2015 Wright County Fair, Pie Eating Finals, Howard Lake, MN

You're probably going to have a good day if it starts out with this sign. 

Having qualified at their pie eating contest a couple of years ago, I got through this year's Friday qualifier in first place. It felt pretty good and people seemed excited. I guess ~20 or so years of eating meals with siblings hanging on for every extra uneaten scrap paid off. 

The finals were a couple days later, on Sunday. I decided I'd allow the excitement people had for the feat on Friday propel me through another quarter of a pie and the final round on Sunday. At the very least I'd be eating another piece of free, homemade pie (go Waverly Cafe!). At best I'd win cash and the right to be called the champ. In actuality, a food challenge is something I've wanted to see through for a while now.  

A quick primer on the contest rules, as I know them: 

- every person is served a quarter of a standard 9" pie (about two "normal" pieces)

- it's always been cherry pie, as that filling shows up best on the face for the audience

- you can only use your mouth to eat, hands/arms are placed behind your back

- contestants must clean the plate leaving nothing bigger than the size of a dime, though I've heard nickel too

- first one with a clean plate wins, though that has not meant it has to be chewed and swallowed, just off the plate

The finals proved much more contested than the qualifier, including a recently de-throned county fair queen and a pre-teen boy that seemed extra hungry. However, I was able to bring home of the cash and glory. My quick calculations from video prove me cleaning my plate in about 28 seconds. 

How sweet it is. See you next year Wright County Fair. 

Waverly Lake, Waverly, MN

There's a lot in this pic to know and like, but most of us won't have the whole story. In the end, not much beats a (nearly) full moon on a local lake. 

World's Largest Lite Brite Sculpture, St. Paul, MN (Union Depot)

Pretty amazing team effort for the official record, located in the Union Depot in St. Paul. Impressive.

"FOREVER SAINT PAUL"

See, the little Lite Brite things...

Harriet Brasserie, Minneapolis, MN (Linden Hills)

It was high time this visit happened, having known about this spot for some time. And what better time than a gorgeous summer morning for their pretty high-end and yet approachable brunch?

Due to our group's size, we sat inside, but both outdoor and indoor seating areas seemed wonderful. 

After a few minutes with the brunch menu, I decided on their Crawfish & Grits brunch option, with Andouille sausage and a poached egg. 

It was awesome. Not a giant, get-nothing-done-the-rest-of-the-day type of portion, but plenty for breakfast with pronounced flavors from all the ingredients (that is, I could taste each ingredient on its own, and the full combination of flavors as well). I would go back without question to try another brunch choice or for dinner. 

And I don't want to forget, the place is in an old firehouse, which has been redone by the building's owner, a architect firm, TEA2 Architects. 

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World's Biggest Pillow Fight (St. Paul Saints game)

It's official, all attendees to the Saint Paul Saints baseball game on July 21, 2015 were a part of the World's Largest Pillow Fight. To do this, the My Pillow Company handed out around 5,000 pillows to all fans entering the gates. Then, after the 2nd inning, we all "fought" for one minute. Done, back to the game.

Yellow squash, 2 ways

With the copious amounts of rain and sun we've had this summer, it's no wonder that a private CSA I have a membership to has already provided some excellent produce, including a voluptuous yellow squash. Being a solo chef, I used it two ways over the course of a week, once sautéed for pasta primavera, and once grilled as a side with a burger. Both were delicious and I'm hoping more great produce finds its way into my CSA share. Get out there and eat the rainbow. 

Uptown Flower Patrol

I believe Ferris Bueller said it best, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."...this most especially applies to flowers as you walk through the Lowry Hill area of Uptown. 

You could help destroy a pristine, low-miles, vintage Corvette too. 

Revisit: Groundswell, St. Paul, MN

I think is said this in the first post for this neighborhood spot, but if you haven't gone for brunch here, make a trip and plan to hang out for a while. I'm pretty sure it will end well. 

Bacon, Gruyere and Rosemary scone - very good!

Their banana bread French toast - solid. 

Delano 4th Celebration, Delano, MN

They say, "third times the charm"...and this trip to Delano for their 4th of July celebration didn't disappoint. 

The food was what had hoped and planned for:

And the fireworks upped their game and included an engagement proposal, which was news to the whole crowd:

Wayzata Art Fair, Wayzata, MN

If you live in the Twin Cities, I'm sure you've heard about all the art fairs that take place in different neighborhoods and cities all summer long. You can usually see lots of high-quality artwork, most of it having been locally made too. 

For the last few years now, I've been very eager to attend the quiet, well-stocked art fair in the lakeside hamlet of Wayzata. It's located right on Lake Minnetonka and usually makes it easy for people to park and walk the event. I've even dragged family and coworkers to it now, and everyone seems to enjoy the event.

You know, just jump off your boat and head over to the fair

Four blocks of artists usually have something for everyone

This woman below, Jaana Mattson, won 2nd place at the fair for her super unique and quite beautiful pieces. She uses felted wool to create landscapes, all placed in real wood frames. You can miss the detail if you just walk by, you had to stop and look to make sure. It was very original and interesting, IMO.

A number of vendors were offering photo services for people's pets. I think this is the first real-life Miss Piggy I have ever seen:

They also had some vintage and current autos on display. I can see the connection to art with this 1973 Jaguar, though the current models they also had on display just seemed like a mini car dealership, but there's no denying that this is the audience to buy them.

Revisit: CoV, Wayzata, MN

This upscale, updated American classics restaurant with lakefront views and the food & drink to match is still a hip place to be for brunch on Sunday. A friend an I ate like kings on a recent gorgeous summer Sunday.

Can you ever go wrong with  a caramel roll served with compound strawberry butter?! (The answer is "no")

And what about a smoked chicken omelette with spinach and tomatoes? ("No", again)

And if that wasn't enough, we topped off our visit with a celebrity sighting, no joke...in MN. 

 Guess who.

The Summer Solstice.

Better get out while you can. Unlike winter, lack of sunlight is no excuse. 

Hola Arepa, Minneapolis, MN

It was high-time I visited this food truck-turn-legit restaurant. It's been getting high praise for some time now, tucked in its 35th & Nicollet location. A recent happy hour idea and 90-degree afternoon provided the perfect backdrop for a visit. 

We started with their unique and tasty sangria a or beers, with a small snack they all Cheetos Brittle. The drinks hit the spot and the brittle was interesting. They take some fiery Cheetos and "candy" them as far as I can tell. They're crunchy, sweet and spicy, but I'm not sure I'd order them again. 

We moved on to one of their small plates, a braised beef option, plus the pretty standard chips-guac-queso app. The plantain with braised beef was very good. Looking back, I could have had two of these as a meal. 

After this, we wound up really over-extending our happy hour by having arepas, and in my case, half of a dessert choice. We probably didn't need more food, but I think we got caught up in the food options, and the happy hour drinks had taken hold - Point for Hola Arepa. 

The yuca fries and sauce options are very good. For dessert, we chose the ice cream sandwich with homemade corn cookies (corn meal, Fritos, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and Corn Pops). As you might guess, these are fancy and tasty cookies with vanilla ice cream. This choice was also an over-the-top but delicious way to end the night.  

So, good service, good drinks, and that live up to the billing. They are unique, hearty, and quite good. I would happily go back for more food and some of the drinks I didn't get to sample, like this...

A sure sign of summer...

This harbinger means summer must be here...right?

Cafe Latte, St. Paul, MN

Does this place ever disappoint? It doesn't hurt that the only way it could have this trip was if "salted caramel cheesecake" didn't taste good. But c'mon, who are we trying to kid!?!? Look at this...