Girl Friday

Confessions of a Minneapolis Concierge

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Other Stuff I Do

  • Personal Touch Errands and Assistance
  • My "Alexis on the Sexes" column at vita.mn

My Wish List

Visit this Wish List at Amazon.com

All Twin Cities, All the Time

  • AliShops.com
  • Chasing Windmills
  • Heavy Table
  • Hennepin Theatre District
  • How Was The Show?
  • LiveJournal Twin Cities
  • LOL/OMG
  • Minnescene
  • Overheard in Minneapolis
  • Simple, Good and Tasty
  • TC Free Market
  • Thrifty Hipster
  • Twin Cities Night Clubs
  • vita.mn

Other Babes Who Blog

  • Amber-colored Life
  • Cafe Cyan
  • Cherish
  • Coco
  • doniree
  • My Plastic-free Life
  • Judy McGuire
  • Midwest! Fuck Yeah!
  • Le Petit Connaisseur de la Mode
  • Marrina
  • Reetsyburger
  • The Minneapoline
  • Will Work for Food

Guys Who Have My Attention

  • Aaron Landry
  • Afterglide
  • Behind the Mortgage
  • Blogumentary
  • Chow & Again
  • Cook To Bang
  • DeRusha
  • Fimoculous
  • Iggers
  • Snarkmarket
  • Taylor
  • This is Why I Love Minneapolis

Girl Friday and Personal Touch Errands in the Papers

If you happen to be on an Air Tran flight this month, grab a copy of Go Magazine from the seatback pocket in front of you. I have a little blurb in there on where to warm up with hot drinks in Minneapolis. There's an alarmingly large photo of me attached to the article, originally taken at La Belle Vie by my cousin, Antonio. I'm curious to know if it's that gigantic in the print version.

(In case you don't feel like clicking, I direct travelers to La Belle Vie for a Love Supreme, moto-i for warm sake, The Local for an Irish Coffee, Azia for a Honey Pot and Town Talk Diner for a hot toddy.)

Also, anybody notice anything sort of important missing from the online article?

In other Alexis publicity news, my business, Personal Touch Errands and Assistance, got a little write-up in the Twin Cities Examiner. Yes, it's true: I will do your date night dirty work for you. If you're reading this blog, you probably already know I got connects all over this town and can make just about anything happen for you. Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and I have been in the concierge, gift shopping, personalized packaging and special and household errands business for 9 years now. I'm also a quick and friendly mobile notary public.

February 02, 2010 in Drinking, Food and Drink, Minneapolis Miscellany, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Shopping: Trends & Lucky Finds, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Happy Notary Public Day (Tomorrow)

Yeah, that's right. We get a day, too.

November 7th is Notary Public Day, so make sure to say what up to your favorite notary public.

So the day after I moved into my new apartment, I got swine flu. I finally left the house yesterday and worked and socialized like a normal human being, even though I'm not quite sure I feel normal yet. After three days of 101 to 103-degree fevers and four straight days of watching "Lost" on DVD, I'm not sure I'm fully immersed in reality.

I'd never seen this show before and now I've cleared the first three seasons. I was shocked, absolutely shocked, to learn that it's still on the air, concluding this spring. Seriously?! They are not off the island? And they still don't know why they're there? I don't know if I could even handle the frustration of watching three more seasons.

November 06, 2009 in Strictly Business, Television | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Sea Change, LUSH Food Bar & Kings Wine Bar

Okay, I know this is a lot to cover in an abnormally short blog post but just bear with me. I'm still out and about checking out new places, but I'm also working hard at home on two really big projects. Nay, three really big projects. And I'm doing them for you. So you'll just have to be patient for now while I toil away and soon I'll be able to shift more attention back to this blog and its purpose. (Also, I'm at the mundane data research part of my business plan, so if anyone enjoys gathering crap like census data, let me know.)

First up: Sea Change, the new restaurant at the Guthrie. I was expecting scant vegetarian options at a restaurant heavily focused on seafood, and I got exactly what I was expecting. There's actually only one vegetarian item on the Sea Change dinner menu: the cold beet salad. I can barely type the word "beet" without making a Mr. Yuck face, so I requested that the kitchen prepare a vegetarian entree and that our server make haste with the bread basket. (I was starving and my dinner companion, Inari, decided to take a 4-course tour of the menu.)

Have you ever had a poached, panko-breaded and fried egg? It's a very interesting array of textures, especially when you pierce the yolk and it starts oozing out all over the place. I got two such eggs, which I don't believe were from a chicken -- my apologies for hazy details; Inari and I went to Sea Change about three weeks ago -- nestled around a plate of sauteed, steamed and fried vegetables and smears of vegetarian emulsions.

I didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, for a plate of vegetables, the entree had so many fresh and complementary flavors that I was chasing the last green pea around the plate with my fork. But I, like many vegetarians, do not like uncooked egg yolk. I was served something similar at Nick and Eddie once (pre-Steven Brown) and politely ate around everything the raw egg yolk touched. I'm sorry, but it skeeves me out. Another area of improvement for my entree would've been a touch more seasoning, as in herbs. The focus at Sea Change is fresh, sustainable and local; this certainly applied to my vegetables, unadulterated as they were, but the dish was missing more savory flavors (which the eggs were not providing, either).

I'd like to go back to Sea Change on a night when Executive Chef (and 2009 James Beard Award winner, lest we forget) Tim McKee is in the kitchen. He wasn't there when Inari and I were, and I suspect I'd get a more flavorful, inventive, La Belle Vie-caliber meal if he's in the house. Inari was ooh-ing and ahh-ing with every bite, using words like "perfect," "amazing," and "never had better," and I was insanely jealous.

LUSH Food Bar in Northeast Minneapolis is a little hard to find in the dark, despite being in a giant square building right on the northeast corner of Central and Spring. LUSH's interior matches its unassuming exterior, with concrete floors, art-less cinder block walls and stark blue lighting. For an establishment that claims to put food before liquor -- either by choice or by Northeast's weird zoning laws which put BOOM/Goodfellows out of business and are allegedly pushing Tickles to relocate downtown because their liquor sales consistently surpass food sales but it's just a rumor I heard so don't quote me -- the setting is kind of cold and uninviting. I can see LUSH being a successful bar and nightclub, but nothing about the atmosphere says "cozy" and nothing about the menu says "food-driven," so I haven't eaten there yet. However, LUSH is a fine place to grab a drink and socialize, which I highly recommend that you do. They have great happy hour specials and a $20 Bottomless Champagne Brunch on the weekends, which might be a great opportunity to check out what the kitchen can do. Also, my friend Erik bartends at LUSH now so go see him.

Kings Wine Bar will officially be open for business tomorrow, August 15th. Leif was invited down for the test-run night this past Tuesday by one of the co-owners, and he was nice enough to take me along with him. Kings sits at the cozy corner of 46th and Grand, directly across the street from Chef Hector Ruiz's Cafe Ena, which makes it an instant neighborhood destination. The room is soft and inviting while still playing at plenty of bold colors like gold and red. My only quibbles with the interior decorating are that A) the chair backs are just a smidge too short (or maybe I'm just too tall), and 2) when you're washing your hands/checking your hair situation in the mirror after finishing up in the bathroom, one-quarter of the restaurant is directly behind you. Watching you. Some kind of door or draped curtain or something might make customers feel more comfortable during a normally more private moment.

I also invited my friend Cristina along, so the three of us ordered a handful of plates. Leif raved about the chicken and cheese ravioli, which of course I didn't try. None of us could resist the goat cheese fritter, served on top of balsamic-dressed greens. It was a giant nugget of tangy, creamy chèvre surrounded by a thick, crunchy breading and topped with a spicy shallot and crushed red pepper relish. That sucker is sized for sharing, so make sure you bring a friend or two to help you out. Having the mild hangover that I did, I went for the comforting baked shells and cheese, topped with breadcrumbs and a tiny drizzle of truffle oil. We also tried Kings' take on gazpacho, a dark red concoction bursting with leafy green flavor, but absent of that bready, olive oil essence found in the traditional Spanish soup. None of us could identify a particularly mysterious flavor, but we ended up getting too deeply involved in our conversation to remember to ask. Next time.

Kings is a relaxed, bistro-style restaurant with good food, wine, beer, coffee and a nice patio. They will be open from 8:00am until midnight, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar plates, 7 days a week.

August 14, 2009 in Drinking, Food and Drink, Food Miscellany, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

Unpaid Taxes and the Responsible Blogger

Having worked with distressed real estate for the last umpteen years, I thought something looked a little strange in this Strib article about Kim Bartmann's (owner of Bryant-Lake Bowl, Barbette and Red Stag Supperclub) unpaid taxes.  I sent the link to a tax lawyer who's also a real estate investor and he had this to say:

Interesting story in that the Feds cannot "seize" the home of a taxpayer for unpaid tax debts unless the home is not homestead property; the Feds then foreclose the lien in state court, and the owner does not redeem from the sale. The Feds would take subject to senior mortgages, etc. The Star Tribune has no idea what they are talking about.

I suppose one could just go down to the Court and examine the complaint filed to confirm the information (presumably done by the Strib reporter), but even then it's pretty difficult to decipher exactly what's going on when you're dealing with tax codes and property foreclosure, especially when it's being done by the government. 

A person's home being seized isn't a topic to be reported on without professional advisement, even if that person is an important local figure.  Chefs and restauranteurs are the tipsters' favorite new topic; a little gloomy press starts the rumor mill cranking and, pretty soon, like a game of telephone, I'll start getting emails asking if Barbette is closing.  I'll venture to say that, in a time when preserving our precious local dining scene is critical, it's best to keep the slow news day material to cheerier stories.

Agree, disagree?  Even if a story like this is 100% factual, is it really news?  Moreover, shouldn't we be focusing intently on the positive right now?

March 18, 2009 in Minneapolis Miscellany, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Real Estate Geekery, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

Where Did I Go?

Pick up this week's issue of the ECM Post Review and you'll read all about... me.  Oh wait, you probably don't live in or near North Branch, MN and have no idea what The Post Review is.  That's okay.  It's my hometown newspaper which, luckily, also has an accompanying website where you can read the online version of today's front page profile:

"Where Do They Go When They Leave North Branch?"

About 50 miles south, usually.

I hate it when reporters reveal my lifelong ambitions.  Now I'm actually under pressure to realize them.

In other Alexis news, a book I was interviewed for has just rolled off the printing presses:

"An Introduction to the Entertainment Industry"

It's a course book co-authored by a professor and a lecturer at Cal State.  I kind of want to pick up a copy, but I think you can only get it from Amazon right now.  (Or maybe a college book store where these types of courses are taught?)

February 18, 2009 in Minneapolis Miscellany, Narcissism, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

I'm on the Radio Tomorrow Morning

Even though my scheduled slot time is half an hour earlier than when my alarm regularly goes off, I'm still confident I can get up, get presentable and drive through rush hour to the station in Edina by 9:00am.

Hopefully.  I'm assuming the subzero weather will make the roads a real bitch tomorrow morning.

B96 Tone E. Fly Morning Show, 96.3 FM

January 12, 2009 in Minneapolis Miscellany, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The vita.mn HOTNESS Contest Deadline is Monday!

We did it last year with our "Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette" contest, and now vita.mn is following up with a fresh new search for the best-looking Twin Citizens. We want your nominations for the sexiest and most interesting people for our upcoming HOTNESS issue. You can nominate yourself or a friend -- or yourself and a friend! -- as one of the HOTTEST people in the Twin Cities.

Is there a catch? Just one tiny one. Because I'm affiliated with the contest, you're sort of disqualified if you and I are buddies. But! You can and should still totally nominate your friends since I can't possibly know everyone you know.

So what's the payoff? Popularity, of course. Winners and runners-up will be featured in our special Valentine's Day issue. Also, one female and one male winner will each receive a one-night stay at the new aloft hotel in Minneapolis, a $100 gift certificate to Red Stag Supperclub, and a $250 spa package at The Beauty Room including a haircut, facial and 60-minute massage.

Go to http://vita.mn/hotness to view the nominees and to submit your own. The deadline is Monday, so get to it!

(And of course this contest is open to all genders, orientations, religious affiliations, planetary alliances and even Tom Cruise devotees.)

January 10, 2009 in Enticing Links, Food and Drink, Minneapolis Miscellany, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

It's Official

It's official: everyone's poor.  I just got off the phone with my sister and we quickly agreed that there will be no exchanging of gifts this Christmas, save a few things for my 6-year-old nephew.  As much as I enjoy picking out fun gifts for my family every year, I have to say this is a bit of a relief.  Not just because we're all a little low on funds right now, but because I have like a million other things going on in my brain.  I've been trying to get a couple columns ahead on vita.mn since I should also be working through a few business plans, sorting through a couple of legal matters and trying to maintain a business clientele so I can still go out for happy hour once in a while.

That whole "couple columns ahead thing" is proving to be the most difficult.  I suppose the trick is to just get as much writing done as you physically can while you're in the zone, and try not to feel too bad about those totally unproductive days.  Which unfortunately seem to outnumber the productive days lately, at least in the creative writing department.

I'm gonna skip the restaurant closings--who wants to hear about that right now?--and get to some better news: After having to close his own restaurant last month, JP Samuelson has accepted the Sous Chef position at Nick & Eddie on Loring Park.  There's something very appealing about the idea of JP Samuelson and Steve Vranian standing side by side on the line.  And is Jessica Anderson still in charge of sweets over there?  She's amazing.  Nick & Eddie is participating in this week's Appetite Stimulus Plan, so get over there before it ends Friday night to enjoy a special three-course dinner for $35.00 and score double OpenTable points while you're at it.

Back to the top, though: what's everyone doing for holiday gifts this year?  Has anyone else made the no-gift pact with friends and family?  My sister has requested that I prepare and freeze some soups for her household, so maybe I'll do the same for my parents (thank God I have a small family).  Any crafters working on interesting homemade projects?

November 19, 2008 in Food and Drink, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

W Hotel Opens, 90% Off Sale at GH2

The much anticipated W Hotel officially opens tomorrow in the Foshay Tower at 8th & Marquette. 

I got a sneak peek at parts of the hotel last week when I met with the concierge staff for lunch.  I saw the main floor lobby, reception area, concierge corner, banquet rooms and The Living Room.  The entire hotel--caveat: I didn't see the guest rooms--is posh and contemporary while still being elegant and classy.  It's less modern than Graves 601 or Chambers, but the dark decor is stark and beautiful.  You really have to see it for yourself.

The Living Room is less of a restaurant than a lounging area with cocktails, food and games.  The size alone is impressive; I can't wait to try the drinks and the fare, the latter of which is created in a designated kitchen headed up by my friend Josh, former sous chef at Red Stag Supper Club and chef at Cosmos Restaurant before that. 

The Living Room does not take reservations because of its laid back, "too cool for school" nature (Josh quote) but, as of of today, Manny's still has openings for dinner Thursday and Friday night.  The hotel rooms also look pretty wide open, from opening weekend up until the RNC.

GH2 in Northeast is having its annual 90% off sale this Friday and Saturday, August 15th & 16th.  GH2 is where all the clearance items from Grethen House in Edina end up, and they also take consignment items.  This is the sale to shop if you drool over high end fashion, but can rarely afford it.  In addition to clothes, GH2 also carries plenty of new and gently used designer shoes, bags and accessories.

You can read my write-up of GH2 in Minneapolis Picks here.

August 12, 2008 in Drinking, Food and Drink, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Get Your Learn On

How to buy grass-fed beef locally.

How to order a drink in a foreign language.

How to make your boyfriend cry.

How to inquire about a job with a small business.

How to make a tequila stinger.

November 08, 2007 in Drinking, Minneapolis Miscellany, Music, Movies, and Dining Out, Shopping: Trends & Lucky Finds, Strictly Business | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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