123633 Sun Jan 09 14:10:38 -0800 2005 9 8 Midwest 0 671604 Howdy to everyone in the Minneapolis & St. Paul area! The research tour for my forthcoming book Slow Food in the Heartland: A Cook's Tour will bring me to the Twin Cities January 17-20. Your suggestions for what I should see, do & taste while I'm there are welcomed and encourged. I already plan to eat at Lucia's & Heartland so let's hear some other suggestions. The point of the book, which will be published later this year by UI Press, is to tell the stories of people who are living the Slow Food ideals in their day-to-day lives (whether they are members of the movement or not). Restaurants. farmers, artisan foodmakers, vintners and brewers, anything you can think of would be welcome. Also, my trip further north will come in the Spring, so those suggestions should be saved for that time. I appreciate all the help you can give, thank you. Sun Jan 09 14:10:38 -0800 2005 0 Kurt M Friese 1 671607 My husband just suggested this, and I am curious as to whether this counts: ribs have to be cooked over a long period of time, are they considered slow food? And if so, I am sure others have suggestions as to best ribs in the TC. Sun Jan 09 17:06:47 -0800 2005 671604 0 Alice 2 671620 Alice, You might want to head out to www.slowfood.com or www.slowfoodusa.org. Here's a bit of history, courtesy of www.slowfood.com: "Slow Food was founded in Bra, in the Italian region of Piedmont in July 1986, with Carlo Petrini as its elected president. Its original aim was to counter the tide of standardization of taste and the manipulation of consumers around the world. The fundamental importance of conviviality and the right to pleasure are still the basic principles upon which all Slow Food events and activities are built. The movement believes that any traditional product encapsulates the flavours of its region of origin, not to mention local customs and ancient production techniques. With this in mind, Slow Food is working not only to protect the historic, artistic and environmental heritage of places of gastronomic pleasure (cafés, inns, bistros), but also to safeguard the food and agricultural heritage (crop biodiversity, artisan techniques, sustainable agriculture, rural development, food traditions). In 1989, Slow Food delegations from around the world met at the Opéra Comique in Paris, where they approved the Slow Food Manifesto, one point in which states, ‘Let us rediscover the flavours and savours of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food. In the name of productivity, the Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes’. An emblem of slowness - the snail - was chosen as the movement’s symbol." Mon Jan 10 10:04:24 -0800 2005 671607 0 MSPD 1 671609 I would talk to melinda VanEeckout. She owns a MPLS restaurant named AURIGA and her and her husband David have an organic farm In wisconsin. They grow and make beautiful food. Sun Jan 09 18:02:30 -0800 2005 671604 0 sugarfloyd 1 671616 Kurt, when you come north in the spring, please stop off again to visit the St. Paul Farmers' Market, where everything is locally grown within 40 (I think that's the number) miles of the market. Tomatoes and corn only during their seasons, parades of families who visit the market as a weekly ritual, no crates of bananas or pineapple. Also, it's a great chance to witness how St. Paulites who've arrived from Asia have preserved their own slow food traditions. Lots of vegetables are offered that would not otherwise have a presence, and lots of Neophytes inquire as to what they are and how they would be used. In a northern climate, being a local grower is no easy feat. Long before the Twin Cities heard of Whole Foods, we had co-ops that supported local & organic suppliers. There are a wealth of co-op successes that have evolved and thrived since the early hippie years. Not every supplier has a table at the Farmer's Market or a standing order at a co-op. Perhaps you have planned to chat with the folks at Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul? They support the slow food movement by being a distribution center for all kinds of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) efforts and by putting on a variety of cooking school classes so people can check out the pleasures of new techniques and ingredients. Of the other purveyors living the slow food credo of the best of fresh ingredients, one of my favorites is Coastal Seafoods. The staff KNOW fish. They're knowledgeable & opinionated, and will only recommend what's fresh and good. Speaking of knowledgeable & opinionated, Patrick Moore and Liz Nerud at the cheese counter at Lund's in Uptown Minneapolis are a treasure. They spend a lot of time tracking the new & the good, and introducing them to people. Even if you don't talk to them, locals on this board ought to meet Patrick or Liz at least once, if only to get their take on the state of parmesan-style cheeses or whatever's worth discovering this month. While you're on the Minneapolis side of the river, head down to Lake Harriet's Linden Hills neighborhood and visit Greg Westergreen and Kristen Tomberf at Clancy's Meats & Fish. (Just around the corner from the Linden Hills Co-op.) They've been in business for a year or two and their devotion to good meats is evident. Then go back up the block & around the corner to Coffee & Tea, Ltd., where you can find the proprietor Jim Cone roasting each batch himself. Glass cannisters of beans from all over the world evoke the faraway and wonderful, and while you pick up your weekly stock you can also take a whiff of the rarer artisanal samples. There's a start. If you still have the strength to try restaurants, the reliable folks here can give you a heck of a list. St Paul Farmers Market 275 E 4 St St Paul, MN 55101-1696 Phone: (651) 227-8101 Cooks of Crocus Hill 877 Grand Ave St Paul, MN 55105-3008 Phone: (651) 228-1333 Coastal Seafoods 74 Snelling Ave S Saint Paul, 55105 Phone: (651) 698-4888 OR Coastal Seafoods 2330 Minnehaha Ave Minneapolis, 55404 Phone: (612) 724-7425 Lunds 1450 West Lake St Minneapolis, 55408 Phone: (612) 825-2440 Clancy's Meats & Fish 4307 Upton Av S Minneapolis, MN 55410-1556 Phone: (612) 926-0222 Linden Hills Co-op 2813 W 43 St Minneapolis, MN 55410-1537 Phone: (612) 922-1159 Coffee & Tea, Ltd., 2730 W 43 St Minneapolis, MN 55410-1556 Phone: (612) 920-6344 Sun Jan 09 19:14:35 -0800 2005 671604 0 KTFoley 1 671622 It’s too bad you’re not going to be in the Twin Cities on 2/19 because the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild is holding the 4th annual winterfest in St. Paul. From what I understand, the event will feature local brewers sampling their hearty winter ales. For more info you can check out thier website at: http://mncraftbrew.org/index.html Mon Jan 10 11:08:34 -0800 2005 671604 0 Paz 1 671642 http://www.ecopolitan.com/about.php The above link is for the Ecopolitan restaurant. I tried some of their food at a stand they had at a Green Living expo, and it was excellent. Stop by and give them a try! Tue Jan 11 08:20:32 -0800 2005 671604 0 Joel 2 671643 "Ecopolitan is a completely organic, vegan and raw restaurant and an ecological shop selling natural, non-toxic home and body goods. " The preceding is from their webpage. Tue Jan 11 08:21:54 -0800 2005 671642 0 Joel 1 671656 Sonnny's Ice Cream and Cafe Crema (the new Savory restaurant front-end) is one of the icons of the Twin Cities. Sonny's has decades of history and intrigue --I don't know the details but they're available and I loved hearing the stories. Sonny's makes small batches of ice cream with great combinations of sweet as well as savory concotions. Great new sandwich and pastry concept with aggressive, realistic and approachable sandwiches and soups. I urge you to visit it. The address is on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis...somewhere in the 34th cross street. Wed Jan 12 12:09:46 -0800 2005 671604 0 Daniel Gore 1 671690 Kurt -- sounds like a wonderful book. I am familiar with the SlowFood movement. We visited many representative restaurants when we were in Tuscany and Milan. Here in the TC's I would suggest you visit the Barbary Fig on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. This to me is the epitome of a restaurant that is "living the Slow Food ideals," as you put it. The place is owned by Brahim Haj-Moussa, who is originally from Algeria. Haj trained in France, and has worked at some top places in town. He has owned the Fig for more than 10 years. It is the essence of a great family restaurant. Haj is there virtually every day, and does all the cooking. His lovely daughters often wait tables. He cooks Mediteranean food, with an emphasis on North Africa. He makes his own Merguez (garlic lamb sausage). It is incredible. He makes a big pot of his Grandmother's Algeran soup every day. My kids are growing up on it. Haj does the best grilled seafood in town. He also regularly serves rabbit. Every entree includes a large portion of vegetables, which are never overcooked, and always blend seemlessly into the dish. Exotic spices are frequently employed with a deft touch. I also respect Haj's cooking b/c he has never altered the menu to fit local taste. The food is completely authentic. He recognizes that this sometimes inhibits him from growing his customer base (he says "white men from Minnesota are afraid of my food"). But for me that's what makes the place feel like a second home. Fri Jan 14 09:44:32 -0800 2005 671604 0 Michael Florey -- St. Paul/MN