brewing and moving to a larger scale.

Owner Omar Ansari, telling his story, which is full of good-natured tales of the tribulations involved in getting Surly off the ground.

Lots of brewing goodness going on behind him.

And lots of cans, waiting to be filled with Surly goodness.

I'd say about half the people on the tour the night we went had been there before and opted to skip the tour part and stay in the bar.

Where generous samples of various beers were available. I learned from this that I don't actually like a coffee-flavored beer; don't know if this makes me a beer-drinking heretic, but while I love coffee and I love beer, I love them separately.

That's OK. There's plenty of Cynic Ale in the world for me. You can click on the beer photo on Surly's home page to find out where to find Surly at a bar or liquor store near you.

Drink up*. It's local. It's good. And it's fun.

*Responsibly, of course.

Friday food

I'll break from normal Friday posts to pay tribute to yesterday's terrible food losses in south Minneapolis--Blackbird and Heidi's, both destroyed by fire. Chef Stewart Woodman of Heidi's really had a hell of a day, first being nominated for a James Beard award in the morning, then losing his restaurant in the afternoon. I can't begin to imagine what kind of a roller coaster he was on. He blogged briefly about it here.

Hopefully they, and the shops that were also lost, will be able to rebuild and return to that vibrant corner.

In honor of their work, go find your locally owned and operated favorite food place and give them some business this weekend.

Got poetry?

Then get yourself over to the City of St. Paul's Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk Project and enter the 2010 contest. The deadline is March 28. Oh--and you must be a St. Paul resident. Seems fair enough. Details on the link above.

The Minnesota Beatle Project

I approached this CD with some trepidation. I'm a Beatles fan, although not a rabid one, but still--sometimes I just want to say, enough with the remakes.

But you know what? This is a heckuva lot of fun.

This CD is the product of a collaborative effort by Minnesota-born-or-based musicians, The Current, McNally Smith College of Music, City Pages, and Schmitt Music, among others. That's the who--the why is to raise money to support arts and music education across the state of Minnesota. Vega Productions has teamed with the Minnesota Music Educators Association and the Art Educators of Minnesota to distribute proceeds (100% of net profit) across the state. There were school kids involved in the project; the album artwork was done by kids from Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools, and the final track, a medley starting wtih Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is a live performance by the Susan B. Anthony Middle School Band.

But before that are some wonderful takes on Beatles' songs by local musicians. Some play it straight, others take a more imaginative approach.

I particularly like NIcholas Morzinski's take on Across the Universe; Jeremy Messersmith's haunting and wistful version of Norwegian Wood; Dave Simonett & Friends' rendition of Two of Us; and I've Just Seen a Face as performed by the Pistol Whippin' Party Penguins (although I may be influenced by the name of the band--how great is that??).

So, for a few bucks, you can get a great CD and support music and arts education around the state. Not a bad deal at all. CDs are available at local record stores, Schmitt Music Centers, and online.

OK, seriously?

This is such an excellent deal, and you can get it all weekend: a 53% discount on a family membership to the Minnesota Historical Society. An utterly spectacular deal. And no, neither Groupon nor the MNHS is paying me to say that. I heart the MNHS. And Groupon.

Friday food

My first foray into Groupon was a particularly good deal at a place I'd always wanted to try: Moto-i, the sake brew pub at Lake and Lyndale. I like sake, although I'm not particularly knowledgeable about it, so when Groupon had a "spend $20, get $50" worth of food and drink, it seemed time to go.

Warning: the following photos are dreary. The interior of Moto-i was very dark, and I didn't want to bother the congenial group at the table next to us by using flash.

The concept of Moto-i is that of a Japanese pub that brews sake onsite, with a variety of small plate, shareable foods to go with it. For non-sake lovers, a full bar is offered. But of course we were there for the sake, and the inevitable culture clash that arises when ignorant Minnesotans try to bring their sensibilities into authentic venues reared its sad head.

Our server was undaunted by the Groupon discount, which scored her big points in my book. However, her eyes glazed over somewhat when we mentioned how much we liked hot sake. Hot sake, it appears, is the equivalent of asking for Boone's Farm at a fine winery.

My bad.

So we started with the sake tasting flight instead.

From left to right, the Junmai Nama Nigori, the Junmai Nama Tokubetsu, and the Junmai Nama Genshu.

Did you know sake is made from rice and yeast? I did not know that. Nor did I know how many different flavor profiles it can have. Kind of like, you know, wine.

Our favorite was the Genshu, which was drier, less sweet, than the others. It was quite tasty, even not hot.

But let me go rogue here for just a minute and say this: I'd really, really have liked the option to compare the Genshu hot vs. cold. Just to see the difference. But that's not allowed at Moto-i, where we're told the premium sakes like the Genshu lose a lot in the translation from cold to hot. So I made do with admiring it cold, while DH ordered the "hot but not premium" sake.

Here's my curmudgeonly problem: I don't believe the customer is always right. And I respect the passion of food and drink providers that stick to their guns about preserving quality. But once in a while, it'd be nice to judge for myself. I'm not a deep-seated foodie, and my tastes may not be refined enough to tell the difference. A hot sake on a cold day might just be my choice, appalling as it is to the brewer. It's one of the reasons I haven't made it over to Kopplin's Coffee, which has a stellar reputation. But it's also known for refusing to make drinks with skim milk or in decaf versions. That's a great stand to take, unless, like me, you want your drinks done half-decaf because you feel better with less caffeine. Given that Moto-i currently doesn't sell takeout versions of its sake, I can't do a taste test at home.

Anyhoo. Curmudgeonly, dweebie diner that I am, I sucked up my sake and enjoyed it anyway. Now on to the food.

Your drink arrives with a little bowl of sake peanuts, which are roasted with Thai chili and kaffir lime leaf. I loved these. I even bought a package to bring home. Mildly spicy, with good flavor.

This might be my favorite of the day.

Steamed buns with pork belly and hoisin sauce. Oh, these were good. I could have eaten a whole plateful.

Shrimp and corn fritters. These were just OK, a bit bland.

Rangoon is the name, but basically these are standard-issue cream cheese puffs, livened a bit with smoked salmon. Nothing special.

Mussels with house-made Chinese sausage. These were pretty good. I would order these again.

So, the food's a mixed bag. The service, once our server got over our request for hot sake, was good. I'm not sure I'd make a special point to drive into the Lyn-Lake area to eat here again, but if I was in the neighborhood, I'd be willing to stop by for some sake peanuts, pork belly buns, and sake.

Although I might be one of those appallingly non-foodie types and order my sake hot.

A perfectly civilized Sunday afternoon

Photos courtesy of the SPCO and Sarah Rubinstein

This past Sunday, before the snow and before the Super Bowl, I and a friend had the distinct pleasure of enjoying a most civilized Sunday afternoon in St. Paul.

We paid a visit to this place: the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Music Room, located in their headquarters downtown St. Paul. I've seen the SPCO in other places and loved it, but this was the perfect place for them; as I said on Facebook, it was like seeing a splendid wild animal in its natural habitat. It's a warm, intimate, inviting space, and in the case of last Sunday's concert, there were never more than five musicians playing together at any one time, so the audience chairs were seated on three sides of the musicians, and very close.

The concert opened with Jean Marie Leclair's Sonata in F for Two Violins, Opus 3, No. 4.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the stringed instruments? No? Silly me. This was a perfect performance for me, as the violin duet was followed by Luigi Boccherini's Quintet in C for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, and after the intermission was Alexander Borodin's Quartet No. 2 in D for Two Violins, Viola, and Cello. 

The music was beyond lovely, and what I also was pleased to see was how many young (as in: under 40) people there were enjoying the music, including what looked to be some teenagers seated up front and rapt with attention. Many orchestras and classical music organizations have worried about getting younger generations to attend their concerts, so it was wonderful to see the mixed age groups. It also helps that they have kept their ticket prices quite reasonable--for the upcoming 2010-11 season, all tickets will fall into the categories of $10, $25, or $40.

The SPCO does reach out to those groups. They have the Club2030, which offers discount tickets to 20- and 30-somethings, and the Orchestra also takes its show on the road. Besides performing at the Music Room, you can find them at the Ordway and the University of MInnesota-Minneapolis. But they also reach out to the community by holding concerts at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie (I've seen them there, and it's a great venue for them); Wayzata Community Church; St. Paul's United Church of Christ; Trinity Church in Stillwater; Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley; and Temple Israel in Minneapolis. 

You can also hear recorded broadcasts of their concerts on MPR.

Trust me on this--you need some beauty and civilization in your life. You'll find it with the SPCO.

And for those of you out there in the SW suburbs? The SPCO is performing a free concert at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie on March 26. Details here.

My thanks to the fine folks at the SPCO for providing tickets for me.