A closer look at flyover land

Friday food

A couple of weeks ago, we had our wood floors refinished after a refrigerator icemaker malfunction. This involved having to stay at a hotel for a few days--fun, right? Well, sort of. DH and I were both working, and the Teens both had school, and there was no nice shiny yellow school bus to take them from the hotel to school. And of course their school schedules aren't even remotely similar. And of course the Wifi at the hotel was spotty, and dependent as I am on the internets, that sent me out to coffee shops where occasionally I'd have a work call and have to shout over the din. Yeah, that's professional.

By the end of the week, I was a tetch crabby, and hopped in my car one day and determined that I'd have a nice lunch somewhere, preferably a place I'd never been. Not that that narrowed down my choices--lots of places I haven't been.

One can kill a lot of time driving around the Twin Cities, trying to decide which new restaurant to try.

Finally I drove by this place.

The Happy Gnome on Selby Ave. in St. Paul. The irony of the name didn't escape me, but it felt right to to challenge the so-named establishment by hauling my curmudgeonly self in for a bite.

All that driving around meant I was arriving on the late side for lunch, so it was quiet. I could appreciate that.

As I appreciated the Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison beer.

A lovely Minnesota beer. It made me happy, not in an alcoholic sense, but in a "hey I got to try a new-to-me Minnesota beer and it's really good" kind of way.

The server, also the bartender, was ready to answer my question about the menu, which amounted to: which should I order, the sweet potato burrito or the stuffed salmon BLT? He paused, then noted those are his two favorites, and he wasn't sure one was better than the other. I grumpily informed him he was no help and went with the burrito.

You know what? There was no room for grumpy after I ate this. A crispy burrito with sweet potatoes, corn and black beans, served with a mixed green and pico de gallo salad and some pleasingly spicy guacamole.

And I could feel almost virtuous about it. Yes, it was crispy, but lightly crispy, not drowned-in-oil crispy. Plus, sweet potatoes! Which I sometimes don't like, but when they're combined with black beans and spicy guacamole, it's an entirely different story!

When the burrito was served, the two women in the booth next to mine asked how it was. I took a bite and told them to order it. They followed my (excellent) advice, and by the time I left, they were happily chowing down and agreed that it was delicious.

So there you have it. The Happy Gnome can make you happy when you're not.

Plus there's an outdoor patio.

Cinco de Mayo

I was going to do some digging on upcoming events for Cinco de Mayo, but gosh, those fine folks at TC Daily Planet beat me to it. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here you go. And pay close note to the (in my opinion, wonderful) stance taken by REDA in terms of funding for a St. Paul celebration.

Fiesta! Cinco de Mayo in Minneapolis and St. Paul

The sound of maracas and mariachi music will fill the air in the coming weeks when community members take to the streets for Cinco de Mayo block parties in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Twin Cities organizations and businesses are once again are hosting celebrations this year, despite funding woes and operation issues. 

Many think Cinco de Mayo, or the 5th of May, commemorates Mexico's independence, but it is the official date of the defeat of French forces in 1862 in the town of Puebla.   The holiday is celebrated regionally in Mexico, and more broadly in the United States as a celebration of all Americans of Mexican ancestry. 

St. Paul Cinco de Mayo

The Riverview Economic Development Association (REDA) - the non-profit that produces St. Paul's Cinco de Mayo celebration - announced in April that it would not accept $9,000 in funding from the tobacco industry for the two-day Cinco de Mayo fiesta.  If REDA had accepted the funds, representatives from the tobacco industry would have been able to distribute tobacco promotional coupons at the event. Local groups such as the Jóvenes de Salud - an after school youth program - and others did not want this to be a part of the festivities.

Carmen Robles, Director of Latino Outreach for Jóvenes de Salud - a program of the Association for Non-Smokers Minnesota - said the kids in her program were "inspiring" because they wanted to go to REDA and ask them not to take the funding.

"They're (the youth) heroes," she said.  "The kids are beginning to get involved, getting interested (in health)."

REDA marketing manager, Brian Gioielli, said prior to meeting with Jóvenes de Salud, REDA was considering different sponsorship options because finding funding was becoming increasingly difficult. 

"Before Jóvenes came to us we were in an exploratory mode," he said.  "We never have taken tobacco dollars in the past, not since I've been here ... We were just trying to weigh the options at that point."

Gioielli said REDA was fortunate to be able to work with an organization like Jóvenes de Salud.

"It's pretty powerful that a group of high school students would come in and talk to us about something like this (tobacco free environment)," he said.

Gioielli oversees all aspects of the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta and said now the celebration will promote safety and health in the community.

Festivities will take place on Cesar Chavez Street in St. Paul on May 7 from 4-9 p.m. and May 8 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

(For more information about the REDA Cinco de Mayo celebration, visit their website.)

Gioielli said Friday's events are just the start of the celebration, but the "big draw" is the low rider car show in the afternoon and the hydraulic show later in the evening.

Saturday is when the big party starts, according to Gioielli.  There will be a parade, a community wellness village, a children's area, five stages for entertainment, a people's choice salsa tasting contest, a jalapeño eating contest, a history area, and many more attractions.

For 28 years, REDA has put on this celebration and, according to Gioielli, about 100,000 people attend the event every year.

"That (the attendance) makes it the largest Hispanic, Latino event in Minnesota and one of the ten largest Cinco celebrations in the country," he said.

Minneapolis Cinco de Mayo

El Nuevo Rodeo and Sabri Properties are hosting two events in Minneapolis, both of which are free to anyone who wishes to join in the festivities.

El Nuevo Rodeo restaurant and nightclub is hosting its second annual fiesta on Sunday, May 2 will be located on their block of 27th and East Lake Street.  El Nuevo Rodeo shares the hosting duties with La Mera Buena 107.5 FM and La Invasora 1400 AM, and the event is also sponsored by Línea Latina de Accidentes. 

The event comes after the nightclub nearly lost its liquor license when the city moved for revocation due to zoning issues and because some believed the clubs presence had increased crime in the area.  With that battle over, Cinco de Mayo is still on at El Nuevo Rodeo.

Club owner Maya Santamaria said she has a background in non-profit work and although she now runs a for-profit business, she feels this celebration is one way to give back to the community.

"We give back," she said.  "We do it because we're there and we feel like we should."

Salsa dancing lessons and a low rider car show will happen throughout the afternoon and although the block party time is from 12-8 p.m., the party will continue inside Rodeo's nightclub until the wee hours of the morning.

Food and drink will also be in abundance from local businesses and various vendors, according to Gricel Bermúdez. 

"El Burrito Mercado, Don Chilo Restaurant, also Association of Colombian in Minnesota - a non-profit organization - and more," she said.

Two stages, one outside and one inside the club, will hold live entertainment all day from bands such as, headliners Huichol Musical and La Autoridad de La Sierra, both of which are Latin Grammy Award winners.

"It is a celebration of the Mexican community, its music, culture and food, and it is for everyone to enjoy," Santamaria said.  "It's an opportunity for them (all people) to see what El Nuevo Rodeo presents in a day-time, outdoors, family friendly atmosphere."

(For a more detailed schedule of events, visit El Nuevo Rodeo's website.)

Sabri Properties says they have organized Cinco de Mayo celebrations since 1997 and according to the company's website, its involvement with these community events, "brings pride and a spirit of involvement" to the neighborhoods.

 "We have pony rides and a playground for kids," said Esra Erkol - administrative assistant at Sabri Properties.  "It's basically a family day ... (People) have some food and watch some bands, and enjoy themselves."

The fiesta is along East Lake Street, in between Second Avenue and Portland Avenue, on May 9 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  According to Erkol, there will be a march in the morning, food, drink, activities for children and traditional dancers and music to can be enjoyed throughout the day.

Copyright: 

©2010 Caitlin Burgess

Grace Flandrau

I forget where I first stumbled across the name of Grace Flandrau and the notes that she was once a high-ranking member of Minnesota's literati, around the same time and with the same regard as F. Scott Fitzgerald. She published steadily through the 1920s and 30s, but sometime in the 1940s she stopped publishing and remained quiet, becoming obscure and dying in 1971.

A while back I found a copy of the Memoirs of Grace Flandrau on a clearance table at Common Good Books. 

A slim volume, only 117 pages, but I thought it might be an interesting tale of Minnesota history in the early 1900s.

Well, yes and no. Flandrau lived in upper-crust society in St. Paul, but her position there was tenuous at best. Rumors of her illegitimacy dogged her all her life, and for once, with good reason: her mother was actually her father's mistress, not her father's wife. The family's fortunes rose and fell, with lavish dinner parties being held one day while fear of losing their home would surface the next. As a child, Flandrau was sent to Paris to attend school, not because it was the best school, but because it was actually cheaper to live and educate there at the time than in St. Paul. The bulk of this memoir talks about her schooling in Paris, and she's not particularly complimentary of the experience. That section of the book is interesting, but also, in today's memoir-obsessed culture, rather dry--there are some interesting anecdotes, including a headmistress's determination that all students would be converted to Catholicism, even the daughter of a Norwegian Lutheran minister. The same headmistress once cornered Flandrau and kissed her passionately, and then shunned her.

No abuse, other than the kiss and bad food, no excessive bullying, none of the kinds of things we've been schooled to expect in a memoir. That too may be a reflection of the times; in the introduction, editor Georgia Ray notes that Flandrau had exchanged letters with legendary editor Maxwell Perkins on the topic of publishing her memoirs, and his advice was to present them as fiction, because memoir simply wasn't as popular.

How times change.

For me, the best part of the book was the final short section. Flandrau met William Blair Flandrau, who was from St. Paul but owned a coffee plantation in Mexico. A very short courtship (consisting mostly of her reading his brother's book about Mexico and determining she wanted to go there) was followed by the newly married couple leaving for Mexico, against the advice of both sets of parents, who noted that she was perhaps not the best equipped for such a drastic cultural change.

One thing I know about Flandrau: she could write, especially in the last section. I had a devil of a time choosing just one passage to quote, so let's do two:

About one of the passengers on the ship to Mexico: "He was a man of several vocations, two of which were poetry and cooking. He read poetry and he wrote it. He was always sitting on deck with a small volume of poetry in hand unless he could get somebody to listen to him, and then he talked about cooking. He talked especially about a small club of gourmets of which he was a member, and it seemed to me strange that people would form a club for the sole purpose of cooking and eating and talking about food. It was an exclusive circle composed entirely of men as, he assured me, the high practitioners of the arts and other mysteries must be. And from the way he talked it seemed to me that the dishes they prepared must belong altogether outside the realm of what I had then considered food. Super dishes--the alter ego of nutriment."

About arriving in Havana and comparing it to other tropical coastal cities "They have an indescribably aspect in common--the liquid golden quality of the burning heat, the windy coconut palms leaning toward the sea, the chalky white and pale blue and pink sugar-frosting villas tarnished and blistered by the great winds that blow upon them, and the rains and the sun...The scent of the too-sweet flowers stealing from wet gardens behind high iron grilles, and there is always the slow roaring, the velvety, hushed crashing of the waves along the snow-white beach."

Sadly, the memoir in this volume ends with her arrival at the plantation. A note at the end says there are more pieces to the Mexican memoir in Flandrau's papers in Tucson. How I wish someone would publish them--I'd read them in a heartbeat. For now, I'll have to make do with requesting her out-of-print books from the library.

Friday food

Yesterday, of course, was Earth Day. I had a meeting to go to in Minneapolis, and we'd decided to meet here.

Common Roots Cafe. I'd never been here before, but I do follow them on Twitter, and they'd posted that people who stopped in on Earth Day with a reusable travel mug would get a free coffee--Peace Coffee, no less, my favorite. So with my trusty travel mug in hand, I set off for Common Roots.

I like the place. It's got a warm, relaxing interior.

Beyond offering free coffee to those with their own mugs, Common Roots does a lot more year-round to support the environment. They cook their food from scratch using as much locally sourced ingredients as possible (you can find a list of some the farmers they work with here); they compost as much as they can, and recycle as much as can't be composted; they took advantage of recycled building materials and energy-efficient appliances.

That's all well and good, obviously, but if their food sucks, who's going to care? After enjoying my free and delicious Peace Coffee, I decided to be a good citizen and order something to eat.

I got the breakfast hash, which is two eggs on top of heap of roasted potatoes and sauteed onions, peppers, and tempeh (you can get turkey sausage instead of the tempeh if you like).

The nice thing is, not only did I get to feel all smug and self-satisfied about supporting my local provider and using my handy-dandy travel mug, but I got to eat a darned fine meal too. The tempeh was very flavorful, cooked with garam masala, and the the potatoes, peppers and onions were nicely spiced too. And of course I always love eggs. You can hardly go wrong with an egg.

Altogether a very satisfying Earth Day outing.

Earth Day 2010

TC Daily Planet has come up with a comprehensive list of events surrounding this year's Earth Day.

By Brandi Stillings, TC Daily Planet

Earth Day celebrations kicked off April 17, with the annual Earth Day Watershed Clean Up in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This yearly event involves cleaning watersheds, lakes and rivers in the area. But that was only the beginning of metro-area Earth Day observations.

Senator Gaylord Nelson wrote that he started lobbying for more environmental awareness in 1962, but it wasn't until 1970 that Earth Day officially began. The first year nearly 20 million people participated. Senator Nelson recalled:

    Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

Some Twin Cities Earth Day observations are listed below. If you know of more, or if your organization is sponsoring other Earth Day-related events, please add in the comment section. And if you have ANY events, you are invited to list them on our community calendar.

April 22

Earth Day Stroll
10:30 a.m.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Meet in Ordway parking lot and check out the Wildflower Garden with botanist Shirley Mah Kooyman. Free for members, $5 for non-member. Must RSVP at 952-443-1422

Clean Water Action Celebrates Earth Day's 40th Birthday!
3:00 - 7:00 PM
Clean Water Action Office, 308 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
Join Clean Water Action members, staff and volunteers to celebrate 40 years of protection our planet and water resources. There will be birthday cake and refreshments to share. Also, bring your children's toys and jewelry to be tested for toxic chemicals (limit 4 items per person).

A Sense of Wonder: Earth Day Film Screening
The Bell Museum and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) present a special Earth Day screening of the new film, A Sense of Wonder, based on the life and writings of environmentalist Rachel Carson.
Bell Museum Auditorium
7:00 p.m. April 24
Free

Wildflower Walks
10:30 a.m.(also on May 1, 15 and 22)
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
$10 for member; $12 non-members

Birding Walk
8:30 a.m. (also on May 1, 19)
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
$10 for member; $12 non-members

Earth Day at Harriet Alexander Nature Center, Roseville
Harriet Alexander Nature Center, Roseville
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Free
This year the Nature Center has family crafts, games, environmental exhibits, the annual tree planting and there will be birthday cake to celebrate HANC's 20th birthday.
For more information click here: Harriet Alexander Nature Center

R.I.T.E. of Spring 2010, Mahtomedi
Mahtomedi High School, Mahtomedi, Minn.
9 a.m. to Noon.
Free

Como Zoo's Party for the Planet - April 24 and 25
Como Zoo and Conservatory, St. Paul
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Free, donations accepted
The celebration of Neil and Buzz, the return of their two polar bears which will include: a polar bear parade, crafts and family activities. Visit their web site for more information: Como Zoo's annual Party for the Planet
Sunday, April 25

Wishes for the Sky, Harriet Island
Harriet Island, Downtown St. Paul
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Free
Wishes for the Sky celebrates Earth Day with a variety of art events. There will be kite flying, mobiles chiming in the wind and participants will be invited to send wishes for the earth or for anything they want to the sky. The event is inspired by ancient Chinese traditions of flying wishes on kites.
Friday, April 30

Arbor Day
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Pick up a free tree seedling at the Oswald Visitor Center and plant your own tree.
Free for member; $5 for non-member (one per family)
Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2

Living Green Expo
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Free
The event consists of Environmentally-friendly exhibitors and workshops to inspire living greener all year. Demonstrations, vendors, family activities and the latest environmentally-friendly technology will also be included.

Friday food, on Monday

If you're heading out to the Twins new stadium tonight, the Strib's Rick Nelson has a primer for you on what to eat--and what to avoid. Me? I'd go with either the Vincent burger or the Murray's steak sandwich. But that's just me.

More food-related fires

It's been a rough year for fire and destruction in the restaurant business, and last week's fire on Lake Street was even more devastating as it took several lives as well as a restaurant. Michael at We Like It Here reports that a benefit will be held on April 17, details here.

Friday food

Sometimes, I just want nothing more than the comfort of a good steak and a nice supper club.

 Photo courtesy of Lettuce Entertain You

Wildfire Restaurant in Eden Prairie was just the ticket for our family recently. Yes, it's located in a mall. Oh well. Once you're inside, you'd never know it. Wildfire has a dark, intimate, upscale supper club feel, with a bar area lined with enormous booths and dining rooms with a view of the live-action kitchen.

The first thing that happens when you sit down to eat is they bring you bread.

Onion bread, with a crusty outside and a nice soft inside. And, for the record, the Teens both ate and loved the bread--yes, these are the same Teens who claim to hate onions. Even when I pointed out what they were eating, they kept eating it, which meant less onion bread for me. Perhaps next time I should tell them it's horseradish bread.

Then it was on to another family favorite: calamari.

Yes, the Teens are well aware of what calamari is too, but darn it, they also needed to eat a lot of this lightly battered, flavorful appetizer.

But then the Teens made a serious tactical error: they ignored our suggestion that they order steak and insisted on having burgers instead.

Not that the burgers were bad--they liked them, very much, and said they were nearly as good as Lions Tap, which, if you've been following the Burger Quest posts, you'll know is very high praise indeed.

No, the mistake they made was in thinking they'd prefer the burger to the steaks.

DH and I shared an evening special of three filets with our choice of coatings. We chose bearnaise, mushroom, and horseradish.

Well.

We could have been good parents and agree to share with our kids, but sadly, we have yet again failed the Good Parenting Test. We gave them each a tiny morsel to taste, so they could see how badly they'd screwed up in their ordering, then we kept the rest for ourselves. Because it was tender and juicy and flavorful and cooked exactly as we wanted it and was everything a good steak should be.

But, to redeem our selfishness, we let them have dessert.

I know, I know--the restaurant is very dimly lit, and I hate to bother other diners by using flash, so the food photos are lacking. But you can still see how prettily the chocolate pie was plated, in that split second before forks were grabbed and it was consumed.

Altogether a delightful evening of taunting our children with our superior food choices. Oh, wait--I meant to say, another delightful evening of family togetherness, gathered around a nice dinner.

I guess there's nothing for it but to go back.

Oh, those rascals!

Ely sells naming rights for the Boundary Waters to Dairy Queen.

Seriously? I think the Ely Chamber of Commerce has to be one of the most fun places in the world to work. These people have a wonderfully warped sense of humor.