331 Drunken Spelling Bee Now Monthly

The Drunken Spelling Bee at 331 Club in Nordeast has gone legit (sort of). It now has a sponsor (Pabst), a monthly slot (seems likely to be the last Friday of each month) and a permanent location (331). The Myspace "press release" has more details:

The next Minneapolis Drunken Spelling Bee will be taking place on Friday, March 28th, from 7:30 pm until the last speller stands. The cost is $7 and walk-in spellers will be accepted. Registration is at 7:00 pm sharp for all spellers.

Reigning champ, Stephanie Nett will be the guest judge, along side the witty Mizz Nicole and coffee shop Diva, Library Mary. Host Jess "The Spellbinder" will be on hand to keep spellers in line and drinks flowing.

This round's spellers will be relieved to find this round's words easier and prizes better. The audience will also have more of a chance to interact and play along.

Back by popular demand, the "Underwear Round" will be making reappearing, as well as burlesque hoopster, Honey the Hot Hooper. New additions to the event include the Northeast Hula Hoop Troop, guest DJ Danny Sigelman and more.

Go, spellers! Let's hope you get eleemosynary, antidisestablishmentarianism, and otorhinolaryngological.

Acadia Cafe Relocates

One of my favorite places, Acadia Cafe, has relocated from Nicollet and Franklin to Cedar and Riverside. Justin Flower has a nice write-up in the TC Daily Planet. I saw some great small theatre at the old Acadia spot, including a Fringe Festival performance by Ben San Del (aka Ben Sandell) (myspace) called "Mittens for Fat Kids" that was terrific.

Longfellow Crime and Safety Forum

From the trusty Minneapolis Police Department Crime Alerts comes this info:

LONGFELLOW CRIME AND SAFETY FORUM

This Tuesday the LCC and the 3rd Precinct will be sponsoring an open forum on crime and safety in Longfellow.

The Longfellow Community Connections Committee and the 3rd precinct will be holding an open forum on Crime and Safety in Greater Longfellow. Bring any questions or concerns to Shun Tilman, our local crime and safety expert. Learn about what steps you can take and how you can get involved in making Longfellow a safer community.

Community Connections
Crime and Safety Community Forum
March 4th, 2008
6:30 pm
Longfellow Park
3435 36th Ave. S

For More Information Call Joanna at 612-722-4529

Porter & Frye Face-Off: Rick Nelson Approves, Kathie Jenkins Does Not

No surprise, but Rick Nelson gives thumbs up (after one dine) to Porter & Frye, the new restaurant in the Ivy Hotel + Residences downtown. He raves about, among other dishes, the main course lamb and the cured meat appetizer. Amazingly, Kathie Jenkins rips into both of those dishes specifically, saying the lamb was so rare that "each bite took about five minutes to chew" and comparing the "sausage platter" to "a plate of nachos, a half pound of thin-sliced meat layered with just a few crackers and a little bit of parmesan."

Are these reactions unexpected? Probably not. I'll be interested to see what they have to say in full reviews, but I suspect it'll be more of the same. Nelson strikes me as a solid reviewer with just a bit of rah-rah for the glitzy new kids, while Jenkins seems to enjoy being a contrarian and somewhat more lowbrow.

Two Recent Mentions of Chipotle

Fans of mongo burritos know Chipotle, that healthier, ethnic ex-cousin of McDonald's. Recently, they've been mentioned twice locally that I've seen:

1) Nancy Ngo mentions in this week's PiPress Restaurant News that Chipotle has "switched to using 100 percent naturally raised meats in all of its Minnesota restaurants. The company has been using naturally raised pork and chicken. Now, even the steak fajitas are made with meat from animals fed vegetarian diets and are free of antibiotics or added hormones." Bravo!

2) Two "middle aged skeazy dudes" on the 16 bus on Washington Avenue apparently have come up with what Overhead in Minneapolis feels should be Chipotle's new slogan. I actually think Chipotle burritos are bigger than the object in question, but having never seen said object, it's merely a guess.

Mini-Golf for a Good Cause: 2008 Skyway Open

Never heard of this until today, but what a great idea: set up a mini-golf course in the downtown Minneapolis skyways, charge people to play, and donate the proceeds to a worthy charity. That's exactly what the 2008 US Bank Skyway Open is all about. The profits from the event go directly to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities’ REBOUND program.

Gotta Get Your Krispy Kremes on Vacation Now

Turns out the Krispy Kreme phenomenon was pretty short-lived in Minnesota. Remember the lines around the block in Maple Grove? (No, I wouldn't set foot in Maple Grove for a doughnut or almost anything else, but I do recall seeing the footage on local news.) Remember the lines at the MOA for them? (Again, news footage.) Anyway, THEY'RE GONE. Outta here. Vamoosed. No Krispy Kremes for you.

Frankly, the whole thing was a lot of hype anyway. We have way, way better local bakery goods here in the Twin Cities than anything those hot glazed folks could sling. How about Mel-O-Glaze, home of the best damn doughnuts in South Mpls.? Or P J Murphy's, which has great baked goods and a completely useless website? Or Scandia Bake Shop, "Minneapolis's Oldest Scandinavian Bakery? Or the world famous (well, not quite, but they make darn good pastries) Palm's Bakery in St. Louis Park? Those are but four of the bakery wonders here in the Twin Cities, all of them producing culinary gems that far outshine anything a franchise bakery operation could make.

Good riddance, Krispy Kreme, and don't let the door hit your keister on the way out!

Rake Stops Print Publication, Will Remain Online

The Rake announced today that it will cease print publication, lay off 15 of its 16 employees (keeping Cristina Cordova to run the web op) and presumably continue as a sort of local Huffington Post (assuming they can keep some of the blogging names on board -- Britt Robson, Jeremy Iggers, Anne Bauer, et al.).

Just prior to the announcement, there was a small dustup in the comments at Brad Zellar's Rake blog (Yo, Ivanhoe!) about David Brauer's MinnPost coverage of The Rake being for sale. MNspeak also has lots of comments on the news.

This is sad news for the Twin Cities media community, although having one less outlet probably won't make much difference (and The Rake was known to be near the bottom of the pay scale for writers). And it's sad news for a friend of mine, a (now former) Rake employee who received a whopping four days of severance pay.

Ultimately, though, quality will out. My friend is talented and will find new and better work. The better writers at the Rake will find lots of opportunities to have their unique voices heard. And maybe Melinda Jacobs can buy what's left of the Rake and turn it into her own vanity publishing mini-empire. Now if only she could find an editor ...

Secret Show at Dakota Tonight?

I just heard through the grapevine that there may be a few celebrity guests at the Dakota tonight for its "Late Night at the Dakota" at 11:30pm.

There is a $5 cover for "Late Night at the Dakota," and they usually feature a local group (and they often have some pretty decent food specials for the late-night crowd, too).

Tonight, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra is playing at Orchestra Hall.

Mayfield and some of his band members may be heading over to the Dakota after their gig to provide this evening's late night entertainment. You didn't hear it here.

Stuff For Winos: Tastings this Week

Highlight of this week's tastings list from the Strib is a freebie:

Executive chef and sommelier Vincent Negret of the Cannon River Winery will discuss different wines. Free. 6-7 p.m. Feb. 23. Guests can buy wine by the glass or bottle. Reservations required. St. Paul Hotel, 350 Market St., St. Paul. 651-292-9292. www.saintpaulhotel.com.

Some others are listed, mostly on Feb. 29. Also mentioned is $10 wine tasting sponsored by McDonald's Liquors that will take place on March 6 (the Strib article omits the date, mysteriously). Sounds pretty good for the price, and those McDonald's folks are great and deserve to be supported.

I'm Already Over the Naked Sushi Thing

Everyone has an opinion about the "new" thing at Temple -- Nyotaimori/Nantaimori (eating sushi and sashimi off the naked body of a woman/man, respectively). Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about it, it ain't worth $75 to me, and it definitely won't be worth $150 to me in the future. And as a non-drinker and person who has no interest in getting a stranger's pubic hair in his teeth, I'm not really up for the wakame sake experience, either.

Lenny Russo Comments on Andrew Zimmern's Blog

Wow! A well-written, informative blog post from Andrew Zimmern on USDA/AMS attempt to co-opt the phrase "naturally raised" in connection with beef production, followed by a foie gras dustup, a rant on restaurant ownership and a long, thoughtful comment from the one and only Lenny Russo, chef-owner of Heartland and champion of sustainable food production. That's a lot of action in one blog post (with comments)!

At the end of the day, though, please read Zimmern's post and comment at the AMS website, if you feel as he does (and I do) that the proposed labeling is just corporate whitewash. This article from Michael Pollan, on the "rectification of names" is on a slightly different word, but the idea is the same.

Mpls Wi-Fi to Finally Be Completed?

Steve Alexander of the Strib reports that the Minneapolis citywide wi-fi network buildout should be complete by March 11. Seems like there are a lot of dead zones, though, and the provider, USIWireless, a subsidiary of USInternet, has a history of missed deadlines.

So, there's a three-tier pricing structure for each of two download speeds. If you want 3Mbps download speed, you can either prepay a year for $18.95 per month ($227.40 for the year), or sign a 2-year contract and pay $24.95 per month, or pay as you go for $29.95 per month.

If you want only 1Mbps download speed, you can prepay for a year for $14.95 per month ($179.40 for the year), or sign a 2 year contract and pay $17.95 per month, or pay as you go for $19.95 per month.

Frankly, signing a 2-year contract doesn't seem compelling to me. It's way cheaper to buy a year's worth of service up front, and if you're undecided, spend the pay-as-you-go amount for a month or two to decide if you like the service.

Anecdotally, I have heard 2 things about the service: (1) it isn't necessarily the most reliable -- all kinds of service calls may be required in the first couple of months because repositioning of the wireless relays may be required to get you a decent connection; and (2) USIWireless generally credits you for the month if your service is down for any unreasonable amount of time. Again, these are anecdotal; your mileage may vary.

NWA Adds PerkChoice for Award Travel

From the Northwest Airlines website, a new way to buy seats with cash and miles combined:

Now there's more flexibility, affordability and choice when booking travel with Cash and Miles.

• PerkChoice lets you use your WorldPerks miles for one half of your roundtrip and cash for the other.
• This all-new exclusive offer will provide options for WorldPerks members to book travel if a PerkSaver award seat is available on only one way of a roundtrip.
• WorldPerks members can use as few as 12,500 miles and there are no time or date restrictions on any Northwest flights.

I don't know whether this will be a good thing or a non-event. I do know that everyone I speak to about traveling on FF miles on NWA tells me they can never find seats. One couple I know has loads of miles, but they wind up either donating them or using them for hotel points, because they can never find WorldPerks seats for the flights they want.

Kathie Jenkins Has a List of Friday Fish Fries

The PiPress's Kathie Jenkins has assembled a good list of Friday fish fries for Lent. I'm not a person who feels they can't or shouldn't eat meat on Fridays, but I'm happy to take advantage of the Friday fish fries just the same. Glad to see one of my favorites, St. Clair Broiler, made the list.

Steve Perry: So Long, Daily Mole. Hello, MNMon!

Steve Perry, as rumored, has shut down the Daily Mole and will be joining the MN Monitor. Sounds like a good move for him, and a nice addition to MNMon. Also, Dude Weather has moved to The Rake.

Viking Udeze Has Leukemia

The Minnesota Vikings have confirmed that defensive end Kenechi Udeze has been diagnosed with leukemia. An earlier report mentioned that he is being treated at Fairview Southdale and also was at the Mayo Clinic. The original story was reported on KSTP Channel 5.

I'm not a religious person, but my thoughts go out to Udeze and his family. He has an infant daughter, who deserves to have her daddy around for a long, long time.

First Course Kudos

A friend writes: "If you have not already seen it, I wanted to point out in the latest edition of The Rake that they mentioned First Course, the restaurant in our 'hood, as a "fine dining under the radar". While I don't think that 112 is losing sleep, it is nice to see [First Course] getting some recognition. We have enjoyed all the meals that we have had there. It is just so nice to be able to walk to a restaurant, be able to get a good meal and some wine, and the walk home again."

Here's another Rake mention of First Course, again from my favorite local food writer, Jeremy Iggers (from November, 2007). And here are the short write-ups from City Pages and Vita.MN. So go already!

Latino Community Safety Fair, Feb. 16, 10am-2pm

ANUNCIO DE PRENSA
PUBLICACION INMEDIATA

February 3, 2008

Contactos: Becky George, 612-728-5485 o "Tina" (Maria Cristina) Tavera, Latinos en Acción 612-724-7457.
¿QUE?: Feria de Seguridad para la comunidad Latina

¿CUANDO?: El Sábado, 16 de Febrero de las 10am hasta las 2pm

¿DONDE?: El Salón en Plaza Verde, 1516 East Lake Street

¿PARA QUIEN?: Gratuito y abierto al público

El Sábado 16 de Febrero 2008, se llevara a cabo una feria de seguridad en el Salón de la Plaza Verde de las 10am hasta las 2pm de la tarde. El evento contara con información en español sobre como reducir el crimen y como proteger nuestras familias, bienes, y negocios. Este evento beneficia a todos porque ofrece recursos de prevención de pandillas, ayuda en como alertar a las autoridades, información sobre seguridad para los jóvenes incluyendo uso de bicicletas o computadoras, sugiere maneras para proteger tu dinero y te dará estrategias para mejorar nuestra comunidad. Habrá actividades en las que los padres se podrán informar sobre cómo proteger la seguridad de su familia. Disfrute con el perro mascota McGruff, el Payaso Barrilito, habrá premios, y otras actividades. Este evento es organizado por el Cooperativo Mercado Central, Minneapolis 3rd Precinct Police Department, Weed and Seed, Latinos en Acción, and U.S. Bank.

Para mas información, llame a Becky George, 612-728-5485.

Los esperamos…

* * * * * * * * * * *
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2008

Contactos: Becky George, 612-728-5485 o "Tina" (Maria Cristina) Tavera, Latinos en Acción 612-724-7457.
WHAT?: Safety Fair for the Latino

WHEN?: Saturday February 16, 2008 from 10am hasta las 2pm

WHERE?: El Salón in Plaza Verde,1516 East Lake Street

FOR WHO?: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Saturday February 16, 2008, there will be a security fair in the Community Room de la Plaza Verde at 10am to 2pm. The event has information in Spanish about how to reduce crime and how to protect our families, valuables, and business. This event benefits everyone because it offers resources on how to prevent gangs, how to report crimes, bicycle and internet safety, how to protect your money, and strategies on how to improve your community. There will be activities with information for parents protecting their families. Come enjoy a day with McGruff the crime dog, el Barrilito clown, prizes, and other activities. This event is organized by the Cooperativo Mercado Central, Minneapolis 3rd Precinct Police Department, Weed and Seed, Latinos en Acción, and U.S. Bank.

For more information, call Becky George, 612-728-5485 or "Tina" (Maria Cristina) Tavera, Latinos en Acción 612-724-7457.
Please come…

Winos: These Are For You

The Strib rounds up a bunch of wine tastings happening in the next couple of weeks. A votre sante!

Switching Caucuses to Primaries -- Someone Hears

Someone out there is hearing the call for electoral primaries instead of caucuses. The Strib notes that two Minnesota legislators called for just such a change.

Sens. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, and Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park, . . . announce[d] their plan to decouple the presidential contest from the caucus system by the next presidential election cycle. Their bill would allow voters to participate in a primary similar to a general election without requiring them to be involved in the caucus process now run by political parties.

When asked for comment on the proposal, the state's two party chairs were split:

On Wednesday, DFL chairman Brian Melendez tentatively endorsed the new push for a primary. "It's definitely worth talking about," he said. "The e-mails I've gotten since last night from people I don't know run strongly in favor of the primary."

He said he has sent a letter to the party's district chairpersons telling them that "switching to a presidential primary -- while keeping the caucuses for other races and for party governance -- is worth talking about."

As for the logistical headaches that plagued Tuesday's caucuses, "We reached our limit last night," Melendez said. "The caucus system is going to have a very hard time coping with numbers like that. We can handle 80,000, and we could have handled 100,000, but we couldn't handle 200,000."

GOP chairman Ron Carey said he and other party leaders adamantly oppose "any change from our caucus system."

If a presidential primary becomes law, "they can put it on the calender if they want ... but it will remain a beauty contest for us," he said.

Party bylaws dictate that the GOP's presidential preference be expressed exclusively through the process that ends with the party's state convention, he said.

Carey also said he believes that splitting a primary from the caucuses would have the unintended consequence of ensuring that "the only people who show up for the caucuses would be the true insiders and geeks."

Carey is out of touch -- even the comments to the story feature Republicans complaining about the caucus system. Here's one, from someone who signed in as jimpolitel:

We need to have a primary. I attended my GOP caucus as I have since 1984 and the same people always move on as delegates because they are known by the insiders. I felt sorry for the young Ron Paul supporters who were out of their element as this was their first caucus and the regulars were ramming things through and not being supportive to the new attendees. While Ron Carey says he doesn't support a primary, it does not mean Republicans do not support a primary. One other note, if you are a sitting congressman, please don't run for delegate, you already have an at-large seat at the conventions and you're taking away an opportunity for someone new to get involved.

Edit: The Strib music writer Chris Riemenschneider writes up his first caucus experience -- clearly, from his tone, not a fun night.

Macy's to Close Mpls HQ, Lay Off 950

The Strib reports that Macy's will consolidate its headquarters in New York, eliminating 950 HQ jobs from the Twin Cities. Apparently a cost-cutting measure, the company will now run the store from afar. I'm not sure what will happen to all that space on the 8th-11th floors of the building, but presumably some of it will be filled by regional hires Macy's will be making.

From the article:

Tyler Rosengren, 26, an advertising account executive from Minneapolis who frequently buys lunches at the downtown Macy's, said the loss of the headquarters represented "the final stage of a downward spiral away from the Dayton's days."

"It's been a long time since this store felt special," he said.

That's for sure.

Macy's has a right to run it's business as it sees fit, but Twin Cities shoppers also have a right to shop where they want. The abandonment of the Twin Cities market is just another nail in the coffin of the old-time department store, which doesn't seem to have much place in most people's lives these days.

Mine, for example: I would boycott Macy's, but how would they even be able to tell? I haven't purchased anything at a Macy's store since December, 2005.

Zander Cafe Is No More

Nancy Ngo of the PiPress reports that Alexander Dixon closed the eponymous Zander Cafe yesterday after lunch. The economy, financial woes and liquor license issues finally combined to create the perfect storm. This is a bummer, but not entirely unexpected. To stay afloat, last March he sold the restaurant space to neighbors Solo Vino, and leased it back, but that turned out to be a temporary fix.

Here's hoping Dixon finds a new kitchen to grace, stat.

Target Free Family Concerts at Orchestra Hall -- Sign Up Now

Several times each year, Target sponsors free family concerts at orchestra hall -- the catch? You must enter a lottery for tickets. Here are the links to the two free concerts (there are two performances of each):

On The Day You Were Born

Mozart, You Kid, You

Instructions for entering the ticket lottery are on each page, and you can only specify your first 2 choices of the 4 performances. Also (caveat emptor), you will be receiving telemarketing calls from the Minnesota Orchestra if you sign up for these -- your phone number is their payoff for the free concert. That said, it's a small price to pay for a fun afternoon for the kids.

10,000 Arts Party at Northrup This Thursday, Feb. 7

Feb 07, 2008 from 7 pm to 10 pm

All the World's a Stage at Northrop, University of Minnesota!

A performance extravaganza, on stage and off:

• 2008 Voltage: Fashion Amplified Preview
  
• Music by MC/VL
• 7 Deadly Sins by the University Opera Theatre
• 7 Corners Quartet jazz ensemble
• Scott Mateo Davis: flamenco guitar
• Authur Murray Dance Center

Meet the artists featured in the new issue of 10,000 Arts: Minnesota's Creative Quarterly! Also, sample fine complimentary foods, spirits, wine, and beer (plus cash bar).

General admission is free.

We are no longer taking V.I.P. reservations.

Northrop Auditorium

University of Minnesota

84 Church Street S.E.

Minneapolis, MN 55455

For parking suggestions, visit www1.umn.edu/pts.

Co-hosted by The Rake and mnartists.org. Sponsored by Explore Minnesota, Simon Delivers, Bacardi, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Artisan Vineyards, with support from West Bank Arts District, and Voltage.

The 'Burboons Speak, and Of Course It Sounds Like Ass

The Strib has an article about suburbanites getting religion and using public transportation to get to work. They've seen the green revolution and they want to get onboard! (It has nothing to do with the fact that it costs them $92.50 to gas up the Navigator every 3 days). After reading those sentences, I don't think anyone will be surprised to know I don't have a lot of respect for the average 'burb dweller, but quotes like these almost make it mandatory to just assume all 'burboons have shovel-to-cranium disease:

"I really think there's a big misconception out there that buses are stinky and there's all these grimy people on them," said [Tony] Pistilli, of Brooklyn Park. "And it's just not that way! You meet the same people over and over again, whether it's the 8:02 or the 7:56, and they're just like you." (emphasis added)

"I do have an SUV, I feel you need one in a northern state," [Katie] Robers [of St. Michael] said, "but even though if you knew me you'd be, like, 'You're no environmentalist,' I do like to balance out that cardinal sin with the little things you can do." (emphasis added)

Emily Miller, coming in from Eden Prairie, says that while "money is an issue, in some ways it's more environmental. You see the stop-and-go traffic on the crosstown [highway] and just think of all those greenhouse gases." . . . And Miller confesses to a certain image, beforehand, of bus riders. "You sometimes think they're creepy people muttering things -- I don't mean that in a bad way -- but it's a bunch of people from Eden Prairie and the southwest suburbs just going to work downtown, or kids to the U. It's not a creepy experience at all. " (emphasis added)

So, it's official, apparently: you have to be completely clueless to be a 'burboon, with lots of baseless, preconceived notions of what horrible creatures must live in the Twin Towns. How sheltered and stupid are these people? Luckily for them, African Americans, Asians and Hispanics have the courtesy to have darker skin, so that the 'burboons can easily identify them and avoid them as much as possible. For us "creepy," "grimy" Caucasian city folk, I guess they just have to take their chances.

Ladies (Ages 9 - 55): Get the HPV Vaccine!

As a husband and the father of 2 young girls, I have to pay attention to stuff I probably wouldn't normally concern myself with, were I not married or a parent. This is one of those things: HPV vaccine. The MN Dept. of Health backed away from mandating the HPV vaccine for junior-high aged girls, but "we strongly encourage young women to get the vaccine," said Kristen Ehresmann, section chief for immunizations at the Health Department.

It saves lives. If you're a woman in the target range for the vaccine, please get info on the HPV vaccine and get vaccinated.

Edit: Turns out there's a benefit to the vaccine for men -- fighting HPV-related oral cancers. So, fellas, you need to stay up to date on this stuff, too.

Santana: "I guess the best thing for them was to make this deal."

The Strib recaps the Santana negotations and it sounds like Johan is both happy to move on to New York ($137.5 million later, who wouldn't be happy?) and regretful that he couldn't stay with the Twins.

One aside: my Spanish is lousy, but I've never understood the pronunciation of Santana's first name. He's from Venezuela, so I would think Spanish pronunciation would be correct. My understanding of Spanish pronunciation would mean his name is pronounced "Ho-an." But I've only ever heard him referred to as "Yo-han." So what is correct? Have we Midwesterners just been mangling his name for nearly a decade? That's my assumption, but if someone can clear that up, I'd appreciate it.

How Can You Help Fred?

Fred Tilbury is a first-grader at St. Helena School in South Minneapolis. Just 6 years old, Fred has been diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. St. Helena has set up a Friends of Fred area on their website to explain what's going on with their friend Fred and offer a way for you to become a friend of Fred and help out a family in need.

The Friends of Fred had a head shaving fundraiser last Friday, and almost 300 people had their heads shaved and/or hair cut in solidarity with Fred and to help raise money for his treatment. Cutting/shaving services were kindly donated by Riverstone Salon Spa, where the missus and our girls get their stylin' on as well.

Fred also has a CaringBridge site, where you can find out more about him and his journey. I can't say enough good things about CaringBridge: when friends of ours had kids hospitalized for several months, it was the best link to how they were doing (their situation didn't allow for visitors, so info was sometimes tough to come by).

Please send your thoughts and good wishes Fred's way (and some coin if you can spare it). I'll do my best to keep up with Fred's situation and post it here.

Vote Today!

Find out where your local precinct caucus will be held by using the MN Secretary of State's Precinct Caucus Finder. Then go vote. I'm already on the record for wanting to change our caucus system to a primary, but no matter what the system is, you don't have a voice if you don't participate. Find out more about the candidates from the League of Women Voters' Vote 411 website.

Trader Joe's and Aldi's: Secret Siblings

I posted recently about Trader Joe's opening another store in St. Paul soon. Now I've just found out that the extremely popular Trader Joe's (popular, that is, among my more well-to-do circle of friends) is owned by the same folks that own the more downscale Aldi's, which has 19 locations in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, including 2 in South Minneapolis (one on East Franklin and one on East Lake, across from the Midtown YWCA). According to the Newsweek article, some (most?) of the stuff in both TJ's and Aldi's is name brand stuff in generic packaging.

I wonder how my TJ's-loving friends will feel about the TJ's-Aldi's link (if they don't already know). I know of one person (a thrifty mom) who shops Aldi regularly, but most of the TJ's crowd wouldn't be caught dead in an Aldi's. Having shopped Aldi's a couple of times myself, my issues with it are: (1) cash only -- that doesn't work well for us, as we like to do one big grocery shopping trip per week and I NEVER carry much more than $20 in my pocket; and (2) limited selection -- again, we have time to do one big grocery shopping trip per week, so we need to get everything at once, and Aldi's doesn't have everything we want. That said, we have saved a lot of money at Aldi when we were selective (and even when we weren't, we didn't blow it too badly: we once bought several bags of hot dog buns, put them in the freezer, and then wound up throwing them out after about 3 months because we almost never eat hot dogs -- but since they were marked down to $0.05 per bag, our total wastefulness was limited t0 $0.20).

So, perhaps we need to fit time into our schedule to go to Aldi's more often (and carry more cash on us). In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that although several of my friends rave about TJ's, I've never set foot in one.

Minnesota Should Dump the Caucuses and Go to a Voter Primary System

I was going to write up a big thing about how the caucus system in Minnesota is ineffective and needs to be changed, but this guy beat me to it. A quick review of info shows that Minnesota expects to break all records for caucus participation, and yet of Minnesota's 3,114,268 registered voters (as of Feb. 1, 2008), only about 4% (125,000) will participate in the caucus process. That compares to about 39% of South Carolina voters participating in its primary. Even in Michigan, where Democratic participation in its primary was down (likely because the Democratic Party stripped the state of its delegates because it moved it's primary up too far on the calendar), approximately 20.3% of the state's registered voters voted in the primary. You'll see numbers bigger than that in most states in tomorrow's Super Tuesday primaries.

Twin Cities Supper Club at Nick & Eddie on Feb. 19

Join Twin Cities Supper Club (presented by Metro Magazine) at Nick & Eddie, Doug and Jessica Anderson's new digs (with Steve Vranian) on Loring Park. The menu looks good, and the place has been getting good reviews all over (former CP foodie Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl raves in Gourmet, Rick Nelson swoons in the Strib, former Strib guy Jeremy Iggers beams in The Rake, even the PiPress's Kathie Jenkins likes it).

Here are the details, if you're interested:

$35 ticket includes appetizers, dinner and 2 complimentary drinks. Valet services start at 5:00 PM. Metered street parking is available and parking lots are just a 1/2 block away.

Nick & Eddie
1612 Harmon Place
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Menu:

Appetizers:
- Cocktail Ruben Sandwiches
- Whitefish Salad served on Potato Pancake
- Roasted Vegetable Tapenade Crostini
- Mesquite Grilled Shrimp Skewer

First Course:
- Baked Gnocchi with Cheese Sauce

Entrees:
- Roasted Chicken Breast
- Spicy Steak
- Vegetarian Risotto with Radicchio, Grilled Vegetables, & Parmesan Cheese

Sides:
- Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
- Wild Rice Hominy

Fixing Shoreham Yards

Come help brainstorm ideas for fixing up one of Minneapolis's most blighted sites -- Shoreham Yards on Central Avenue in Northeast (near the Columbia Golf Course). According to a post on the Minneapolis Issues Forum on e-democracy.org:

Mayor Rybak has assembled a team of professional architects, artists, landscape architects, and developers to work with you - the community of Northeast - to visualize what to do with the best redevelopment opportunity along Central Avenue.

SHOREHAM YARDS DESIGN CHARRETTE
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Arrive at 10 a.m. to participate fully in the design process, or arrive at 3:30 p.m. to see the final result.

Hennepin County Northeast Library
2200 Central Avenue NE
Minneapolis

Refreshments will be served.

This event is free and open to the public. To learn more, contact: Francis Bulbulian, AIA - 612-359-3256

According to their website, Shoreham Yards is:

* a 230-acre rail yard/rail distribution center in northeast Minneapolis owned by Canadian Pacific Railway/Soo Line. Shoreham is bordered on the east by Central Avenue, the west by University Avenue, the south by 27th Avenue NE, and the north by St. Anthony Parkway. Shoreham is the historic home of the Soo Line's rail operations, dating back to the late 1800s.

* home to Minneapolis' largest polluted site, including a state Superfund site and three other contaminated parcels.

* a source of key regional groundwater aquifer contamination and soil pollution that includes TCE, PCE, PCP, VOCs and dioxin.

* the proposed site of a city- and community-approved redevelopment plan in 2000 that neighbors hoped would stimulate hundreds of new jobs, major corridor revitalization, tax-base enhancement and reduced collateral blight; neighbors continue to advocate for sustainable, community-friendly redevelopment that preserves Shoreham's historic assets.

* the site of the Historic Shoreham Roundhouse, named one of Minnesota's 10 Most Endangered Properties in 2003 and designated by the city of Minneapolis as a historic property.

Come be a part of the solution!