Why I love the Twin Cities, Take 1

Provisioning: Saturday morning is usually grocery shopping time at our house, and one-stop shopping is just not our style. Since it’s not yet May, the loop isn’t quite complete with farmers market, but Saturday was warm enough we returned to some of our seasonal haunts to stock up after a winter of avoiding the snow-jammed streets of Uptown. 

So off we went to Penzey’s for refills on tarragon, mustard, cinnamon sticks and sea salt; Bill’s Imported Foods for a fresh jug of olive oil, hunks of pancetta and coppa, and baggies filled with deli goodies like kalamatas, green olives, capers and Greek feta. Great products at reasonable prices, plus, there's always entertainment value.

At home the olives and cheese get stored in glass jars with brine.

Next it was on to Northern Brewer for a German alt kit, followed by a full grocery run at Kowalski’s.

Then back home, where miraculously we stuffed it all into the refrigerator and pantry nooks and crannies.

(But clearly we need to get out more. How on earth did I miss the opening of the FLOR store last year? I so covet some for the basement.)

And that's why I have to live in Minneapolis. No single chain grocery store can deliver the goods, the good values and good times that specialty stores pack in alongside their quirks; all within a short hop from our home.

P.S.: Happy birthday to my food diary, which turned 21 on April 1. What was for dinner 21 years ago today? Cashew chicken stir fry, which come to think of it I haven't made in the longest time. And yes, I've been obsessed with food for that long. Why else would I schlep all over the city in search of the best food?