I Heart Brunch

A Bloody Mary is the best way to start the day!

Tardy for the Party

Oh man...I am a bad, bad blogger. I even made myself a little editorial calendar of posts and then promptly forgot to do them.

Anyways, a very happy belated birthday to these ladies! Photo cakes are so fun...nothing like slicing into the guest of honor's face!

Pasta!

Mmmmm...went to the Loring Pasta Bar last week courtesy of my uncle Hans who was in town for some continuing legal education. I just love that restaurant! It's so chicly disheveled. I always feel like I am dining in a Parisian artist's garret when I am there. And they have the best artichoke dip ever! Punky waiters, good pasta, live music and beautiful red booths...can't ask for much more than that!

Photo courtesy of the Loring Pasta Bar.

Decorah Memories

My post about Homecoming made me think back to a wonderful trip this summer, when my mother and I went to Decorah, Iowa for a weekend visit. When I was in college, we often talked about things we wanted to do around town. But whenever she and my father were in Decorah, they were busy picking me up, dropping me off or or attending some Luther event that didn't leave time for exploring.

A couple Christmases ago, I got my parents a gift certificate for a night at Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah. They didn't get around to using it, so finally my mom suggested that she and I go down for the weekend, which we did in July.

It was pretty jam-packed! Let's see...we:

• Ate at Mabe's...best pizza in Iowa!


• Walked around the Luther campus and saw the new union


• Went to Dunning's Springs


• Drove around Decorah and up to Phelps Park


• Got coffee from the Oneota Co-op


• Shopped at Van Beria, where I got the first blue and white tea cup for my collection


• Had dinner at the always-fabulous Rubaiyat


• Drank a few drinks at Albert's


• Enjoyed the night in our beautiful room at Hotel Winn

On Sunday, we headed home with a few stops...first off we went to Seed Savers Exchange on the edge of Decorah. Really a cool place. They are devoted to biodiversity and collect seeds from all sorts of heirloom fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. There were even a few rare chicken breeds. Mom bought some really cool tomatoes there...green, orange, yellow and red. I wanted to get the black tomatoes too...maybe next time!

We drove on to Burr Oak to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum there. I love the Little House books, so it was awesome to see a place where she lived...and I can't believe that many people crowded into beds at hotels of that era!

Lastly, we stopped in Lanesboro for lunch at this 50s-style diner before heading back to the Twin Cities. It was an amazing trip with my mom, and I am looking forward to doing it again next summer!

Spoonriver

I got to catch up with a good friend on Saturday at an awesome restaurant! It's kind of a funny story, but we'd planned to meet at Cafe Brenda since neither of us eats meat, and we knew there would be some good veggie options there. Unfortunately, we hadn't realized it would be closed for lunch on Saturday. No tempeh Reuben sandwich for me...Seriously, doesn't Saturday seem like a weird day to be closed for lunch?

Luckily, Brenda's other restaurant, Spoonriver, was open, so Joyce and I trekked from the Warehouse District over to the river. I've been to Spoonriver before and it's really good, but a little more expensive than Cafe Brenda.

Joyce's spoon dip duo:

My mock duck udon noodle salad:

Our chocolate mousse dessert:

J hadn't seen the new Guthrie yet, so we went there after lunch to look at the Endless Bridge. I love this picture! It looks like someone spliced two backgrounds together, but it's really just the sky reflecting from the metal on the rail.

It was a fun Saturday afternoon. I love downtown Minneapolis, and never get down there enough despite living close!

Sushi: All I Can Eat

Some co-workers and I tried out an all you can eat sushi place, and I have to say that I was very impressed. It wasn't a buffet; they made everything fresh and you could have as much as you wanted. What a great place! There was a lot of variety, and I loved the sweet potato rolls and avocado rolls.

The restaurant is called Kyoto and it is in Eagan off of Yankee Doodle Road. Try it out!

I ate about 15 maki rolls, but I didn't feel very full at the end. I think all the seaweed fooled me into thinking I was eating healthfully. Plus, I had a massive amount of edamame and those are super nutritious, right?

I think the best part of the lunch was our guest of honor...too cute!!!!

My Favorite Heirlooms

So, tomatoes. I don't know why, but I have just been craving them lately. And I don't mean the tomatoes you get at the supermarket that are hard yet somehow watery: I mean real summer heirloom tomatoes. Not watery, but juicy, with a real tomato flavor. Yum.

In July I had the chance to visit Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, where my mother bought yellow, orange, green and, of course, red tomatoes. I wanted her to get black tomatoes as well...maybe next time! Anyways, I am so excited for next summer when I can go pick all the wonderful fresh heirloom tomatoes that I want!! I found a recipe in my Moosewood cookbook for a tomato salad with a basil-pineapple dressing. Sounds weird, but the authors swear it tastes divine!

Until Mom's tomato plants grow, there's always Lucia's and their summer veggies (including tomatoes!).

Photo courtesy of expatkitchen on Flickr.