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Explore, sample gourmet food and wine products and learn about new entertaining trends just in time for the holiday at the Affair with Chocolate Extravaganza taking place on November 7 – 8 at the Minneapolis Convention Center and Hotel Ivy. The show combines four parts:
At the Expo, you will sample luxury foods, wines, cheese and chocolates, learn how to set a gorgeous table, watch a fashion meets confection show (fashions inspired by chocolate), watch the pastry competition or take a moment to relax in the lounge area.
Location: Minneapolis Convention Center: Hall E
Hours: 10am-6pm on Nov. 7 & 8
$25 advance tickets / $30 at the door
At the Vault, you will taste some distinguished wines perfect for your holiday entertaining, while speaking with the experts.
Location: Hotel Ivy
Hours: 12pm; 1:30pm; 3pm; 4:30pm on Nov. 7 & 8
$50 includes (1) same-day admission to the Expo
At the Progressive, you will go on a gustatory journey. You will experience 4 luxury settings, 3 delectable courses, 2 decadent desserts in 1 spectacular evening.
Location: Hotel Ivy
Hours: 7pm-12am on Nov. 7
$150 includes (1) same-day admission to the Expo
At the Style, learn about the latest tabletop trends and decor, along with personal fashions.
Location: Minneapolis Convention Center: Ballroom A
Hours: 10am on Nov. 7 – Table Viewing
Hours: 11am – 1pm Luncheon and Style Show
$65.00 includes (1) same-day admission to the Expo
Photo credit: ginnerobot @ flickr
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Grilled Saffron Paneer
It’s time to count down the days until Om opens up. This new restaurant, opening on September 11, will feature modern Indian cuisine, and even better, they will be using locally grown seasonal produce and herbs. Featuring vibrant flavors and unique combinations, the menu is sure to please your palate.
Begin your culinary journey with Fresh Mint and Potato Tartlets $6 (Minced potatoes and peas spiced with ginger, freshly ground spices, and fresh mint in crisp phyllo cups) or the Mumbai Crackers $6 (bite-sized crackers topped with mango, potato, red onion and drizzled with one sweet and one tart chutney) or enjoy one of the many small plates, such as the Sea Scallops, pan-seared with peanuts, spinach, and garlic finished with a toasted coconut-mace blend ($12).
You might also enjoy one of the main entrees such as the Avocado Stuffed Chicken Breast for $16 (Tender all-natural chicken breast stuffed with avocado and poached in an eggplant-tomato sauce served with saffron-kissed basmati rice) or the Minnesota Walleye with Cumin for $22 (Grilled walleye filet seasoned with cumin, coriander, and garlic Served with saffron-kissed basmati rice and baby greens with raisin vinaigrette).
The night cannot be complete without one of their signature cocktails – we suggest the Monsoon with fresh muddled cucumbers and green apples shaken with Sobiesky Vodka and Apple Pucker or the OM-ito, purple and green mint leaves and fresh limes muddled with Bacardi Silver and ginger simple syrup, served on the rocks.
OM is located at 401 First Avenue North in Minneapolis. (612) 338-1510 Dinner (starting on September 11) will be served 7 nights a week.
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Photo Credit: CityMama @ flickr
Have you’ve always dreamed about being on Top Chef, and we are not just talking about being a contestant? Does the thought of savoring the creations of some of America’s Top Chefs sound like a dream come true? If you weren’t able to score a ticket to be one of the lucky tasters, you might still have the opportunity to taste the winning menu from Top Chef Master’s star chef, Rick Bayless.
How? Rick Bayless will offer his winning menu, plus one course at Topolobampo for just $90. This won’t be here for long, but you could be one of the lucky ones to savor every layer of flavor of this winning menu.
For those of you who missed the final episode of Top Chef Masters, here’s is what will be served:
COURSE 1
Codorniz estilo Oklahoma Barbeque: Hickory-smoked quail with Hickory House barbecue sauce, Iroquois cornbread croutons, spicy watermelon salad, roasted garlic slaw, chile threads.
COURSE 2
Atun de Mole Negro: Seared Hawaiian ahi tuna in Oaxacan black mole with plantain-filled tamal, grilled nopal salad, roasted knob onions, three-nut crunch.
COURSE 3
Arroz Negro a la Tumbada: Black rice “a la tumbada” with Maine lobster, tender squid, PEI mussels, grilled octopus and homemade chorizo in fresh tomato-jalapeno broth. Pickled vegetables, prosciutto pearls.
COURSE 4
Cochinita Pibil: Overnight-braised Maple Creek Farm suckling pig “pibil” with crispy pig’s foot, sour orange jellies, habanero-pickled onions, sunchoke pudding.
COURSE 5
Tartaleta de Durazno: Tart of Mick Klug’s height-of-season peaches, Prairie Fruits Farm goat cheese (infused with Earl Grey) and toasted pumpkin seed frangipane.
Topolobampo is located at 445 N. Clark in Chicago (312) 661-1434.
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You might think me odd, but until last week, I could count on one hand the number of times I had been to Chipotle. Now I need to add one finger — and I suspect I’ll eventually eat there enough to run out of fingers and move on to my toes. Me being me, that’s a high compliment for the national burrito chain with more than 800 stores.
I have a bumpersticker on my car that reads “support your local independent everything.” I used to twitch uncomfortably whenever I went to the suburbs (and sometimes still do). I’ve even gone so far as to declare that all of my favorite restaurants don’t have parking lots! That’s why I love the deliciously ironic dinner I ate last week on Chipotle’s outdoor patio overlooking the parking lot of Ridgedale Mall. Someone had to put me in my place — and that someone is Steve Ells, Chipotle’s CEO.
Why did I go? I was invited by Michael Fuller who works in marketing for the restaurant. I also went because Chipotle is no longer owned by McDonald’s — and hasn’t been for a few years. Whether or not this actually makes any difference is negligible. Even though Chipotle drew away from the cheeseburger behemoth, Michael tells me that Steve Ells’ vision of serving real food has never been compromised. Ells calls it “food with integrity.”
Learning about Ells and his philosophy was an eye-opening experience that fundamentally changed my perception of Chipotle. There’s a guy with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America who speaks my language at the helm of a fast food chain. What’s the world coming to?! I might have to double think my “alternative” identity and hop into bed with the mainstream, or at least flirt with the mainstream as best as I can. Never did I think I’d see the day. Chipotle is a nationwide, publicly-traded fast food chain making tremendous progress in validating and popularizing local, sustainable food.
The Chipotle in Minnetonka, Minnesota where I ate last week is one of two LEED-certified branches in the country. Both the front and back of the kitchen are extremely clean and tight, and not one Chipotle across the country even has a freezer. As of this month, the chain’s produce buyers are sourcing 35 percent of at least one bulk seasonal produce item from local farmers. This is a 10 percent increase over last year. But you wouldn’t even know these numbers, as Chipotle simply does what is right without any fanfare, as reported by the Washington Post. Ells works with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms (that wonderfully upright and uncompromisable farmer from the movie Food, Inc.) and is even sponsoring a series of free showings of the film around the country. (Here’s a great article by Sarah Gilbert with a video showing Ells and Salatin mucking it up with the pigs.) And better yet, Chipotle buys the majority of its pork from Niman Ranch, an alliance of 650 independent farmers and ranchers spread throughout the country. As the story goes, every time Chipotle opens a new restaurant, Bill Niman can add a new farm to his network.
And what about the food? It’s fantastic. I tried everything on the menu so now I know that the barbacoa is the best item, hands down. The meat is spicy and warms your mouth with heat and toasted cumin. I was impressed by the tortilla chips, which are addictive, fried on-site every day, squirted with lime juice, and covered with just the right amount of chunky sea salt. The guacamole is fresh as green grass and about as good as it gets.
All in all, the coolest thing I have read about Chipotle is this quote from Ells: “We decided long ago that we didn’t want Chipotle’s success to be tied to the exploitation of animals, farmers, or the environment, but the engagement of our customers.” Let’s all stop to think about how wildly different this is from the typical exploitative model of corporate America. Steve Ells is spreading good karma one burrito at a time, and that’s something I can get behind.
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One of these Tuesday nights, if you haven’t already, you really need to get yourself to the Pizza Farm in Stockholm, Wisconsin. Yes, it’s true. If you don’t know it already, there is a fantastic gem of a farm an hour and a half out of the Cities that serves hands-down the best pizza around.
The couple Ted Fisher and Robbi Bannen along with their kids open up their own farm to pizza lovers every Tuesday night throughout the year. They grow all the ingredients to put on the whole wheat crust, which is made from their own home-grown, hand-ground wheat. The crust is thin, the ingredients fresh, and the pizza kissed by the flames of their wood-burning oven.
There are no signs leading to the farm. In fact, there is only a series of dirt roads that make you wonder why you are driving a hour and a half to what feels like the middle of nowhere just to order a pizza.
Once you get there, it becomes exceedingly clear. The farm is beautiful and so are the people. Everyone brings what they need to create a night of fine-dining under the stars. It’s not uncommon to see a full setting with a tablecloth, chairs, wine, and a candleabra.
I had a bit of a geek out moment when I was standing in line to order. Brenda Langton, the chef behind Cafe Brenda and Spoonriver, walked by, which of course I had to declare to anyone within earshot of where I was standing. The girl taking our order said she heard the rumor earlier and asked me to point who Brenda was. For better or worse, she disappeared into the crowd as Aaron and I made up things we could have said to start a conversation.
The chalkboard menu has quite a few pizzas and unique ingredients. Orders are taken and you’re given a number.
My car arrived at 5:30 and we had to wait an hour for our order. The last car in our party arrived around 6:30 or so and had to wait an hour and a half. You’re given a number as they are ticked off one by one. In the meantime, you can drink wine and order a loaf of the farm’s own bread. You can wander around and pet the goats, cats, and cows, strum a guitar, lay around in the grass with someone you fancy, and catch up with your friends.
If you bring your own pizza conveyance device, I think you save a buck. One of my friends brings his wood pizza paddle and asks people who are done eating if he can re-use their box.
I wonder how many pizzas can fit in the infero at a time.
When your number is up, the beautiful lady in the flowered apron cuts it up and takes your cash.
And you’re left to sit in the grass and enjoy the food.
I’d love to hear more people’s opinions about the Pizza Farm. If you haven’t gone, check out this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for more details, or send me an email if you want tips on the best way to enjoy the farm.
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