Krik's Picks

There was a time when Land O'Lakes used to publish a recipe pamphlet that was sold at the supermarket checkout stand. As employees, we sometimes would receive complimentary copies. I eventually accumulated quite a collection. The recipes were thoroughly tested with clear, precise directions. I don't know if they were foolproof. But they were pretty reliable. My kids loved them, especially my daughter. When she got her first apartment in college, we gave her several of them, at her request. She always said that she loved them because they always turned out. They helped give her the confidence to be a creative cook in her own right. I don't know if Land O'Lakes publishes any recipe books anymore. If they do, employees don't have a chance to get copies at the office. But it's probably a moot point because the company has a very comprehensive recipe collection on the web site. My wife and I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter and her husband in Chicago. We had our ...

In my last post, I lamented the closure of two of my favorite 'special occasion' restaurants in Minneapolis. (Scroll down to read it.) Another Minneapolis standout that closed during the economic downturn was D'Amico Cucina . It had been many years since I ate at D'Amico's, but many people felt it was the best Italian restaurant in town. Well, the creative energy behind the original D'Amico's combined with the hip, stylish venue of the Chambers Hotel and I think I have a new special occasion favorite – D'Amico's Kitchen at the Chambers. My brother and I decided to try it for our annual joint birthday lunch. I always liked the the sort of stark, industrial space that the old Chamber's Kitchen had in the 'basement' of the hotel. D'Amico moved the main dining room to the lobby level (which had been a bar before the changeover). The new space is bright and airy. As you'll see in the photo below, the big windows provide diners with v...

The economic downturn has been tough on restaurants. Both of my favorite special occasion places closed in 2009 - Cue at the Guthrie and Chambers Kitchen . Fortunately, the economy has not discouraged creative restaurateurs from exploring new concepts, and both venues have opened exciting new replacements for my old favorites. This review is about the new restaurant at the Guthrie. The next is about the replacement at the Chambers. Sea Change got on our list of 'must try' restaurants as soon as it was announced that Tim McKee was behind it. We don't usually rush to a new place when it opens. We prefer to give them time to work out some of the kinks. Sea Change opened during the summer. We went for my wife's birthday in September. Wow! What a great experience it was. One of the things that's so fun about McKee is that each of his Twin Cities venues has its own character. Each one is so different from the others. Yet all of them reveal the unmistakable guidance of ...