It's a tough job, but...
a guy can't complain about the perks

The humble editor of this publication generally avoids large crowds, particularly when that large crowd is packed into a small venue. He gets a little twitchy, and his patience with humans grows remarkably strained. But when there’s an opportunity to support a group of the area’s independent restaurants in one fell swoop, he will rise to the occasion.

The Twin Cities Originals, a group of 33 locally owned and operated restaurants, recently held its Taste of the Twin Cities Originals event at Landmark Center in conjunction with the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The editor made one mistake during the evening, devouring first on an empty stomach a chocolate truffle from LoTo followed immediately by the Lake Elmo Inn’s “Sin of the Inn” dessert, which caused him to nearly fall into a diabetic coma.

It was a blissful surge of sugar, however, and he kept his wits enough to sample several—but unfortunately not all—of the offerings that evening. Some highlights included Tejas’ green chile-pork chili with cinnamon rice, grilled pineapple and queso fresco; Solera’s white bean puree with preserved tuna, tomato confit and herb oil; and the Eden Avenue Grill’s simple pot roast. The evening offered many opportunities to try items one normally wouldn’t dream of ordering from a menu. For the editor, that was the Edina, Highland and Longfellow grills’ turkey burger. The editor is an experimental carnivore who recently had eaten camel (offered to him last month by Chef Paul Booth at MCTC), but he would never order a turkey burger when a beef one is on the menu. After sampling that turkey burger, however, he might reconsider.

He couldn’t stay away from the desserts, of course, and stepped soundly into chocolate overload after eating Nicollet Island Inn Executive Chef Erick Harcey’s oversize chocolate lollipop truffle concoction.

The evening was rounded out with ample wine sampling, of course, as the editor, his co-worker and their significant others kept searching for the table with the longest pour.

The final stop was at the Great Waters Brewing Company table to sample two delicious beers. Someone told the editor that a Riedel glass is used for wine, but it appeared to him to hold beer just fine, and he told that elitist snob to shove off.

The beauty of hanging around until the end of these events (and at this one, it wasn’t difficult to stay—the food was good, the conversation with friends and attending chefs interesting and the vibe, overall, was enjoyable, even for a mildly claustrophobic misanthrope) is that most of the restaurateurs don’t want to carry the stuff they brought back with them. Same goes for the beer. The editor and his friends were glad to help—those kegs are heavy with beer in them, you know. Who says winter is a drag?


Crème de la Crème

Another event brought the editor into a crowded room. Well, two crowded rooms—one large, one smaller. The 49th Annual UP Show, which ran from February 18 to 20 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, was, obviously, in the larger room, with all those exhibitor booths, wine tastings, chef competitions and whatnot. The editor wandered the floor, hour after hour, feeling his feet swell and his knees begin to ache. It’s always good to see familiar faces and hear the latest industry scoop, so he didn’t mind all the wandering.
The smaller-roomed event was the Second Annual Crème de la Crème, a fundraising event for Hospitality Minnesota and the Toby Landgraf Scholarship Foundation. The event brought out about 20 restaurant, country club and hotel chefs out to provide samples of their kitchens’ fare, including those from Lake Elmo Inn, Dixie’s on Grand, Al Vento, Fabulous Fern’s, Buca di Beppo, Mendakota Country Club and Dover Restaurant/DoubleTree Park Place Hotel.

The event drew a solid crowd, despite a competing event at the Guthrie Theater—Mpls./St. Paul Magazine’s Best of the Best celebration. But Crème de la Crème attendees were there not just for top-flight noshing and socializing, but to support a cause and see hospitality industry notables be honored with awards. Specific to the restaurant industry was the Vendor of the Year Award to Upper Lakes Foods, which was nominated by Parasole Restaurant Holdings.
The Restaurateur of the Year Award turned into a family occasion. Barbara Hunn-Meisen of the seven-unit Keys Café chain received the honor, but brought the family up on the stage, both a gracious and logical gesture—her offspring and their spouses help her run the restaurants.

In short, it was a satisfying month for this humble editor. He attended a variety of events in crowded rooms, and law enforcement was not called. This, in itself, was a success. But there was, of course, bonus material—good food and drink free-of-charge, some exercise, and further enlightenment on the foodservice industry.