Conner's Blog

I woke up Saturday with no real plans.  Here is the result.

Coffee followed by a trip to the Lyndale Farmers Market,  a long bike ride along the Mid-Town Greenway and the bottom half of the Grand Rounds.  Lunch at Sea Salt, a quick stop a Lake Harriet followed by going home to spend the day reading and enjoying a few fall beverages.  In other words, almost perfect.

Edit:  Yes, that is a craw fish Po’Boy which goes against my attempt at a meatless month.  I just couldn’t resist, and this was only my second trip to Sea Salt this year.  Still, no red meat this month and I’ll be meatless for the next three days.

It’s May Day, Friday, and I’m going fishing this weekend.  All in all, today is a good day.  I thought I would start the weekend off with some fun. Here are a few signs I saw in Spokane.

This the logo of Thomas Hammer coffee.  They appear to be almost as popular as Caribou in Spokane.  I didn’t try their coffee, but I have so say I really like their sign hanging in downtown Spokane.

This made me laugh and then I remembered to snap a photo.  I have no idea if they actually had three banjos in stock, but even if they didn’t it’s a great way to catch people’s attention.

This caught my eye only because this warning was located everywhere.  I don’t know if March of Dimes canvased the entire city to get these posted or if it’s a state law that this warning has to be posted if alcohol is served.  All I know is that every bar and restaurant seemed to have it somewhere near the entrance.

Along with my New Years Goals and my MN todo List, one of my goals this year was to try more local dining options.  The last few weeks I’ve hit up a bunch of new (to me) places.  Here are a few quick thoughts about them.

Common Roots Cafe – I checked out this spot after my visit to the Walker.  We were going to go to The Bulldog, but changed our minds as the atmosphere wasn’t exactly conducive to a conversation.  My date told me that the bagels were phenomenal, so we ordered one to share.  I also had a beer at that time, I believe it was a Surley but can’t really remember.  Unfortunately, the bagels were stale so I didn’t really get the full experience.  I returned last Saturday as I was meeting a friend for some web design work and this time I ordered coffee and a egg and cheese bagel.  This time the bagel was phenomel.  I told one of my co-workers from Conneticut that if she wanted a good bagel this is a great place.  It has a wonderful atmosphere, plenty of tables, and the food, when it’s fresh, is tasty.

Longfellow Grill – I went here last Saturday after visiting the winter carnival.  My plan had been to check out the Blue Door Pub but it was packed, and since I was by myself I didn’t  feel like waiting for a table to open. I had been intrigued by the sweet potato fries ever since I read about Ed’s fry day, so I decided to check it out.  The first thing I have to say is that the employees here are wonderful.  I sat there for about 2 hours and chatted with the bartender, the manager on duty, and a couple of the servers about everything from cell phones to the inauguration.   They had an excellent selection of beer, and the food was fabulous.  I ordered the Turkey Burger and the sweet fries and it was one of the best meals I’d tasted in a while.  I would definitely recommend checking them out if you haven’t already.

Wilde Roast Cafe – I took a date here last Sunday.  After driving by it and circling for what seemed like forever(I really don’t know NE Minneapolis at all), I finally figured out where to park and headed in.  I will admit it wasn’t what I excepted, it’s like Common Roots in that you order at the counter and then they bring you your food.  We had the artichoke dip and rosemary chicken pizza, both of which were wonderful.  Apparently if you order two entrees you can get a bottle of wine for 1/2 price, we didn’t take advantage of this, but it definitely an option if you are looking for an inexpensive night out.  I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite place I tried recently, but definitely worth a trip sometime.

Herkimer - I met @artallen for a drink after my incredibly ridiculous experience at work Tuesday.  I didn’t try any of the food, but did try a couple of their beers.  I enjoyed the Alt beer, though it wasn’t as hoppy as I would have liked.  I also tried the Sky Pilot Cellar Beer, which was good.  I wouldn’t say I found my favorite beer here, but will definitely return.  I’ve been told the food there is great, so I plan on going there earlier some night so I can test this for myself.

I’ve been keeping busy the last few weeks, and loving all the new things I’ve been doing.  Have you tried anything new recently?

After an awful night at home, one that would have been a total disaster if it wasn’t for the Fighting Sioux defeating the despised Golden Gophers, I woke up this morning and headed to St. Paul to try Nina’s Coffee Shop.  I had a meeting  in the building Nina’s is located in so I spent two hour relaxing and drinking coffee.  The quick review is it’s a place with it’s own atmosphere, plenty of customers, and an ambiance that allows for 30 people to all sit around talking and you never really hear anything.  They have a lot of great artwork on the walls, and the interior architecture is really nice.  The Blair House building itself is worth checking out even if you don’t intend on stopping at Nina’s.

I managed to forget my camera, a true sin of blogging, so I didn’t get any pictures.  I would have felt awkward taking photos while I was there so I’m fine with it.  Overall I was impressed and if I lived in the neighborhood I could see myself heading down to Nina’s on the weekends frequently.  Since I live in Burnsville though, I doubt I’ll be back anytime soon, it was a good experience just not one that’s worth a twenty minute drive.