Weller Court
Awesome plein aire-ish drawings by Kevin Dart, an awesome artist whom you are probably most familiar with the Persol sunglasses spot that’s been going around:
A Year of Sun with Mr. Persol - HD from Yuki 7 on Vimeo.
He’s got quite a few of these views, majority of which will look quite familiar to you folks out here in LA. He’s completely made the switch over to tumblr, so you should definitely give it a follow!
(Source: prettylycan, via deadgirls)
4AD Sessions presents: St. Vincent
(Source: fuckyeahstvincent)
(Source: belle-de-nuit, via thatkindofwoman)
Today was a very relaxed day, mostly spent wandering until Nel’s sister & fam drove up from Illinois. Little did I know I’d end up with the foremost reason as to why you should only order your eggs sunnyside up:
A moment on the perfection of the sunnyside up egg: Crunchy sear on the bottom with a virgin overlay on top. A thin membrane delicately holding back the cascade of warm, golden lifeforce that envelops and enhances anything it touches.
The Southern Fried Biscuit at Sun Street Breads in South Minneapolis. Awesome little bakery/cafe offering up great artisan breads and sandwiches. I opted for this beauty of a breakfast biscuit: Boneless fried chicken, bacon, sausage gravy and an additional fried egg (they even asked me how I wanted it cooked)! This place looked like a Panera/ Corner Bakery type corporate chain, but surpasses them all by actually being a real local corner bakery. They even serve Dogwood coffe, which has become our favorite coffee roaster out here.
The Pascal cake from Patisserie 46 in Kingfield, Minneapolis. I don’t know what exactly was going on in this, all I know it tasted awesome. Like some sorta crazy Pistachio with raspberry and toffee combo. The cafe itself felt so appropriately out of place: a little French cafe with a fireplace playing latin jazz, while it’s 10°F with a slight flurry of snow sifting by outside.
We killed a few minutes walking around Minnehaha creek and noticed the ground had frozen over with deep layers of leaves, twigs and other debris. The snow had been melting and refreezing over the past week, forming a solid block of suspended decay.
Today was the coldest day of the trip, highs of 11°F (but feeling more like -5°F because of wind). Uncomfortable at times, but did provide some lovely photo opportunities!
Pecan waffles from Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul, MN. It’s rare that a historic landmark that’s mentioned on every tourist guide/travel show actually lives up to its name. The iconic 24 hour dining car served up the best breakfast I’ve had on the trip (yes, better than Cracker Barrel!). Light and crispy waffles, perfect hash browns, and a double decker burger that outshines Bob’s Big Boy.
Another stop on the inspiring studio tour was that of Aesthetic Apparatus in Minneapolis. An award winning silkscreen/ design studio with the most amazing list of clients I’ve ever seen, you would never know it by talking to the guys who run it. Dan, Michael and Jonathan are the nicest and most down to earth dudes, who are fairly modest of their accomplishments but super passionate about what they do. To see the amount of work they’ve done over the years with the kind of big name clients they have, in a studio that’s smaller than most people’s apartments with a crew of only 3 people is staggering,humbling and inspiring all at once.
Spoonbridge and Cherry in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. While I would have loved to see this in Summer, there is something oddly beautiful about the surrounding bleakness.
I urge you to check out the rest of the set, which includes the rest of the studio pics of Aesthetic Apparatus, as well as the rest of my St. Paul breakfast (some of the nicest foodporn pics I’ve taken, I must admit).
“Aria – a typeface” _ Aria typeface made by Rui Abreu, released by Fountain Type.
This is how type should be made.
(via thatkindofwoman)
We finally get a bit of snowfall here, in the form of a light and passing snow shower. I’ll take what I can get. I mentioned to the owners of the Linden Hills yarn store next to Wild Rumpus that, as nice as the bright and comfy 50° weather was, I was still hoping for the typical MN winter. (I also prefaced it by calling myself a “spoiled California boy,” to keep things in perspective).
Nel was able to contact the crew at Studio on Fire to set up a studio visit/tour, and they were super cool in letting us bother them and getting all up in their stuff for an hour. They do it all: fantastic letterpress, embossing/debossing and diecutting, designing from conception to finished products, and pretty much their facilities are capable of doing all of this in one warehouse!
As mentioned in a previous post, we had an amazing dinner at Piccolo on Bryant and 43rd. Each plate is small, but the impact they had was tremendous. The meal literally had me thinking, not just of the food in front of me, but of so much more. It had me thinking about the definition of design in all aspects of creativity. It had me question what priorities and values I currently hold. I’ll try and explain.
On design: Each plate is a stand-alone experience. Each element is meant to balance the other. The dish fails if one element is left out or overpowers another. Nothing is wasted, everything is sacred.
On Foie and of life: You can’t force what wants to happen naturally. You can guide, trick and teach, but use of force will always have a lasting negative impact.
On balance: Each dish has a leading actor of sorts, but it never outshines the other ingredients. As good as the foie gras is, it would not be the same dish without the other ingredients to highlight its own subtleties. Despite being fairly strongly flavored (and unique to the point of almost gimmicky) the bacon powder becomes subdued by the vanilla and cream, and brings out the spice in the cake. Even though they seem like mere decoration, the micro sprouts in the scrambled eggs help cut through the richness of the truffle butter & parmigiano.
On ambition: The chef and the owners could easily create a restaurant that would have more mass market appeal, but instead forced a challenge on themselves. Local MN are known to be thrifty, so a meal like this is usually out of the question and reserved for the rare special occasion. To have a rotating menu also means you prevent yourself from keeping a steady flow of return customers, banking on those that will take a risk on a completely new menu. This is so ingrained in them that it’s the restaurant’s motto: “putting what is seasonal and creative ahead of what is safe and familiar.”
I feel that I’ve caught this restaurant at just the right time in my life. My mind is just mature enough to appreciate it beyond the novelty of a fancy dinner. You are a reflection of the collective experiences in your life. It stands to reason that the more fulfilling experiences you have (and the greater your capacity is to understand them), you will become a much greater person in the end.
Hope this didn’t turn into to weird of a post for y’all. If you’d rather just see the pics there’s tons more here at the ol flickr. Enjoy!
Just ate an amazing dinner at Piccolo in Minneapolis. Mind blowing, mind changing, the kind of meal that truly invigorates your mind and body.
- Foie gras torchon with smoked cipollini onions, escargot, jalapeño peppers and chervil
- Porcini flavored pasta with veal tongue, sage and pine needle brown butter
- Scrambled brown eggs with pickled pig’s feet, truffle butter and Parmigiano
- Charcoal grilled octopus “shawarma” with yogurt, pickled green tomatoes, white asparagus and garlic purée
- Berkshire pork shortribs with chestnuts, porcini mushrooms, apple butter and parsley root purée
- Moulard duck with acorn squash, gruyère cheese and quince paste
- Pumpkin spice cake with crab apple, pumpkin ice cream and bacon powder
- Roasted bananas in brick with chocolate cream, currants and chestnut granola
Photos of food to come, but in the meantime here is how I feel right now.
(via deadgirls)
Here are another random few to highlight the days so far. The rest of images are in the flickr set!
Dogwood coffee bar inside of Calhoun Square in Minneapolis. There are quite a few awesome coffee shops in the area, and Dogwood is definitely one of the best. Great brews and an awesome location (complete with benches and Studio on Fire poster wall)!
The Jucy Lucy from Matt’s Bar. By far my favorite of the crosstown (more like cross the block) rivals, Matt’s Lucy has all the qualities in a perfect burger: tender, juicy, well seasoned patty, toppings evenly spread throughout (in this case chopped grilled onions), and a perfectly proportioned bun. While the 5-8 has more cheese, Matt’s cheese is consistent throughout the whole burger. It fills you up but leaves you wanting more.
Honeyshine boutique in Minneapolis. While searching for awesome local shops, Honeyshine has outshone them all. It’s got tons of cool consignment stuff like these ceramic beakers, as well as awesome jewelery, glass ware and other items for your home.
Russel + Hazel is an office supply designery, and MN is where they call home. The flagship store has all the items that they wholesale across the country, but with the benefit of MN sales tax.
Punch pizza, Lake Calhoun location. Punch serves traditional Neapolitan pizza, and is the only pizzeria in MN to have a V.P.N. (Vera Pizza Napoletana) designation. Tender, chewy crust with minimal but flavorful toppings. The margherita is as basic as it gets, but redefined what a pizza is for me.
A few photos to sum up the day, the set has now grown to 55 images!
A morning welcome gift of frozen dew on the car! No actual snowfall, but this is what I’m looking for on this trip. I got to use an ice scraper for the first time, and had loads of dorky fun with it!
The Country Boy Breakfast from Cracker Barrel. As cheesy as a chain restaurant like this can be, the staff was super friendly and felt genuinely nice. I can’t hate on a place like this. Oh yea, and all this food was only $9. That helps too.
The Washington Ave bridge over the Mississippi (with downtown Minneapolis in the background). I like bridges, and I like rivers. This was a genuine dorky moment for me.
Also something geek worthy, the Frank Gehry designed Weisman Art Museum on University of Minnesota’ East Campus. Overlooking the friggin Mississippi river as well!
The Original Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 Club in Minneapolis. On the way back from the Mall of America, we decided that some molten cheese would help protect us from the cold. Nestled on a one way street off the 77, proved to be a bit difficult to find but worth the frustration. A half pounder with American cheese, sweet pickles and grilled onions. And yes, we are definitely trying the competing Jucy Lucy at Matt’s Bar soon!
Today could pretty much be summed up in 3 images:
Pear & cherry Italian Ice from Grand Italian Ice in the Midtown Global Market. The Global Market is probably the best (and only) place to find so many different ethnic treats under one roof in all of Minnesota. Pho stalls, bakery shops, artisan cheeses & local honey, halal markets w/ gyros, Tibetan clothing and African statues…the list goes on!
New boots on old snow, at Washburn Fair Oaks park in Minneapolis. I was looking forward to seeing some real snowfall on this trip, but the weather doesn’t look like it’s gonna let me have it.
Sunset & street lights in Minneapolis. After stopping by the uber awesome Spyhouse Coffee Shop on Nicollet Ave in Whittier (aka Eat Street), we left just as the sun started to end its shift. Clear vivid skies broken by the jagged skeletons of winter, there’s a charming beauty here that I have yet to experience in SoCal.
The rest of the set can be seen over at the flickr, more photos will be uploaded throughout the trip, if you know of any noteworthy spots I’d love to hear them!
Staring out the window at the wing of a 737, my mind begins to drift. A 39,000 ft mental sketch now expanded after landing.
Full size wallpaper (1920x1200) can be found over at the flickr!
