Lunch at Manny's Steak House

Omnivore's real dilemma - eat a big steak or a bigger one ...?         (Post courtesy DH)

Steakhouse - the name conjures up the image of dimly lit high ceiling-ed rooms lined with deep leather chairs suffering stern faced black-suited men swirling old scotch while discussing the fate of the industry or economy as they attack giant steaks while being attended upon by dour faced waiters in coattails. No women in sight anywhere and not a word or gesture out of place.
Such was the image that conjured up in my head causing some trepidation, when the better half of this marital equation casually suggested:
"Manny's Steakhouse for our anniversary?"
It was rather uncharacteristic of her given as she usually tries to balance out my excesses and indulgences (all in service of gastronomy assuredly ) with healthier endeavors. The draw of a good steak helped us get over our reservations and it was a good thing it did.

Located in the historic Foshay Tower in the heart of downtown Minneapolis Manny's steakhouse (Located: 825 Marquette Ave, Minneapolis MN, 55403) is nothing like my imaginings. The Maître d' was (gasp) a woman and there were women serving as well as enjoying the hospitality. Not quite the male bastion a steakhouse is made out to be.

Peninsula - Restaurant review

I have invited DH to share his thoughts about restaurant Peninsula, on our recent visit; welcome Devesh...

Peninsula - the word conjures up different images for different people. Geography majors think of the definition, my 8 year old said - "Florida". But for two foodies making this culinary journey from dish to scrumptious dish, the word now has come to mean deliciousness.

(Located: 2608 Nicollet Ave  Minneapolis)

Photo credit: Peninsula restaurant

And for this, we have none other to thank, than our intransigent government, which has unceremoniously shut down on us. So, on a Friday, we decided to take care of some pending business with a certain office of the U.S. Government. So we made a 20 mile drive to said office and were told by a security guard - with what I imagined was a mixture of frustration and relief - that the particular service we sought had been deemed inessential during the shut down. I imagined him beaming with pride that at least HIS function was still essential.

But we're never ones to end a story on a note of frustrated anti-climax are we?

So, we found the shortest route to Peninsula - our local purveyor of Malaysian cuisine, and quickly stuck our noses in the menu.

Meet Leah from Sprickets Pottery

I met Leah at a Birthday party where she had brought the experience of pottery painting to little kids in the comfort of a home. It was a fun party and as much as the kids enjoyed it, the better part was watching the creative juices of adults running wild as they helped the little ones.

Remember I had mentioned decorating the 'Finger print Salsa Plate' with preschoolers for the school fundraiser. It was a tough task to excuse little kids from their classroom activities so that they can donate their finger prints to my art plate while maintaining complete silence as they walked in the lobby of the school to the craft room; and then expecting them to go back to their class and jump right back into their respective activities. I wish I had discovered Sprickets Pottery then and it could be a lunch hour activity or an after school activity for the little kids. But I am glad I could connect with her...

Once I discovered Sprickets, Leah became part of our school activities and it is wonderful to have the set up outdoors and paint under the blue sky and sometimes on windy days as well.
Leah agreed to give a brief interview about the work that she does and I hope with this post more folks can discover a local business that facilitates art.


DISCLAIMER: This is not a Commercial post. I am not benefitting from posting about this business.
I think that 'Sprickets Pottery' is a beautiful & creative opportunity for families and friends to come together and create art and memories in the comfort of a place of your choice. 

The interview follows...

An interview with Amy Backman from Spruce Flowers and Home

Meet Amy from Spruce Flowers and home. DH discovered this wonderful flower shop close to home and I fell in love with it on my very first visit. This quaint little store is a lot more that a flower shop, It is the place where women go to find that perfectly unique design and personal experience and men go to get the perfect gift for women and girls when everything else fails. 

Amy graciously agreed to let me photograph her and the store while she made beautiful centerpieces for a wedding and soft music played in the background. The doors of the store were wide open and gentle breeze played with soft ferns and resilient air plants. 

This is a store where I'd go to buy pieces to incorporate into my own design but she has some unique arrangements on her shelves if you are looking to buy something special and Amy also offers flower decorating classes in case you are hesitant to branch out into flower decorations right away without the basics. And that's not all she regularly offers tips on her blog about taking care of flowers and plants.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a Commercial post. I am not benefitting from posting about this place.
I think that 'Spruce Flowers and home' is a unique, beautiful and local store that offers great service.

Store Location: 4751 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407

Rustica Bakery... Paris memories

DH and I are both foodies and we connect and relate to places and cultures through food. I remember when we had just returned from London, DH searched high and low to find scones and cream just so that we can recreate the experience from Trafalgar Square cafe on a cold and foggy Sunday morning. And in the end he had to start baking his own scones and buying the clotted cream from Kowalski's because we couldn't find a bakery with good English scones.

So, this summer once we were back from our trip to Paris, a similar hunt started to find chocolate croissants just like the ones we ate from a Parisian Bakery in Fountainebleau. A coworker of DH who is a French expat, pointed us towards Rustica bakery. 

It was just what we were looking for. After a particularly active Saturday, we stopped by this bakery in uptown Minneapolis to relax with a latte and some hot chocolate for the little ones. The place was busy as you would expect in a cafe but the service was prompt and they even had the patience to cut little loaves for us to try, when we couldn't make up our mind in a hurry. When it comes to fresh bread, we usually want to buy the bakery and not an individual loaf :-)

Its a self service cafe with free Wi-Fi, as is evident from the number of people working at the long tables. I love the idea of writing little stories in a busy cafe, some where up in the mountains or by a lake, in this case the cafe is by lake Calhoun but not in direct view, but that's where the writer's imagination comes into picture...

We had to carry out a couple of loaves for the Sunday morning brunch and some dessert for Saturday night, late night treat...

If you like the taste of freshly baked goods and the would like to experience a charming cafe very similar to the ones in Paris, Rustica is a bakery one must visit and there are a number of little things on sale for gifts to those who seem to have everything they really need.

Enjoy the pictures, please don't drool over your equipment and next time you are in the area, try out Rustica...