Girl Friday

32nd Annual Hasheaters Feast

I found a red Bic lighter I in the apartment with a sticker on it that says "32nd Annual Hasheaters Feast."  This is weird, no?  Not weird that I found a lighter in a place where various materials get smoked, but what the heck is a hasheaters feast? 

I did some Googling and it would seem people actually eat marijuana hash, which sounds like pretty much the most intense high ever.  Further research has yielded scores of recipes (check out this one for pot vodka!) and now my inability to resist a good recipe is getting the best of me.  Somebody front me an O of some Northern Lights?

Other than my never-ending desire to cook new things, not much else going on over here this week.  I'm kind of using the down time to get a bunch of crap done around the house, like re-organizing my makeup situation and putting my winter clothes and shoes away as I bring out my summer gear.  The makeup problem is the big one; there's no ventilation fan in my bathroom, so everything gets covered in sticky dust quickly.  I'm always having to wipe down my lotion bottles, even my walls, but the coating on my makeup bugs me the most. 

Anybody have any good ideas for covered makeup storage?  I've got a few feet of shallow shelf space to work with, I just need some cute organization ideas.

If You Wouldn't Mind

What every reformed party girl needs:


A little something I acquired during Art-a-Whirl.  My long-time--as in we've known each other since the latter part of 1977--friend Jillian made it.  She's got several more ready, with other succinct yet polite messages (like "please don't come in my hair" embroidered on a pillowcase and "sometimes we have sex right where you're sitting" on a small accent pillow).  I'll let you know when her Etsy shop is together, otherwise you can email me and I'll hook you up with her so you can order directly.

Speaking of art, I found a new friend at a garage sale this weekend.  He was only $3.00:


He's an owl made from pastels and I think he's awesome. You might even say he's owl-some.

I took a wide shot so you could see the hideous mirror and black glass frame my owl came in.  It belongs in an auto body shop or hanging over a dingy bar, but I'm holding onto it anyway.  When it comes to art, you just never know.

My Night With Chuck Palahniuk

I ticked another name off my list last night when I had the amazing opportunity to not only meet one of my favorite authors, but sit down and ask him a few questions, as well as help him throw blow-up dolls and canvas autograph hounds into a sold out crowd at the Triple Rock.

Chuck was incredibly gracious on and off stage, and thanked me profusely for taking part in the event and taking the time to come up with original questions he hasn't had to answer a million times before.  I was a little worried because he took such long pauses before answering a couple of my questions, thinking maybe I'd somehow managed to stump him or something, but the compliments from him and his publicist after the interview made me feel positively relieved.

The actual event seemed to fly by really fast, despite having short readings by both Chuck and Knockemstiff author, Don Pollock.  We also watched the trailer for the film adaptation of Choke, which will be out this September.  What didn't fly by was the personalized autograph portion of the evening, which happened both before and after the event.  Very long.  I decided to stick around 'til the end (it didn't run very late, so this was no big deal) and I'm glad I did because I had a chance to say a proper goodbye to Chuck instead of waving a "so long" at him from the side of the signing line.

Having been able to talk to him before, during and after the event, I have to say he's one of the warmest and most respectful people I've met in a long time, celebrity or not.  He's inquisitive and attentive, and either feigned interest very well or was actually engaged in me babbling about my jobs.  He was encouraging as well as kind; I'm apparently expecting a book in the mail soon that he wants me to read.

I'd never done any sort of event like that before, so it was really interesting to find out that everything was so well prearranged.  Chuck's publicist was a rock star, and I was happy to be "directed" by him from off stage.  I suppose things wouldn't go nearly as smoothly if you didn't have someone (who really knew their s**t) running the show.

All in all, a pretty exhilarating experience.  I'm glad I knew the subject matter so well and that everything was went so fluidly.  I think I would've been terrified to interview an author I wasn't familiar with and I certainly would not have wanted to be on stage any longer than I already was.

Reader Mailbag: Fried Plantains, Anyone?

Dear Girl Friday,

I found your blog and thought maybe you could help me with something. I was born and raised in Minneapolis and have just moved back after living in New York City for the past few years. In New York I lived near several Colombian restaurants and they turned me on to sweet plantains. I'm wondering if there's a place in Minneapolis that serves them up right? I would guess that Sabor Latino, the Ecuadoran restaurant on Central Avenue would have them but I caught a glimpse of their menu online and it doesn't mention maduros. Do you have any ideas where I can get good sweet plantains fried to perfection?

Beth

Oh boy do I. 

In Northeast, you can grab a side of fried sweet plantains at Brasa.  Some things there are hit or miss for me, but the maduros are always good.

But my absolute favorite place to get fried sweet plantains is Victor's 1959 Cafe.  And don't limit yourself to just one plantain dish while you're there!  They also fry up green plantains, or tostones, crispy and salty and drizzled with Victor's lime juice "mojo."  The nearby El Meson also serves up an appetizer of green plantains.

It looks like Sabor Latino has green plantains but not sweet plantains.  (Although I've discovered that a lot of small ethnic restaurants might have what you're looking for somewhere back in the kitchen, but just not on the menu.)  Fogo de Chao offers fried green plantains as one of the gratis appetizers with dinner, and Julio tipped me off to the green plantains at Puerta Azul, the Puerto Rican restaurant in St. Paul.

So what's with all the green plantains everywhere but not so much with the sweet ones?  Beats me, but I don't go into Andean restaurants very often (my vegetarianism can be troubling).  I actually prefer my plantains green; they're starchier, less sweet and fry up quite nicely.  But I still like a nice ripened one every now and then.

Watch for the comments in this blog post, as one of my amazing readers will undoubtedly come up with someplace spectacular for you to check out.  I also started a "fried plantains" tag on vita.mn, so keep an eye out for that.

Art-a-Whirl & Local Jewelry Artists

It's Art-a-Whirl weekend!  The biggest and best party in Minneapolis, happening right here in Northeast from Friday to Sunday.  Grab a map at one of many Art-a-Whirl featured locations or click here and print your own.  NEMAA has their list of special events you won't want to miss (as if it's even possible to attend everything that's going on) and vita.mn has a map, staff picks and a couple of interesting exhibition profiles from Gregory J. Scott.

Don't miss the Art-a-Whirl Musicfest on Saturday at the 331 Club, where Matt and I will be introducing the bands and giving away prizes.  Also at the 331 Club on Saturday will be a vendor fair, featuring fantastic art, clothing and gifts from local artists.  Two fabulous girls I know will be selling jewelry during the event, so make sure you stop and say hi to Kara:

Photos courtesy of Antonio.  I own a couple of pieces of jewelry by Kara, namely my favorite pair of earrings (so cute my older sister tried to steal them).

Jen will also have a booth at Art-a-Whirl, so make sure you say hi to her:

Photos courtesy of Rich.  The V State/Atmosfere store in Calhoun Square has also started selling Jen's jewelry, so if you can't make it to Northeast this weekend--for shame!--then you can check it out there.

Indio

Alright, I finally made it to Indio last weekend.  Here's my mini-review on vita.mn:

Chef Hector, Please lower your prices!

Indio was a knockout dining experience. From the perfectly mixed, juicy cocktails to the fresh-fried tortilla chips to the black bean mole on my enfrijoladas. But I must say, the biggest wallop came with the check when we saw the high price of our delicious meals: $112.00 for three ladies who each ordered just one cocktail with dinner, and no dessert afterwards. Chef Hector Ruiz's dishes are simple and delicious, using basic ingredients and traditional combinations of Mexican cuisine.

I don't know if I can bring myself to order an $8.00 dish of guacamole again any time soon, but I'd go back for the $7.00 mojitos on the patio outside.   Rating: ***

To add to that, I do want to say that the management at Indio is top-notch (hi Ken!), and the kitchen staff provides extra eye candy for your dining pleasure.  But I'm serious about not knowing if I could spend that kind of money on simple Mexican fare again. 

Indio uses fresher ingredients and lighter cooking methods than the joints a bit further down Lake Street (like my beloved La Poblanita), but should I be paying over twice as much?  $13.00 was too steep, in my opinion, for sauteed onions, onions and more red onions wrapped up in fried corn tortillas and covered in a pureed black bean sauce.  And yes, $8.00 was a shocking sticker price for a little bowl of guacamole.

My sister says I've become a Mexican food snob since mastering basic and intermediate methods of cooking the cuisine in my own kitchen.  Sorry, I can't help it.  Maybe I should open up a little takeout place of my own up here in Northeast.  If Indio is still in business in one year, charging the same prices (transportation inflation irrelevant), then I'll seriously consider it.

Friday... Four

- The Rosedale Sephora opens today.  They're not offering any sweet grand opening discounts, so I'm refusing to go until I need something.  Besides, I just got an Ulta coupon in the mail and their Roseville store will be a ghost town this weekend.

- The Mill City Farmers Market opens for the season tomorrow, 8:00am sharp.

- The Top Valu Liquors Grand Opening Sale also commences tomorrow.  Both new and very improved Columbia Heights locations have been open for a while, and both will be running the same specials: 10% off all liquor, 5% off all beer, 15% off all wine, 15% off all liqueurs, mixers and bar supplies, and 15% off all 375, 200, 100 & 50 mls (isn't that liquor?).  There are also a ton of wine, beer and liquor tastings going on, so click here for all the info.

- Yesterday kicked off the Eastside Food Co-op's special plastics recycling effort.  Now every recyclable plastic item that the city doesn't accept with your trash (like dry-cleaning bags, plasticware, plant pots, yogurt tubs and various kinds of lids) can be brought to the Co-op on Thursdays and Fridays for recycling, 7:00am to 4:30pm.

The Northeast Mexican Restaurant Shuffle

I think I may have sort of gotten the scoop on the ownership changes on all the food joints on the 2400 block of Central.  It's complicated, so pay attention:

The former owners of Chiapas are now operating Durango Bakery next door.  Former Durango owners are no longer in the business.  The new owners of Chiapas are the same people that had opened Adelita's across the street, not the other way around as previously thought.  The recently opened Dos Puertos is now closed.  San Pablito is now operating in the former Dos Puertos space, with either the owner or chef being a former owner or chef at Me Gusta on East Lake Street (the tail end of that story got lost in translation, sorry).

What part of the above paragraph matters?  None of it, but pay attention to this:

San Pablito delivers!

That's right Northeasters, our options have opened up beyond pizza and Afghani cuisine.  Not that we were complaining about Snap or Crescent Moon, but it's always nice to have options.  And Mexican delivery is a pretty nice option, if you ask me.

Especially when it's good Mexican, which is exactly what I had for dinner at San Pablito last night.  I tried the tacos de nopales platter--which I've tried to order twice recently over at Chiapas, but both times they were out of nopales--and it was wonderful.  Tangy cactus strips grilled up with sliced onions and mushrooms, then sauteed with gooey Oaxaca cheese.  Served with a hearty heap of refried pintos and seasoned rice, as well as a perfectly citrusy, perfectly salty Mexican salad (that lovely pile of lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime juice which accompanies most entrees).  All that with a stack of warm, soft corn tortillas and I needed nothing more to be totally sated-- although the basket of chips and ridiculously hot red salsa were certainly not turned away.  The green salsa is much milder; I recommend both.

My Mexican had the alambre platter with various meats, which is basically a handful of open-faced tacos topped with your choice or choices of meat, sauteed with onions, peppers and Oaxaca cheese.  (If you've never had it, Oaxaca is kind of the Mexican mozzarella, so you can imagine the great gooey, chewy texture it adds when melted with grilled meats and vegetables.)

Service was very friendly and fast.  No beer on sale, but there are plenty of glass-bottled Mexican sodas to quench your thirst.  Don't forget to have them throw a couple in your delivery order.

Takeout menus were not available yet, and it sounds like delivery is only during the day and sporadically at night (just like Crescent Moon, you know the drill).  Delivery is limited for now anyway, until business picks up and they have the staff to regularly run orders for dinner. 

So go to San Pablito and let's get another full-time delivery option on the Northeast map!

Rachel Kramer Bussel in Minneapolis

If you're looking for a sexy party this weekend, Miss Rachel Kramer Bussel is visiting Minneapolis for the first time to teach a sex writing workshop and read from a few of her new erotica anthologies. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachel for this week's issue of vita.mn, and I look forward to spending some time with her this weekend.  Time which will be spent eating cupcakes!  (If you recall, a little over three years ago, Rachel interviewed me on her fabulous cupcake blog.)

Rachel will be at the Smitten Kitten Saturday evening to teach the workshop ($15) and again on Sunday for her reading (free).  Event details are here.

Season Opener

The Toxic Shockers played our first game of the season last night, which was a disappointing loss.  We were up against the Randy Johnson of kickball (if Johnson was a bespectacled black man), and half of our dudes couldn't kick against this guy.  In an act of sportsmanship, the pitcher threw slow balls to us ladies, but we just couldn't get past second base.  The final score was 5-0, the other guys.

The game busts my previously held theory that it doesn't matter what kind of pitching style you have on the mound, as long as that person can make defensive plays.  (As proof, that was my position the last season we played.)  However, this guy carried in the win by keeping us off the bases, so my theory of three-plus years is now blown.  Though I don't remember ever being up against someone who threw so fast and so accurate; he only had one wild pitch all seven innings.

Next week's game is at 8:30, with what appears to be a new team to the league.