A closer look at flyover land

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.

A home-grown Rent

Oh, how I'd love to see this.

THEATER | "Rent" feels fresh and thrilling in homegrown production at The Lab Theater

Courtesy of the Twin Cities Daily Planet

The production of Rent currently playing at The Lab Theater is the kind of thing you don't see very often: a homegrown, fully-staged, professional production of a Broadway musical. There's a good reason you don't see such productions very often, and it's not an artistic reason—as this production makes clear, we have no shortage of dazzling local talent. The reason is economic: professional musicals are expensive, and without the tourist traffic of New York or the economies of scale enjoyed by touring productions, it's hard not to lose your shirt. The ominous number of empty seats at Thursday night's performance of Rent augur that locally-produced musicals may continue to be a rarity, so catch it while you can.

I'd never seen any production of Rent prior to Thursday night—there hadn't seemed to be much reason to. The last touring production that came to the Orpheum was greeted with a big shrug; even my mom called it "a period piece." It sure seems fresh in director Andrew Rasmussen's vigorous production at The Lab, though: references to Doc Martens and yuppies serve as amusing and slightly surprising reminders that the show debuted in 1994. That was before multicultural urban rock operas were standard fare on Broadway, but what I was pleased to discover about Rent is that none of the characters feel token: they're rich and human, and their circumstances are simply treated as their reality.

The plot, for those of you who have been under the rock with me for the past 16 years, concerns a group of young people living the boho dream (writer Jonathan Larson was inspired by La Boheme, and by his own experiences) in New York City, fighting gentrification, discrimination, drug addiction, HIV, The Man, and their own demons. They fight, break up, make up, live, and die. The specific situations were (and are) contemporary, but the basic plot elements are older than a certain Middle Eastern Jew whose birth is celebrated at the beginning and end of the show. In fact, the show even reaches into His bag of tricks for a last-minute plot twist.

There's a lot that's exciting about this production, and the excitement begins with the casting. The local performers who fill the stage are skilled and experienced, but they perform with the kind of gusto you usually see only in high school productions. That's a compliment: they sing like they mean it. Leads Maria Isa and Harley Wood have tremendous charisma—more individually than together, but charisma nonetheless. Casting Isa, in particular, was a coup. She looks and sounds like a star; she nails her vocal solos with technical finesse and palpable emotion, and she wears her thigh-high black boots like she invented them.

Rent demands a deep cast, though, and this production has it. To the potentially awkward role of white-boy filmmaker Mark, Reid Harmsen brings conviction and a wry sense of humor. Kinaundrae Lee makes Angel as lovable as he needs to be for later developments to carry weight, and Lorin Yenor is charming as Angel's boyfriend Collins. The absolute high point of the evening is an indignant duet between Colleen Somerville and Jamecia Bennett as a dating couple, which outdoes anything in Dreamgirls as a no-holds-barred diva-on-diva vocal smackdown.

Bonnie Bologna's set and Barb Portigna's costumes are serviceable and unobtrusive, as is the performance by musical director Dennis Curley's band. Really, what you're paying to see here are the actors' performances, and they do not disappoint. At $46.50, tickets for this production of Rent are in the ballpark of what you'd pay to see a touring production on Hennepin—but what you lose in fancy sets and gilded proscenium is more than made up for by close proximity to tremendous performers. Every time a song ended, I found myself surprised to hear the pitter-patter of a small audience's applause rather than the thunder of a full Orpheum. I now understand why Rent is one of the top-grossing Broadway shows of all time, and this thrilling production feels true to the DIY spirit the show celebrates. Don't miss it.

Copyright: ©2010 Jay Gabler

The Lab Theater

700 1st St. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55401 

Phone: 

612-333-7977

http://www.thelabtheater.org

Friday food

Burger quest!!!

Yes, it's been a while. Too long. We were in desperate need of a burger. So off we went to Five Guys in Edina. 

It's a good option for a quick, casual, but above-McDonald's-quality burger.

While you're waiting in line to order--and there was a line the whole time we were there, although it moved quickly--you can munch on some peanuts.

The menu is short and sweet.

Burgers, fries, or if you must, hot dogs or a grilled cheese sandwich. Coke products, bottled water--those are your choices. Not the place to go if you simply must have a beer with your burger.

Teen 2 immediately complained that the menu didn't offer a double cheeseburger, his personal favorite. But as we found out, the standard burger is, indeed, a double--if you want a single, order the "little burger." I thought that was a kid's menu. Silly me.

The fries are quite good.

As was the (as it turns out) double burger.

There are plenty of choices for toppings: raw or grilled onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, relish, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, mayo, jalapenos, green peppers, A-1, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce. So you can gussy that burger up any ol' way you want, at no additional cost.

I went with pickles, mayo, grilled onions, and of course mustard and ketchup. You know what? It was pretty good. Teen 1 declared it to be on par with Lions Tap, which you might recall has been the consistent winner in the Teen demographic. Teen 2 thought it an awfully close battle, with Lions Tap winning by a hair. But given that both Teens added toppings not available at Lions Tap (BBQ sauce for Teen 1, A-1 for Teen 2), I think it's safe to say Five Guys did have an edge in some ways, whether they admitted it or not. I preferred it to Lions Tap, just because they have so many options for toppings.

Would I put this burger up against burgers from, say, Salut or Vincent? The Teens would say yes, I would say no. I still think trying to lump all burgers into one category is really an exercise in futility. At Salut or Vincent, you're getting a gourmet burger, and what's more, you're getting a restaurant experience. Lions Tap has table service and beer, but that doesn't mean it's a slow, lingering meal.

So: in my opinion, if you're in the mood for a quick, good, and reasonably priced burger, Five Guys is a good pick. We'll go again.

Now if they'd only add guacamole to the list of toppings, I'd be the happiest camper.