W.A. Frost Patio.
St. Paul, MN
We’ve got some good outdoor patios in this town because on one makes the most of a nice summer day like a Minnesotan. I guess we gotta make up for the other 8 months a year. If the weather is decent, we’re sitting outside (mosquitoes be damned). And there’s no better place to sit outside than the W.A. Frost patio. It always looks great, but this year it looks extra good…the flowers and plants are going to town. I’ve never been able to do it justice in a drawing, but this one is close. Lay enough ink on a page and something is bound to happen.
Dog Treat Guy.
I should probably know his name, but I don’t…so I’ll call him ‘The Dog Treat Guy’. Just about everyday around Lake Harriet you can find this cool old dude and his wife handing out dog treats to every dog that passes by. I can’t imagine how many dogs expect to see him on that bench every time they walk by and how bummed they must be when he’s not there. I think I just figured out what I want to be when I retire. Although I think it’s funny that he doesn’t have a dog. I’ll have to ask him about that sometime.
Picnic Linden Hills.
Minneapolis, MN
Picnic is a new spot in the old Clancey’s Meat Market space. We were surprised how big the place is…I figured they wouldn’t get more than a couple tables in that tiny joint. I was wrong about that. They’ve got a bunch of tables and a big bar and what looks like a kitchen bar in the back.
They were playing the Timberwolves playoff game when we stopped in and I could have done without that, but I don’t blame them for showing it. It added to the buzz in the room so that was cool.
The food was pretty good…we had a beef sandwich that could have used some spicy mustard or horseradish to make it a killer sandwich, and we had the trolley path salad which was fantastic. They serve way late night which I hope enough people take advantage of so they keep doing it because these days it’s hard to find places serving food after 8:00.
Bike Season.
Minneapolis, MN
Now that the weather is good the bike paths are packed with bike riders of all types. I like this old dude…no fancy electric bike, no spandex leotard…just a dude in his regular clothes out for a spin. The most high-tech thing he’s rockin’ is the water bottle.
Harriet Brasserie.
I gotta give a shoutout to one of the great restaurants in town…Harriet Brasserie. They get little to no buzz since they’ve been around a while and don’t have a trendy instagram-ready space designed by some award winning designer. But the food is fantastic. Always consistent. The best mussels in town. And it’s comfortable. It’s a place we look forward to going to.
I have to give this shoutout because times are tough for restaurants. Heck, times are tough for restaurant goers. It’s so damn expensive to eat out we’re less interested in putting up with trendy restaurants that rely more on buzz than the food…and I gotta say, there’s a lot of them out there right now.
Harriet Brasserie kills it. The salmon and the mussels are amazing.
Another place that kills it is Gus Gus in St. Paul. Again…a killer spot with amazing food that is always consistent. The people are cool and the vibe is right on.
The thing both of these restaurants have in common is they are not part of a restaurant group or holding company. Both are owned and operated by husband and wife teams. (Same goes for Meritage…hands down the best high end restaurant in town.)
These are the people making your food, serving your food, hiring amazing talent, creating spaces you want to be in…and they’re the ones you’re giving your money to. It might be crazy expensive to eat out these days, but at least I know our money is going to good people.