Minneapolis and Me

     You are surrounded by farms and forests. Morell mushrooms grow wild. Freshwater fish leap in the lakes.  Minneapolis is food crazy, and has a sense of humor.  Proof: a restaurant named Hell's Kitchen. Maybe it is called that because it is on the basement level. Maybe because they like to hot up the sweet potato fries.  It is the place nearest to my hotel that serves a Walleye BLT. If you don't know what walleye is, you never spent a summer in Wisconsin or MInnesota, as I did.  This is more than a fish sandwich.  I won't get it back in Fogville, because we have no nearby fresh water fisheries.  I'm told that the best place to get a Walleye sandwich is any dive bar; Hell's Kitchen was just fine, thank you very much.

     When your name is Lucey, a hamburger named the Jucy Lucy is must-try-it-at-least-once.  Again, everyone has a favorite place for it:  The 5 8 Club, Blue Door Pub, and the original, Matt's.  Matt's is just above dive bar, more like neighborhood tavern. Truly it is the grill that makes this burger. The bun is squeezy soft and after you wait a few minutes to let the very hot cheese inside the Jucy Lucy cool, the bun absorbs the ooze.  The burger has that veteran grill crunch on the outside.  I'm proud of my namesake.

     What should we call the casseroles and covered dishes of memory?  Church Supper Food? It's back.  Consider Tater Tot Haute Dish, from the restaurant of that name.  Best braised short ribs ever, side-by-side with real potato croquettes and topped with a few fresh green beans and morell mushrooms.  If I have to explain that haute dish is a play on the way Minnesotans pronounce hot,  you've stopped listening to Prairie Home Companion.  The ability to laugh at your self, Minnesota's gift to the world!