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Tailgating
Oh jeez.
After being lazy lake lollygaggers all summer, it's time to get your festing boots laced up. Maybe you're Oktoberfesting with beer and pretz, maybe you're orchard festing with cider and brats, or maybe it's football festing with cheesesteaks and wings. Do it all in between taking your dog for beers, grabbing elite cookie dough, or checking out a dinner party in a small town.
NEWS
\\ Orchard of the Week: Luce Line Orchard in Watertown. Owned by former radio personality Terri Traen, this way-out-west orchard has tons of fun stuff happening on 80 acres. Besides 10,000 apple trees, you'll find free live music (you missed the John Denver tribute band!) and this Sunday they are Oktoberfesting. Bring a lawn chair to hang out, bring your leashed pup, shop for honey and goodies in the barn, or just kick back with a caramel apple brat and a Bloody Mary from the orchard's pub.
\\ If you are planning on canning or pickling, did you know that you can order bulk produce from Untiedt's Farm ahead of time? Instead of showing up to the market and hoping to still find cukes, order online with 48 hours notice, and they'll help set your cellar up for those cold months a-coming.
\\ There is still Mini Donut Beer available, I repeat Mini Donut Beer has NOT left the 2022.
OPENS
+ Alma Provisions is now open on 46th & Bryant in south Minneapolis. Nestled in the side of Brasa, the new outpost offers sandwiches, salads, grab-n-go items (like triple chocolate cookie dough) plus all the good gifties that are used in the Alma hotel.
+ Brew Park is now open in Plymouth. Part dog park, part "barkery" and restaurant, find flatbreads, sandwiches, bowls, with craft beer and wine, plus waffles at brunch. While you nosh, your best buddy can be running around off-leash with Park Rangers and all the other hounds, as long as they follow the rules.
+ Änna's Bistro is now open in Marine on St. Croix. Änna Hagstrom took over the former Olive's spot in the one street town just north of Stillwater, and she's running the restaurant on weekends only serving a very small menu of hand crafted plates. They still have a few spots left for the Fall Harvest dinner tonight, which is 10 courses plus wine pairings for $125/person.
+ It looks like the place that was formerly Bus Stop Burgers near the Viking stadium has recently opened as a spot called Off the Rails. It looks set up to be an easy pre- or post-game stop for whole wings, BBQ pork nachos, smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, and birria tacos. There is a burger platter with four different smashies and a pile of fries for $50.
+ Broders is back open for pizza after a fire in April took out the oven system that had been cranking pie since 1982. And Red Wagon Pizza is back open for lunch, with counter service and two tasty lookin' new sandwiches.
+ Sweetgreen has officially opened their first MN location in Edina's Galleria. But, while we reported last week that Dripping Root would be featured by the 174-location chain during opening week, Catiesha Pierson decided to pull her fresh juice company from the promotion after not feeling the good vibes from the company.
RIP
- The Dread Pirate at rest. Shawn Smalley, who once helmed Smalley's Caribbean Barbecue in Stillwater, died last week after a cardiac event. A beloved scallywag, he was part of the La Belle Vie family and is being mourned by the best and the worst alike. Friends have set up a Go Fund Me to help his wife Tirah with the hospital expenses. Throw some bucks in, then raise a fiery shot in the name of a unique soul who got Guy Fieri to eat his 666 wings: I'm not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt. Man, he could cook.
AGENDA
// We keep updating our guide to Oktoberfest season to offer you the freshest zicke zacke we can. This weekend, Utepils kicks off their festing with a free meat raffle tonight and polkarobics tomorrow. PryesFest sets you up with three days of music this weekend, from Solid Gold to the Bavarian Musikmeisters, and of course Märzen bier. And Shwandtoberfest at BauHaus has Aki's pretzels and all the good beer. In Hopkins, Bear Cave Brewing and LTD Brewing have teamed up for Märzen beer releases and beer poking block party fun. And on Sunday, Summit's Twinstoberfest brings baseball and Doctor Kielbasa together on one day. Then on Monday, The Lex is getting in on the action with a special first-come-first-serve Oktoberfest menu on the rooftop.
// The Salsa Collaboration kids are at it again, spreading that magnificent burger love all over town. Find them tonight at Chanhassen Brewing cooking up two kinds of meat handies: The Brissant Double Smash is what they served last year, but new this year is the Heatwave burger: two half-pound smashed beef patties, extra white American cheese, secret pepper purée, with house made Daikon pickles and house Panda Aioli. The fun starts at 4pm!
// While you're out there, it's Apple Days out in Excelsior. Since 1935, this fest has been judging and then eating apple pies, offering live music in the streets, hosting crafts and vendors, a beer garden, and a lovely way to spend an early autumn weekend.
// You don't want to miss MinnesoThai cultural festival this weekend at West End in St. Louis Park. It's bigger than the markets they've been holding at the temple during summer, this celebration includes a pad Thai demo and tasting, a team eating relay (!), drag show, fire dance, papaya salad eating contest, food trucks, beer garden, so much goodness!
// Feels like a challenge: Malcolm Yards is hosting a Bloody Mary Walk on Saturday. In which, one would get a $10 naked mary at the bar, and then proceed to walk one's glass to each vendor for a zshüzsh skewer. Get to Bebe Zito for a fried cheese skewer ($2.25), to Momo Dosa for a veggie pakora ($2) etc. If you hit them all, your teetering glass will be a meal in itself for $35ish.
// Sip local brews and shop for homemade goods at the NE Minneapolis Neighborhood Makers’ Market and Bar Hop on Saturday. The market features the work of 48 local makers and bevs from four different breweries, including Tattersall Distilling, 612Brew, Able Seedhouse + Brewery, and Indeed Brewing.
// So I guess the Vikes are in Philly on Monday, which means you'll need a good sandwich to cope: Tono's, Frank from Philly, and Uncle Franky's have the best cheesesteaks in town IMHO.
// Next week, Indeed Brewing will celebrate 10 Years of Cheers, can you believe it? They are doing birthday week right by starting on Monday with some yuks at comedy night, followed by a different theme every night. Thursday will be their Little Munich night, Saturday promises a Mini-Hullabaloo, and Sunday will wrap it with a hangover brunch.
// Do you have your tickets for SMOKE OUT on Oct. 2nd? There are a lot of smoky treats waiting for you.
// SLOG those bivalves, Oysterfest is BACK at Meritage this year. Sunday, Oct. 9 is set to bring the South Side Aces back to perform while everyone tosses back oyster after oyster. The VIP passes have already sold out, but there are still plenty of GA tickets left. And for the non-slogger, there's also a pig roast on site.
// Look ahead: The Autumn Brew Review is on Oct. 15!
