A closer look at flyover land

Skyway etiquette

Since I screwed up the Friday Food, I offer this in consolation. As someone who spent years working downtown Minneapolis and was very familiar with the skyways, I think he makes some excellent points.

Friday food

Oops. Color me embarrassed. This week's Flyover Land Friday Food ended up posting on my other blog. Feel free to check it out here.

D'oh. I'd just cut and paste it over here, but Typepad has become tricky about photos.

Taste of Minnesota

It was reported late last week that the annual Fourth of July celebration, Taste of Minnesota, has new owners and some new policies. There will be an admission fee ($10 for adults, free for kids), which is returned to visitors in the form of coupons for food. It will still--sadly, in my opinion--be held at Harriet Island. I know, I know, logistics and security.

But the new owners also understand they have another problem: the musical acts are, well, beyond out of date. Take a look at last year's roster. REO Speedwagon? Barry Williams (a.k.a. Greg Brady) and Bay City Rollers? Eddie Money?

They don't even have to give me food coupons. Give me better music, and I'll pay $10 and suffer through Harriet Island. Rumors have it that on the wish list is Vampire Weekend. Get them, I'll be there. Greg Brady? Um, no.

Parking on University Avenue

The TC Daily Planet reports on how the proposed light rail corridor along University Ave. would affect parking. To put it mildly, parking will be even more of a problem than it is now.

"

By Mary Turck , TC Daily Planet

January 26, 2009

Businesses along the Central Corridor’s University Avenue route overwhelmingly say that their voices have not been heard and that light rail will not help them, according to preliminary study results from the University Avenue Business Association (UABA) survey on construction mitigation. “Parking, parking, parking” wrote one business owner in response to the request to list top three issues for the next two years. “How my customers will park. Whether my sales will drop. Access to my business and parking lot.” wrote another.

The preliminary results were announced at a January 15 construction meeting, attended by University Avenue business owners, who heard from Senators Patricia Torres Ray and Ellen Anderson, Representatives Erin Murphy and Alice Hausman, St. Paul council members Russ Stark and Melvin Carter, Minneapolis council member Cam Gordon, and Ramsey County commissioners Toni Carter and Peter McLaughlin.

Next UABA meeting: January 29 Preserving Parking on University Avenue Thursday, January 29th, 2009 7:30AM – 9:30AM, Coffee and light breakfast served Central Corridor Resource Center: 1080 University Avenue, SE corner of University and Lexington Pkwy

Betty Charles, owner of the Shear Pleasure salon, has been in business on University Avenue for 30 years in business. After the meeting, she said her salon needs on-street parking—not a lot, but it needs to be there for her customers.

The Central Corridor plan calls for an 83 percent reduction in on-street parking on University Avenue between 29th Street and Rice, leaving an average of only 2.5 parking spaces per block, according to analyses and maps prepared by U-Plan.

At the meeting, UABA staff and officers repeatedly warned that the meeting was “not a referendum on light rail,” which was seen as inevitably coming. Rather, the meeting was billed as an opportunity to hear from assembled public officials, all of whom expressed deep concern and empathy for the struggles of small businesses and a commitment to mitigating the negative impact that construction of the Central Corridor will have. What was missing was any concrete proposal or plan. A Met Council document sets out “parking management strategies” that focus heavily on limiting side-street parking to two hours and strengthening parking enforcement.

State Representative Alice Hausman echoed the frustration that business owners expressed in the UABA survey:

What you are experiencing is … entities that plan these projects often do not do well.

When I look at the survey results, you feel remote from the Metropolitan Council. I think that, too, on all the problems we face, the biggest problem is getting the attention of anyone who can do anything about it.

There is a sense in which governance has been a stumbling bloc – an appointed Met Council that seems remote. There will be discussion this year [in the legislature] about governance models that are more grounded in local officials that have to make it work."

Reprinted with permission from TC Daily Planet. 

St. Paul Winter Carnival

I really did mean to get out and see some of the Winter Carnival events this past weekend, but the cold weather got the better of me. However, there are fun things going on all week and into the weekend, when the weather is supposed to be much warmer. Find a full schedule here. The Torchlight Parade, always a highlight, is scheduled for this Saturday at 7 p.m. in downtown St. Paul. Currently the forecast for the weekend is temps in the 20s.

Of course, even Paul Douglas admits that weather forecasting more than 2-3 days out is a bit of a crapshoot, so keep an eye on your preferred weather site as we get closer to the weekend.

(Does anyone else think it's funny that Paul Douglas has his own Wikipedia page?)

Friday food

After my successful trip to the Art Shanty Projects, I was a bit chilly and in need of food. Wandering down Highway 169, I veered off onto Highway 55 East, looking for something that would be vaguely comfort food-y. And boy howdy, did I hit the mother lode.

 

Mort's Deli. I had visions of enormous, steaming bowls of soup, sandwiches heaping with meat. Oh, and central heating.

Score on all counts. The interior is casual and friendly.

 

The service was cheerful and quick. I barely sat down before this materialized before me.

 

Crunchy, salty kosher dills and pickled green tomatoes. Yum.

The menu looked a little pricey to me, so I decided against both soup and sandwich and ordered Mort's Reuben, served New York-style (open-faced) on rye with housemade corned beef, sauerkraut, and horseradish white cheese. Right after I ordered, I began to regret not ordering soup, as bowl after steaming bowl of matzo ball soup flew by me.

But then the sandwich came, and not only did it suddenly seem to be a bargain at $13, it made me glad I didn't order any soup.

 

That is the most enormous sandwich I've ever been served. I thought open-faced meant one piece of bread, but no, it was two huge slices, buried under delicious corned beef, crispy sauerkraut, and the cheese. Why a bargain? Seriously, folks, I'm not what you would call a light eater, and I could barely make a dent in this. It made pretty good leftovers--a couple meals' worth. You got hungry teenage boys? Bring 'em here.

The downside to this huge, delicious sandwich was that I was not able to order dessert. The display case in the entrance had some very tantalizing baked goods. Another day.

But I did decide, like many of the other diners, that my visit wouldn't be complete without a visit to the retail side to bring home some pastrami.

 

All kinds of delightful meats cut to order, along with other deli treats.

All in all, a very successful search for food.

Art Shanty Projects

What can you do with a lake in January when you can't swim in it?

 

Why, build a festival on it, of course!

 

Behold--the sixth annual Art Shanty Projects. Described as "part sculpture park, part artist residency and part social experiment," the Projects are individually built and decorated ice houses, most with some additional function and purpose. For example, the Dicehouses:

 

are stocked with playing cards, dice, and games, meant to encourage people to enjoy the warmth of spending time playing together. There was much hilarity and giggling coming out of these Dice.

 

The Black Box Theater. Fully operational. See the website above for list of performances.

 

The Nemo Shanty/U.S.S. Walter Mondale is preparing for departure--come sing sea songs with the crew.

 

The Norae Bang Shanty appears to be making good use of realty signs that are perhaps underemployed these days; inside, it's all karaoke, all the time.

 

Yup. There are scientists on the lake.

 

The Confession Shanty. With a tip of the hat to Post Secret, visitors are invited inside to write their secret and post it on the Shanty. If you must put a name, first name only. But never fear:

 

The Art Shanty Projects, located on the east side of Medicine Lake in Plymouth, will be open to the public through Feb. 14. There are far more shanties than I've shown here; look for the sauna, the radio station, and the knitting shanty, to mention just a few. Check the website for scheduled events, live music, games like ice croquet and the world's largest cribbage board, puppets, movies, and more. 

Twin Cities Inaugural festivities

Over at Metblogs, they've compiled quite a nice list of ways to enjoy tomorrow's Inauguration. Or to drown your miseries, depending on how you voted.

The Museum Adventure Pass

Last week I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting the Museum of Russian Art, a place I blogged about long ago. I--and many of the people in line at the entrance--were visiting the museum courtesy of a wonderful local program: the MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency) Museum Adventure Pass. Co-sponsored by Macy's, the Adventure Pass gives library cardholders in the metro area free access to several local museums. The passes generally include 2 or 4 free admissions per pass; you can only check out one museum at a time, and the pass lasts for 7 days. Once that time period is up, you're free to visit another museum.

This is a great program. You can visit places like the aforementioned Museum of Russian Art; the American Swedish Institute; the Walker Art Center; the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum; the Bell Museum of Natural History, and many others (see the Museum Adventure Pass link above for the full list). Some of the more popular destinations, such as the Minnesota Zoo and The Works, are in high demand, and each library has a limited number of passes to check out. Be patient and diligent, and you too can get a (free) turn. While you're waiting, take the opportunity to visit a museum or site you might not have thought of visiting. Free admission--what better incentive than that?

A perfect job for history buffs

The Minnesota Historical Society has posted help-wanted ads for interpreters for the Historic Fort Snelling and Sibley House historic sites. Into history? It's a part-time, seasonal job, pay's not bad, you get to dress up and act out your historic daydreams, and hang around cool historic sites.