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Travel Itineraries

Twin Cities, Minnesota. March 2006

New York, 2004

Hong Kong, 2005

PCH roadtrip I, 2005
Davis to Orange County

PCH roadtrip II, 2005
Santa Barbara and SLO

Yunnan, Shanghai, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Autumn 2005

Facebook Photo Albums

Hong Kong, part I

Hong Kong, part II

Shanghai

Yunnan & Cambodia

Malaysia

Minnesota

  
 

Twin Cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul

Minnesota Buck Hill Day 1: March 25, 2006.

  • If you are fortunate enough, you will walk off the plane to two smiling faces and warm hugs to welcome you to Minneapolis.
  • Then you'll meet the rest of your companions for the weekend who shuttle you off to their winter chalets in Stillwater. After having made the 10-hour trip from Michigan, your friend makes you a breakfast of whole-grain waffles and blueberries. You spend the next three hours curled up on his couch with a chenille blanket to make up for the 1 am flight. You wake up to the lovely smell of pillows pounding your face.
  • You leave Stillwater forgetting to pick up the reknowned Venison jerky, but are reassured a supply in May.
  • You spend the next few hours getting tours of Minneapolis homes, including anecdotes on the "Ghetto in the Sky."
  • The next few hours are spent lollying around Downtown, although everyone knows the true objective of the vacation is to inundate your stomach with as much food as possible. We anxiously await our 6 pm dinner reservation.
  • Solera Restaurant
    6:00 pm. Dinner at Solera Restaurant, tapas in downtown Minneapolis.
    We managed to nail the pleasure den seating and kicked off our shoes to enjoy the massive table that was set before us. Our meal consisted of 2 large plates, 8 small plates, and 3 desserts. The meal was paced evenly in the beginning as we were presented with each tantalizing small plate, one-at-a-time. The stuffed dates, sobreseda, rabbit stew, deviled eggs w/blue crab, squash and pistachio croquetas, pork medallions, and scallops were all distinct without overwhelming the senses. Portions were fairly reasonable given the SF standard for tapas. Our two large plates were a beef tenderloin and duck. Both were moist and tender and cooked to absorb the flavors of the sauces they were marinated in. Desserts stood out as some of my all-time favorites: chessecake, churros, and pineapple trifle. The cheesecake was made with a goat's milk and laced with yogurt. Add to that honey sorbet, mango and lime sauces, and coconut shavings and you've got the most decadent, light, and delicious accompaniment to your dinner ever. The churros came with a cinnamon-y Mexican hot chocolate for dipping, while the trifle ended our dessert rampage on a very smooth and delicate note.
  • 8:30 pm. Dakota Jazz Club. The revelry and dining never end when you're on a Monica-esque vacation. After dinner, we made our way over to Dakota and dropped the name of a host who was both a host for the weekend and our host at the club. We shimmied our way out of a cover charge and made for the upstairs balcony where we were able to secure 3 tables for 2. We were able to rearrange ourselves into more sociable seating as the night drew on. We started with drinks and grooved to the jazz beats that filled the cavernous warehouse. It was everything I've dreamt a jazz club should be--minus the multitudes of tables and patrons that were otherwise also present. Of course the eating never ends and we gorged ourselves with some more buffalo wings and cheese plates after our gargantuan dinner.

Day 2: March 26, 2006.

  • buck hill
    We leave for Buck Hill at the asscrack of Minnesota dawn (10:00 am) and shell out $15 for some good ol' sledding fun. Buck Hill proved to be riddled with rules and regulations, but although they wouldn't let us link up, we managed to break some rules, have our fun, and then some.
  • Repeat after me: "There is no place like Hell's Kitchen on a Sunday morning." 12:30 pm. Sunday gospel brunch at Hell's Kitchen. There is nothing I love more than a brunch that goes the distance. After discovering the hot spot on CityPage's best of list, I decided that nothing short of a disaster could keep me from coming there. We arrived starving and anxious and ordered five items to share between the five of us. The Mahnomin Porridge brought out the Midwest specialty of wild rice together with dried fruits in a bowl of milk. The consistency was unusually watery and the flavor, unusually smooth and delicious. Next came our Bison Benedict, complete with jalapeno-lime hollandaise, and poached eggs. I'll have to say I was disappointed with the dish since I had high expectations for bison. It's just a chewy type of beef when it comes down to it.

Chino Latino