Drinking Outside in the Winter
It feels like she's a little late, our friend Polar Vortex. Visiting us from a North that's Northier than ours, she's bringing with her all that beautiful air that gives us the froze nose, the black ice, and the neg-numbers we love so much. You already know that the best way to welcome her is to gather. Raise a glass in her honor with your Winter Carnival pals, clink forks over endless pancakes, throw a Robbie Burns poem to her winds with a bit of peated Scotch, and give unto her our greatest offering: hotdish.
OPENS
>> I have forgotten to tell you that Urban Wok is open in St. Paul, near the Depot. It's a counter service sitch, in which you order your custom wok creation from an iPad at the counter, and it's freshly made for you on the spot by wok wielding humans. It's hot, fresh, and damn quick. Don't be surprised to see one open in the North Loop at some point, it's where owner Mark Toth lives. Also: the hot sauces be right.
>> Dogwood Coffee is on the brink of opening another outpost, this one in Nordeast. This location of the third wave coffee shop is super close to Bau Haus Brewlabs, and just north of ... well, Spyhouse NE. Should be open this Tuesday the 29th, if all goes according to plan.
NEWS
>> Keg & Case was voted in USA Today as the Best Food Hall in the country! So actually, well done you, since you were the people who voted them in and USA Today did no work. #bygones
AGENDA
>> PTP, man, Praise The Pancake. All weekend, Buster's on 28th will be throwing down every morning with Endless Pancakes for $7 from 6am to 10am. Bless them, be the change you want to see in the world.
>> Coming thro' the rye, this weekend we celebrate Scotland's native son, poet Robbie Burns. You'll need a nice bottle of something highland or maybe speyside, if you 'druther. Go to Ace Spirits tonight where EVERY SCOTCH WHISKEY is 15 percent off! They'll be pouring sips of everything from Bunnahabhain to Laphroaig. Then on Saturday, grab your book of poetry and head to Merlin's Rest, where there might still be room at the three course dinner (haggis!) wherein people who stand and read a Burns poem receive total and utter enlightenment.
>> Perfectly timed for a PV visit, Soul Lao is doing a Pho Pop-Up at Blackstack Brewing tonight. Among other items, they'll be featuring a Lao-style beef pho made with 24-hour roasted oxtail and bone marrow broth.
>> The Winter Carnival and The Great Northern are all in full swing this weekend! That means the Pond Hockey kids will all be freezing their sweat on Nokomis, the Loppet village will be kept hydrated by Surly, Frogs will throw rocks at the Curling Club, sledding, drinking, sculpting, barstool ski racing, it's all here.
>> Also, the Lake Harriet Kite Festival is on Saturday, and that's perfect pre-gaming for a fat gin and tonic at Martina. And the Powderhorn Art Sled rally is an awesome thing to behold, and not far from Marla's Caribbean Cuisine which should just thaw you right out.
>> Meanwhile, indoors nosh on Saturday: Neighborhood Roots Winter Market will take place at Bachmann's on Lyndale from 9am-1:30pm. And Mill City Farmers Market in on in the museum from 10am-1pm.
>> What could your wine fortune possibly hold? Jewels of bargains of sips and swirls? I like this for you. Head to Liquor Boy on Saturday and Dara will lead you.
>> Sunday, you'll be looking to tuck into some hotdish, yah? The fine folks at The Lexington are having their 2nd Annual Fancy Hotdish competition on Sunday, and that means all those cheffy types will line up with their best Corningware. For $50 you get to sample all the dishes (no double dipping, Karen) and get two drink tickets, to boot.
>> You're done with that cleanse and #dryJanuary, right? Let's just knock January on it's ass with one punch at a little Cookies & Cocktails party next Thursday. DuNord Distillery is teaming up with the T-Rex cookies to celebrate the good things in life: sugar and booze. In fact, every drink you sip will throw $2 into the kitty for T-Rex's future food truck, so you're doing good while being "bad".
>> If you're a true member of this tribe, you still have your shorts at the ready. Pull them out for Tiki Night with Mambo Mike at the Bunglaow Club on Thursday. It's your best chance at a budget vacation with Mai Tai's and Zombies.
