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Cripes, there's a lot of Fair Fun without the Fair.

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If you are missing the State Fair this weekend, there's plenty of Fair Fun happening all over the metro. Ope, there's another one. Don't let any of the parking lot corn or special themed ice cream flavors sneak right by ya. Close out August with some farm fun, 12 days of Korean Fried Chicken, and maybe bridge the seasons with some apple cider mini donut action.

Doing Good in the Neighborhood

>> The crew behind Pimento Jamaican Kitchen has never strayed from the mission they undertook during the George Floyd protests. After staying open and acting as an oasis for those protesting police brutality, owner Tomme Beevas promised he'd keep working to help make the Twin Cities better for Black Minnesotans. They have just formed Pimento Relief Services as a Special Benefit Corporation to provide operational resources to leaders on the frontlines of racial justice. They plan to build the movement economically, socially, and politically around the question: what does liberation mean to you?

Nice To Be Out

>> ALL OF THE STATE FAIR PIVOTS  plus:

>> On Sunday, the actual roasted corn from the State Fair corn roast will be available for $3 and ear. Untiedt's, the farm that grows the magic corn, is hosting a massive corn roast feed in the Barnes & Noble parking lot in Maple Grove. Don't forget to grab some fresh ears to take home: freeze them and use them to rule Thanksgiving. 

>> How's this for Fair Fun? Northern Soda is selling six blind-labeled cans of fair-type flavors which you have to sip and guess what they are (was that cotton candy? Mini donut? Corn dog? Shrimp roll?). You also get a map with clues to help you figure them out.

>> You know how you love trying some crazy new food at the Fair, let Bap & Chicken bring you 12 whole days of Korean Fried Chicken sandwich versions, plus something called the Uff-Da Bap: Korean bacon wrapped fried spam with fried pickles, cheese curds, and crispy rice tots with kimchi crema on the side.

>> Fair State State Fair. A lot of breweries are taking up the call and hosting collaborations and small releases of cool beers. These guys are also running with some cotton candy, sno-cones, and fun family times in their beer garden for the next three weekends.

>> Good news for the WeSubbers, Produce Exchange Peaches will be out at Otten Bros. in Long Lake along with other fair food concession goodies today and tomorrow. Deep-fried Twinkies, loaded tater tots, and chili cheese dogs are all balanced by one glass of PE kombucha on tap. Hey those peaches? If you want to pre-order a case for Saturday, order by today. 

>> Today, at Cub in Crystal, North Star Donuts are popping out hot and fresh apple cider mini donuts which will feel like a tweedy chunky wool sweater for your soul.

New Stuff

+ The revamp of the old Suburban World theater in Uptown has launched. The Lobby Bar at the Granada Theater is now serving dinner daily from a limited menu that includes empanadas, ceviche, tacos, and paella. They're also offering takeout, and plan to roll out weekend brunch soon.

+ Los Ocampo is back open in shiny new digs at E. Lake and Chicago. The original location on this corner closed in 2018 to make way for the new apartment building there now. This new version, in a freshly constructed lower level, still brings the masa cakes, tamales, and huarachazos just like all the other locations. 

Takeout + Patio + Indoors Notes

>> Listen, The New York Times has decided that our pizza farms are cool, so once again we say: yeah, we know. If you can't head out to one of our favorites, hit Two Pony Gardens in Long Lake for their pizza farm pick up. They've ironed out the bugs and will let you pick your pick up time so that things can run nice and smoothly.

>> Tilia is going to help you roll into next week a bit easier. Mondays they are offering takeout orders of a Tilia Burger, fries, and a crowler of Falling Knife beer for just $20. Cuz, rent's due.

Closes, Cancellations, and Cuts

+ On Wednesday night, many Minneapolis restaurants were hit with destructive acts. Places like Brit's Pub and The Lotus will be closed until further notice while they repair. Hen House Eatery was hit, but rallied and opened again for business on Thursday morning. WCCO has a list of affected businesses. Lunds and Byerlys has amended hours for their Downtown, Uptown, and Northeast store through the weekend.

+ Maybe you don't hear about the struggle of caterers as much, but with no large gatherings allowed it's looking like a rough season ahead. Create Catering has announced that by the end of September, they will have to close up shop. 

+ Izzy's Ice Cream will officially close their Minneapolis retail ice cream shop on August 31, as they focus on the wholesale side of the business. They closed the St. Paul location earlier this year. 

+ Macy's has closed their Lakeshore Grill locations in Ridgedale and Southdale. 

+ We've started a list of restaurants closed since the pandemic began, and we'll keep updating it as we need to.