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...