Minneapolis Round-Up, Pt1

As promised, I am here to provide an overview of the trip that Frank and I took last weekend to Minneapolis. We stayed with his wonderful friend Jonathon. his lovely girlfriend Amanda, and their two dogs Newey (shaggy and black) and Sophie (adorable wiener who never grew to full-size). Newey is quite the ham and would pose for any picture. Sophie on the other hand...

Friday we did a bit of vintage shopping (as mentioned previously), and went to a fantastic co-op called The Wedge. Not only was it huge and packed with great selections, but their prepared food and bakery area was a vegan dream come true. For lunch, Frank and I had the avocado burritos and a side of Bengali greens. I wish I had pictures of these, but unfortunately, we ate them too fast! However, we did pick up some amazing dessert for later in the evening.

First up, the Black Forest cupcake. I am not a huge fan of chocolate cake, but this was moist, not too sweet, and the cherry/ganache combo was fantastic. Talk about a beauty!

Frank chose to be a little less indulgent and try the berry streusel pie. I am a huge fan of mixed berries, and after trying it, I wished I had ordered that instead. But never fear, he let me have two bites :)

We both decided to try the peanut butter balls, which as you see, look beautiful as well. While they were good- the Wedge mixes in soy protein and crispy rice cereal for texture- we both decided that we like my aunt's peanut butter balls better for their no-frills delicious-ness.

Saturday was spent at the awesome Pavek Museum of Broadcast, which, if you a nerds about records and music and recorded sound like we are, is a true treat. You can see anything there, from old Edison record players to news ticker machines and every sort of radio crystal and tube known to man. Our tour guide was an extremely knowledgeable man named Richard who answered all of our questions and them some. If you ever end up that way, go!

Ear food. Aka a wax cylinder record player.

Saturday evening we all went to Ecopolitan for an amazing raw dinner. Ecopolitan is pretty much *the* place for a decently priced, delicious raw/vegan meal, and I was very impressed. We started off with two appetizers, the Cashew Cheese Log and the special of the day, stuffed mushrooms. The cheese log, which was rolled in basil, olives, and sundried tomatoes, and served with balsamic onions and flatbread, was nothing short of amazing. The stuffed mushrooms were filled with a sundried tomato spread and dehydrated for warmth and texture. Also another winner!

Cashew cheese log

Stuffed Mushrooms

For dinner, we all ordered very different dishes, from salad with curry pate to Thai curried noodles. Amanda had the salad, which was topped with a huge scoop of curried pate:

Jonothan had an amazing-looking Red Avocado pizza, which was topped with tons of sprouts, pine nuts, etc etc. He gave it rave reviews all around:

Frank ordered thai curry noodles, which were delicious! The noodles were a combination of zucchini, daikon, and parsnip, topped with green curry, coconut, and pineapple.

I ordered the lasagna plate, which came with a side of the spiciest and tastiest kim-chi any of us had ever tried, and a piece of oat focaccia. I am not a fan of cooked lasagna because I find it too heavy, but this was just right, both in terms of size and density.

And lastly, for dessert, we all shared the parfait, which should really be called The Parfait that is As Big as Your Head. Fresh whipped fruit paired with a coconut- grain crumble- wow.

There's more Minneapolis in store, but I will leave you with the picture of that glorious parfait, which honestly, couldn't be a better way to exit.