White Bear Lake, MN

With a normal thought process of trying to collect "firsts" during each year, I decided to head out to White Bear Lake (WBL) to meet a friend (who in this post will be called, "the woman"). I'd never been to WBL before and it sounded like a nice way to spend an almost-end-of-summer Thursday night. WBL is about 20 miles northeast of the Twin Cities. In rush hour traffic, it's not a fun drive and takes about an hour or so, but the good news is that by late evening, the commute trims down to 30-40 minutes.

I began solo, milling about the lake front before meeting up with the woman who'd invited me out. This seemed like as good a start as any in WBL...

...a unique pair of spots, one called Tally's Lakeside and one called C.G. Hooks. They provide dock support, boat rides, food, drinks, and ice cream to locals and visitors alike... sort of a jack-of-all-trades on WBL. They had a very BBQ-heavy menu with some really good looking options (if you like meat, smoked meat, BBQ'd meat, and bacon... who doesn't?). They had tons of kitsch and cold beer too. Right off the bat, I like the relaxed vibe of the lake, Tally's, and WBL as a whole.

Once the woman and I had met-up, we quickly decided to head out for a lakeside walk. The city has paths around much, but not all, of the lake. They were easy to access, and with my tour guide by my side, we set out. The path is not challenging, but gives great views of the lakeside homes and the lake itself. Here's a couple "house faces" I snapped along the way...

I feel like this house's awning makes a good "mustache"

On the leg out, we walked ~1.75 miles in a relatively short time and at a relatively brisk pace. It was a hot, humid night, so this added even more to the "exercise" we were earning. As we turned around to go back, we decided to walk through downtown. We wound up down a short between-buildings alley to find Big Wood Brewery. I was happy to head down into this local basement brewery and sit for a spell. By this point, I was damp with sweat from walking in the hot humid air and needed a break. Big Wood seemed and literally felt pretty cool, but only four gulps into my procured custom wheat beer did the woman mention that she wasn't feeling well and it would probably be best if we got moving. What can you say to a lady in distress but, "Ok"? So, I did. We got out of there and wound our way back to our starting point of the docks.

She was feeling better by this time and we decided to get some ice cream (also part of C.G. Hooks offerings), sit on the boat slips that fill up this end of the lake, and dip our feet in. And we did just that...

"sittin' on the dock of the bay..."

...as we sat, we finished our ice cream and talked about how nice a quick dip in the lake could feel after a long, hot walk, on this stormy summer night, now lit with the waxing gibbous moon and stars. And you maybe wondering, "Why are you just talking about taking a dip, why not do it?!"

Well, the common sense response was three fold:
1. We had no swim suits
2. We were on the boat docks, not a public swimming beach or landing
3. Even if we went in, we had no way of drying off afterwards and still had to drive home
And it could be four-fold if you listen to your mothers:
4. We had not waited an hour after eating our ice cream to go swimming

However, I think much more common, common sense took hold over the next 30-45 minutes of general chit-chat and discussion (which was not all about the swim potential literally in front of us). In essence, the MN summer is a very short season, and despite the somewhat minor issues listed above, swimming in the summer, in a local lake, with one other person, plus an added element of danger or incarceration, is just plain ole fun.

By about 9pm, the woman went in. Mind you, this isn't as scandalous as it could have been as she was mostly clothed. She jumped in in her maxi skirt and camisole top. I still hadn't convinced myself at this point, and I also thought being a "lookout" on the dry dock might be a wise decision. It turned out to be so, and I was also able to help pull her out of the water and back onto the dock once she'd had enough (maybe 15 minutes of lake time). Once out, she had to begin the process of wringing out as much of the water as she could and start to warm up. So, we sat and talked a bit more.

Of course, once she was out, I began to see this as a challenge to my manhood. How could I let her go in and but remain dry myself? I finally broke down and said to her, "The only reason I want to go in now is because you already did." She laughed. Then I started taking off my clothes. Again, this was not a full Monty as I kept my boxers on. Who needs a swimming and public indecency fine?

Once down to my skivvies, I slipped from the dock into the water. Boy oh boy, I have no real way to tell how cold all bodies of water are in MN. This lake was not as cold as Lake Superior late summer, but it was not as refreshing as I'd hoped, it was downright cold. I tread water in hopes of my body becoming accustomed to the cold (read, going numb), but it didn't seem to help. Then, a good-sized sailboat began coming back into the slip near me. So, I decided I'd better get out and start drying off before the drive home. I was able to sit on the dock and let the boat pass us, with them seemingly none-the-wiser about our late-night water pursuits.

Once out, it was clear the cooling but humid September summer air wasn't going to keep me warm or dry me off that fast. We had to get dressed and get moving. Faced with the prospect of driving home in wet boxers with jeans, I decided I needed to 86 the boxers right there and just commando home in my jeans. She was nice enough to turn around and block the rest of the dock view, while I mooned the whole lake. Boy oh boy, did the dry clothes feel good and start to bring up my body temp.

We walked coyly past the boat crew that had come in and made our way to our dry, warm cars. Not a bad way to meet a new someone, a new someplace, and a new some lake.

WBL, C.G. Hooks, Tally's Dockside, Big Wood - I will be back!

Peppermint Twist, Delano, MN

Time for a quick look at a local haunt in Delano, the Peppermint Twist. This is the place you go for burgers, fries and shakes. It also comes with a good dose of nostalgia on accounta the drive-up, call-in box that you just don't see much anymore.

I have to say, the burger I had was pretty major (with great bacon slices), but the shake seems to be where they really shine. This shake eats like a meal, in a good way. But, I made the rookie mistake of ordering before the local I was with ordered and just got the homemade butterscotch shake... which you'd think is great (and it was), but then my friend saddled up to the window and ordered a chocolate-raspberry. Dang it! If I'd known I could combine two flavors I would have done a chocolate-mint combo. Ah well, next time.

A really good potato-wedge-type French fry

Looks a little beat up, but that just because the ingredients over-power the bun a bit

Three of the newest(ish) cellphones you've not tried.

If I heard someone say, "Anyone that's a phone junkie or tech junkie, please raise your hand." My hand would shoot straight up. My affliction (no, not the t-shirt brand) has become less and less severe as the years have gone on and my interest in this kind of tech has dwindled, but it's not gone.

Recently, I wanted to rid myself of the Apple iPhone 5S I'd been using and get back to Android. I'm not a fan of how the Apple and Android companies fight with each other by making the use of their competing apps a pain in the bum, at times. I already use much of the Google suite of products (Gmail/Contacts, Calendar, Keep, Blogger, etc.) and like that the Android interface can be more personalized by each user.

I traded in my iPhone into T-Mobile (ugh!) and have been ripping through cellphones the last month trying to get something I liked enough to stick with. Well, nothing has stuck just yet. I've tried three of 'em too...

LG G3:

Cursory Review: 

Way way way too friggin big. This almost-"phablet" basically requires the use of two hands or one very tired hand. Though it proved to be very, very fast, plus has some interesting features, it is just to big for myself (or most people?). Though the battery life was acceptable, I wound up taking the phone out of my back pocket for driving and other duties. It's just to big to be comfortable for too long. 

Back to T-Mobile I went... and they had no small to medium-sized Androids on offer, so I went to the interwebs to find something I might like, without breaking the bank.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact:

Cursory Review:
Very acceptable phone, but a horrible customer experience with Sony USA. The phone's delivery was cursed from the get-go and the experiences with Sony went downhill from there. I did like most of the phone's features, fine battery life, but it was missing some key attributes that had me scratching my head, like group messaging. Group messages would not stay in the original group text message "bubble", but each message would reply back as an individual message. If I wanted to follow the string, I would have had to go in and out of individual user messages and try to piece the replies together. No thanks. With that and their shockingly poor, disparate customer service, I sent it back within two weeks. I'm not going to pay non-contract phone prices for something that isn't up to par and backed by competent service.

Blu Vivo IV:

Cursory Review:
Have you heard of this brand? I hadn't until I saw some of their basic phones popping up on Amazon. This seemed to be their top-of-the-line phone, so I thought I would give it a try... even though it had only lukewarm Amazon ratings. I should have listened.

Though it's main claim to fame seems to be it's incredibly thin case (see below) and a package that comes with a bunch of tailored accessories, all the reviews were right about poor battery life and a rinky-dink user interface. For whatever reason, this brand or this phone just doesn't have the graphic and interface polish that we've all (ok, some of us) come to expect from our cellphones. Again, print that return label and get her outta here.

And now, I'm getting by with a Motorola XT886 until the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha becomes available. This made-in-2012 Motorola is working alright. It's not going to turn any heads, but it's Android, small in stature, and has at least an 8 mega-pixel camera with flash (no joke, some new phones still don't have a flash, ahem, Nokia 635-Cortana).

The new Alpha is purported to be a full whiz factor Samsung Android phone, but in a small package. I hope it will be exactly what I have been waiting for.

It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine (I think).

Avoli Osteria, Omaha, NE

In Omaha last weekend, on the last night, we decided to hit a (relatively) new, local, northern Italian spot in Dundee known as Avoli. The full name is Avoli Osteria Omaha. 

Boy, we the three of us super glad we finally got to eat here. It started off with a bang right out of the gate with our first three appetizers - 

A burrata with heirloom tomates: 

A special bruschetta of the day, "Pork with Peach Jam":

This was like the best of bruschetta, smoked ribs, and peaches all on a simple, two-bite-sized toast. We also added a big hunk of rosemary ciabatta to our list of apps, which happens to come from Le Quartier down the block (no pic of this, it went fast).

Then I ordered their made-in-house gnocchi with house sausage, heirloom tomatoes, rapini (broccolli rabe), basil, and pecorino Romano:

This was as good as all the rest of our items from the menu. What a nice night to end the weekend and start the week. At the end of our dinners, we decided to walk down the block to a great ice cream shop, instead of having something from Avoli's dessert menu - I think we knew we will be back.

Le Quartier, Omaha, NE (Omaha Farmers' Market @ Aksarben)

Man, oh, man. Forget the cronut. The cronut is last year...

...get this!!! It's a buttery, fresh croissant crossed with the famous New Orleans deep-fried beignet. This one was also ensconced in rich chocolate and filled with custard. Of course, not some donut chocolate coating, but a delicious, fresh, chocolate envelopment. And it's not some grocery store donut filling custard either. As you would expect from a French bakery, they use a classic pastry custard. It's so flippin' good! It is amazing. If you ever have the chance, get one. Heck, have one shipped to you.

Of course, this is not low-fat.

Cokato Corn Carnival, Part 2: Professional Mother Shuckers!

 You see that big tub up there? Mmmm, corn.

As promised in yesterday's post, this post is only going to deal with corn on the cob consumption at the Cokato Corn Carnival (say that ten times fast). We're going to talk about how they prep, deliver, stage, cook, serve, and consume 20 TONS of corn over two nights. I was amazed at how this small town operation is enhanced and likely made possible by farm ingenuity, and I think you will be too.

To start with and as a bit of review, they hand-shuck 10 TONS of corn for each day of the carnival that corn is served Tuesday and Wednesday only. I'm told this is done off-site in the community center.  

Once the ears are cleaned, they arrive to the corn consumption station by truck and trailer. See the truck on the right in the pic below? It has around 6-10 farm troughs made out of galvanized steel. Each trough is full of shucked corn, ready to be steamed/boiled into a delicious treat.

Also in the pic below, you can see the baskets that the delivered corn is placed into for cooking. This is all done by hand, with quality control happening during many of the stages in the process (which entails tossing any bad-looking ears out).

The corn is loaded in to these baskets and hauled by winch from the tuck's trailer bed, to the waiting tubs of hot water (heated by steam). They get a nice hot-tub soak and then get hauled out, still in the basket to the packing and serving lines.

There are two serving lines in the consumption area. Each one gets a continuous delivery of just-cooked corn on the cob as long as the night allows. The baskets of corn are shoved down the line to a waiting crew of un-basketers, butterers, and wrapper-ers (?).

Pretty little maids all in a row..."

Above, you can see the station just before it's served to the masses (Jesus should have used corn instead of loaves and fishes!). The baskets of pipping hot corn are handed one by one (helping with the QC process), to the folks who are buttering each ear by hand, and with paint brush from the looks of it (smart!).

Can I take a dip in that butter pan later? I know from Seinfeld that it's good for the skin

The people ahead of the butterers are wrapping each ear of corn in parchment paper, then placing it directly on the counter in front of them, to be snatched up by folks going through the line. I don't think I saw any corn sit waiting for a "consumer" for more than a minute. People can and do grab multiple ears of corn too. Some people, like my coworker, are taking them off-site and some people might just be loading up to sit in the grass and have a feed session with their family. You don't want to make grandma and grandpa wait in line, do you? I heard tales of young kids eating 13 ears of corn in a single day. It seemed pretty common for people to eat 6-8 ears as a matter of course. I had 4 on my first visit to the carnival and had I planned better, it could have been more. The corn was also delicious. The 2nd two ears we both had seemed to be even better than the first, but it was all good.

Below is the final part of the corn consumption area that I thought was ingenious - they have a five foot railing with a small shelf set-up all around the area, so you can just grab some ears and get to eatin'! It would be akin to a bar for drinking, but it's only for ears of eatin'. They had napkins and salt lined-up all around and it made for a really nice "corn delivery system".

Assume the position and clean those cobs!!!

More valuable than gold for a couple days each year in August.

If you can't tell, my recommendation is to GO to the Cokato Corn Carnival if you ever get the chance. Bring a Ziploc to bring some of it home with you too.

Cokato Corn Carnival, Part 1: A Real Corn-ucopia

If you dislike corn, stop reading now. If you don't like carnivals, hit the back button. If you wither at the thought of small town America, step back, Jack. This post will literally be chock full of corn, carnival items, small town stuff.

I've come to find out over the course of my time in MN and at the company I work for, there's no point in hesitating if a particular coworker invites me to do something. He's been responsible for some really great glimpses into MN, like HERE, HERE, and HERE. At this point, as soon as he gets out the words, "Would you like to..." - I'm ready with a quick, "Yes." The "planning" for this event was no less thorough and thought out (at least on my part). He had told me about a corn carnival and I was all in. To that end and from the outset, I did not look up a single thing about the town or the festival. This is not like me at all as I'm normally more comfortable with over-researching and over-thinking, almost anything. But, with this coworker, I generally know it will be interesting and he'll shepherd me through the paces.

In this instance, I've learned a bit more about this carnival by word of mouth and after the fact, just by mentioning it to others. It has been going on for some time, likely longer than I've been alive. It is a dry event - no drinks around (but I hardly noticed with all the corn in my maw). It now runs three days, always a Monday through Wednesday in this small town of Cokato. The first day is something like a preview... no corn is served, but they do bolster the night with a parade. Corn IS served on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not all day, starting only in late afternoon. And I think I know why on that one, it's because they hand-shuck 10 TONS of corn for each day that it's served. My sharp math skills tell me that 20 TONS of corn over two days that is hand-shucked. It sounds nuts, but I'm told the towns people do this task, and even a rumor of the town using it as punishment for juveniles (srsly!). I hand-shucked about 12 ears the other day and I needed some Gatorade and a protein bar afterwards (no, not really).

Having set the scene for you, dear reader, let's continue - We arrived for the last day of the carnival, a warm Wednesday evening. And here's a kicker, the corn is technically FREE! You are "encouraged" to buy a carnival button/raffle ticket for a whopping $3. Once you have this button, you can go through the fresh corn on the cob line as many times as you would like. Sign. ME. Up.

I'm going to highlight the corn and a few other edibles from the fair in this post below, but you're going to want to come back tomorrow for the look into the "system of corn" they have developed for this fair over the years - it might blow your mind.

The first two ears I ever ate at the Cokato Corn Carnival (C3)

Wrapped by hand in a papery wrap, it's ready to go from the moment you peel back it's paper blankie ... well, after a little salt is sprinkled

Watch your fingers at this place...

We had a corndog in the corn on the cob line, then a couple ears of fresh corn to get it going, then went in search of their pork chops.

This was actually a "baby chop" in my estimation, but it sure was good. Then we hit the Bingo tent before a walk back to the car to get a bag to fill for corn for the road (my coworker brought some ears back for his wife - smart man)

As we walked back to the grounds to get some more corn, we noticed this insane looking piece of functional Americana. It's a ride in the midway, but you can clearly see it's older than we are and also clearly see the tractor front-end which runs the whole contraption. I almost couldn't believe they were letting people ride in it, but hey, I'm sure it's safe.

I believe this was ear #4 - you can just make out a clean cob and wrapper behind it

After all the foods, we still decided to end our night with milkshakes and mini-donuts. The donuts were like little pillows of heaven... and helped us complete our mid-week food coma. Ah, sit back and pass out...

Again, come back tomorrow for the 2nd and final installment of the Cokato Corn Carnival - you will not believe what they've set-up over the years to get the freshly cooked corn in your face.