Category Archives: Restaurants

Hotcakes

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Dolores loved Jim’s surprises.

Voicemail: Max, it’s Dolores. Sorry, but I have to cancel for tomorrow. [Excitedly] Jim said to pack an overnight bag; he wants to take me someplace for breakfast! [Even the click of the phone was excited.]

But not always.

Dolores: Really, Jim? A bus? An overnight BUS?

Jim: What? It’ll be fun.

[Grudgingly Dolores boarded the bus. Jim didn’t notice the grudgingly.]

[At breakfast the next morning after the bus arrived.]

Jim: I think you’ll like the pancakes.

Dolores: You’ve lost your ever loving mind if you think I traveled on an overnight bus for pan. cakes.

Jim: But wait. [Reading the menu] Bread pudding style hotcakes. [Her breathe caught.] With white chocolate and almonds. Topped with a cherry sauce.

Dolores: [Nearly trembling. To the waitress, but staring at Jim.] I’ll have the hotcakes.Nookies Hotcakes Chicago Illinois

Dolores always loved Jim’s surprises.

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Lesson Learned

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As you know by this point, my grandmother turned 100 last week. When I went to visit her before her birthday, she mentioned that her “big” chocolate bar was missing.

(I am fairly certain that my grandmother and I have very different definitions for “big” when it comes to candy bars. When she gets a box of Russell Stover chocolates – one of her favorites, she’s satisfied eating one piece a day. I, on the other hand, consider a box of chocolates a type of comparison shopping.)

She had been saving that chocolate bar for a “special occasion.” (I could see where one might consider a 100th birthday to be a special occasion.) As she said that though, she kind of chuckled, “Nearly 100, what was I waiting for?”

I would say that the universe is always sending us messages, some more obvious than others. It’s up to us to listen to them. In my grandmother’s case, she could have dwelled on the “missing” part of the chocolate bar, but instead she decided to focus on savoring the moment. Continue reading →

Dulono’s Pizza

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To back up, I found myself thinking about the day I almost met Dolly Parton while sipping on a Grain Belt in a bit of a dive on Lake Street in Minneapolis, because a friend and I had been talking about trying to notice something new every day.

That’s where self-improvement will land you – a dive bar.

Okay, seriously, it’s not easy being mindful. The context of our conversation was trying to notice something new as we travel along our normal commuting routes. I for one tend to be a bit of a daydreamer as I walk along. Details become the background to the story in my head, but I don’t usually notice them as anything other than scenery, closer to a mood.

Plus, actively observing is work. You have to notice, wonder, make connections. Rarely do I do all three. Continue reading →

Zen Box

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With winter insisting upon staying right up until its official dismissal, I have found myself in the skyways of Minneapolis quite often as of late to avoid the snow and ice below. I mentioned once before that I like the skyways during the lunch hour because suddenly Minneapolis seems like such a different city. It becomes crowded and rushed, making me feel like I’m in Tokyo or Hong Kong.

The other day I ate in Tokyo with two of my friends. Technically, I was eating in Minneapolis and I was eating alone. Continue reading →

Eatin’ Pants

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I own “eatin’ pants.”

Yet I’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

Sure, I’ve been to New Orleans – one of my favorite cities – many times, but never for Mardi Gras.  Just seems kind of odd for a man with eatin’ pants. Mardi Gras, after all, marks the end of the Carnival season with its parties, parades and balls that began with the Feast of the Epiphany. As Midnight strikes, the gluttony of Mardi Gras gives way to Ash Wednesday and the far more abstinent Lenten season.

St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

In secular terms, one week into our New Year’s resolutions, we break them. (Yes, that was me eating the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup behind the bus shelter last night.) We go on a bit of a bender for a few weeks or more depending on the year. Technically, it’s determined by the spring equinox and a full moon, but I say the finite quality of elastic has something to say about it, at which point we decide to be good for 40 days.

New Orleans can be decadent any time of year, but to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans must be incredible. I’m not suggesting I deserve to see New Orleans during Mardi Gras just because I own eatin’ pants. No, I’m not the only one to belly up to a buffet in Vegas with a little comfort stretch in my waistband.

What I am saying is that I deserve to see New Orleans during Mardi Gras because I once bought a suit just to go out to dinner. Continue reading →

OFG: The 20th Anniversary

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I was rather pleased with myself – a bit prematurely – last Friday; I began Operation Feel Good (OFG).

Despite the perennial vogue to say we don’t like making resolutions, I think most of us naturally think about setting new goals for the coming year. For myself, I decided to get a jumpstart on the New Year and start OFG early – mainly because of a few too many trips to the buffet to snatch the last of the Christmas cookies. Not all of my goals are related to diet and exercise, but this winter also marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of OFG.

My brothers, sisters and I were sitting around a table at Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis, having our second round of Jucy Lucys (a full description of a Jucy Lucy is available in my first OFG post). In 1992, we decided this was going to be the year; we were going to get fit. We each had different goals and mine have even changed over the years – lose weight and I don’t care how (my 20s), fit back into my jeans and eat vegetables (my 30s), let’s keep that heart healthy (my 40s). Continue reading →

Al’s Breakfast

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Bringing Thanksgiving dinner to a close last week, I valiantly devoured a second “smidgen” of pumpkin pie, despite the protests from my waistband. Normally, Thanksgiving is the kickoff for holiday eating – straight through Christmas until New Year’s Day. The damage I can do on the scale during this short period can take me months to undo. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, I forgive myself for each meal, each treat, each errant cookie with “it’s the holidays!”

As I put the fork down (and stopped using my finger to mop up every last crumb of pie), I realized with dawning horror that Thanksgiving was so early this year in the U.S., that there’d be an extra week of potential Christmas-forgiven eating. Unless measures are taken I could discover, as a friend once warned me, that elastic is finite. Continue reading →

Murray’s

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As I’ve mentioned before, a few years back I began a “tradition” of celebrating family birthdays from afar by going out for a nice dinner or dessert, eating in their honor even if I couldn’t be there in person to celebrate with them. Because I’ve lived away from my family for so many years, it was a way to feel connected and not left out.

I’ve had a lot of good meals these last few years celebrating my brothers’ and sisters’ birthdays. (Always in their honor, mind you.)

Well, now that I’ve moved back to Minnesota where most of my family lives, my tradition was nearly unmasked as nothing more than an excuse to eat where I please without guilt.

My older brother’s birthday would be the first one I could celebrate in person – the first real test of my so-called tradition. The challenge was to pick someplace that would seem like a treat for him, but would be my first choice too. Continue reading →

Mayslack’s

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I had to hear about Mayslack’s from strangers on the train (meaning I didn’t hear about it from my family – just in case that wasn’t clear).

After two decades away from Minnesota, I’ve moved back and am beginning to explore my “new” hometown.

I moved to Minnesota by train. I had pared down my belongings, which meant mailing boxes and reserving a sleeper car on the train was far cheaper than renting a truck, and paying for gas and hotels. Besides, I enjoy staring out at the scenery or reading on a road trip, which is probably not the best quality in a driver. Continue reading →

A Picky Eater Grows Up

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As a kid I was accused of being a picky eater. I say “accused” deliberately, because I argue that’s it’s unfair to label someone who doesn’t like tuna and cream of mushroom soup (or green peppers) a picky eater. That’s just three items within the universe of food.

I grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s and that means hotdishes (casseroles).  There are untold variations of the hotdish – tuna or hamburger, egg noodles or chow mein noodles. Usually bound together with cream of mushroom soup. You can also add peas. You can add a topping of tater tots or potato chips (for a bit of a crunch). And on and on. So many variations, yet still just one dish in my opinion, and for that I was called a picky eater. Continue reading →