St. Paul, Minnesota

St. Paul is about ten miles from Minneapolis.  Together they are known as the "Twin Cities."  As cities go, they're swell.  People are friendly, bikes are abundant -- they have a bicycle "greenway" that avoids intersections by using on- and off-ramps -- and craft brews are plentiful.  All the ingredients are there except mountains.  It is painfully flat.  But to spice things up, there are many lakes.  Minnesota is "The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes" - all of which were created by Paul Bunyan and Babe, his loyal ox.

Our friend Adam is a student at Macalester College, located near the heart of St. Paul on Grand Avenue.  He hosted us at his apartment and we cooked up some good eats.

Sampling "Lake Superior Oatmeal Stout"

salmon w/ pesto & parm, scallops with some sort of delicious goo, asparagus, rice

St. Paul showed us a relaxing time.  We crashed Adam's yoga class and it felt so good.  Sanch, of course, was the only person who could stand on their head.

 macbook case

I finished the knitting project I started in Philadelphia.  It is a sweater for my laptop!  It was a bit of a bitch because my gauge wasn't quite right but it turned out well.  I adapted the pattern from a similar one appearing in Knit Wit.  (That book is not that good, don't buy it.)

I cannot express in words how wonderful the microbrew selection is in the Twin Cities.  Perhaps a picture will help.

Ale Jail

The Wine Thief & Ale Jail boasted the largest collection of awesome beer I've ever seen gathered in one place (also, all of their wines are under $20).  Tuesdays are beer tasting days, so naturally we went.  Some tattooed guy from Dark Horse Brewery guided us through a tour of five beers.  They ain't stingy with their beer in Minnesota.  And from what midwesterners tell me, they can really drink a few (dozen).  We purchased "Scotty Karate Scotch Ale" (9.75% abv).  Unlike other really alcoholic beers I've had (i.e. Victory "Golden Monkey" or People's Pint "Slippery Slope"), Scotty Karate did not taste like mead.  It was smooth and sneaky.

Another amazing/surprising bargain was Dave's Brewfarm Select Golden Lager.  Lagers aren't usually my favorite, but when some kid with big honest eyes and a huge ginger beard tells you it's good, you trust him.  And for $10.99/12-pack, it's worth the gamble.  This beer smells "normal", starts to taste "normal," but finishes totally awesome.  It rates high on the drinkablity scale while maintaining craft brew sensibility.  Would definitely buy again.