Support the Stadium Now!

When I first moved to town a few folks out west in the burbs thought I should be considering a move out out there for opening a resto.  One saying, “why would you want to do business in the People’s Republic of Minneapolis.”  The general feeling was that years of single party dominated governments had made Minneapolis a hostile environment for businesses.

The fact is that when we started opening restos, and creating business here, it was a difficult place to do business.  Council members, and city employees would mess with you on minor issues just to prove their power and dominance.  At times decisions made by some of these folks would push the cost of projects considerably up, and in one case made a perspective location unfeasible, in effect sank the deal, costing the city millions in lost revenue, and lost employment.

Sadly those old instincts, of fighting progress, of creating a liberal welfare state wherein there is no wealth created, and therefore none is available for distribution are at it again. Now half of the city council is aligned against a stadium deal.  I have even written here about my dislike of using public funds to support billionaires. The reality is that however much we dislike the situation, the ramifications of not acting are potentially profound, more importantly a major opportunity is being squandered.

Rybak is the kind of leader that understands balancing the needs of the community, with business.  We are incredibly fortunate to have a leader such as RT at the helm, and his latest push to support a Vikings stadium needs our support now.

If you live in a district of one of these haters, please call your council person and ask what their plan is for a stadium.  If their only plan is to bitch about spending dough on a stadium, then ask them what their plan is for the loss of revenue, for the loss of jobs, and for the south side of Mpls, and Chicago Avenue–which anyone can agree is a disaster, that needs to be revitalized and re-imagined.  Unless of course poverty, and maintaining a high level of unemployment is the goal-which from my perspective appears often to be the case with some of these folks.

I saw this video yesterday and thought of those on the city council that are just like Nicki, only they may not be as clueless.  Maybe they are going to sink this deal just to prove they are powerful and important.  There is no omelet without eggs, no prosperity, and wealth distributed without wealth in the first place, that is a fact Jack.  If we want to end poverty, end unemployment than we had better work like heck to protect the environment that RT has worked on, one in which business and communities work together to foster a relationship that is conducive to enterprise.

The talk of referendum is for cowards, we have referendums in this country, they are called “elections”, it’s time for these folks to step up, grow some balls and vote to approve R.T. Rybak’s plan.

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Trendorator

Let’s come clean for a brief minute, my first stab at discussing upcoming trends was a bit tongue and cheek, so here goes another shot at speculating what the heck lies ahead.

• Pared-down ingredients. Remember when a kitchen stock pot was filled with random bullshit and trim, I think we are starting to see the end of that decades long practice.  For the vast majority of restos, you can say goodbye to the elaborately prepared dishes of yesteryear. Today’s chefs have whittled down their menus to include only a few high-quality ingredients. A dish doesn’t need 25 ingredients to be flavorful and memorable, and by focusing only on a handful of ingredients, chefs can keep their dishes pure and simple, allowing each flavor to shine through and speak for itself. If you use fresh and high-quality items in your dishes, you truly only need a few ingredients to make a dish delicious.

• Local goes national. 2012 will bring with it many a green-thumbed chef. Nowadays, chefs avoid ordering as many of their ingredients from a farm 3,000 miles away or from a factory in another country. They want real, fresh items that are produced close to home, whether it is grass-fed beef or fresh-from-the-vine fruit. In order to accomplish this, chefs have made valuable connections with farmers in their area, while others have even taken to growing a few of their own spices and veggies. As mentioned above, when you keep your menus simple and pared-down, you must use the freshest ingredients with quality that you can depend on. And what is more dependable than herbage grown in your own backyard?

• Plates get smaller, and so do we. The Paula Deen effect will begin to take hold, as folks will become more aware of what they are consuming. However, the news isn’t exactly a surprise for those who are familiar with her fat-laden comfort recipes. Thankfully, we are quickly becoming much more health-conscious as a country, and we now try to avoid the all-you-can-eat buffets and the butter-soaked items on the menu. Instead, restaurants are now serving smaller portions of food that is better for us—which, incidentally, is often food that tastes better, as well.

• Daytime T.V. awakens the chef in us all. With popular new shows like The Chew taking over, daytime television hasn’t been this popular since Oprah went off the air.  Millions of people are tuning in (or setting their DVRs) to catch the latest health and lifestyle news from the experts on The Chew, The Doctors, and of course, Dr. Oz. People are becoming much more involved and aware when it comes to their own physical and mental wellness, and they are discovering that food can really play a big part in that, and that making food is really not that frigging hard. Like the saying goes, we are what we eat, and shows such as these are inspiring and motivating people to prepare healthy and fresh meals instead of calling for takeout.

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Dragons

The year of the Dragon got off to a nice start for Heidi and I last night as we took in a Raul Midon show, that was opened by the crazy talented Chastity Brown.  The food was delicious, the company (sometimes there is no more welcome a site than the smile of an old friend). I had a pork tenderloin with pickled enoki, Heidi had the chicken.  It was very good at the Dakota for us, I am happy to report, it’s a great venue, and the food show is still very good.

On Monday, an artist I very much admire, the amazing Brother Ali is filming a music video down at Heidi’s.  Then later in the day, in what is setting up as an epic clash, the #MNfoodbloggers are showing up to eat and drink, amidst the video shoot.  #f@cked

…look for me on Kare 11 this afternoon 4ish, demo-ing fried trout and refrigerator pickles from the book, and talking brunch…

I’d call that a rip roaring start to the year.  Plus I got my next book started yesterday, here’s the opening line;

“Sitting on the corner of my bed, head in hands, looking down I noticed my big toes were both missing, where they had gone I could not remember. I wondered if I would fall over when I stood up…”

“Dial C for Comma”, it’s called.

The Dragon is supposed to be a very good year for a Cock like me.  But then so is every year…

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Sh!t Bartenders Say

Trish, our bartender, turned me on to this marvelous video…

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The Diabetes Cure!?!

by DAN ALVIN

“Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure.” – The American Diabetes Association

What do I have to say about diabetes?

That it is an affliction that ignited a panoply of conditions in my father and eventually killed him at age 57, and that his body was brutally ravaged by the end of it? That I cannot remember one instance where I saw him eat a fresh piece of fruit or raw vegetable, but that I can vividly recall the endless bursting of diet pop-tops flipped open to punctuate each night after work and every waking hour on the weekends?

What do I have to say about diabetes?

That I saw it attacking kids in rural Northern Minnesota before they were teenagers, crippling and killing far too many of them as doctors stood by vexing?

That Big Pharma is the biggest and most powerful drug cartel in recorded history?

In light of the hubbub surrounding Paul Deen’s admission that she has been stricken (struck herself?) with one of the biggest killers in The States, I would like to point out that the simplest truths can be hard to shake, persistent and plain as the nose on your face – here is one of those truths:

Almost without exception, Type-2 Adult Onset Diabetes is entirely preventable and reversible if the appropriate dietary adjustments are made.  As Hippocrates said millennia ago (via Woody Harrelson, below), “Let food be thy medicine.”  And from the Hippocratic writing Epidemics, we find the following stated quite succinctly:

“The physician must be able to tell the antecedents, know the present and foretell the future – must mediate these things, and have two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm. The art consists in three things – the disease, the patient, and the physician. The physician is the servant of the art, and the patient must combat the disease along with the physician.”

So, when recovering from a disorder that has disrupted the equilibrium of your body, how do you begin to take steps to reclaim your health and promote longevity?  How do you begin the long road back from a debilitating illness?  By proffering a concise synopsis of that same passage from Epidemics, and giving a maxim to the people as a quick and easy reminder: “First, do no harm.” That there is the cure, and that is what I have to say about diabetes….

documentary trailer:

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Waiting…

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Gravy

Meet David Johnson.  He’s the sous chef who is responsible for the Chef’s Table.  In this context, a chef and sous chef work  together like a choreographer and a dancer.  The dancer brings the choreography to life.

David, AKA, Gravy.  Gravy grew up in New Ulm, which I  have not been to, but I now want to visit because every time Gravy gets back home he returns with kind sausage.  The kind the Germans make, and make so well.  I picture myself on a two day meat bender down there.

Gravy was on “Garmo” when we opened the joint last year.  Essentially Gravy is the man behind the Bennie.  I had the idea, created the flavor profile with Jordan, and we worked on it for a couple of months, but Gravy was the guy who put it into production, came up with the technique to make it possible.  It was a very frustrating time for him, as I provided very little direction.  All I said was, “try fifty different techniques, and come up with one we can repeat, in service, to perfection, I believe this can happen.”

So he was the perfect fit to open the Chef’s Table last September.  No rules, no limits, no holding back.

He was given the name Gravy, by the way when he worked “over at Cucina”.  Few cooks are worthy a nickname, or at least one that sticks, Gravy is royalty among cooks in this town.  Ask around.

David "Gravy" Johnson Photo by Mike Ross

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Deen Comes Clean

This morning Paula Deen was on the Today show talking about her diagnosis of type 2 adult onset diabetes three years ago, and her new relationship with drug company Novo Nordisk.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The obvious criticisms have been made, Anthony Bourdain weighed in saying, “She’s been looking for ways to position herself,” Bourdain posted. “Is she really going to be selling the cure now? Or will she back off for a decent interval? I take no pleasure in it. There ain’t nothing funny about diabetes.”

Anthony Bourdain also wondered how long Paula Deen has been “cheerfully” preparing her butter-laden signature dishes knowing that she has type 2 diabetes, adding, “It’s in bad taste, if nothing else.”

The Daily raised another issue, “Look for some changes to the menu at The Lady & Sons — the restaurant Deen owns in Savannah, Ga., with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen — which is heavy on fried chicken, ribs, cheesy meatloaf and sweet potatoes. Maybe she’ll retire “Paula’s Brunch Burger,” which features a fried egg and bacon atop a burger served between glazed doughnuts instead of a bun.”

Dissecting Deen may be fun for about five seconds, but beyond that is there any good that can come from this discussion?

What responsibility do TV chefs, cookbook authors, and restaurateurs have when it comes to presenting sustainable eating options?

The reality is that we are not going to get a chance to sit around and wonder, people are looking to chefs and industry leaders to present a more svelte figure, more and more folks are crowding into places that are not just offering piles of processed food laden with grease, but they are wondering who is serving it to them.  They are asking who is making it, and what do they look like, all of us are now physical ambassadors for the food we are peddling, we are viewed as canaries in the proverbial coal mines of our cuisine.

My advice, if you are in the biz and don’t have a gym membership, you may want to consider the Y, nice facility.  But more importantly you had better consider the impending reality that your future success may also be predicated on your waist size.

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MLK DAY

Zilla don’t work on no bank holiday.

Stewart does however, so it’s down to the shop today were the team will be cooking up some good vibes for Amy Klobuchar as we are hosting a fundraiser for our senior Senator.  Truly an honor.

See you back here in the AM, in the mean time it’s time to reflect on the life of one of the greatest men to ever walk the face of the earth…

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“Leeks”

Loose lips sink ships, make drinking liquids more difficult, and keeping things on the q.t. much more interesting.

Today is one of my top 100 vegetables, shout out to leek soup!  Here is a method for cleaning leeks, though I like to clean them again when sliced…

Alternately…

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