We are off to Minneapolis this weekend and here is what’s on my list to check out:

The new wing of the Frank Gehry-designed art museum of the U of Minnesota campus. (Gehry also designed the new wing.) One complication – the U of Iowa/U of Minnesota football game at 2:30. Guess we’ll try to go to the museum after the game starts.

– The graphic arts show at the Walker Art Center (and as always, we’ll revisit the sculpture garden across the street.)

–  A reportedly great new bakery in an “emerging” Kingfield neighborhood: Patisserie 46 4552 Grand Ave. S. Maybe check out Cafe Ena, 4601 Grand Avenue South, a Latin fusion restaurant, or Saffron Restaurant and Lounge, 123 N. 3rd street for some Middle Eastern grub. See review (below)that accompanied it’s “Best Middle Eastern Food” award from a local magazine:

And we’ll do some of our old standbys in the Uptown area around Hennepin Ave. where we usually base ourselves:

– Stay at Evelo’s  Evelo’s Bed & Breakfast 2301 Bryant Avenue South in the Lowery Hill East Neighborhood. From the outside, this 1897 three-story house house is unexceptional. Inside, it’s remarkable – a well-preserved Victorian home with original woodwork, period furnishings including lots of Tiffany stained glass lamps and lovely dining room with reproduction wall paper designed or inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the famous Scottish architect and designer.

– Dinner at Lucia’s, 1432 W. 31st Street. (Apparently it now has a Dog Bar…not sure what that’s all about.) We m

Most Americans think of Middle Eastern food as hummus and shish kebab. But Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey have their own distinctive cuisines, a blend of culinary traditions that evolved over centuries of migration and war. Saffron is a fitting place to savor the diversity of the Middle East, as the restaurant features flavors of northern Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Peninsula. Everything on the menu, from the giant beans laced with dill and olive oil to the sweet and savory chicken bisteeya in flaky phyllo dough, is carefully prepared and faithful to the ingredients’ flavors. Take the lamb brain with tomato confit. The savory richness of the brain, which is accompanied by a whiff of organ-meat fragrance reminiscent of foie gras, is balanced by the sweet preserved tomato and garlic. A touch of parsley elevates the flavor and rounds out the dish to perfection. Saffron has a fantastic cocktail program, featuring original drinks made with infused liquors: Spices such as white and Szechuan peppers, mejdool dates, and chamomile transform familiar spirits like gin, whiskey, and brandy into veritable elixirs. They say the history of a land is written in its food. Saffron is a reminder of how complex the Middle East can be.