As the recession is on the upswing (or it will be if we keep telling ourselves that), let’s go celebrate with cheap food!

Sweeney’s Saloon in west St. Paul offers a Recovery Happy Hour EVERY day, from 3-6pm, with $.50 tacos and $2.50 (select) pints.

I went last week with the goal of feeding two people for under $10, and was actually impressed by how active the pub was for being 4pm on a Saturday, with no home games on TV. The noise level was somewhere perfectly in between “So empty I feel awkward talking above a whisper,” and “So loud I can’t hear my friends.”

The tacos were… meh. Worth every cent of the 50 I spent, but not the best bar food around. The beer was cold though and the atmosphere was nice. The HUGE basket of fries was the highlight of my culinary experience there. Also, the women’s bathroom is above average for a bar, but I hear the men’s does not hold to the same standards.

Sweeney’s also has decent late night specials, so check them out.

Tucked in for the Winter (Pamz2)

Putting your garden to bed is never a fun garden chore.  I am in the process of doing mine and I speak from experience. But it is a necessary one and there are certain things to keep in mind to ensure a happier spring. Peat Wilcutt, famous is conducting a seminar on proper techniques for putting your garden to bed for the winter as well as planing garlic and other fall crops.   Details of the seminar below:

***************************************************

Famous Chickens in the City Instructor, Peat Wilcutt, will provide you with the tools to have a proactive approach to perennial and vegetable winter gardening

Date:      Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time:      6:30pm
Where:      Urban Earth Cooperative
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Topics included:
Winter gardening
setting up a cold frame
planting fall crops such as garlic
cover crops

Space is limited so reserve now for Peats class tonight, October 20th!
To pre-register call Urban Earth at 612-824-0066
$10 for members
$15 for nonmembers
Each student will receive a free heirloom garlic bulb for planting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Urban Earth Cooperative
910 W. 36th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
www.urbanearthcoop.org
612-824-0066

Thanks to MPR you can now watch thousands of fair goers eat millions of calories in less than a minute. Mmmmm, I’ll take 18,000 pronto pups.

Minnpost reports

A record-setting crowd visited the 2009 Minnesota State Fair’s opening day Thursday. Minnesota Public Radio captured a portion of those 114,439 people from a video camera setup near its stage at the Fair and sped up the time from opening to closing to make this 20-second video.

So you know, go get something on a stick.


(What is the dude at 1:27 up to?)

I hear Summit has beer on a stick this year. I’d like to see you drink a day’s worth of that in twenty seconds.

Seriously, do it, send me your video.

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We went to the second annual Fresh Taste Festival, an “organic, sustainable food and wine event” put on by Minnesota Monthly.

Art’s Part

While I truly enjoyed the Fresh Taste Festival, for me this was an exercise in fantasy. The tickets cost $55 each, which I would never have been able to afford had Emily not won them. And even with the cost absorbed by the fact that the tickets were won and not purchased, nearly all the foods I tried were organic or otherwise boutique, which means they were mostly cost prohibitive on my nonprofit wage.

But as far as exercises in fantasy go, this one was pretty great. I got to see people and be seen by people, I got to be outside (sometimes) on a perfect August day, I got a pretty sweet commemorative wine glass, and I got to gorge myself on interesting and not so interesting foods.

The biggest surprise was a habanero-based spread. It did not singe my mouth; rather, it left a pleasant warmth on the sides of my tongue unlike any other kind of spicy food I’ve ever eaten. This came from Kayak Kitchens, which does not have a storefront, but which has a website. It’s all good.

This tasting gave me an excuse to confirm something I had long suspected: grass-fed beef is bogus. I was actually a little excited to try the hamburger patty they provided, but was let down to find the beef tasted normal at best and was actually a little chewy—NOT the buttery-soft supermeat I had been promised by oh so many hippies.

The chef demonstrations went at such a pace that I don’t even know if they were interesting because I got up after 20 minutes due to it being boring crap and not actually a demonstration of how to cook food. Live chef demonstrations are dumb in general though, so there you have it.

Overall, I’d say I really enjoyed this event, but I don’t know that I’d make a point to save $55 for it. If I had $55 lying around, I’d definitely make it back, no question. If you need more convincing to go next year, the proceeds do go to Minnesota Public Radio! (But considering all the new stations they’re opening all over the state, I think they might be able to get by without your $55 donation just this once.)

Emily’s Part

I’ll preface my review by saying that I won two tickets to this event via Minnesota Monthly’s brand new Twitter account. I’m very interested in food and wine, especially sustainable and organic food and wine, but $55 in advance and $65 at the door?

I don’t have a job, people.

But anyway, when I saw that they were giving away pairs of tickets to basically the first ten people to ask for them, I jumped at the chance to go.

So Sunday morning, with our stomachs empty and our hopes high, we got on the bus and headed to Nicollet Island for the event.

After a bit of a snafu at will call (no one seemed to have informed them of the 20 tickets that were given away via Twitter), we were handed our passes, a wine glass (one of their goals is to make it a waste free event, so we rinsed and reused the glasses) and a free subscription to Minnesota Monthly (score; I love magazines!)

Then we went on our way to try some food and wine.

Which, for the most part, was very good, and most of the exhibitors were knowledgeable and excited to talk about their offerings. Some particular standouts were butter from the Hope Creamery (no idea butter could taste that good) and Haute Habanero Paste (I don’t know who came up with the idea to put it in pumpkin bread, but I want to kiss him or her on the mouth).

I also didn’t mind trying a few varieties of Flat Earth beer, which was being distributed at a booth that was also offering massages and chocolate. That’s excellent planning.

And, though they weren’t feeding me, I had to respect the people from Tap Minneapolis, who were very enthusiastically extolling the virtues of our city’s tap water and pointing out the many ways in which drinking bottled water sort of makes you an a-hole (but being nicer about it than me).

So anyway, let’s get to the bottom line.

Did I have a great day?
Yes.

Would I have paid $55 for it?
No.

Would I be willing to pay $55 for it someday in the future when I have a job and a little more disposable income?
Perhaps.

People have been singing to their plants for years. And there have even been scientific studies on the effects of music on plant growth.   Now there is a traveling Opera being performed in local Community Gardens in the Twin Cities. Mixed Precipitation is presenting  Orpheus and Eurydice: a picnic operetta,  “a celebration of the sustainable foods system with brave mortals, a three headed-dog, tear-jerking lovers and locally sourced food samplings.”

Roland Hawkins II and Meredith Cain-Nielsen encounter the unexpected during their musical picnic (photo credit-Brad Dahlgaard)

Mixed Precipitation is also hosting a Brunch Benefit at the Bedlam Theater

Saturday August 15th 11:00–1:30
Sunday August 16th 11:00–1:30

Featuring  live music by Karen Townsend, others and a champagne toast to ecological design and backyard barnyards. Leave with a few gardening tips from master gardeners!

Bedlam Theatre is located at 1501 S 6th St, Mpls

This production is directed by Scotty Reynolds and features the spirited music direction of Erik Pearson, dynamic choreography of Taja Will and the work of culinary interludes of collaborating chef Nick Schneider of Café Brenda

Suggested donation: $10 to $40

Community Garden Schedule:

Sat. August 29th 4:00 at the Birchwood Community Garden

(2544 Hwy 100 South in St. Louis Park, behind Reformation Lutheran Church)

***audio description provided at this performance

Sunday August 30th at the JD River’s Children’s Garden

(Glenwood and Washburn Ave in Theodore Wirth Park, Mpls)

Saturday September 5th on Nicollet Island

(Maple Place and Nicollet Street)

Saturday September 12th 4:00 at the Columbus Community Garden

(33rd and Columbus Ave, Minneapolis)

Sunday September 13th 4:00 at Celeste’s Dream Community Garden

(1880 Randolph Ave, outside the Sister of St. Joseph Carondelet, St. Paul)

Saturday September 26th 4:00 at the Augsburg Community Garden

(20th Avenue and 6th Street, Mpls)

Sunday September 27th 4:00 at the Midway Green Spirit Community Garden

(at the intersection of Taylor and Hamline Avenue and Pierce Butler)

Tickets:  612.619.2112

$10–$20 Suggested Donation  (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

We ate dinner at The Tin Fish, located in the Lake Calhoun pavilion, then had dessert at the recently opened Jackson’s Coffee and Gelato at Bryant and Lake.

Art’s Part

It is generally accepted by people who make lists that Minneapolis is a great place to live, especially in the summer. The City of Minneapolis has millions of miles* of biking and walking paths, enough trees to fill five forests, and 10,000 lakes. These are all great for doing things outside!

But what if you have the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD? You’ll need a pretty good excuse to leave the house ever.

Outdoor Lure #1: Lake Calhoun Pavilion.

If you live in Uptown or in St. Louis Park, Lake Calhoun is a good walk or a very easy bike ride away. And let me tell you something: they have beer. And if you don’t want to pay Metrodome prices for beer, you can bring your own beer. Or you could bring scotch and drink scotch at or near the beach. The options are endless**!

But the food they have at the pavilion—called The Tin Fish—is delectable. I had a Mahi Mahi taco (which is known to most by another, more juvenile innuendo-name—but I hate puns so I won’t use that other term) with some of the juiciest, most tender fish I’d eaten in a while. Emily and I split some stuffed grape leaves, which inspired in me a great desire to move to Toronto, buy their professional hockey team, and name them the Toronto Grape-le Leafs.

After our meal that filled us with just the right amount of food, we decided to visit, for the second time in as many days,

Outdoor Lure #2: Jackson’s Coffee and Gelato

This delicious outdoor lure is maybe a mile from the Lake Calhoun pavilion. Jackson’s hasn’t been open for more than a week, and already I’ve eaten there twice. I can’t say anything about their coffee (after all, we wouldn’t want Artpartment-adjacent Urban Bean to be jealous), but they do have delicious gelato, which is certainly worth buying and eating. No outdoor seating though. Alas.

But if you were really into it, you could do what Emily and I did and just walk two blocks down Bryant to 32nd to Bryant Park and sit at a picnic table and watch the kids play basket ball and listen to the parents teach their children how to play hide and go seek like not idiots.

*Actually I’m pretty sure it’s billions
**I asked my mathematician friend, and the options do, in fact, eventually end

Emily’s Part

NOTE: I’m going to go ahead and assume Art made all the fish taco jokes this post can handle, so I’m not going to make any. However, I did do plenty of giggling while reading over my post and thinking of it that way. I’m only human!

I went to the The Tin Fish for the first time last week when I was having a crazy fish taco craving and someone recommended it. I was excited to find out this place even existed because I didn’t even know the Lake Calhoun pavilion served food.

But surprise of surprises, they have delicious reasonably priced a la carte fish tacos! With a wide selection of fish!

After enjoying it so much the first time, I was anxious to go back and suggested Art and I meet there for dinner. It’s about a mile from his place and two miles from mine.

He walked. I biked. Aren’t we super active for people who spend most of our time on the Internet?

After a mildly traumatic experience where a piece of my bike broke off and flew ten feet (it turns out that part wasn’t necessary, but it was still disconcerting) and waiting in a slow-moving line with a very poorly trained dog, we ordered our tacos and grabbed a table.

In my opinion, they’re worth what appears to be, based on the two times I’ve been there, a routinely long wait. Simple, delicious and just the right amount of heat (at least for me, but I’m sort of a baby).

After the tacos, we decided to head to Jackson’s Coffee and Gelato, which just opened a few blocks from Art’s place. We’d already tried their gelato the night before, but hey, we were active that day (see above), so it was totally justified, right?

Plus gelato is really good.

And while their gelato probably isn’t the best I’ve ever had and they could probably do with more of a flavor selection (I believe there were ten, but about half were sorbet or some other non-gelato product I wasn’t interested in), they make up for it with reasonable prices and a discount for cyclists (I found this out when the cashier spotted me awkwardly fumbling with my helmet while trying to find my cash).

Overall, I’d definitely still recommend it.

Local blogger and amateur photographer Deke had an interesting experience while trying to enjoy his lunch.
Via

The most interesting encounter occurred when I stopped in at a favorite restaurant (really more of a deli or bistro) and had lunch. I took some time making my choice at the counter, purchased my food and sat at a table next to the window … I’m thinking, what beautiful light! I’ve got to get a picture of lunch. So, I snap a few shots (50mm f/1.4 set at f/4).

At this point I was approached by an employee, I can only assume she was the manager that day, who asked what I was taking pictures of. I thought I was pretty straight-forward with her explaining that I was taking a picture of my lunch. She asked, “Why?”

My response was that I’m an amateur photog that simply sees a nice image in front of them. To which she replied, “I’m not that gullible.”

“I’m not that gullible.” Now, what do you say to that!?!

The conversation ended with me offering to delete the images if she was uncomfortable but she said, “I want you to stay just stop taking pictures of our food.” At this point it wasn’t worth making any further issue but I had to think that the $20 I just paid for the food would rightfully make it mine and not theirs. I could have gotten it to go and photographed it to my delight without interruption anywhere else.

I can only imagine what she was really afraid of and I suppose she’s in a position where she might feel the need to protect the proprietary rights of her employer however, I could be someone who was interested in promoting her business, too.

I could blog about D’Amico’s restaurant in Golden Valley, tell my readers how wonderful the food is, that they should try to get there and experience the patio, drink free refills of the house wines and especially have one of the molasses cookies which are to die for!

But, I don’t blog about restaurants. I’m an amateur photographer who photographs interesting things.

What would you do in this situation?

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We ate dinner at Cowboy Slim’s in Uptown. Cowboy Slim’s is a cowboy-themed bar and restaurant.

Art’s Part

As Cowboy Slim’s was being built—mere blocks from where I live–over this past spring, I knew what I wanted it to be. Sadly, I also knew what it would be.

I wanted it to be a beer and whisky bar where people over 35 and people under 35 but who are exactly like me—you know, people who know how to be in a bar and not be a total douche about it*—would hang out, maybe dance to some Hank Williams, Jr., and enjoy some beers. Basically, I wanted it to be Inn Kahoots, but walking distance from the Artpartment.

However, I knew it would be something else: an excuse for orange suburban girls to put on cowboy boots (with heels) and corsets to get ogled and groped by over-beefy suburban guys who can’t enunciate. And just walking by at night it’s evident that this is the scene at this bar.

But! During the day! During the day Cowboy Slim’s is a restaurant with a patio. The inside of the restaurant is pure cowboy cheese (think Camp Snoopy)—which is certainly fun if you’re in the mood for it. But we didn’t eat inside. We ate on the patio because it was a gorgeous day.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned undesirable crowd got an early start (or really powered through from the night before) so as to be falling over (three times in the first five minutes of us being there) drunk. The falling, yelling, 5pm drunkards were mostly contained on the opposite end of the patio, so Emily and I were able to eat our meal in relative peace. But if you decide to eat on the Cowboy Slim’s patio on a Sunday afternoon, be forewarned: there will be 5pm drunkards.

I ordered the meatloaf. I’m not going to start piling up superlatives on account of this meatloaf, but it did not let me down in taste or substance. And for ten dollars (actually twelve, but we split the bill–heh heh heh–and not counting the reasonably priced pitcher of Premium which we got at the bar), not being let down is a pretty good deal to me. I will also note that the corn was particularly moist and plump (not unlike the waitresses. HEYO!).

Speaking of the waitresses, have you ever seen Battlestar Galactica? I mean the new one, with all the sex and explosions. Well, all the waitresses at Cowboy Slim’s look exactly like Number Six:

*This does not mean people who don’t get too drunk or into fist fights. This means that if someone falls over it’s because they have had 25 beers plus whiskey, not because they’re a jackass who is whoring for attention from their friends.

Emily’s Part

Our original plan was to spend the evening at the Bastille Day block party, so we set off from Art’s apartment (he’d like you to call it “The Artpartment,” but I’m unconvinced) not very enthusiastic about the whole endeavor.

Art was hungry, over-caffeinated, and sunburned, and I was a little under the weather from a night of drinking and exhausted from an overly ambitious bike ride.

By the time we got there, we desperately needed food and beverages and made a beeline for the concession area, where we noticed that:

1. We were required to pay $1 for a wristband that would give us the privilege to buy overpriced beer.
2. The food options weren’t looking all that tasty.

After a few minutes, we decided that Bastille Day, while it might have been a fun time, wasn’t in the cards for us, so we wandered down Lagoon for a bit before deciding to try Cowboy Slim’s.

Now, I often wonder why bars attract the people they do. In any given neighborhood, they’re all going to pretty similar. Drink prices and food won’t vary much; it’s the people that make you decide whether you want to become a regular.

And the people hanging out at Cowboy Slim’s were not cool.

It was still pretty early when we arrived, and the indoor area was basically empty. The patio, however, was full of people. Full of drunk people. Drunk douchey people.

In the thirty seconds it took to give the hostess our name, a guy (who we’d later notice was wearing a jersey with “Mr. Creepo” on the back) fell down in front of the hostess stand.

The hostess just glanced at him, then gave us a look that seemed to say, “Eh, what are you gonna do?” and kept going about her business. His friends didn’t seem fazed either.

Once we were seated, the service and food were fine, but we couldn’t carry on a conversation because of the screaming going on at the table behind us. And by screaming, I do not mean that people were talking too loud. I mean that they were all “WOOOOOO HOOOOOO! Let’s do SHOTS!”

It wasn’t even 7:00.

So all in all, though we had a nice walk on a beautiful night and a decent meal, I think my favorite part of Sunday was going back to Art’s place for a few games of cribbage.

This week we went to Zeno Cafe’s Tuesday night Cheap Date Night. For $30, they will give you an appetizer, a salad, a dessert, a bottle of wine, and two tickets to the nearby Lagoon Cinema.

Art’s Part

I’d been to Zeno seven or eight times before I went for the cheap date night. None of those times had done a good job of convincing me that Zeno was capable of cheap: the food is delicious, the ambiance is classy-casual, and the prices are set thusly. So, for a special occasion or when I’m pretending I don’t care how much money I spend, I’m thrilled to go to Zeno. But as a cheap date? I’m skeptical.

Which is why, when Emily noted that Zeno indeed has a special labeled “Cheap Date Night,” I jumped at the chance to go. Thirty dollars for an appetizer, a salad, a dessert, a bottle of wine, and a couple movie tickets? You could easily pay that much for just a bottle of wine at a place like Zeno. But, like all things, it was a little too good to be true.

After it was all added up, it was much closer to $40, which is actually a moderate-to-high-priced date on the Art and Emily scale. I certainly can’t afford to drop $20 on myself for a Tuesday night date every week. (What will Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights say? Where, then, would be the money for them?)

It was also wonderful to see a movie afterwards. After paying the bill, it was nice to go and receive another two hours of entertainment without taking out my wallet again (for a $9 ticket!). But if you’re like me and you drink a lot of tea or coffee during the day, you probably tend to break the proverbial seal around 2 p.m., which means you’ll have to be strategic about how you handle that half a bottle of wine waiting impatiently in your bladder for two hours.

But if you can get past my crotchety, “cheap means cheap” complaints about the extra five dollars a person and my old man bladder, you really should try this out. The wine is drinkable, and the food is characteristically delectable. I may recommend eating a slightly larger or slightly later lunch than normal, as the three courses are individual servings intended to be shared (or consumed by the more assertive of the two of you), but I didn’t and I was fine. Plus you get to eat at Zeno, which is always a great time.

Emily’s Part

I decided to walk to Zeno (about two miles from my apartment), and because I always overestimate walking times and Art was a bit late, I spent about twenty minutes chugging water (it was hot outside) and taking in the atmosphere.

The first thing I noticed is that the staff of Zeno is mostly made up of impossibly beautiful, well-groomed men. (Even Art agreed. It was ridiculous.) I mean, I was excited to see Public Enemies because I was going to get to spend 2+ hours looking at Johnny Depp and Christian Bale (who I’ve had a major crush on since Newsies), but damn.

Anyway, Art eventually arrived, and we got right down to the business of ordering because we needed to be at the theater in an hour.

Ordering from the “date night” menu, we went with a Cabernet Sauvignon (rather tasty, though I’m no wine critic), baked clams (an automatic winner because they were served in a giant bowl of what was basically garlic butter), a spinach salad (their advertising and signage doesn’t say that a salad is included, so hooray, bonus salad!) and a raspberry sucree (eh).

All in all, I wasn’t overly excited by the food (though there were a lot of other items on the menu I’d love to try that go on special on other nights), but it was definitely tasty and a fun way to share a meal. It was also, at least for me, a perfect size for a meal (I felt full but not like I wanted to die), though I suspect that Art wouldn’t have said no to a sandwich after we’d finished.

One thing I did find problematic was that because dessert was included (and because I didn’t want to spend any more money), I felt too guilty to get Raisinettes. And a move is not a movie without Raisinettes.

But besides that glaring problem, it was a very pleasant evening, though you may want to steer clear of bringing a man with a hearty appetite. In fact, this special might even be better suited for a “date” with a girlfriend. That, or you can just distract the hungry man by taking him to a movie with more machine gun fire than I’ve ever seen. That works too.

We are so lucky in the Twin Cities to be home to some of the most fantastic Farmer’s Markets so close to our very own Neighborhoods.

The big daddy, the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market,  is open seven days a week at the primary location on Lyndale Avenue, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. April through mid-November and the Nicollet Mall Farmer’s Market every Thursday.   The Lyndale location of the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market opened in 1937, but according to their website, the Minneapolis market dates back to 1876.  The Minneapolis Market is on both Facebook and Twitter.  You can get a full vendor listing for the Minneapolis market on their website but the most fun is to just go and browse the rows and see all the local fresh farmer grown food, crafts and plants you can find.

The Saint Paul Farmers Market is a weekend affair in the Lowertown area of Downtown St. Paul, and has a big emphasis on products produced within a 50 mile radius of the Capital City and the St. Paul Growers Association only allows “fresh locally grown produce to be sold–directly from the grower to the consumer.”  St. Paul’s market, like Minneapolis, has a rich history.  According to their website the first organized St. Paul market began in 1853.  The Downtown location is open Saturdays from 6am-1pm and Sundays from 8am-1pm, April through November. Saint Paul also has a Woodbury City Walk Market on Wednesdays July-October.   The Saint Paul Growers also have outposts at 17 other locations throughout the summer. Consult the website for more information.

The Mill City Farmer’s Market in the shadows of the Guthrie Theater and inside the ruins of the Mill City Museum along the Mississippi River in Downtown Minneapolis was founded by chef and Restaurateur Brenda Langdon and specializes in sustainable, organic and local foods.  It was one of the first markets to have chef-made edibles.  There are always fun family activities and one of my friends is a vendor there (Braucher Sunshine Harvest Farms) so I frequent it often.

Close to my house is also the Midtown Farmer’s Market run by the Corcoran Neighborhood Association. At the intersection of Hiawatha & Lake Street it is a fantastic location for public transportation access right off the Midtown Greenway and Light Rail and Bus Lines.  Unfortunately with the impending sale and development of the school whose parking lot has been the home for the market, it is under threat and the future of this great market is uncertain. This weekend the Midtown Farmer’s Market is celebrating the Summer Solstice with a cooking demo from Beth Dooley, City of Lakes Waldorf School butterfly crafts and more.

Richfield’s Farmer’s Market takes place in Veteran’s Memorial Park Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m and is the third largest market in the Twin Cities behind only Minneapolis’ and St. Paul’s markets.   Very convenient for suburban dwellers and a growing selection of produce though their meat & eggs can are limited.  Not bad for a suburban market and one that has only been around since 1990 though.

Newer to the scene in Minneapolis a decade ago is the Kingfield Farmers Market.  Every Sunday from 9am to 1:30pm at 43rd & Nicollet this is market is growing in popularity every week as the buzz spreads. Especially with the ChefShack stopping by!

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better for Twin Cities residents comes news of another market, this one in Uptown. The Calhoun Area Residents Action Group  with additional sponsorship from the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association is presenting the Uptown Farmer’s Market with begins this Sunday, June 21st.  The market will be located on 29th Street between Lyndale Ave S. And Dupont Ave. S.  and will operate between 11am and 5pm.  It is scheduled to be held four times this year, on the third Sundays of June, July, August and September.  According to their press release the Uptown Market is modeling itself against Seattle’s Fremont Market, and like the neighborhood, will bring an eclectic mix of vendors with more than just food goods.  As Roxie Speth, a local artist on the planning board put it, “We want to offer the kind of quirky, offbeat goods that made the Uptown area so exciting in its early days.” The Uptown Market is on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

Shopping your local farmers markets is not only fun and gives you the opportunity to find delicious fresh items but supporting locally grown goods is also environmentally and economically sound practice.   Just make certain to take your own reusable shopping bags (I promise I won’t pimp the bags I’m selling at Mother Earth again). But don’t forget to stock up on reusable produce bags as well!  I have several EcoBags that I love to take to market with me that I purchased from Twin Cities Green.  Great for the new potatoes, radishes, onions, and peas that are on market tables now. When I get home I reuse plastic bags for the items to keep fresh and crisp in the refrigerator, washing the plastic bags in between uses so I don’t have to keep getting new ones.

Which is your favorite market? Any hidden gems?