Temperance River Trail, Tofte, MN

 

 

It seems like there's always something to do up on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Rainy mildly cold afternoon... no problem. Go for a hike at the Temperance River Trail and hike around while you wait for the sun to show.

 

Best part is that with all the precip this year, all the rivers are running pretty fast and full. It was great to check this place out... right off the side of the road. Don't pass it up next time, just swing off the road and get out of the car. I think you'll be glad you did.

 

 

 

 

Beaver Bay, MN

With the late, snowy winter and wet long spring, the rivers that empty into Lake Superior are flush with rich, coffee-colored water, foamy waves, and almost enough noise to drown out the sound of the highway. Stop for 5 minutes and check it out during the drive up north.

Tobie's Restaurant & Bakery, Hinckley, MN

You like donuts, right? You make the drive north every so often, right? Well in case you live under a rock, you should stop at Tobie's on your way up to Duluth. You can fill up the car, fill up your belly, and grab some fresh made donuts for the rest of the drive.

 

And don't think these are regular gas station donuts; these are proper , fresh, bakery donuts...like "they used to make". It's an awesome old-school donut experience. The Custard Bismark (aka, Boston Creme) was great and the Maple Long John was no slouch either. Solid  all around. Even the box they packed them in (to avoid in-car donut injuries) was a custom touch I'd never seen before.

 

Do yourself a favor/flavor and stop in.

MN Storm Damage, 06/21/2013

I think I would ask the arborist for a refund on these plantings.

Not only did this tree get uprooted, but it popped the sidewalk right out of the path too. The felled tree was two feet from the car.

Farfegnowineedanewcar!!!

Mill Valley Kitchen, Minneapolis, MN

 I had a chance to check out this somewhat new spot in Minneapolis recently. Overall, I would recommend it as a family and small-group friendly space, with interesting drinks, and mid-to upper level dinner offerings ($15-$30+ per entree). They even snuck a cool "Pope Room" in the corner of the place... it looked to be a great spot if you want to host a small group or have a small family event.

 

Reservations were easy on OpenTable and the front desk staff was on the ball.

 

Decent tap beer selection, but lots of wines and even smoothies for the healthy or tasty. I was surprised by how casual the bartenders (two women) were dressed. They appeared to have just come from a kick-boxing workout and were both, head-to-toe, in black spandex. I understand wearing black in the restaurant, but how about a button down from The Limited or something.... maybe some slacks.

 

Great pseudo-bonsai and real bonsai trees all around. 

 

Sea Bass with Red Quinoa... very good 

 

Really nice seating, generous size of the whole place, no feelings of crowding. 

  

Open and impressive kitchen... and magic comes from that oven. 

 

Try a few mini-desserts: great for sharing, makes you feel like less of a pig, and potentially cheaper.

 

They have much more nutritional info on their menu than I've ever seen - thanks! I think it's a proven fact or something that this kind of information helps people make healthier choices. 

 

Roasted Chicken Breast with Farro Mushroom Risotto, also very good.

(from top left around) Lemon Curd, Maple Panna Cotta w/ Smoked Salt (stir it in!), and Tiramisu - all very good and not at all too much at the end of the meal... just about perfect.

  

Burch Pizza, Minneapolis, MN

If you haven't already visited this relatively new restaurant in Minneapolis' Lowry Hill neighborhood, it would be well-worth your time to check it out.

 

In the space once occupied for decades by Burch Pharmacy, is now a first floor (street level) steak house and a basement pizza place. The outside was given a fresh look and the inside has been transformed into a welcoming, modern restaurant.

 

The pizza side is smaller space than the first floor, but prices are more reasonable, food is less fussy than the steak side (but still fussy enough), and you can get both menus served downstairs. This is not the case on the 1st floor...it's steak house menu only.

 

 

As I alluded to, the food is original, approachable, and quite good. We had an endive salad, brocollini side, and two of their house-designed pizzas...standard Margherita and a heartier option with roasted pork, red pepper and hazelnuts (a first on a pizza for me), known as the "Coppa Cotta". The salad items were very well presented and tasty too. Fresh and unique for both. The pizzas were also well done (as a artful pizza goes), but actually under done for my taste. With such a concentration on pizza and perhaps a dedicated oven, I was surprised how "blond" my outer crust was served and how doughy the center was presented on the plate. That withstanding, the pizzas were delicious and a bit adventurous, which makes dinner fun.

 

 

 

Wine was good, service was great (though a Monday night) and I'll easily recommend and look forward to going back...for more pizza or for a special occasion at the steak level.

Update #2: Admitting the problem is the first step...

... back in Feb2013 I updated this old post as I thought I was trading the cellphone I had at the time for an iPhone5. It didn't work out (lesson learned).

But, my Samsung Galaxy S3 pooped out on me again last week (battery issue) and I called AT&T again, having replaced the phone twice before (AT&T has this interesting rule that they won't send you a different make/model of phone until you've gone through the warranty process twice with the orginal model). Fine, I'll play along... 

I was able to warranty the S3 for a 2013 HTC One. As some tech-nerds and bloggers claim, this is HTC's last-ditch, all-out effort to get marketshare back from Apple and Samsung. To do this, they have made an all aluminum case and packed it with fast running on Android JellyBean. This version is also the only one really available this year from HTC and through all carriers. This helps avoid diluting this flagship product they put all their efforts into.

So far, it's an interesting phone, very handsome outside with a solid alloy body and only two "press-able" buttons (Power & Volume Up/Down). It has worked super fast inside. One of the more novel features is a TV Remote app preinstalled from HTC. You go through a simple set-up menu and soon enough your phone knows all your show favorites and can change the channel on your tv/cable box. Yes, the HTC One's Power button doubles as an IR port and can send out the requisite commands to tune your TV. Kinda cool, but I have found after a short test that my cable remote still seems easier.

Well, this one makes 22 now... er, like 21.5 if you could the iPhone5 fiasco.

Preserving Our Past

Preserving Our Past

This is me in 20 years... minus the accent... or maybe plus the accent!

MN can be agreeable...

...For at least 3 months per year...lunch on a patio in May, that's part of it

Birdhouse, MPLS

Great deviled eggs, cut unlike the way you'd normally think...

Dogwood Coffee, MPLS

As pretty (and tasty) as the picture would have you believe...

Where does Comedy come from...

...Google suggests these top 3:

Steinagel's Maple Syrup, the best.

A new quart of WI maple syrup delivered to work calls for Alton Brown's French Toast recipe this weekend, with an orange zest twist added in. Totally recommend his recipe.

Edina Grill

S'mores Waffle Sundae for a limited time. Get some!

Dessa: Anabel (Live)

Not heard of Dessa?
Check out this live recording via YouTube, which will also connect you to more, if you like.

am i psychic?

I ask this question based on a recent interaction at a local restaurant: You be the judge though...

Sitting at the bar I noticed a few of the employees milling around and felt like I was getting something from one... at least enough to tell her I was going to play psychic. As most people do, she seemed fine with it, perhaps even interested. So I began telling her what I was "getting"...

My first guess was that she had two brothers, correct. 1/1

Second guess was that one was older and one younger, correct. 2/2.

She seemed a little shocked and perhaps more interested and asked me to tell her if she had children. I said no, but she said she had two daughters, 2/3. But, in my mind I hadn't really said I was getting anything to offer about kids. I asked if they were twins and she said "no", 2/4.

After a little bit of time and thinking about what I was getting I had two more thoughts.

Her father doesn't really know her daughters (I thought b/c he might have passed away)...and she opened her eyes wide and said yes, 3/5. I didn't get the reason, but it sounded like he was alive and the story pretty complicated.

Next was that she was in love with someone, but it was not with the father of her children, correct. 4/6. She said she might be working out/figuring out relationships with two men. I said one was a man she works with. While it wasn't a man at the restaurant, it is someone she records music with, 5/7.

A bit more time went by, but I got something about Paris. I thought she might have traveled there. She had not traveled there but was looking into to travel there to record music... maybe I get a half. 5.5/8. She also seemed a little shocked I could bring it up.

I said I'd never had thoughts that look forward, nor this good of a run. She indicated someone else had told her that her aura was very strong and I actually had to agree. I'd never latched on to a stranger like that before. Latched on as a normal creep/stalker, sure...but not b/c I was getting so many impressions.

I left it alone from there but introduced myself and said goodbye as we left. Sarah gave a firm handshake and thanked me for visiting. No free drinks though, nuts.

 

So, what do you think? Should I work on honing my skills? Or maybe don't quit my day job just yet?

The end of an evening

Pretty cool way to be done with a night out

Malmo, Sweden

Would you like to live in a city like this?

Goto: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2013/03/bicycle-malmo-2012.html

...from the Copenhagenize Blog

 

PS - No, I don't have the correct Swedish language character to spell "Malmo" properly in my subject.

A sure sign of Spring.

Read's Landing Brewing Company, MN

A great stop when you're coming up Hwy 61. Good food, good beer and great views out the front door.

Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing ft. Florence Welch

Watch it!

Wise Acre Eatery, MPLS

 

A very comfortable, cozy, unpretentious farm-to-table type place with great food and a friendly staff. And don't forget to go on a weekeday when the menu offers special items not normally available on the weekends.

roll chocolates

portland-based, perfection-seeking, chocolate edibles:
rollchocolates.com

Update #1: Admitting the problem is the first step...

This is what I wrote some time ago about my cellphone addicition:

...This is not easy for me, but some of you already know; I am addicted to cell phones. As a quick exercise while the 14.5” of snow fell yesterday, I listed out all the phones I've owned at one time or another. I believe this goes back to the year 2000, maybe 1999. I know I got the first one at the AT&T store in the ghetto-esque stripmall by Cabrini Green (where Clybourne, North, Sedgewick, and Larabee meet). In no particular order (wait, I always have a particular oder), they are:

Nokia
6030
6590 (2)
E62
9300
3360
5140
8210 (all time favorite)
Panasonic
g51m (that super small one)
Samsung
x495
Motorola
Unidentified (found it on Navy Pier)
Razr
Rokr w385 (work)
RIM
BlackBerry 7300 (work)
Sony Ericsson
w300i
s710a (hand me down)

And I now want to update this list with the following:

Apple

iPhone 3G - pretty cool if you used iTunes a lot... at the time
iPhone 5 - as of March 2013 - it's been like seeing an old friend

HTC

Aria - total crap

Motorola

Atrix - not a bad little phone

Samsung

Captivate from the Galaxy S Series - junk

Galaxy S III (current, c.2013) - warrantied twice already, geting help from AT&T can be challenging at times.

21 in total now and I may be forgetting one or two. I had thought that my addiciton had slowed in the recent years, but perhaps not so much.

Angela Miller Performs in Hollywood: Solo Round - Hollywood Week - AMERI...

Who trusts me?

Did you ever set-up an account for yourself at WhoTrustsYou.com?

 

I did a number or years ago after reading the book that goes with the site, The Speed of Trust, by Stephen Covey.

Thing of it is, I keep getting people that somehow find and take my survey every quarter or so, but I have no idea how they find my link anymore.

Weird, and kind of intriguing.

 

These are my current results based on what others see:

 

Here's What Others Say

Character:

84%

 

Competence:

84%

Others Trust You:

90%

You Consistently Interact in a Way that Builds Trust:

86%

 

Your "Trustability" with Others:

86%

 

86%... that seems like a solid "B" to me.

I'll take it.

The Ten Essentials for Outdoor Adventures

1. Navigation (map & compass)
2. Sun Protection (sun glasses, sun screen, lip balm)
3. Insulation (extra clothing)
4. Illumination (flashlight or headlamp, spare bulb & batteries)
5. First-Aid Supplies (gauze, tape, etc.)
6. Fire (firestarter, matches, lighter)
7. Repair Kit (knife, duct tape, tools, spare parts)
8. Nutrition (extra food)
9. Hydration (extra water, water purification)
10. Emergency Shelter (tarp, garbage bag)

 

Found here: http://help.mountaineers.org/kb/questions/what-are-the-ten-essentials

 

RIP Edward

D'wha!?!?

Quote of the Day

There is a part of every human soul that is rotten. It appears when we lash out in anger; when we attack in the guise of self-defense; or when we pile lie upon lie to keep the past hidden. And that part of ourselves grows or diminishes in measure to how we indulge those impulses. - Joe Lindsey

Freestyle Frozen Yogurt, Hudson, WI

Did you know there was something new in frozen yogurt? I didn't, but was happy to be introduced to this place. Everything is self-serve and sold by weight. You can choose from about a dozen flavors and ~50 toppings. If you don't like what you eat, it's your own fault.

The location is also unique (surfboard tables) and family friendly (dance floor in the back)...they even give out free bracelets for kids and adult kids. Lastly, you can choose to "freestyle" your price and potentially get all of it for free. You don't see that very often.

This place is a win and a must-stop if you're in Hudson or St. Paul.

Quote of the Day

If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like thunder.

Quote of the Day

Nothing happens unless first we dream