I live in Miami??!!

The postings have been a bit sparse lately. Why, you ask?

I returned from my sabbatical round-the-world trip and at the end of May learned that I started my new position at my company the following week.... in Miami. As of yesterday, June 27, I am now a resident of the Art Deco District in South Beach. Do you think I could get much further from Minneapolis??? Especially come January.

In my waning hours in Minneapolis, I tried some new places and revisited the old. I went to Piccolo to check out Doug Flicker's little bitty plates. While small they packed big punch. I attempted, as you saw before, to go to Forum and failed. I even stopped for drinks at the Uptown Cafeteria (Now and Later, drink it!).

That was all well and good but in the end, where was I going back to? I kept treating myself to my "last" Punch Pizza (I am suspicious of pizza in Miami although I think the bagels and Cuban food are going to rock!). I also tripped down my block to Bryant Lake Bowl for many a breakfast/brunch. Then finally, it was the perfect sendaway to have my last real night out be at Taste of the Nation, where so many wonderful favorites were on hand: Saffron, LBV, Solera etc.

I don't really feel like it is goodbye though.... someone still needs to buy my condo (please do.... link here). And I work for a Minneapolis company so I look forward to visits back to taste the post-Beard Alma and dive into Salty Tart at the Midtown Global Market.

And now what? I have a whole new city to explore, albeit one with a bathing suit dress code. I like to write and I love my blog but my link says "Twin Cities"... is there a technical solution? A creative one???

Taste of the Nation HOTList

This Thursday, Taste of the Nation HOTList returns to the Twin Cities and it is better than ever!!! My goodness, the team has done an amazing job pulling together a stellar group of restaurants to represent. It includes everyone from La Belle Vie to Brasa, Grand Cafe to Strip Club. This is a wonderful event for a great cause and I will definitely be there to support the mission of No Kid Hungry right here in Minnesota. And with all this great food and an open bar, the ticket price of $58 is extremely reasonable. Get your tickets now before it sells out: http://strength.org/minneapolis/hotlist/

Barrio

On Monday night, I joined a large work group for dinner at Barrio, only hours after I had started reading about all of the controversy which has resulted in Tim McKee no longer being involved in said establishment. Perhaps it is trite of me to say so, but I think it showed.

Our service was pretty horrendous. We had the entire second floor but it would seem only one dedicated waitstaff for our table of 18. I had one mojito and was never even offered another drink. We had to ask for plates after food was already on the table quickly cooling (appetizers were shared). There was no communication between our waiter and those that brought the food as to who it belonged to or near,thus resulting in a lot of confusion. Finally, my asking about vegetarian tacos or enchiladas (as a previous commenter had said I should) resulted in the server pushing me away from that idea since she would have to ask the kitchen.

After grappling with the server issues, I wasn't set up to want to enjoy the food. Maybe it was in my head, but it wasn't the best I have seen Barrio prepare. There is always an off night but will the new ownership structure of Barrio = lower quality? Personally, I am starting to get suspicious.

Forum

What a rude welcome back to Minneapolis.

I would love to tell you about my dinner at Forum last night. But I can't.

On Thursday, we made a reservation for dinner last night on Memorial Day at the new Forum restaurant through OpenTable.

I showed up, parked in the City Center ramp and walked down to the restaurant only to find out that it was closed for Memorial Day. Why on earth did they not check to see if people had made reservations and email or call them to let them know they weren't going to be open? Or, more rationally, shut down the reservation system for the date?

Anyways, I still had to pay $6 for parking in the ramp. So, Forum, please send me $6. I also accept alcoholic beverages in lieu of cash.

But I had another great meal at Brasa. That yuca is to die for.