St. Paul’s Ghost Parks
I stumbled upon the existence of the ghost parks in a singular way. I was returning home from the post office on West 7th, driving north up Lexington Pkwy., when a startling notation on the map … ‣ more…
Roots Roasting; Brewed Awakenings
Today we look at two coffee shops, one quite local to us and one far afield in north-central Minnesota. Both easily qualify for our shortlist of desirable third places. Bonus: a northern getaway interlude. (Links … ‣ more…
Amore, Corner, Nokomis, Roundtable
I continue to be amazed at the depth and breadth of the coffee shop culture here in the Twin Cities. In this installment we review a West St. Paul coffee house, one in Uptown Minneapolis, … ‣ more…
Golden Thyme, Ginkgo, Goat
This time we visit three St. Paul coffee houses a little more off the beaten path: one on Selby in Summit-University, one north of Downtown, and one out Snelling Avenue. (Links to all reviews in … ‣ more…
Perhaps a Boulevard
What do you call the grassy strip between sidewalk and roadway — that area perhaps owned by the municipality but whose care falls to the homeowner? If you said “boulevard” you may be from Minnesota, or from … ‣ more…
Duck Duck Which?
You knew this, right? In Minnesota children play a game called Duck Duck Gray Duck, whereas in the rest of the US they play Duck Duck Goose. I’m just learning about this game; where I … ‣ more…
Four Coffee Establishments
In this installment we visit a pair of St. Paul coffee houses and a pair in Minneapolis. One of the latter offers baked goods from a literally world-class practitioner. (Links to previous reviews in this … ‣ more…
Trio of Coffees
Working down my growing backlog of coffee shop reviews, here are two in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. (Links to previous reviews in this series are at the bottom of this post.) And before we get … ‣ more…
Finally Bottle Rocket
[Note added 2017-12-13] Well that was a short run. Bottle Rocket lasted less than 10 months. On Friday December 8, at around 7:30 am, Bottle Rocket changed their hours on their Facebook page; the new … ‣ more…
No Bridge
Past the river end of St. Paul’s Summit Avenue, Riverside Boulevard takes a 3,000-ft. looping detour around Shadow Falls Park. Why isn’t the gorge bridged? A 600-foot span would add captivating views and picturesque charm, … ‣ more…