What's in a Blog: A Review

When we decided to do a blog, I knew the most important part would be to start. I have thought about starting a blog several times but, you know, too many other great ideas to pursue.

This has been a very positive experience for us and here are a few bullets that I think led us to success:

• Don't over think it. Picking the blog title was the hardest part. No proofreading just post. We both wrote and editing was only allowed post post. This allowed us to retain the confidence to keep writing.
  
• Keep it simple. We used blogger, a pretty easy and standard tool. We tried to limit each posts to 2 paragraphs and a few pics. We didn't concern ourselves with blog design, though I suppose that's personal preference really.
  
• Go Social. Though it was hard at times to be so exposed, Twitter, Facebook and Email helped us spread the word and reconnected us with both Minneapolis as well as friends and family.
  
• Stick to the Theme. We talked about our staycation and reviewed our adventures. Not a lot more. This made it easier to decide what to write about and prevented writers block.
  
• Little bit of discipline. We blogged for 2 hours each night, mostly in our front porch with limited distractions. Gave us time to think and a bit of personal space during a week of togetherness.

The results? 60 some posts, a dozen FB posts and a few more tweets. A zillion comments from friends and strangers. Oh and a little press. Just about 3000 hits folks, in 9 days. Not bad.

We recommend blogging during your next adventure.

Sunday Morning Stroll, Blue Moon: A Review

Despite what you may be hoping for, we kept it low key this final day of adventure. It was like 90 degrees when we woke up. Even though rain and thunderstroms were predicted all weekend, it's been nothing but sunny and hot. Champagne problem in MN, I know.

This morning we walked to 39th and Lake for a coffee and a pastry at Blue Moon Coffee Cafe. Super friendly neighborhood joint with a colorful welcoming interior. We reminisced about our week and wished for more days of adventure. An Iced Latte and Cherry Chocolate Scone for me and Coffee and Cinnamon Twist Muffin for Pip. Oops, looks like we enjoyed ourselves so much, we forgot to take a picture before it was all gone.

The coupon was for half off an organic coffee drink. Yes, recommended especially if you live in the zone. With two, total savings: $3.50

PS. The day lilies are in bloom! I hope you enjoyed the flowers I passed along the way as much as I did.

Cactuses and Tiny Puppies, Seward Cafe: A Review

Keeping it local this morning with a stroll down Milwaukee Ave to Seward Cafe. We drive by this joint most days, stare at it from the windows of Luce, and think of it when at the Coop. Despite all this, we've never been. Jacob also gave me lots of coupons, so we better figure out if we like this place.

When we walked in, I was immediately struck by the decor on the window sill...

An interesting selection of cacti and porcelain dogs, all with a layer of dust indicating love and neglect simultaneously.

Anyways, at the Cafe we were greeted with a smile and instructed to take a menu and fill out our order. "This place is more deli style than restaurant style" the dude behind the bar said. We hit submit on our order, and waited at our table for our name to be called over the intercom. The food was good but basic. I created my own omelet with Spinach, Mushroom, and Feta. Pip got Super Green Earth breakfast: Cheddar, Broccoli scramble melted over Hash. We liked the 2 egg and half order options respectively. Remember we are pretty full these days.

Really, the food was just fine. I don't really think a food photo will add anything to this post. This dirty hippy spot was much more of an experience. With its wobbly, rickety picnic tables in the pleasant tree- filled back patio and the above child art adorning the walls, on the right occasion we would definitely return.

Our coupon was buy one get one 1/2 off. Total Saving: $3.75

PS. The Birchwood still wins.

Can't Forget the Cherry, Lucia's: A Review

In my mind, there are a few quintessential Minneapolis adventures. Lake Calhoun and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Here is a Calhoun pic from Tuesday's adventures. I don't believe any justification is necessary, right?

Believing that today was going to be the last day before the thunderstorms roll in, we thought a picnic in the sculpture garden would be a fitting way to spend the afternoon. This is another one of those things that always sounds like a good idea but something benign like the need to sit around doing nothing gets in the way.

We pedaled up to Lucia's To-Go for our to-go lunch. It's on Hennepin and 31st in Uptown. We'd never been but this is an established joint which comes highly recommended.

Pip got a Salami, Pesto, Spinach, Provolone sandwich with a Veggie Salad, Peanut Butter cookie, and a Root Beer.  I got Brie, Prosciutto, Arugula sandwich with a Cup of Fruit, Chocolate Seasalt cookie, and a Grapefruit Izzy.

The folks at Lucias were helpful, friendly and excited about our adventures. Every thing about our lunch in the garden was fantastic. Relaxing and tasty. The sandwiches were the right size and great blend of ingredients. We very much recommend this place, and suggest the pairing of some fun outdoor adventure.

The coupon was $3 off a purchase of $10 and yes of course we had two. Total Savings: $6. Total miles biked: 12.

Taking in a Show...the Guthrie: A Review

For those of you who haven't been, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is really quite a beautiful place to visit. Interesting architecture includes a cantilevered bridge that extends out towards the Mississippi. Neither of these shots are very good but they give you an idea of the view, or just consult the internet...

On a whim, we decided to take in a show, God of Carnage, as the coupon was only good on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Funny, 1.5 hour show about two couples discussing a playgound fight between their two sons. I am in no way shape or form a theater critic but I will say, I did not fall asleep. If you know me well, you should assume that speaks volumes. After I fell asleep at Rent, Maggie has since refused to be my broadway date. We definitely laughed.

Our coupon was buy one get one free. Total savings: $34. Total miles biked: 5

Location, Location, Location - Spoonriver a Review

As we were headed to the Guthrie to see God of Carnage, dinner at Spoonriver was the logical choice.


We jumped on our bikes, rode the Hiawatha Trail downtown and were there in no time. Spoonriver is right next to the Guthrie and the Mill City Museum. It's a great location - one that affords the chefs primo access to the fresh produce at Mill City Farmers Market (actually, I believe the farmers market was founded by Brenda the owner of Spoonriver).


We opted for two types of mojitos instead of wine or beer. Kate had the Moroccan with cardamom and I had the Minnesota with cranberries. The Moroccan was better - it had a more traditional flavor profile for a mojito, but an added spice that I liked.


As a fan of Minnesota beers, I do have to say that I was disappointed by a restaurant committed to showcasing local food that only had 2 Minnesota beers on the menu - one of which being Summit. Really?

But I digress. Although almost everything on the menu looked good, we decided to split a couple appetizers: the shrimp & avocado salad, shrimp quesadilla, and cheese/fruit plate. The ingredients were fresh and spoke for themselves. Nothing was over-prepared and the quesadilla was piping hot. The cheeses of the day: a blue from Iowa, a french brie and an Amish cheddar. They were good, but rather pedestrian as far as cheese plate offerings.


The dessert tray didn't speak to us, so we choose to skip the sweets. Note: I almost never think a tray displaying today's dessert options is a good idea. The items rarely look appealing, why was the sorbet not melted?, when they've been sitting out on a tray carried to and fro.

The crowd was pretty old and we realized that the location right next to the Guthrie placed some constraints on Spoonriver. Namely, that they need to cater to an older audience and families, who are likely to keep the chefs from pushing the envelope in menu offerings. Location, location, location - but location comes with a specific market.

Overall, we had good experience at Spoonriver. Our coupon was for $5 off.

Right off the Bike Path: A Review of Trotters

For lunch, we biked over to Trotter's Cafe on Cleveland just south of Marshall in St. Paul. I've been to Trotter's a couple times before and have always enjoyed my food, but it's located just off my normal biking routes, so I often roll bye and forget that it's really close.


On a staff recommendation, Kate had the "Grilled 232 Focaccia," which has mushrooms, red onions, roma tomatoes, smoked basil gouda and sprouts. I had a bite and it was warm and delicious. Kate gave it a thumbs up, but did offer a small critique that the bread was a little too soft.

I had a 1/2 turkey sandwich and the Lemon Israeli Couscous Spinach salad. The sandwich was standard, but the salad was outstanding. The lemon added a bright flavor and the addition of golden raisins gave the otherwise savory salad a nice sweetness. We've been making a lot of couscous salads recently and this one has inspired me to explore some new recipes.


Our coupons got us each 25% off an item. Total savings: $3.75

Definitely recommend Trotter's if you're in Merriam Park and looking for a lite lunch.

There's a Place for Fun in Your Life: A Review

Flipping through the Chinook Book, we have Grocery, Dining, Entertainment and Family, Health and Style, Travel and Recreation, Yard and Garden, and Home to choose from. For our purposes we have been focusing on the Dining section but it never hurts to flip through the options just to see what's out there. Today was forecasted to thunderstorm so an indoor activity was in order.

As a giant departure from our regular habits, we picked Underwater Adventures now known as Sea Life, which Minnesota's version of an aquarium and is located at the Mall of America. When the Mall first opened, it's marketing campaign included the a catchy little tune whose main line was, "there's a place for fun in your life, Mall of America." My present day self wonders regularly why teenage self never thought to buy a t-shirt with that logo. It sure would be sweet to have something like that now.

Back to Sea life. This is by far the hardest post to keep succinct. So much to tell perhaps I will split it up. Basically, it was totally fun. Highly recommended. We went with a coupon for each of us, $4 off the price of admission. Lucky for us, today was Laid-Off State Employee Day. That meant Pip was free and I was half price. Sweet!

Great fun, take your kids or partner or friend and have a good time with fish!

1/2 Off for Laid-Off State Employees: Heidi's - A Review

This morning, I noticed a tweet from @hotdishblog that Heidi's (29th & Lyndale) was offering laid off state workers (that's me) 50% off tonight. Kate's sister Maggie also alerted us to the offer. We had never been to Heidi's, but a quick review of their website was enough to know this would be a place we'd like.


For a Tuesday, this place was hoping - almost a full house. We managed to grab a table on the patio shortly before 8. We were delighted to learn that Heidi's is brought to you in part by the letter Y and the number 13.


First course: Although we were tempted to roll the dice on the "Shefzilla Surprise" appetizer, which our waiter indicated was "exotic," we instead opted for Beets 2.1 The 2.1 is significant - this was a step up from a typical beet salad. I could say a lot about this dish, but the key ingredient for me was the truffled golden beet sorbet. Hard to imagine without actually trying it - it was a powerful, sweet ice cream that hit the taste buds fast and delivered immense flavor.

 *perhaps, the beet schmear was a bit much

Second course: Kate had the black truffle pappardelle (thin strips of pasta) with lobster, which was rich and smooth. I only had a couple bites, but it was amazing. I opted for the special of the day: pan roasted quail with baby artichokes in a rabbit/bay leaf sauce. It was hearty and very tasty.

Dessert: we finished the meal with donuts, but not just any donuts: honey-cream filled donuts. They were served with a blueberry ice cream and a candied mint leaf. Really wonderful - we fought over the last drops of melted ice cream.


We'll definitely go back.

It's Lunch Time, I'm Starving! Anodyne Coffeehouse: A Review

Today we spent the morning at home, left over bagels and stump grinding from previous posts. By the time we got out the door to start our Chinook Book adventure, we were starving. For lunch, we headed to the Kingfield neighborhood which is just east and south of Uptown, to a neighborhood cafe called Anodyne Coffeehouse.

Much like May Day, I really enjoyed the environment and the people watching and spent some time wondering why there were so many people hanging out on a Tuesday at 2. The staff was friendly and excited about our adventure.

They recommended we try the specials. Turkey, Bacon, Arugula, Pesto sandwich with Blue Corn Chips and a pickle for me (not a fan of pickles but am a fan of the clean plate club). Pip had Spicy Chorizo wrap. Mine was good though could have used a better bun. I find hamburger buns really only fitting on a cheeseburger. Pip said his tasted like a taco bar and was easily more than enough for one meal.

Overall, we liked it as a good neighborhood joint but probably won't go out of our way to go again.

The coupon was buy one sandwich, get the second half off. Total savings $3.75.

May Day in July: A review

Happy 4th of July folks!

For breakfast this morning, the original plan was Moose and Sadies but unfortunately the coupon was only valid after 3. Boo. Anyways, Plan B turned out to be a big win. We ventured to May Day Cafe which according to Yelp is the quintessential Powderhorn Park cafe.

This hipster joint sure did deliver on the its promise. More pictures would have helped prove the point but this was the best one that I got.

The inside is a no nonsense coffee shop with recycled furniture and long tables for big groups or clusters of strangers. At 10 this morning the line was out the door but the service was fast and efficient. If you like neighborhood community, fixed gear bikes, and mismatched socks, check this place out.

The coupon yielded half off coffee and a pastry and today we decided to each use a coupon. Zucchini Bread and Coffee w/Cream for me. Stawberry Danish w/Cream and Coffee Black for Pip.

Total Savings: $5. Total Miles Biked: 5. Overall highly recommended!

Common Roots: A Review

So for breakfast with Dan, Annie, Ellis and Smokie we served Perfect Scrambled Eggs - the latest Cooks Illustrated recipe, pineapple, bacon, breakfast cupcakes, and the bagels from Common Roots.

Unfortunately for the bagels, I'm pretty sure the other offerings stole the show this morning. I did enjoy their garlic chive cream cheese with my Plain bagel but the eggs and pineapple stood out, in addition to the delightful bacon/maple syrup cupcake to finish things off.

Common Roots had a great patio which looked very appealing on this sunny Sunday morning. (Ours was a to-go order.) And the staff was super friendly and excited for our week of coupon-aided eating. In summary, I thought the bagels were good but fairly unremarkable. If you like a crustier skin to your bagel with a good dusting of ingredients atop, they delivered. If you prefer your bagel a bit doughier, you might find them too dry.

Any bagel enthusiasts been there with something to share?

Sweets Bakeshop: A Review

Yesterday, we picked up 12 cupcakes for the price of 6 from Sweets Bakeshop...a sweet deal. It was a great experience. We received great service and the cupcakes were delicious. We shared them with several friends and everyone agreed that the cupcakes were just the right level of sweetness and were the perfect size--not too small and not too big. From my perspective, the frosting wasn't too hard and didn't overpower the flavor of the cupcake.



This morning we enjoyed the "breakfast" cupcakes, which were maple syrup and bacon flavored - very tasty!



All in all, Sweets delivered and we'd definitely recommend them.

http://www.sweetsbakeshop.com/