Flaming cocktail
Suddenly, it's midnight the moment you leave work. Daylight Saving Time results in many a good Twitter screed, but it's more than the disruption of precious sleeping schedules. Let's be honest with ourselves, it's the beginning of the long haul. We are dipped in darkness for the next six months, and that can be daunting on the front end. But good news night fighters, we've been here before and we know a thing or two: like hot pies are the light, gathering for soup at a brewery fires the soul, and burning Twinkies as an offering to the Snow Gods is a good and righteous act. Because if it's going to be dark, we’re gonna play in it.
OPENS
>> The interns in my office are very excited by the opening of cute Thirty-Six Cafe in St. Paul on Grand Ave. Besides being adorable, it has those jiggly Japanese souffle pancakes on the menu. BUT, take heed 'grammers, those fluffy jigglypuffs take a bit longer to make so be patient. Just practice pics with gold leaf lattes and matcha smoothies.
>> Another little cutie has opened in St. Paul, Hot Hands is here for your pie and biscuit needs. Chef/owner Tara Coleman has a breakfast and lunch menu with biscuit sandwiches and biscuit plates, like hello the one that comes with pimento cheese and pickles. And then there's pie: salty pie (of the chicken pot variety) and sweet pie, playing toasted vanilla like it's NBD and throwing caramelized peanut butter with fried peanuts out there. Sweeties are by the slice, or whole.
>> Rounding out the sweet-tooth trifecta this week, is Ichigo Tokyo Crepes. Freshly opened next to Ramen Kazama in Kingfield, taking over the poke spot, these kiddos are scooping ice cream and fruit and cute faces into crepe cones. And, if you want to practice your Japanese conversation skills, gaijin, show up on Tuesdays.
>> FireBox Deli, the BBQ shop in N.Mpls with a cultish following, has opened their second location. The new St. Paul location, at Marshall and Snelling, may be shinier, but it still offers up the same great smoked brisket, tender pulled pork, and rib tips (get them with Mama's Sauce) as the original.
>> Black Walnut Bakery opened officially last Friday. Sounds like they've been slammed with love, which is a great thing, but can cause a shortage of croissant loaf melty smashed breakfast sandwiches. Plan your adoration accordingly.
>> Tucked away among warehouses in St. Louis Park, Dampfwerk Distillery has launched a dead-sexy little brandy tasting room.
>> Just in time for Feast Season, Excelsior is getting a new kitchen store as the Abundant Kitchen opens on Water Street this Saturday. A cooking school and kitchen retail outpost, with an original location in Buffalo, the shop is dedicated to cookware, barware, high-quality kitchen supplies, as well as stocking a pantry with local and specialty foods, cheese, salami, spices and more.
>> New boutique hotel, Celeste St. Paul Hotel + Bar, has a fascinating history as a convent. Read up on it in our current issue, then grab a drink at the tiny, cozy parlor bar for some cocktails made with women-owned spirits.
>> They say that Eddington's is open again in the Northstar Center skyway, and I say: is that a free breadstick in your pocket?
CLOSES
>> Union Depot Bar & Grill, which was operated by Kaskaid, has closed at St. Paul's Union Depot. The good news is that the space will be taken over by a new restaurant called Station 81 (nodding to the Depot's founding in 1881) from the Appetite for Change group. The new eatery will offer healthy, locally grown food, some straight from its own garden, at an affordable price. Look for the new spot to be open in time for all the holiday hub-bub at the Depot.
>> Rojo, which took over Randle's, has closed on Nicollet Mall. So.
>> O'Gara's is officially closed. As in, not coming back to the new building that's going up in its old spot. You can still find them at the State Fair.
NEWS
>> Cry Baby Craig's hot sauce is creating such a craving hole in your life, that the company is outgrowing their Nordeast location. This fall, they'll move production to a new space in Faribault. Then, world domination.
AGENDA
>> It seems as if the Year of Empanadas has born out. DelSur Empanadas is celebrating their 1st birthday in Minnetonka today! It's not a birthday without cake and beer, and here that means Tres Leches cake and specially brewed Tres Leches Cake beer from neighbors, Unmapped Brewing. Plus music and other food specials, and empanadas, all day long.
>> Breaking Bread Cafe will open on Saturday for the first Minne Market Pop Up and it's a charmer. Tawainese sausages and bento boxes, Japanese takoyaki octopus fritters, and cutest ever bao buns are just some of the tasty treats to go get.
>> You should come to Holi-Go-Fabulous this Sunday! Not just because Dara will feed you bubbles right after you pick up some hot tips for holiday decorating, but also because you can get swift intel on the hottest gifts and trends before attending my patent pending Boozy Book Club. I'll spill all the dish on Alison Roman.
>> Modist Brewing is the site for a perfectly cozy Queer Soup Night on Sunday. Hosted by Blue Collar Supper Club, QSN is a party with soup and resistance at its core. Modeled after a Brooklyn-born event, each soup gathering raises funds for local queer organizations, features queer chefs, and boosts our beautiful and diverse queer community. Slurp three soups with DJ tunes, Big Mouth Tarot readings, and support Sisters' Camelot doing good work to bring healthy food to those who need it.
>> Honestly, I don't think I can do any better than the official description of France 44's Extreme Wine Class on Tuesday, so ... "TASTE THE WORLD'S MOST! EXTREME! WINES! THAT'S RIGHT, THE MOST! EX!TREME! France 44 wine specialists Josh and Sam are taking on the monster trucks and John Cena's of the wine world, including Chilean wines at extreme altitudes and extremely old-vine California Zinfandel (IT WILL! NOT! DIE!). Heard of Greece and its bush-trained Assyrtiko vines to withstand gale-force winds? All this and more extreme examples from the world's riskiest and most dubious places to make wine. DO! NOT! MISS! OUT!" (also psssst they have Rush Creek Reserve yo)
>> Purify yourself in the waters of ... life. Water of Life is the translation of aquavit, and ASI thinks we should all get a little closer to the spirit that helps the Nords get through the darkness. Which is why they've launched Aquavit Week starting on Weds. Kick it off with Stockholm University's Professor of Food History as he puts Vikings and aquavit into context, in between sips.
>> Gather ye Gods, it's time to Pray for Snow Twin Cities. This coming Weds. at the Theo Wirth Trailhead, snowbirds of a feather will flock together for live music and libations, a retro-skiwear fashion contest (looking for a circa-1972 powder blue ski suit with white piping to win), fire dancers, food trucks, jazzy s'mores, and of course: a Twinkie burn as tribute to the Snow Gods. Because if it's going to be cold, there'd better be powder.
