Good news, as of next week we’ll have hit the middle of March. It should be an easy week to forget the sludge and grey, we have Pi(e) Day on the front end and St. Paddy’s rolling into the weekend. It’s sugar and carb loading to get through what looks like a few more flakes to come. More good news? You can have some fried chicken delivered, or pop into an old favorite restaurant back from the dead, or simply add more coffee into your daily routine. It goes with pie.
NEWS
\\ This kind of collaborative spirit is what makes MN beer so good, ya know? Seven local brewers have partnered up with Habitat for Humanity to create a special limited release Home Improvements Beer. The brew is made with a different spin at each brewery, but all proceeds support the Twin Cities Habitat’s House That Beer Built, raising walls one pint at a time. From hazy IPA to grapefruit kölsch, you can sip multiple beer flavors around town and do good for housing needs without ever hitting your thumb with a hammer.
\\ Please consider this your heads up, Saturday Dumpling Club is continuing their chefs dumpling collaborations through the spring, and you need to pay attention. The Doug Flicker miso pork and truffle dumplings are long gone, and the Gavin Kaysen short rib dumplings sold out in a nanosecond. So keep your eye on the site for a Sameh Wadi dumpling in April, and a Christina Nguyen version in May.
OPENS
+ Official Fried Chicken is back open! The quick pickup shop closed their original location in south Mpls., and have relocated to a cloud kitchen in Currie Food Hall. It’s takeout and delivery only for now, but they have eyes on expansion.
+ Here’s some news that might make you sigh a little bit. Boomin’ Barbecue, that #MSP50-worthy smoky good truck that was parked outside of Ombibulous last summer, has found a home at Nova Bar in Hudson, WI. Dylan Boerboom had planned on slinging Q there just for the winter, but the fine folks in Hudson have made it staggeringly more easy for him to smoke meats like the rest of the country, so he’ll be staying there through summer. He’s open currently Th-Sa, from 4-8pm.
+ Nicollet Mall has some new/old shine again, as Zelo has reopened in the downtown. Rick Webb’s Italian power spot was a mainstay on the business dining scene until the pandemic shuttered it. Finally back, but for dinner only to start, the restaurant promises calamari, house made ravioli, that wild mushroom flatbread, classic chicken parm, and my favorite salad of all time, the Brasiliana.
+ Wildflyer Coffee in St. Paul is grandly opening on Saturday. Free cookies from Cookie Cart and black coffee will be provided. The full drink menu will be available for purchase and MINNEØATS will also host a pop-up oatmeal bar. Wildflyer’s mission to serve more young people experiencing homelessness through its work and life skills program will be greatly aided by this expansive new location, go give them your biz.
CLOSES
– Eat Street Social has announced that they will be closing after 11 years, their last day will be March 18. The small spot off Eat Street was sister to Northeast Social at one point, but both locations have changed hands. This bar was an innovative spot when it opened, as one of the original Bittercube outposts. The side room was converted at one point into a Tiki Bar where Marco Zappia once earned the nickname Don Fuego for lighting so much stuff on fire. Bygones.
– Provision Community Restaurant has announced that they have ceased all operations. Opening first as a pay-what-you-can model restaurant, they had to pivot like others during the pandemic. Over the years they have rescued over 120,000 lbs of food and provided over 80,000 meals to shelters. That’s not nothing.
– End of an era when Bev’s Wine Bar closes after service on March 25. After 28 years, and being a cool hideout before North Loop was North Loop, it will be missed. I feel sad for the next generation of 20-somethings who won’t get to go on dates there. Peter Kirihara, man.
– The cute little Depot Coffee House in Hopkins is closing on April 2. It had long been a great booze- and chemical-free spot for teens to gather and hear live music, but they’ve run out of funds. Someone should go give them a bunch of cash to keep going, not many real world cool spots like this left.
COMING SOON
>> FRGMNT Coffee is making moves! They have announced their fourth location coming this spring, look for them to be caffeinating the folks in Open Book. The literary hub and home to The Loft and Milkweed Editions has been without a coffee cafe for far too long.
FRIDAY FISH FRY
Here’s a nice round up of FFF options across the metro, but each week we’ll call out a few more here.
><> Today is a good time to hit some of the eight spots competing in the 2023 Fish Fry Faceoff! It’s a river city border battle this year, and here are the contenders: eat now and then get ready to vote when the bracket opens on March 21st!
STP /
- Brunson’s Pub > Good ol’ St. Paul in pub form.
- Dark Horse Eatery > Last year’s winner, stepping up to hold on to the belt.
- Gabe’s > Betting on Lift Bridge Farm Girl batter to charm you.
- Urban Growler > Beer professionals know how to fish fry Wisconsinably.
MSP /
AGENDA
// The Minnesota Wonderwall are hosting a big season kickoff party for the Loons tonight in the brew hall at Allianz Field. Get your scarf, find your tribe.
// Perhaps you’re looking for some commercial grade kitchen goodies? Erte & Peacock Lounge are selling their wares this Saturday from 11am-2pm. Kitchen supplies, furniture, decor are all up for the bargains.
// Get to work, you sap. Or get to work on sap up at Sapsucker Farms this Saturday. They can use your sturdy Minnesotaness to help tap some 1,000 trees for the coming maple syrup season. All that honest work in the fresh air will earn you a free lunch of hot chili with all the goods, plus pride. And you get to punch a hole in your MN Card.
// Pi(e) Day is next Tuesday, March 14 (don’t make me spell it out). Hot Hands Pies on Snelling is getting crazy with 2 for 1 slices on Tues. until they run out! Think about getting a slice of cheesecake which is also pie at Muddy Paws 30th Anniversary & Pi Day Party! Or take in a bit of savory at The Clover who has $2 off their house-made chicken pot pie for the night.
// This is a very cool dinner on March 15 at Meritage: A Celebration of Au Bon Canard. If you haven’t heard, the southern MN duck farmers and foie gras producers are retiring and moving to France, leaving their ABC farm to the next generation. This dinner will be a thoughtful celebration with the farmers themselves, Christian and Liz Gasset, while the kitchen prepares a five course meal “as love-letter of sorts to their many years of hard work and steadfast devotion to their duck”.
// Never be shy about your personal kitchen grooves and moves while cooking. In fact, celebrate them by dipping into Mia on Thursday for a free short film premiere of Kitchen Dance. The conceptual short dance film “explores the multi-dimensional lives of women and their work through modern movement.” The film will be followed by a Q ‘n A Session with the director Maribeth Romslo and choreographer Zoé Emilie Henrot of Ballet Co. Laboratory.
// Can’t believe there are still tickets to this very cool Graze 4 Good Event on Fri., Mar 17. Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai and Sameh Wadi of World Street Kitchen are teaming up for a collaborative cooking class in the new space at France 44. Those two are nutso fun and I’d gladly pay the $225 for the good cause and get an interactive demo and four course dinner of Southeast Asian + Palestinian flavors.
// You’re done watching White Lotus, so you might as well do what the characters didn’t, and learn a bit about wine in Sicily! Join the ladies of Zenska Glava on Tues., March 21 for their Sicily for the People wine class at Meteor Bar. Your $75 starts you off with a welcome cocktails, then flows into an immersive class with four wines, chosen for their unique perspective of Sicily’s diverse terroir. You’ll learn about the history and culture of Sicilian winemaking, as well as the techniques and traditions that make these wines so special. And then, there’s an after-class mix and mingle!