Yeah, yeah every once and a while I talk about food on a live recordings site. It's the simple things that keep us happy. Click on the images to enlarge.
I've always enjoyed the mac n cheese at
The Triple Rock. I'd have to do some digging to recall what show was going down on 10/13/11 but I'll never forget the first time I ordered the mac n cheese with pickled jalapeno. Highly recommended and if you're my friend Josh you might ask for a hot dog to be chopped up in there as well. As always it comes with a healthy slice of toasted french bread.
If you know me you know I'm a wing fiend. 10/23/11 with buffalo wings at
The Cedar Inn on 42nd & Cedar, which in my opinion serves the best wings in all of South Minneapolis if not the entire city. They do the full quarter wing, no TGI Friday's drummy action here. I believe a half dozen is only $7.99 (most places charge $9 or $10 for a bunch of drummys) and they are available in plain, buffalo and an "Asian" sauce which is sweet and delicious. They're made in small batches in some kind of pressure cooker that closes from the top and is spun shut.
10/24/11 chips & salsa at the
Hola Arepa food truck. Even though you can't go wrong with a single item on this menu (yes, including the arepas) if I was in a hurry last summer I would stop by the Hola Arepa truck and grab an order of chips & salsa. At $2 it's definitely a speedy and economical way to fill your stomach. Plus you get to try your choice of 2 stellar salsas with 4 or 5 options.
One of the main stand outs from last year's street food season was certainly
Natedogs. Hell, I don't even really care for hot dogs but these were the best I've ever had. I'll let Nate do the talking here; "I serve up quality wieners & brats sourced from Pastures A Plenty in Kerkhoven, MN. I make my own homemade sauerkraut and 3-5 different housemade mustards, including a rotating beer mustard that I make with local beers." To be honest I can't stand mustard of any kind and I'm not from the East Coast so I'm down with ketchup on my dogs. With that said, knowing that Nate is a purist I never once asked him for ketchup. I always opted for the "naked dog" (10/27/11) or maybe some caramelized onions. I'd dare say some of the freshest and cleanest tasting hot dogs in the Upper Midwest.
I recently stumbled onto
The Simple Sandwich in the skyway. My go to is the vegetarian wrap with a wheat or spinach tortilla with pepper jack or provolone and lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, jalapenos & green peppers (no thanks to raw onions & mushrooms). If you dislike mustard and mayo as much as I do then don't forget the "spicy cranberry" spread. A steal at $4.99 on Wednesdays.
Vegetarian Pho from
Lotus To Go Go, a thing of beauty. After a good night of self-abuse I crave a bowl of this more than anything else.
A couple of weekends ago (12/04/11)
Muddy Waters started offering a "Cuban Breakfast" special at brunch. It's not on the menu yet (available again last weekend) but you can ask for it. Two eggs your way, two tortillas, rice & beans and fried yucca topped with a house made salsa. Chorizo can be yours for $2. With any hope this is a permanent addition to the brunch menu.
Last week in the middle of recording the first 6 nights of the Doomtree Blowout I realized that it might be best to camp out Downtown for a few nights instead of running back and forth to South. All of the sudden I figured it might a good idea to eat
Andrea Pizza for 3 days in a row. I was right, it was a damn good idea. True New York style, 18" with 8 gigantic slices that will last one person for several meals. Some of the best pizza I've had in years.
Within the next week I'll be posting a 15 or so track Empty's Tapes 2011 Compilation. Today sometime after 3pm I'll be on Radio K's Off The Record to play some tracks from the compilation. Have a listen if you feel like it!
Wednesday 12/21
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
I love Hymie's. This is a really great read from the Chicago Sun Times so I wanted to share it with you. Dave Hoekstra is more than welcome to join the next East Lake TaquerÃa Crawl. 
I've always enjoyed the mac n cheese at The Triple Rock. I'd have to do some digging to recall what show was going down on 10/13/11 but I'll never forget the first time I ordered the mac n cheese with pickled jalapeno. Highly recommended and if you're my friend Josh you might ask for a hot dog to be chopped up in there as well. As always it comes with a healthy slice of toasted french bread.
If you know me you know I'm a wing fiend. 10/23/11 with buffalo wings at The Cedar Inn on 42nd & Cedar, which in my opinion serves the best wings in all of South Minneapolis if not the entire city. They do the full quarter wing, no TGI Friday's drummy action here. I believe a half dozen is only $7.99 (most places charge $9 or $10 for a bunch of drummys) and they are available in plain, buffalo and an "Asian" sauce which is sweet and delicious. They're made in small batches in some kind of pressure cooker that closes from the top and is spun shut. 
10/24/11 chips & salsa at the Hola Arepa food truck. Even though you can't go wrong with a single item on this menu (yes, including the arepas) if I was in a hurry last summer I would stop by the Hola Arepa truck and grab an order of chips & salsa. At $2 it's definitely a speedy and economical way to fill your stomach. Plus you get to try your choice of 2 stellar salsas with 4 or 5 options. 
One of the main stand outs from last year's street food season was certainly Natedogs. Hell, I don't even really care for hot dogs but these were the best I've ever had. I'll let Nate do the talking here; "I serve up quality wieners & brats sourced from Pastures A Plenty in Kerkhoven, MN. I make my own homemade sauerkraut and 3-5 different housemade mustards, including a rotating beer mustard that I make with local beers." To be honest I can't stand mustard of any kind and I'm not from the East Coast so I'm down with ketchup on my dogs. With that said, knowing that Nate is a purist I never once asked him for ketchup. I always opted for the "naked dog" (10/27/11) or maybe some caramelized onions. I'd dare say some of the freshest and cleanest tasting hot dogs in the Upper Midwest. 
I recently stumbled onto The Simple Sandwich in the skyway. My go to is the vegetarian wrap with a wheat or spinach tortilla with pepper jack or provolone and lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, jalapenos & green peppers (no thanks to raw onions & mushrooms). If you dislike mustard and mayo as much as I do then don't forget the "spicy cranberry" spread. A steal at $4.99 on Wednesdays. 
Vegetarian Pho from Lotus To Go Go, a thing of beauty. After a good night of self-abuse I crave a bowl of this more than anything else. 
A couple of weekends ago (12/04/11) Muddy Waters started offering a "Cuban Breakfast" special at brunch. It's not on the menu yet (available again last weekend) but you can ask for it. Two eggs your way, two tortillas, rice & beans and fried yucca topped with a house made salsa. Chorizo can be yours for $2. With any hope this is a permanent addition to the brunch menu. 
Last week in the middle of recording the first 6 nights of the Doomtree Blowout I realized that it might be best to camp out Downtown for a few nights instead of running back and forth to South. All of the sudden I figured it might a good idea to eat Andrea Pizza for 3 days in a row. I was right, it was a damn good idea. True New York style, 18" with 8 gigantic slices that will last one person for several meals. Some of the best pizza I've had in years.
Big Quarters - Party Like A Young Commie CD Release Party
Perish:
I had intended on posting 1 track per night from the opening sets of The Blowout but I haven't been home in two days which makes it difficult to keep up with that goal. Scratch that, I did run over South on my lunch hour to shower and change clothes but was in and out in 30 minutes. 
Photo by Jon Behm.
Nona Marie & The Choir
Photo by Steven Cohen
Perish:
