November 6, 2011 · 4:40 pm

Pondering where to eat during next trip to Chicago

I don’t know why we don’t have a ready list of tried-and-true favorite restaurants to go to in Chicago – we certainly go there often enough and have been to many places, some several times. Still I always seem to have trouble deciding where to go next, maybe because Chicago has so many options and they keep growing and my family members have various preferences and opinions about where to eat.

That said, here are some ideas I’ve read about recently in Chicago Magazine – in Evanston and in Chicago:

– Fraiche, 815 Noyes ST. Evanston – for brunch: ginger scone, french toast egg dishes, lemon kiss cookie.

– For Vietnamese banh mi sandwich (baguette with pork, veggies, mayo etc.) – Saigon Sisters, 547 W. Lake St. or French Market, 131 N.Clinton in the Loop.(Description of their food sounds best – although most expensive.)

Del Seol (for bulgogi – korean rib-eye sandwich) – 2568 N. Clark St.

Bar Le, 5014. N. Broadway – veggie avocado sandwich.

Bun Mi Express, 3409 N. Broadway (although wary of the description of sliced pork roll as “b0logna-like”)

 

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November 5, 2011 · 10:02 pm

Revisting old Twin Cities favorites – Lucia’s, Walker Art Center, U of M Gehry Museum

We did visit some old favorites last weekend in the Twin Cities that didn’t disappoint. They include:

– Lucia’s, the venerable Uptown restaurant, was packed on a Saturday night, as expected so we were glad to have booked a table well in advance. It’s a cozy unpretentious place that prides itself in a constantly changing seasonal menu using fresh local ingredients whenever possible. One mild complaint – both our soup and a main course arrived luke-warm bordering on cold. They were quickly warmed up. And the desert – an updated version of German Sweet Chocolate cake – was too sweet and heavy. (The cake was more like chewy macaroon and the frosting more like denser chocolate.) But the appetizers and main courses were beautifully done. We had a cup of a white bean soup with vegetables and chorizo; an amazing ravioli filled with caramelized cauliflower with thick bits of bacon on a bed of arugula, a very tasty baked chicken dish served with perfectly cooked brussel sprouts, chewy mushrooms and a bread pudding; and a leg of lamb in calvados with sliced apples and braised vegetables.

– I’ve never really gotten used to the Walker Art Center’s new building – feels sort of disjointed and without a center and the graphics show left me cold. But always good to check in there – and at the sculpture garden across teh street.

– The University of Minnesota’s Art Museum has a new wing also designed by Frank Gehry, who designed the rest of the place. It’s a crazy shiny steel-clad building (although there is some rust…) that looks a bit like a crumpled up beer can. Inside the space is light and airy and all the better for displaying an eclectic collection of contemporary art.

– We took the drive along the river from U of M to St. Paul – absolutely gorgeous on a crisp fall day with blazing autumn leaves. Wished we were riding our bikes!

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November 1, 2011 · 3:46 pm

Twin Cities bakeries/sandwich shops – the good and not as good

We did the grand tour of quirky independent bakeries and sandwich shops in the Twin Cities last weekend and here’s how they stack up:

– Cheeky Monkey, a sandwich shop on Selby Avenue in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of St. Paul (i.e. just west of the Cathedral downtown) –  This is a keeper. Lively vibe, good service, tasty food, interesting neighborhood – just down the street from Garrison Keillor’s fantastic Common Good Books. We shared a Muffaletta which was perhaps not the most authentic but still substantial sandwich with a zing served with very good homemade potato chips.

– Patisserie 46, (46th and Grand, a bakery in southwest Minneapolis’ “emerging Kingfield neighborhood” (according to the NYTimes.) We should have eaten lunch here. The sandwiches looked great – one I spotted was thick slabs of real-meat turkey served inside a hearty baguette. Next time. The pastries also fancy and delicate. We got some croissants and a very good olive sourdough bread to go.

– Be’wiched, in the warehouse district of Minneapolis on Washington Ave., this sandwich shop and deli didn’t have the warm funky environment of Cheeky Monkey. It had more of a sleek, clean vibe which wasn’t as welcoming. The sandwiches – allegedly among the nation’s best according to a prominent food mag – were a little too strange for us.  The Roast Beef (on ciabatta served with horseradish, havarti and onion jam) was better than the tuna confit (real pieces of fish/not tuna from a can served with black olives, cucumber, aioli, preserved lemon on Focaccia), a good idea but strange tasting and pricey at $9.50. Four tiny containers with different side salads came with our sandwiches and we tried but didn’t finish any of them. Oh well.

– Bars Bakery – This place, down the street from the Cheeky Monkey on Selby was closed, but sounds like it’s worth a visit. It specializes in the classic dessert bar, which is apparently a Minnesota staple (our b&b served some at breakfast come to think of it, one made of lingonberries.)

– Evelo’s B&B – Come to think of it, some of the best pastries we had were at this Lowry Hill B&B near Uptown, the Lake of the Isles, the Walker Art Center and downtown where we like to stay. I don’t know which they made and which they bought but we had wonderful brioche (soft, sugar-dusted muffin-shaped pastry with dollop of vanilla custard inside), kringle (I think), and lefse  (a Norwegian pastry that’s a piece of dough/flatbread slathered with butter, honey and cinnamon then rolled and cut into bite-size pieces. Tasty. Fortunately it wasn’t served with that other Norwegian specialty, lutefisk.)

Also on my list which we didn’t try:

Sweets Bakeshop near Patisserie 46 and the Salty Tart Bakery in Minneapolis.

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October 31, 2011 · 5:56 pm

Amazing views and vertigo at Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis

We finally visited the new (okay five-year-old) Guthrie Theater last weekend during a visit to the Twin Cities. What an astonishing place. Designed by Frenchman Jean Nouvel’s (2008 winner of the Pritzker Prize)  its odd-looking exterior is a  rounded cobalt highrise (echoing the nearby historic flour mills downtown) with a protruding platform that sticks out towards the Mississippi River like a bridge lopped off in mid stride.  As suggested, we took the very narrow steep elevator that reminded me of an elevator in the London Tube system to the fifth floor and walked out on the platform which we had all to ourselves on a quiet Saturday morning in late October.  Astonishing views of the River,  St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge, bright sunshine bouncing off the blue glass, and I felt like an ant whose antenna had been ripped off. Dizzy. Disoriented. Dazzled.

Inside, the strange interior – soaring spaces with cut out windows offer very precise views of the river and city and a lovely green landscaped park dotted with fiery red-leafed trees – also had me feeling woozy. We rode the elevator up to the ninth floor for another dazzling view, this time through huge panes of yellow-green tinted windows. Interesting how the glass totally changed the view we’d seen several floors below. We also walked around the curving space lining one of the theaters and through the sleek darkened bars on the fifth floor.

Building tours are available the first Saturday of the month. Next time, we’ll go to a performance there at one of the complex’s three stages (the “thrust stage” and Shakespeare seems good idea.)

for photos and more info: see http://www.guthrietheater.org/about_guthrie/our_spaces

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October 28, 2011 · 2:38 pm

New places to check out in Minneapolis this weekend


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.

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October 27, 2011 · 11:42 pm

Pilgrimage to new FLWright hotspot in Mason City

Just back from a tour of the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Fantastic$18 million renovation of the 101 year old hotel and bank buildings (now a lovely hotel with 27 rooms.) And the FLWright aficionados have discovered the place – both tours offered today were full of people, some almost as knowledgeable as the docents giving the tours. Next time, I’ll have to book a room and stay for the night. Also found a good place to eat – new spot about two blocks west of the hotel call Chop with very affordable salads, sandwiches, egg dishes served in stylish room with FLWright overtones (same ochre colored, scallop patterned plaster walls etc.)/ Lovely day.

Did I mention this is the only hotel designed by FLW that remains? (I think there’s a hotel in Oklahoma that’s in a FLWright building but it wasn’t originally designed as a hotel. Must doublecheck that.)

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October 26, 2011 · 7:11 pm

Kansas City Ballet and new Kauffman Center – more reason to go to KC

So I was about ready to jump in the car and drive to Kansas City after reading a NYTimes review of the Kansas City Ballet’s new ballet “Tom Sawyer” performed in the new Muriel Kauffman Theater  (inside the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts) but thought it wise to check first to see if it’s still happening.

And alas, the last performance was Oct. 23 (so why did the story run on Oct. 25….grrrr).  (“Tom” is reportedly KC Ballet’s first new production and likely “the first all-new, entirely American three-act ballet,” according to the NYTimes which gave the production, the dancers and the new performance space thumbs up.)

Anyway, the ballet company and the Kauffman Center- which we have watched being built during our frequent trips through downtown KC  – are now on my list for early May when there’s a performance of work by four famous NYC Ballet choreographers. (Apparently KC Ballet and NYC Ballet have a longstanding relationship. Who knew?) During its Masters of American Dance production May 4-13, the KC Ballet will perform work by four famous choreographers: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins & Todd Bolender (Bolender, was a former Balanchine dancer and artistic director of the KC Ballet.)

 

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October 24, 2011 · 6:11 pm

One coffee with a raw egg please? At Susie’s Kitchen in Stanton Iowa!

I waited with baited breath the other day to hear which Iowa cafe the foodies Jane and Michael Stern (of roadfood.com fame) would recommend after hearing a plug for their segment on the NPR show The Splendid Table. And the winner is….Susie’s Kitchen in the southwestern Iowa town of Stanton, famous for all things Swedish including apparently Swedish coffee made with a raw egg. I went there years ago – and of course remember the distinctive water tower shaped like a Swedish coffee pot (there’s also a coffee or tea cup water tower now, I gather.)

Apparently this isn’t fancy-schmancy barrista coffee – this is  a more watery, lighter Iowa cafe coffee that townies spend hours drinking (sometimes using their own cup hung in the cafe), and the secret, we’re told, is that Suzy (0r whomever) mixes ground coffee with a raw egg and then boils it  “to clarify the brew”…  (see http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/111015/ to hear the Sterns’ description.)

Doesn’t really make me want to jump in a car and drive two hours from DM to Stanton but Susie’s pie does, especially her Fruit of the Forest pie, described by the Sterns as: “a multi-fruit extravaganza of apple, rhubarb, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry heaped into a golden, lard-rich crust that is light, flaky, and flavorful.”  Susie’s is at 404 Broad Ave (712) 829-2947

By the by, Stanton is also the home of the actress (Virginia Kraft) who played Mrs. Olson in ye old Folger’s coffee TV commercials. During my visit years ago in late April, I  found myself walking around the small town with a strolling group of men singing in Swedish and stopping at neighbors homes to drink…what else…coffee.  It’s the town’s Swedish tradition of welcoming May by singing “Skona Maj” or “Beautiful May.”
Here’s water tower photos!

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October 21, 2011 · 2:54 pm

Adding to list for Hawaii’s Big Island: Polulu Valley and town of Hawi

A fellow blogger recommends the Polulu Valley in the northern tip of the Big Island. I’ve checked it out and definitely on our list now, thank you very much.

Here’s her thoughts: Polulu Valley….we are so glad when we added it to our things to do!! The Highway 270 up in North Kohala dead ends into this beautiful valley lookout. You can hike down the cliff to beautiful black sands with some green in it. Not very crowded at all. We wish we had brought lunch with us so we could just enjoy sitting by the water! If you google it, you can see some great pictures of it.

 

And here’s what Lets Go Hawaii has to say:

Polulu Valley, where North Kohala’s main artery, Hwy-270, comes to a dead end, is the last of the chain of inaccessible valleys, and for the moment is every bit as pristine as Waipio. The fear of tsunami, which led the Hawaiians to abandon these once densely populated valleys, is probably their best defense against the rapacity of the developers.

The morning is the best time to visit this picturesque perch overlooking a stretch of sea cliffs. Pololu valley is located at the end of Highway 270 in North Kohala.  On your drive up Highway 270, be sure to stop for a look-see and a wonderful bite to eat in the quaint town of Hawi. The highway ends at the picturesque lookout for the Pololu Valley.  At the top you can look down onto the Pololu Valley and a beautiful black sand beach.

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October 20, 2011 · 9:42 pm

Hints for Hawaii – Big Island and Oahu!

This from a friend in the know…

On the Big Island, we really liked the west coast area around Kona. It’s very different from anything else I have ever seen: black sand beaches, lots of black lava rocks, etc. You can see the place where Captain Cook was killed, too. Hilo is a dump, in my view. Rainy and bad hotel options. The national park is cool, and there is a good chance you will see lava flowing. We felt we pretty much saw the park in one full day. We are big Maui people. It’s our favorite island.

In Honolulu, I would recommend the royal palace. Jackie and I both toured it and found it very interesting. It’s basically in downtown. The area where you are staying in Honolulu will be busy and crowded, but also fun. We like a restaurant called Duke’s that’s right on the strip. Basic food at reasonable prices, and a good salad bar. Climbing up to the top of Diamond Head in Honolulu is also fun, and not that hard. We really like a place called the Side Street Inn in Honolulu. Great, local asian food that only the locals know about. It’s in a bit of a spotty neighborhood, but very good food. Go early, so you have a better chance of getting a table. If you want to see the apartment where Obama grew up, it’s pretty easily found, too. Just a couple miles from where you will be staying.

The island hops on Hawaiian Airlines are really easy and usually on schedule, if that’s how you are getting between places.

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