faith's Profile
Northside Fine Foods Dennis - Cape Cod
are you sure those Black Lava Cashews are from Hawaii phelana? I recently had some from the Society Hill brand, made in Philadelphia, that use black Hawaiian salt, very good, just not from Hawai'i....from Provisions in Northampton.
WOWZA! What a special place and owner!
thanks for the yummy review and the link to the website. My favorite part of their menu is the 'crumpled crackers' that are listed as an ingredient in the baked stuffed mushroom appetizer.
Anyone been to the Roost in Northampton, MA?
what's good at Green Bean please? Vegetarian....gluten free too if poss. thanks
Williamsburg Snack Shack re-opening for season tomorrow
one key is the bright turquoise blue color of the shack...and it's tiny. on your right as you're going toward Wmsburg from Noho.
Weekend Trip to Northampton/Greenfield/Shelburne Falls
anyone had the veggie burgers? frozen ones? or homemade? any rec's for a vegetarian?(at the Williamsburg Snack Bar I mean)
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Williamsburg Snack Bar
93 Main St, Williamsburg, MA 01096
Grand Cafe/Patisserie 46 - last minute recs?
I'm not a morning person either and found plenty of selection an hour before closing at Pat. 46. Especially if you're not super picky about having one exact thing or nothing. everything seems great there.
one night in MSP
by the way, Lucia's is not Italian food....seemed like the op was thinking that from the comment above. It's a mix of various influences but always done well and not too far out in the foamy foofy realm. more classic. I recommend it. Also had some great food at Flamingo and not so great one time, I'd say to try it.
Any healthy takeout places out there?
alpa, yes, Ecopolitan is the only raw food restaurant in the TC, it's been around for some time, not the cheapest prices, but they are using all organic ingredients which is unusual! It's all vegan so no lean meat there. Their food is surprisingly filling and doesn't leave you sleepy..I like the pasta alfredo dish there, the noodles are made from raw zucchini....and they make a great borscht, lots of salads, even pizza, burgers and dips & chips that are guilt free and amazingly good. There is also an outfit in Chaska that does raw grab&go called Pure Market Express- last I heard Local D'Lish downtown Mpls sold some of their items and the coops in Minnetonka carry their stuff, it's quite yummy.
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Ecopolitan
2409 Lyndale Ave S Ste 4, Minneapolis, MN 55405
Banana Cream Pie?
I love good banana cream pie, and there isn't much of it around. I mean made from scratch, not a lot of weird stuff including those fried banana discs that some places put on top. Birchwood Cafe has a reputation for making a good one but over the years I've hardly ever seen it there. I did read recently that they had one, might have had a bit of chocolate in it though. They would definitely bake a whole one though for $30 or so, I've never wanted to spend that much but I'm sure it would be fabulous...
I also have a distant memory of some great banana cream pie at Turtle Bread Co. years ago, with many many layers of very thinly sliced fresh bananas in it- they might custom bake one for you.
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Birchwood Cafe
3311 E 25th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
vegan desserts
I'd check into Birchwood Cafe, I think their baked goods are better than the Wedge.
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Birchwood Cafe
3311 E 25th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Italian Grocery Stores near downtown Mpls?
Italian groceries are a rare item in this part of the country. But some great ricotta cheese is now available at the Wedge (and probably other places too)- it's Calabro's brand, it's from Connecticut where they know how to make ricotta. It doesn't have much salt so once you open it I'd advise eating it up fairly quickly. but once you taste it that won't be a problem. Sweet, creamy, perfect for cannoli, ravioli, lasagna, whatever....(the locavore police might get on my case, sorry)
olive oil tasting in MSP
Surdyk's cheese shop often has olive oil samples out. Also Ecopolitan restaurant at 24th and Lyndale sells Bariani olive oil which is quite good. They use it in the restaurant so they might let you have a taste.
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Ecopolitan
2409 Lyndale Ave S Ste 4, Minneapolis, MN 55405
Saturday Lunch in Northampton
I will chime in on Paul and Elizabeth's, I loved their soup, 'double salad' (great entree sized salad) with excellent homemade caesar vinaigrette type dressing, and excellent apple pie, not too sweet...ask for whipped cream. great views out the big windows.
quiet, good for conversation. and it's in Thorne's which is a fun mall type place.
everyone told me to go to Fiorentina's but I have to say the cannolis are too sweet, compared to how I remember them from Philadelphia. and the staff seem really hyper and impatient there too.
Northampton/Amherst Area Dining . . . a Retrospective
I am planning to relocate to the Noho area soon, currently have lived in the Twin Cities MN for 29 years, where there is a major restaurant scene esp . compared to western Mass. I was just in Noho for a couple of weeks and ate at Paul & Elizabeth's, had several people recommend it. I absolutely loved the food. I had a cup of soup, something like squash...sorry can't remember exactly, then being a salad lover, ordered their double salad with caesar dressing. This was a perfect salad, big enough to be an entree and that is what I crave, can't tell you how tired I am of little piles of mushy mesclun with a few candied walnuts. The dressing was wonderful, not a heavy creamy type caesar, but a vinaigrette style dressing, perfect. Then had a huge slice of their apple pie and asked for some whipped cream, they had it....this is exactly how apple pie should be, they use sucanat and honey, you could taste the honey just enough, not too sweet, tons of fruit in there, great crust......prices were surprisingly low....something like $8.50 for the salad!! and $5 for the pie, a big piece. In Minneapolis it's getting hard to find dessert on a menu for under $7-8 lately. Plus a great view out of the large windows in there....so, I'll be back!
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Paul & Elizabeth's
150 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060
Honeybells/Sugar Belles
well Greg, I think I recently found out what you mean by 'not the Minneola Tangelos'....since Lund's in uptown was recently selling what was labeled on the sign as 'Honeybell Tangelos'--
but the labels on the fruit said 'Minneola Tangelo'.............so, even though it wasn't organically grown I was desperate enough to want to try one,,,,, major disappointment, nothing at all like the great Honeybells I've had from the Wedge in years past....could be the ones you saw at Rainbow are the kind I found at Lund's...
Best fruit in winter?
normally Trad. Foods Warehouse is member only, but it is possible there may be something different about this citrus order mentioned above...
there is white and red grapefruit at the coops, but I like red better if I have a choice, maybe it's just some psychology of color....and find the Texas reds better than the Florida reds...
was back at Miss. Mkt on Selby/Dale yesterday and they had a great price on excellent small Satsuma mandarins, easy to peel and pop into your mouth!
Best fruit in winter?
tdq, don't ignore the co-ops, like Wedge and Miss. Mkt. Miss. Mkt often has samples out of whatever fruit is good.....the Rio Star red grapefruit (I only get organic btw) is excellent right now, Satsuma mandarins are still good, had some excellent organic green grapes from the Wedge recently, not cheap but they are big and juicy and have a lovely floral note. I was out east for a couple of weeks and had excellent orlando tangelos and royal mandarins, hopefully they will be making their way here. Pears are great now too, esp bartlett. enjoy..
Some Great Pad Thai, Naviya's new Brasserie is Open
I went to Naviya's for the second time last night, had more great pad thai and also had crispy fried spring rolls with shitake mushrooms and other veggies...perfect, came with a sweet/spicy dipping sauce that had red chili flakes in it. Things are picking up there, they just got a liquor license and got reviewed for the new issue of SW Journal and will be in the MN monthly restaurant guide (may be featured on the cover photo ). The place is not very big, Naviya told me her old place in Richfield had 100 seats, this one is more like 40, she wanted it smaller so she could talk to the customers and keep an eye on things more easily. So , I predict it's going to be very busy very soon, not a lot of waiting area either, so I would recommend going sooner rather than later to check it out.
Best meals of 2010
Veggie Pad Thai at the new Naviya's Thai Brasserie in Linden Hills.
Veggie sampler at Flamingo East African in St Paul.
Borscht, build-your-own salad and coconut cream pie at Ecopolitan.
Mahi taco plate at Sirena Gorda.
Wild salmon , salad and fruit crisp at Lucia's.
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Ecopolitan
2409 Lyndale Ave S Ste 4, Minneapolis, MN 55405
Raw Milk?
yes Trad Foods Warehouse is open again, that's why I mentioned it. And there have been crackdowns on raw milk operations all over the country over the past year, which either means that there truly was illness/bacteria, or that the conventional dairy industry doesn't like competition from raw milk vendors. and they will connect you with a farmer who has raw milk, not Hartmann.
Raw Milk?
Traditional Foods Warehouse is a member only place that will hook you up with a farmer who has the raw milk.
http://web.me.com/willwinter/traditionalfoodsmn.mac.com/
Where to find kumquats in MSP?
feel like I saw them already at the Wedge, phone them and ask. actually reading your post, these are orange, maybe the green ones for tea are not ripe? I love the orange ones, I just eat them, they are the reverse of a typical orange....................the skin is sweet! while the flesh inside is sour....fun to eat, I nibble away slowly at them since the experience kind of puckers you up.
Some Great Pad Thai, Naviya's new Brasserie is Open
christine and salvage, let us know when you get there. Just read another rave from someone I know who went to the new place. I did have some interesting conversation with one of the owners who told me some Thai places pre-cook their veggies to speed things up. Naviya's does not do that, uses a very hot wok and caramelizes the veggies and meats which makes them extra tasty. You can taste the difference, and it doesn't need msg...
Linden Hills Co-op New Location – Thumbs Up!
Mary, I know what you mean about not handling change well, I have hated pretty much every change the coops have undergone and then gradually shocked myself by adjusting and even liking them. I often feel they lose the 'hominess' (that word looks weird now, like 'homeys'...) that they had when they were smaller. The Wedge's new lighting system appalled me for some time , now I don't notice it.
so, grind-your-own peanut butter....wouldn't that be fresher tasting? that's why I think they have it.
Is there really GOOD pizza in MSP???
I'd bet money the St Paul locations of Andrea pizza are also skyway type deals, given the Suite numbers in their addresses...........the St Paul version of skyway that is...and that therefore would be limited to lunch hours during the week.
ok, I found a website for them, it says hours are 10:30 am to 3:30 pm M-F. I called one of the phone numbers and the guy said the St Paul location stays open later occasionally if there is an event going on...
here's the link for their site-
http://web.mac.com/billcommando/Andrea_Pizza/
Philly Cheesesteak in Minnesota
just a thought samg, I'm from Philly too and , maybe, calling a roll, 'Schuylkill'.......is not a high compliment, maybe they are referring to all the car fumes on there, and oil refinery fumes...not good on a sandwich.
