minny things

A baking supplies and classes store that also has a beautiful pastry display. We went for this honey custard filled beauty:

And then I got distracted by the corn filled thing, of course.

middle of nowhere vibes

An opportunity arose to meander through a couple Midwestern towns and why not take it.

Why is there a little goblin in this international friendship garden that's randomly in LaCrosse? I don't know.

my life in pastry review

If I found out eating any amount of gluten could kill me, I'd change into my pj's and spend the whole day making a tray of milk bread cinnamon rolls. And then eat them straight out of the oven.

Bake Sum - Oakland

holy hell this okonomiyaki pastry is what savory dreams are made of

musubi croissant is close second

don't take my sauce

I can't even begin to tell you how OBSESSED I was with this scallop crudo (nuoc cham, peanuts, chilies). My first bite of this was pure Ratatouille moment. We flagged the waitress down to have her confirm what exactly was that magnificent floral herb on top that was so... something. Mexican tarragon guys. I spent the rest of the weekend with Mexican tarragon on my mind. Also the scallops were the most melt-in-your-mouth, delicately sweet, barely briny plump disks of protein gels. My only regret was letting them bus away the plate before I had a chance to drink the sauce.

my butcher

meals third wheels

My fellow lover of tiny things discovered Minneapolis is more her speed, but I'm glad she had to share my sleeper couch for a week to determine that. But the visit did remind me of how sweet Minny was seven months ago. The next time I go back will hopefully be for a wedding, but until then...
One stop at Empire was enough to satisfy the coffee shop/bakery craving.

Versus the three stops at Tartine that were apparently necessary for J&J.

Tartine assortment

Currently nursing uninspired and unchallenged with nostalgia.

night time in miniature

History was by far my least favorite subject. I thought I would love it when we began our unit on the Greeks and Romans in 6th grade, but it just all sounded better in theory. And so I continued on for the next six years, trying and failing and trying and failing to be interested in history. It's such a weird feeling to be 25 and painfully aware that I am, in fact, living in a future history textbook right now.
But damn I spend too much time thinking about my own history.
The theme of the week is Missing the Midwest, and in honor of J&J coming to town in T-2.5 months, I'm reminiscing about the Minneapolis weekend that kicked off the rest of my trek across the country.
Specifically at World Street Kitchen.

yum yum rice bowl
caramelized brussels sprouts
(and all our crumpled napkins)

raindrops fall between 11 and 21 mph

I don't really know why I'm still surprised by how much I ended up liking it out here.  At least the major cities I've explored.
Last minute weekend escape to Minneapolis was a much needed success after things broke and materials ran out and there was nothing wrong with my tire after all - I just apparently don't know how to use air pumps.  And besides catching a (much awaited?) humpback whale documentary and a (late) dazzling fireworks display, two very important things happened...

First, this raviolo from The Third Bird with pomegranate, sage brown butter, and sweet potato chips, filled with roasted squash, ricotta and one sexy yolk, which was enough to distract me from the birthday boy and his fam/friends/ghosts for several minutes.  All the textures made this the perfect giant bite.
Also the roasted Brussels sprouts and that piece of amazingly tender bison.

Second, going around the corner 24 hours later to Ike's where I added the Triple Pepper burger with cracked black pepper crusted ground Angus, pepper jack cheese, and hot pink mayo (whatever that is) on onion bun to my ongoing burger quest - yes it's extending beyond Madison now.  Beautiful medium rare cross section.  Perfectly toasted bun.  But I think the hidden bites of whole peppercorn were my favorite parts.  Overall, it was not distracting enough to shut me up for several minutes the way Buns does.  Despite having not eaten for 8 hours (which just doesn't happen unless I'm sleeping), the most embarrassing moment was when I had to finally give in and ask the waitress to take away 3/4 of the fries I couldn't finish.

Favorite joke of the weekend and Amelia's new way to fill the silence:
What do you call a cow with no legs?
.
.
.
Ground beef.

twinning

Kicked off my first visit to Minneapolis with a Smoke at Surly Brewing.  We came to the consensus that this giant brewery needs to be or could be a beautiful house.  Specifically my house.  Picture it.  Wide open downstairs floor with a wall of windows that folds open to a closed off courtyard lined with fire pits for the summer.  Wooden floors and wood paneled walls for a earthy cabin feel.  Hanging lights zigzagging across the ceilings.  All kinds of a greenery in the yard, on the walls, a raised herb garden, rows of veggies, different fruit trees along the border ... and a koi fish pond with a mini waterfall.  We can keep the bar in the corner, a restaurant-sized kitchen in the back, but I want one giant mahogany banquet table in the center of the room for all the potlucks I will inevitably host.

crawl so hard

All the weather apps failed us for the Saturday morning Donut Crawl.  Literally watched the hard drizzle out the window while staring at my phone, which was insisting 0-2% chance rain.