Krik's Picks

On the rare occasion when I’m alone at home for dinner, I like to make something new or different, and something that I don’t think my wife will like. So that’s what I did in August when my wife went out for dinner with girlfriends. The pepper plants in my garden have been particularly prolific this year. Two jalapeno plants have produced a lot of nice peppers, and my son gave me five Serrano plants that are absolutely prodigious. My wife doesn’t like hot spicy food. I do. So I set about to make a recipe using jalapenos. My personal specialty is risotto. I have a favorite recipe for risotto with tomatoes. I decided to adapt it by adding the jalapenos and creating a dish that I envisioned calling “Risotto Diablo,” intending it to be devilishly hot. I planned to eat it with some leftover grilled salmon and carrots. What I’ve done with most of the jalapenos that I’ve harvested so far this summer is put them whole on the grill. After roasting them until they’re soft, I cut them open,...

Most of the time when we’re at ‘The Cabin’ we don’t go into town. (The cabin is on Island Lake north of Duluth. If we don’t want to cook, we’ll walk 3 blocks to ‘The Tavern’ for a burger or fried chicken or fish.) The whole point is to get away and not substitute one city (Duluth) for another (home – Edina). But in early August, a large group of family and friends planned a dinner at the Duluth Grill , and we came along. Several people in the group had eaten there, some of them multiple times. Those who had eaten there pretty much raved about it, and the café does get generally favorable reviews from various online sources. It certainly has an extensive menu, and there’s lots of appealing offerings. Any restaurant that offers breakfast items all day is a winner in my book. As tempted as I was by the corned beef hash, I opted for the ratatouille instead. It was a good choice. The roasted vegetables were delicious. It was served over polenta. Some of the group were from Texas, and ...

I bet there are local gems like the Old Mill Restaurant in towns like Austin all across America. But how do you find them? Mostly, I suppose, by meeting or knowing someone who gives you a recommendation. So here’s my recommendation: If you’re traveling in southern Minnesota and you find yourself in Austin around dinner time, give yourself a treat and go to the Old Mill. Why might you find yourself in Austin? Well, maybe for business; it’s the headquarters for Hormel Foods . Maybe for tourism; the Spam Museum is quite entertaining. Maybe just because you’re driving from Wisconsin to South Dakota; you’ll pass through Austin on I-90 (which happens to be the longest interstate highway in the United States). Or maybe you have family in the area, like I do. My parents live on a farm about 20 miles from Austin. For the Krikava family, the Old Mill has been our reliable restaurant for celebrating special occasions. In July, my wife and I went to the Old Mill with my parents to celebrate...