The rollercoaster weather is making me nuts this year. I never know what to wear, I end up with many layers of clothes on and the laundry piles up! Most mornings I bundle up and most evenings my coat ends up on my arm. Feels like I’m suffering from Multiple Clothing Personality Syndrome. Heating my house is another issue. If it’s warmish out, I turn the heat off and open the windows to get a nice breeze…but if I forget to turn it back on at night, I wake in the morning to seeing my breath expelled in a cloud before my face. Another example: last Saturday, I returned to my car in a Target parking lot only to find that the interior was hot. I clicked on the A/C to get comfortable. This morning, however, my car was like ice inside and I prayed the heat would come through the vent quickly. That dial on my vehicle’s climate control system has made great leaps to opposite ends of the hot/cold spectrum over the past couple weeks.
(more…)

I flew in to the crazy-busy JFK Airport right on time and procured my lovely aqua-colored Ford Taurus rental among the masses of other travellers. The instant I left the airport, *bam* I found traffic jammed up on the expressway. At about 10am I called my first appointment in Connecticut to let them know I was sitting bumper to bumper. She laughed and replied dryly, “Welcome to New York.”
(more…)

A couple of months ago, I had the good fortune to dine with an executive from the uppermost echelons of my company. He let me name the spot and I took a recommendation from a coworker: Atlas Grill in the US Bank Building on South 6th Street. Atlas rides on the high class dining side - it’s not your everyday lunching grind. But the food! The food was superb. I savored every morsel of the delicately Barbequed Scallops Special on Basmati Rice. A hundred small veggie-laden salads with low-fat bland dressing flashed into my memory as I gratefully gobbled up those scallops. This sudden pleasure in my diet made my whole week.
(more…)

You can sample their album to find out what all the nods and recognition are about and you can go hear them live. This weekend, they will be playing Dixie’s on Grand on Friday and then St. Anthony Main outdoors (between Tuggs and Vic’s) on Saturday for the Oktoberfest on the Riverfront celebration.

My mom’s family has lived in Highland Park for many years and started our adoration for Cecil’s. My parents would occasionally arrange to stop by the deli and bring home some dinner fixins. Here was our typical order: 12 egg bagels, 2 small tubs of Philly cream cheese, 1 pound extra-lean corned beef and a quart of Cecil’s special cole slaw. This was always a big deal to us because it was the one meal selection we could all agree on, kids and parents alike. When my sister became pregnant with her daughter many years later, her pregnancy cravings were intensely related to Cecil’s. Rumor has it she dropped by there every day for lunch during a 10 week period. A few years later after my grandma was diagnosed with Cancer, she wouldn’t eat a thing. On one cold March night, I dropped by her place with a sandwich from Cecil’s - she ate the WHOLE thing. My aunt, a nurse, couldn’t believe it. It was a small victory during a very sad time.
(more…)

Buca has always served me well for larger groups of people. I’d have to say I’ve dined there only once as a table of two; in that instance, we enjoyed the patio at the St. Paul location all lit up by Christmas lights in summertime…the two of us shared a gigantic bowl of spaghetti with gigantic meatballs. All other times I’ve gone with 8 or more folks.

A few days ago, I joined fellow MetroBlogger JasonT, my husband and several friends (some with kids in tow) for supper at the St. Paul Buca. However, this time, I had was treated to a whole new perspective on Buca: we were seated at the “Kitchen Table.” Literally, they have a table right there, in the kitchen, with a spice rack overhead and the ovens just 12 feet away. The chefs were running about as were the wait staff, heaving plates of steamy food back and forth. We also noticed a three-ring binder wedged waaay up between the ceiling and a water pipe; the side of this binder read “Buca TOP SECRET.” We assumed this was a recipe book but were told by our server, the manager and the head chef that they had no idea what was contained inside. Hmmm.
(more…)

If you’ve ever been interested in racing, I’d encourage you to check out one of the drag strips in the greater MN area. Even as a spectator, it’s an exciting sport to watch. You can attend local-ish track events during the racing season and/or a heart-pounding national tournament at BIR, usually in early to mid-August. There are also several “roundy-round” or “circle” tracks in MN, with one of the more popular ones located in Elko. I’m partial to the drag strip myself, but Elko Speedway puts on a great show.

After years of trucking it back and forth to Brainerd, Litchfield and SW Wisconsin, I can’t help but wish we had an NHRA drag strip in Minneapolis. This city girl would be there all the time!

Back on August 8th, Minneapolis residents Aaron Liimatainen his roommate Shelley were hit by a GMC truck or SUV and left for dead after their bodies were flung some 50 feet in the air at the corner of Blaisdell and 35th Street. Police think the offending vehicle was drag racing with another car and ran a red light, thereby causing the accident. Aaron, the driver of the motorcycle that was hit, has already lost one leg; he’s in an HCMC hospital bed trying to recover from broken ribs among other injuries. Shelley may also lose a leg in addition to coping with all of her other internal injuries. The driver of the GMC has not come forward.
(more…)