Minnesota. State. Fair. In all it’s deep-fried, hyped, once-a-year but every year no-matter-what glory! The “Great Minnesota Get-Together” is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region, attracting nearly two million people annually. What began in 1854 as a territorial fair to highlight agriculture and encourage farming has become the perfect, closing-out-the-summer tradition. […]
The Hairy Mosquito Trading Company is crazy, eclectic, dare-I-say cooky, ice cream shop and trading post in Milaca. It’s easy to spot, just look for the large home-made metal mosquito sculpture squatting outside. Inside, you’ll find old-fashioned ice cream, sundaes, banana splits, ice cold drinks, nostalgic candy favorites such as rock candy, wax lips, Necco […]
The question I am most often asked is, “how long have you been doing this?” Without skipping a beat, it is always promptly followed with, “why?” Four years ago today, I lost my Dad. That was the end and the beginning of everything. Prior to his unplanned departure, I had never even thought about the […]
Lake Pepin, named for Jean Pepin who settled on its shores in the late 1600s, is the largest lake on the Mississippi River. On the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, Lake Pepin is located approximately 60 miles downstream from Saint Paul. Although Frontenac State Park takes up a large part of the Minnesota side, the […]
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” ― The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) Jazz Age Fiction Writer, Romantizier of the American Dream, Minnesotan
Jax Cafe has been a Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood staple, a landmark if you will, since opening its doors in the early 1900s. Now in its third generation of ownership, Jax began when great-grandfather, Stanley Kozlak, built a local dance hall and a store to sell furniture, hardware, and funeral services (I know, right?!). When prohibition […]
In the middle of farmland, in a small town in southeastern Minnesota, sits one of the most unique, breathtaking and tender places you will find locally. The Watt Munisotaram, a Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Hampton, is by far the most elaborately decorated and exquisitely encapsulating houses of faith I’ve ever seen, here or anywhere else […]
The Niagara Cave in Harmony is rated one of the “Top Ten” rated caves in the United States and is only a mile from the Minnesota-Iowa border in southern Minnesota’s Bluff Country. It was discovered in 1924 by a pig farmer and has since become a family owned and operated tourist attraction. It features stalactites, […]
The hidden gem of the Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis, Tracy’s Saloon & Eatery is a favorite local bar off Franklin Ave. The bar originally opened as Dick Tracy’s Saloon in 1979. When the owner of the comic book rights threatened a lawsuit, Tracy’s was born. Even without the famous moniker, Tracy’s keeps with its friendly […]
It’s hard to pass up Ideal Diners vibrant marque off Central Avenue. This Northeast Minneapolis landmark was built in 1949, touting iconic slogans like, “where regular people feel special, and special people feel regular” and “14 Stools, 1 Counter, No Bathroom.” Both irrevocably true. For decades, Ideal has been THE quintessential city breakfast spot. Owned […]
If you are looking for something to do that includes watching death-defying acts, body-bending movement and brilliant colors, look no further than Circus Juventas! Formerly Circus of the Star, in reference to Minnesota as the North Star State, Circus Juventas is a youth performing arts circus school off Montreal Avenue in St Paul’s Highland Park […]
The Twin Cities 400 Tavern in North Minneapolis is an expansive restaurant and bar inside the Marriot. Located in an industrial area off of Broadway, the restaurant was formerly Scalzo’s Italian Grille, and prior to that, the Itasca Room at the Ramada Plaza Minneapolis (now the Marriot). It is named for the Twin Cities 400 […]
GIVEAWAY! Read on. What better way to start the weekend than to take a trip to the farmers market, chat up some local growers, bakers and artisans and return to the kitchen to make fresh, straight-from-the-garden favorites? The Abundant Kitchen allowed me to do just that and so much more! Located in downtown Buffalo, The […]
Benedict’s, in the Promenade of Wayzata, is the latest from Mike Rakun, chef-owner of Mercy Bar & Dining Room in Minneapolis. One of the newest on the Wayzata restaurant scene, and already a serious favorite of mine. Sure, they serve the traditional breakfast fare, BUT they throw in their own twist! They have all kinds […]
Madden’s Golf Course in East Gull Lake, Brainerd has a long list of accolades including being rated one of America’s Top 100 Greatest Public Courses. The Classic, Madden’s bar and grill located next to the clubhouse is one of the most popular restaurants in the Brainerd Lakes area and was even rated #3 in The […]
Housed in what looks like a 1970s living room, St Paul’s BlackStack Brewing is just outside of Can Can Wonderland. The giant venue is a renovated warehouse, complete with high ceilings, industrial windows, mid-century modern couches, tables and chairs. They also have an entire wall of board games. Loung-y with a side of pizzazz. Pull up to […]
You may know MN Nice Cream as a little food truck on Instagram but what you may not know is that they just opened up a brick-and-mortar cafe in Northeast Minneapolis. Located in the former home of Empire Coffee across the courtyard from Able Seedhouse + Brewery, MN Nice Cream serves up ice cream tacos […]
Gorman’s Restaurant in Lake Elmo has been around for more than 36 years. Ed and Kathy Gorman originally bought the (former) White Hat Restaurant in 1980, changing the name to its current moniker 20 years later. Gorman’s is brimming with historical photos and antiques. The walls are covered in historical pictures, dating back to the 1800s, framed in original […]
Northeast Minneapolis plays hosts to a pretty hefty number of groundbreaking, good-time places, faces and intoxicating liquor joints. Well, it just got better. Brother Justus Whiskey Co. is a brand new, underground distillery that promises to put Minnesota whiskey back on the map. “Back,” you say? Why yes, didn’t you know that Minnesota made some […]
A bit off the beaten path from Hwy 7/Co Road 226 in Dorset, a town with a reigning population of 22, rests the adorable Little Dorset Shop. Filled with Minnesota-themed love notes, Paul Bunyan wrapping paper, recipe cards, coupon books for kids, Dorset postcards, ‘Uff Da’ wine glass tags, loons, bicycles and mittens, custom decks […]
