Retry: The Blue Door, St. Paul, MN

After a nudge from a good friend, I decided it was time to "retry" this relatively famous burger joint. The first visit was much much less than ideal, but for a burger, and most things, I'll try anything twice.

Luckily, this visit was much different than the first. The service was quite helpful, letting us pick the Cajun tots; the food was much better, down right tasty; the drinks were flowing; and the company was excellent.

"Breakfast Blucy" with Cajun-spiced tater-tots - Amen!

I would go back for a third trip, and if you haven't been, go for your first.

Cheese-filled burger patty, American cheese on top, bacon, an egg, and pickles - delicioso!

Heyday, Minneapolis (Uptown), MN

There's a lot to like about this relatively new place in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood... and a few things I believe they need to improve on. Join me on a small molecular gastronomy tour, will you?

First off, the space is great. Heyday has decked it out really well, allowing diners to feel like they are out for a special night, while still making it feel comfortable and inviting... not overly fancy for anyone, or making you feel like you under-dressed.

I believe they do try to explain the restaurant's name through a few of the pieces hanging on the wall

The Replacements seem to come up often in this space... #3 above

Fun art on the walls

An open-for-all-to-see kitchen too

Excellent lighting

To be clear, this is not a normal meat-and-potatoes place. Chef Jim Christiansen's food is very unique, inventive, creative, etc. The James Beard nomination should indicate something, right? I'm sure others have written this better than I can, but I try. To be sure, I didn't eat anything that wasn't prepared with care and attention. That's not to say I loved everything I put in my mouth, but I liked most everything. I would say the things I didn't like weren't due to being prepared incorrectly or without care and attention, but simply because I wasn't used to the taste or texture.

That being said, there were some unique items on almost every dish, that added quite a bit of fun to the dishes and evening. This is a place to try new things, share with others and enjoy the night out. Time goes fast in here, but some things took too long.

Mussels... hidden under some crazy concoctions

Steelhead Trout - very good

Rabbit - also excellent

I tried most of the dishes that our 7-person group ordered, so I was able to taste the rabbit, trout, beef bavette, squab, and duck. All were some of the nicest proteins/mains I have tried in some time. They clearly have this part of the evening dialed.

A dessert choice made with the most hay and hay ash I've ever encountered... not that I've ever encountered hay or hay ash in food before. That is a hay ash cracker on top... not too much flavor, but great texture and striking to see on top of your dessert

All is not perfect though, and the dessert above was comp'ed due to some of the issues below. I don't have a problem pointing these things out to the staff and gave my feedback on a number of occasions. IMO, Heyday does have at least a couple things to work on:

Service
We had a reservation for 7 people at 6:45pm. I was in contact with them to make this reservation and they even confirmed this time the afternoon of the dinner. When we arrived we were told something to the effect of, "they are setting your table now, you should be seated shortly". Well, about 45 minutes later, and two checks with the host area, we were still drinking a slow drink at the bar, many in the group standing to do so. As an appeasement, they gave us a free round of shots. It's a nice gesture, but I'm not sure an empty stomach and aggravated psyche goes very well with more liquor. I drank two of the small, flavorful shots anyways, meh.

Once seated, first courses came out rather quickly, along with some excellent rustic bread and rolls (a nice way to soak up all the liquor). But, once the first course was cleared, I think it took another hour to get our main dishes. This is way too long. We wound up being done with dinner around 9pm. That's a long time for two courses when we had a 6:45pm reservation. And as I said above, to their credit after I pointed out this long evening to our waiter, they offered us all free dessert choices. Of course, we took them up on this... and this course didn't take too long to arrive.

To end this section on a positive note, it was readily apparent to all of us that our bartender was on point (or "pint"?). She was an excellent first host and made us feel special, just by listening to our requests and pouring us some great drinks. Much like the bar area, our server was also at-the-ready all night long (and it was long). He helped us throughout the evening and was also empathetic enough at the end to advocate for our comp'ed desserts.

Menu Descriptions
With  such a large group and such detailed menu options, we could have had the waiter at our table explaining every dish all night, but they clearly don't have that kind of time. With that being the case, I would have liked much more description of each dish printed on the menu so I can read an understand what I'm ordering. As it is currently on the menu, they have a few short descriptive words, but do not delve into the full ingredient list or how it's prepared.

This is all it said for the Trout:

Roasted Steelhead Trout   | 16

brown butter, horseradish, new potato

And this was it for the wacky dessert I chose...

Fifty Shades of Hay | 9

ice cream, meringue, frozen grapefruit

All the dished are so much more though. With such unique and inventive dishes, I want to know all the nuances as I take my first bite... not flag down the wait staff afterwards and ask them to explain.

Having said all that, I would absolutely try Heyday again. I might wait a bit, until I'm in the mood for such a new-experience dinner again, but I'd go back for sure... maybe their weekend brunch.

Workshop at Union, Minneapolis, MN

Uhmmm, this will be on of my shortest restaurant posts. In a nutshell, don't go.

The space is cool, no doubt. The food was good, to fine, to not very good (I think that's known as "inconsistent" in the food biz). The service was bored, as even during restaurant week it wasn't a busy night. The music was out of an 80's bar in Chicago's Boystown. But, on Hennepin Ave in downtown Minneapolis, you got to BRING IT these days. Things can't be so-so. There are so many top-notch options nearby that if you're not reaching for #1, you might as well pack up your knives and go home.

Aren't these just supposed to be in BBQ joints? Nothing says high-end dinner like a Ball jar turned into a water glass

• Jicama & grapefruit salad with pancetta, pear stuffed gnudi

 - 2 pretty much didn't Likes - bitter, the gnudi was the star of this dish though

• Potatoes & Gruyere with smoked bread - 2 Likes - like a fancy potato salad and the smoked bread really added some depth of flavor

• Braised beef bavette with spiced potato puree & bok choy - 2 pretty much Likes - the bok choy was actually charred and smoked broccoli rabe

• Slow baked salmon with shrimp fennel ragout  - 1 Like, 1 not so much Like - this was good, but nothing really stood out

Their dessert choice, which included a spiced ginger cake (with real, visible fibers of ginger in it), tart cherries, some sort of mousse and a small dollop of cinnamon ice cream - 2 Likes, pretty much

One final positive comment - they have a sister space known as Rooftop at Union on the roof of this building. It's a cool place for a drink, and I'm told, brunch. I would go back for the views, drinks, and to try the brunch. I mean, who can screw up brunch? Then again...

Black Dog Cafe & Wine Bar, St. Paul (Lowertown), MN

This is one heck of a spot for this neighborhood to have out their back door. They serve all manner of coffee drinks, plus beer & wine, and make solid simple food to order. I've been here a number of times now and never have reservations on going back. They even do live music.

Just go.

An almost perfect breakfast sandwich.... I just need to ask for some hot sauce

Concert: Taggart & Rosewood and Doomtree @ First Ave, Minneapolis, MN

Taggart & Rosewood

See those purpley-blue-hued guys on the left, that's Taggart & Rosewood

We arrived to the venue on a cold Wednesday night in time to see the 2nd act, Taggart&Rosewood, get underway. Do you recall the movie, Beverly Hills Cop? Well, you may want to go look it up on IMDB. The two main cops helping Axel Foley were named Rosewood & Taggart, played by Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, respectively.

But I digress, this duo, plus band is composed of... wait, I don't know this info as well as the blog Totally Gross National Product, they said...

"BIO
Taggart & Rosewood is Zach Coulter (Solid Gold) and Ryan Olson (Polica), founding members of Gayngs.  After years in the studio and the addition of Jim Eno (Spoon) on drums, the new collaboration culminated in their debut album The Killingest.   Existing in a dream state, The Killingest is a rumination on something vast and powerful.  Made with precision and depth, it is filled with reason and purpose.  But of what, we don’t know.  

What we do know is that The Killingest was crafted unlike any other album.  With the help of an Emotiv EEG to USB brain computer interface conducted by Mark Mallman through the Logic MIDI Bridge, the synapses of their DMT-influenced brains were translated to audio and dispersed throughout the album.  The result is a deeply ethereal space that Taggart & Rosewood seem to have always filled, without us ever knowing.

The album was written at 55 beats per minute, and variations thereof.  An intentional pace, the tempo is a necessary choice to match the confused psychotropic universe the album invents."

If I'm being honest, I don't know what most of that means, or even if it's meant to be serious or sarcastic, but I do know that the show these two guys put on was one of the most visually interesting, musically unique, and just downright fun ones I've seen in some time. They didn't really acknowledge the audience during their set, which made their feat of staying "in character" all the more interesting.

I don't think I can describe the music, but I would definitely go see them again, especially if they headline their own show. I might have even liked them more than Doomtree... might.

They had full-on white suits plus a mesh, pull-over thing covering their faces. They drank from champagne flutes and had a real night club vibe to their little part of the stage.

Doomtree

Now, on to Doomtree. I had initially seen this show on Dessa's show schedule page, and for much of the week prior thought she would be performing solo. Once I had the 2nd-hand tickets in my hand, I quickly realized this was a show for Doomtree, with whom Dessa performs. Cool with me. I've heard about this "super group" for some time and was intrigued to see them live.

They do not disappoint. They have so much energy and motion on stage, not to mention the lyrics and crowd interaction, that it's very hard not to like them... and why would you try not to like them? I would have liked to have listened to their songs more prior to going to the show, but even that didn't make me feel like I was missing out on too much.

Unfortunately, as music-goers go, I'm an old, crotchety, good-for-nothing, and about an hour into the set the masses at First Ave started grating on my nerves... not to mention the beer can being thrust into the back of my head, and the head of the friend that attended with me, by some Caucasian, dread-locked, urban hippie chick. No thanks, time to bail. So, we left.

I'd very much like to see Doomtree again, and will keep an even closer eye on any solo performances for Dessa.

Lemon-Lime, in shoes

Some of the wackiest and most-unique shoes I've seen in some time... they're like literally hairy, er, furry. And no, I didn't buy them... but it wasn't easy.

Faribault Woolen Mills Factory Store, Faribault, MN

On a snowy Monday afternoon, I made my way, very much on purpose, to the Faribault Woolen Mills Factory Store in Faribault, MN. I'd wanted to stop for some time, and this was the perfect chance. Below you'll find some history about the company, see the products they have on sale in the store, and hopefully start thinking about your own trip to this historic place.

The History
Established in 1865, this mill has been providing much of America with warmth, comfort, and familiarity straddling three centuries. They started as a horse-drawn mill, but converted to water (seen below) some time after. They have made their name on a number of items that many people come to know and love, namely: military wool blankets, stadium blankets, and even to this day, fine wool merchandise like blankets, throws, scarves, and more. If you'd like to know more before you go, I would encourage you to check their heritage link out HERE.

After closing the factory in 2009, it was reopened in 2011 by Chuck Mooty, a former DQ CEO (yes, the ice cream company). This is a good thing as FWM is the state's oldest manufacturer and it would be a shame to loose that history, especially having seen it for myself.  To read a bit more on the topic, go HERE.

As I walked into the space, met some of their employees at the "front of house", and even dogs... I got the distinct sense that this was now being run as a fashion brand... something of high-quality that people aspire to purchase. A person in the city of Faribault, during my second stop, mentioned that George Clooney ordered a bunch of the blankets as gifts for people involved in the film Monuments Men... so they must be doing something right.

Need I say more?

Below this reproduced sign, you'll find a quick, thorough history of the brand and the building. It was very informative in a museum-like layout.

These big shots of their production greet you as you walk in the front door.

The Products
Man oh, man! Wool time is divine! If you thought you were going to be seeing silks, or some other material, you need to get your head checked. This place is chock o' block full of wool and wool-blend items. They're all gorgeous, not scratchy, and handmade in the USA.

Now rest assured, there are many regular-priced items in the store, as it should be. And prices can be a bit off-putting to those not accustomed to purchasing made in the USA products or quality. Blankets, in varying sizes, can run from $65 (for a recycled wool throw) all the way up to prices in the $400 range.

But before you write off the visit, know that they have a 40% off retail seconds area. You can find many of the same styles, patterns and colors as the first-run items, but perhaps with a small flaw in the pattern or finish. I say either way, you're going to get something that you will cherish, value, and keep for decades.

Some of their famous military versions... others services available in the store and online too

I liked the black-white-red one in the bottom middle

Wool cloak anyone?

Nothing wrong with a good herringbone pattern...

The Low-Down
Just friggin' get to this place! It's increasingly rare to see something like this in America, let alone in a small farming community in south-eastern MN. Why not make a day or weekend of it? You could get a small hotel room or B&B, check out the lovely downtown, spend the evening in a local saloon, and get brunch the next morning. This could be done in almost any small town in the US.

Final Thought
Can anyone tell me why the proper noun "Faribault" is pronounced as "Fair-bow"? I get the "bault" pronunciation, but not the "Fari" part... wouldn't that just be "fairy". Ho-hum.