Greetings, Twin Citians and Happy Monday!

I’m Doniree, your newest friend here.

*hand shake*  Nice to meet you!

A quick introduction, and then I’ll just dive right in and get to the good stuff.

By day, I’m a 20-something media buyer here in the Twin Cities. I’m a St. Paul resident for the next two weeks, and will then be moving to the SW Minneapolis side of town.
By night, I’m a shameless local tourist with a love of (ok, obsession for) all things pop-cult, local, edible, imbibe-able, and musical.

A quick snapshot of my favorite local goodies:
DJ - Mary Lucia (89.3 The Current)
Bar - The Herkimer
Sports Team - The Twins
Band - more recent favorite is tied between Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles and White Light Riot; my all-time favorite local band is The Replacements
Drink - The Herkimer’s Vienna, The Local’s Big Ginger, or The Red Dragon’s Wondrous Punch
Burger - The Juicy Lucy (and since they all claim to have the best, or the original, I’m on the hunt to determine who’s right!)

Ok, you get the idea.  So you wanna be friends?  Great!  Because I need your advice.

Like I said, I’m moving from St. Paul to Minneapolis and I need to start making a list of places to check out once I get settled in the new place, which sits on the north side of Highway 62 between Penn and Xerxes.

For the last 1+ years, I’ve been right on the border of the Merriam-Park and Lexington-Hamline neighborhoods in St. Paul, about a block south of the Pizza Luce on Selby just west of Lexington. I have LOVED living in this area for the last year. Why? Because of how much greatness is within walking, biking or a quick driving distance in the neighborhood.

Just last weekend, I walked to the Uptowner Cafe at Grand and Lexington. For under $15, my friend and I had a giant breakfast and got to sit up at the bar and watch the cook in action. This is a cozy, wait-in-line-and-snag-a-table-when-you-see-one kind of place, and I love it.  (Breakfast/brunch is also my favorite meal, so I’m a bit partial to a good diner.)

I’m also a short drive down to the Groveland Tap on St. Clair. The service is neighborhood-friendly, and the apps were deep fried perfection.

Sweeney’s, The Muddy Pig, and both taverns (Tavern on Grand and Tav on the Ave) are other local brewpubs of awesomeness, and are all places I will miss being within two miles of.

However, moving across town to SW Minneapolis will be a new adventure and I’m looking forward to scoping out places over there. The problem is, I’m not as familiar with Minneapolis as I am with St. Paul and need help figuring out where to go and what to try.

This is what’s on my list so far, but comments and suggestions are welcome!

Here’s the short version of to-do list:

• 50th and France - in general, I plan to just take over that area and hit every coffee shop and wine bar there. Topping my list are: Beajos and Breadsmith (reviews are welcome!)

• Urbanspoon.com tells me to check out Cave Vin.

• I’ve heard rave reviews about Cafe Maude, and am dying to check it out!

What else shouldn’t I miss? Where should I shop? Where’s the best coffee?

Participating in your civic duty and earning a priceless “I Voted” sticker not giving you enough satisfaction? Lots of national and local businesses are looking to cash in on electoral fever….

FREEbies

• Ben & Jerry’s free scoop of ice cream between 5:00pm and 8:00pm.
• Starbucks Coffee offers a free large coffee if you’re willing to wait in line.
• Free pint of Schell’s beer at The Nomad World Pub.
• Free drink at the 508 Bar & Restaurant.
• Free donut at Krispy Kreme…oh wait.

Local Incentives

• 2-4-1 pints from noon to close (2:00am) at The Herkimer.
• $10 off any entree at The Melting Pot.
• Triple order of Topperstix or a large 1-topping pizza for $3.99 at Toppers Pizza

I snagged most of the list above via Alexis, who did her homework and also suggests you check out the vita.mn thread for info on election day parties and other specials.

From a quick Google search, it seems MSP is falling behind in the “I Voted” freebie department.

In Dallas, a local tattoo parlor is offering “Free Tattoo Removal with Proof of Vote.” Lots of local restaurants in major cities are offering free burgers or a glass of champagne, car washes are giving away red, white and blue (soap) specials, and in New York, handbag and clothing boutique Hayden-Harnett is giving voters 20 percent off and free wine at the door.

Maybe the best yet — an adult bookstore in Seattle is rewarding voters with a sex toy called The Maverick.

Forget your “I Voted” sticker and still want to cash in on the freebies? Go for it anyway.

According to federal and state laws, offering incentives or remuneration to reward people for voting or not voting is illegal. Since these laws were created to prevent any form of bribery through free food, alcohol or money, retailers will have to go by the honor system or face a visit from Mark Ritchie.

If you’re not at the bloginar or observing Yom Kippur, try this on Thursday.

Beyond the Pure: Readings by Writers of Color, is returning to The Carol Connolly Reading Series at Intermedia Arts (”Minnesota’s first and only ongoing series of public literary readings whose mission it is to provide a platform for writers historically excluded from traditional literary settings.”).

Beyond the Pure: Readings by Writers of Color
Thursday, October 9, 2008
7:00 PM at Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis
Admission by donation; wine & beer reception to follow

Curated by Julie Bates & Carolyn Holbrook; hosted by Carolyn Holbrook

Featuring:
IBé was born in Guinea, and grew up between Sierra Leone, Chicago, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities. Quite naturally, he lives in the Middle of the Atlantic…with a mailing address in Minneapolis, MN. Among others, he writes about the African Experience, both in Africa and in America. Bridge Across Atlantic, his first collection of poems, is a small dose of these stories.

BAO PHI has been a performance poet since 1991. A two-time Minnesota Grand Slam champion and a National Poetry Slam finalist, Bao Phi has appeared on HBO Presents Russell Simmons Def Poetry, and a poem of his appeared in the 2006 Best American Poetry anthology. He has performed in venues and schools across the country, from the Nuyorican Poets Café to the University of California, Berkeley. Currently he continues to perform across the country, remains active as an Asian American community organizer, and works at the Loft, where he creates and operates programs for artists and audiences of color.

SUN YUNG SHIN is a 2007 Bush Artist Fellow for Literature and author of the collection of poems Skirt Full of Black (Coffee House Press 2007); co-editor of Outsiders Within: Writings on Transracial Adoption; (South End Press 2006) and author of Cooper’s Lesson (Children’s Book Press 2004), a bilingual Korean/English illustrated book for children. She’s currently working on her second book of poems with the working title The Invisible Choir and a memoir of her immigration and naturalization. Her website is www.sunyungshin.com.

Funds for this activity are provided by the COMPAS Community Art Program through a grant from the McKnight Foundation. The Carol Connolly Reading Series is sponsored in part by The Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, DreamHaven Books, Patrick’s Cabaret, SF Minnesota, and the University Club of Saint Paul.

Intermedia Arts on: [web] [facebook]

Living in the Audobon Neighborhood of Northeast, there is a small downtown area which runs down Johnson Street From 28th to 29th.

There is a good batch of independent businesses -  Audobon Coffee, EMI, Sarah Jane’s Bakery, Rewind, Crafty Planet, POP, A Gift Shop (which I am related to the owners, so I won’t overly promote them for personal reasons), Snap! plus a pharmacy, clinic, barbers and stylists and some others. They have an association that lists them all here.

When the 35W Bridge went down it seemed like that street was too many miles away from the bridge to be affected, but what I didn’t know is that many people traveled down Johnson to get onto 35W and then go over the bridge. People started taking alternative routes and not stopping for Coffee, Donuts and to shop on Johnson Street. The street was also featured in the news, about their plight and the businesses wondering if they would be able to keep operating.

Well even as early as Friday morning when I stopped into Sarah Jane’s Bakery for a donut (or two), I asked if the Bridge opening had helped even though it was only open for one day before that.

She said it did, and they hoped that today was busy as well because they upped their production of donuts for it.

It’s amazing the difference a bridge, a road or any type of construction can cause this much difference to a street and it’s businesses. It’s a powerful lesson, to those who might admire the local independent businesses in their area but might not frequent them enough.

You might want to, because the next time you want that cup of coffee, or a tasty meal they might not be there.

2008 Selby Ave JazzFest, 11am-7pm, Saturday, Sep 13, 2008

2008 Selby Ave. Jazz Fest
Selby & Milton, St. Paul,
Sept 13, 2008
11a.m - 7 p.m.

The Selby Ave JazzFest was created in 2002 by Golden Thyme Coffee Café owner and community activist Mychael Wright. (Golden Thyme is on the corner of Selby and Milton.)

I used to hang out over there kind of a lot. That corner doesn’t normally look too exciting. In fact, it’s an oddly deserted and vaguely creepy feeling area considering Summit Ave, Grand Ave, and Selby-Dale are so close by. So I bet it’s quite a sight when the JazzFest is going on. Almost 10,000 people attended last year.

There’s food from “soul food” to “State Fair,” a marketplace, a health and wellness fair, activities for the kiddies, and music all day long.

More information is available at SelbyAveJazzFest.com and on their facebook page.

Schedule
11 a.m. Dick and Jane’s Big Brass Band with kickoff parade
12 p.m. Walker West Urban Legends of Jazz
1 p.m. Mikhalized
2 p.m. Wenso Ashby & Zsamé Morgan
2 p.m. - 6 p.m.Kids have the opportunities to engage in making puppets with Heart of the Beast
3 p.m. Yohannes Tona
4 - 4:15 p.m. Award Ceremony: Leigh Kammon & Merle Harris Awards
4:15 p.m. The John Raymond Project
5 p.m. Salsa Del Soul
6 p.m. Jason “Malletman” Taylor

As the festival progresses, reviews become more and more important. As your precious time runs out, you want to make sure you’re catching the good stuff. I’m following along at the TC Daily Planet, Pioneer Press, City Pages and checking the reviews rolling in at fringefestival.org so I can see if the stuff I thought looked good has actually turned out to be good (keeping in mind that a lot of those are going to come from family/friends).

On to the reviews.

Secrets of the Little Yellow Diary by Patty Nieman
Patty Nieman is a 13-year-old girl in 1977. She reads aloud from her diary and it’s hilarious because you just know how a 13-year-old girl writes and the kinds of things a 13-year-old girl finds dramatic (like boys). That premise in and of itself may be off-putting to some, but this show is really well put together. There are a lot of original songs which are totally appropriate to the dramatic nature of a show about a 13-year-old girl who is into theater. Patty Nieman herself was fantastic, enjoyable, and clearly an experienced performer. The whole show tickled me and gave me a warm fuzzy. Recommended!

Conundrum Rehabbed by Joseph Bingham
I think I mentioned before I usually stay far away from dance. I just don’t get modern dance. But I saw the Fringe-For-All preview of this show and it totally hooked me. This is a whole company performing a whole variety of dances. All of them have a clear theme to them. Some are funny, like a duck hunting scene. Some are traditional dance styles (tango, charleston, swing, ballet, tap). Some are traditional dance numbers (Chicago, Swan Lake). Thriller (not exactly thousands of Filipino inmates, but pretty good). Haddaway. The program explains to you exactly what you’re seeing, in case you think you vaguely remember that as being Swan Lake but you’re not quite sure. There’s a strobe light, so be forewarned. Also be forewarned that it involves music that sounds suspiciously like Yanni or John Tesh. And, you know, dancers have awesome bodies so I spent a little time admiring that and wondering what guys wear under those tight pants. Recommended!

“The Bronze Bitch Flies At Noon” and “Dog Tag” by Magicword Theater
This show was written by Matthew A. Everett, Fringe reviewer extraordinaire. I loved this show and it left me terribly wanting. It’s two one-act plays. It’s short. 35 minutes total for both (most Fringe shows run 50-60 minutes). Both plays are gay-themed. There is shirtlessness and boy-kissing in a totally appropriate and not gratuitous way. The thing is both plays were so well written and so well acted I wanted them to keep going. “The Bronze Bitch Flies at Noon” especially. It’s so dialogue-driven, the acting was strong and subtle, and it played really well in the Rarig Center’s Arena which is smaller and more intimate (and round). The dog stole the show in “Dog Tag.” I won’t give away any more on that. The two main characters portrayed the far side of what used to be a relationship, and I totally wanted to know how they got to that point! So great, and it could be so much more. Recommended!

Further miscellaneous observations…

That’s the sign on the awning of Caffetto’s. It’s a coffee shop in Puerto Morelos, a town about 20 minutes south of Cancun. There’s a Caffetto’s here, at 22nd and Lyndale. Same owners. There’s a photo on the wall showing all three of their locations.

I had the pleasure of spending a week in Puerto Morelos. Apparently, there’s a huge Twin Cities connection. There are lots of people from here who have houses, condos, hotels, stores, tour outfits and whatnot down there. There are lots of people from here who retire down there. There are lots of people from here who just visit a lot down there.

If you know the right person, you can rent a house or arrange some other things for yourself if you go down there.
Read more

Last night, a staff member at Coffee House Press told me that the proprietors of Nate’s Clothing downtown (27 N 4th St) closed the sale of their building yesterday. The Star Tribune ran a story in March on the impending ownership change, saying it would be sold to Uppal Enterprises, which plans to install a nightlife establishment or restaurant.

Coffee House, which currently roosts on the fourth floor, will mostly likely be moving to Northeast, possibly in the vicinity of the old Grain Belt Brewery. CHP is a non-profit press that has put out some award-winning books. If you’re not familiar with them they have various events going on around the Cities in the coming weeks.

Local artist Scott Seekins also has a studio on the fourth floor of the building, so he is being displaced as well. He will have a longer trek to complete his “performance art” rounds through the downtown skyway everyday if he has to move to a different neighborhood. (If you’re familiar with Seekins, you know that he always wears either a white suit or a black suit, depending on the season. I saw him at the Mayday parade last weekend in snowy garb, and as my friend said, “That means spring.”)

So, that’s a three-for-one hit to the rootsy side of downtown: the mom ‘n’ pop clothes business, a non-profit book publishing press, and a local artist all leaving the Warehouse District. God knows we could use another Aqua.

I decree it to be Spring!

Yo Spring, Happy Saturday.  ( <— seesmic video. )

Sure, I don’t have any actual power to decree a season, but that’s never stopped me in the past.

So, despite the recent weather’s attempt to bring us down, spring has triumphed. It’s time for the migrations to begin.

That’s right, I’m talking about the return of garage salers.  

We drove to the coffee shop this morning and there are garage sale signs popping up faster than tulips. I’ll bet you’ve seen them too. I’ll bet you may have even stopped.

Come on people, don’t be shy, it’s a guilty pleasure we all share. Let’s talk garage sale.

This month’s Twin Cities Media Alliance Brown Bag Lunch features FOX 9’s Robyne Robinson. The TCMA’s brown bag lunch series of course puts the spotlight on journalism, but if you want to go all fanboy/fangirl on RR and tell her how awesome her commitment to the community is, it’s a pretty casual affair.

Wednesday, April 23 (tomorrow)
East Lake Library (2727 E Lake St)
12:00 noon
TCMA provides the coffee, you bring your lunch