Caribou Coffee Mocha Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans

This is why I prefer Caribou Coffee over Starbucks: Chocolate-covered coffee beans!

Twin Cities bicycling increased by 33 percent and walking increased 17 percent between 2007 to 2010, according to new data released by Bike Walk Twin Cities (BWTC), a program of Transit for Livable Communities.

These are the High Volume Increase areas:

The BWTC report is based on an official count of bicyclists and pedestrians passing designated locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul in fall 2010 and comparing this data with an identical count in fall 2007. [DETAILS.]

I’ve been playing around with an Aiptek 3D HD camcorder and fortunately for me, we’ve got a blizzard this weekend! This is what it was like driving through Minneapolis and Saint Paul in it today. You’ll need to be wearing 3D glasses and adjust the settings on the video from the 3D menu in the video player. Found at YouTube from davideerickson.

Love this! Why We’re Here: Twin Cities is a six-minute film that explores what unites us, and unites us here, in the Twin Cities. Found at Vimeo from Seven and Sixty Productions.

In case you missed them:

Fireworks At Taste Of Minnesota On Harriet Island In St. Paul

It’s amazing what a good camera will do to your ability to take interesting photos! It makes all the difference in the world. While I don’t pretend to know what I’m doing, I am having a lot of fun with my new camera as I try to figure it out.

On Friday I met up with some friends at the Leaning Tower of Pizza on University by Dinkytown and aside from the abysmal service (I have never ever in my life not left a tip, so this was a first), I had fun and part of that fun was taking pictures.

It’s funny. The one photo I thought would turn out to be pretty interesting wasn’t that at all but one that I just snapped, not thinking much at all about it, turned out pretty nicely. I just like the way the people are framed, engaged in conversation. I especially like the contrasts in light: The dark interior with the lighted exterior  and how the blue light from the Cocktails sign highlights the booth, table and plant:

The Veteran, Delicious and I went to Stub & Herb’s Friday night to watch the Gophers hockey game and after the game a band set up and played–well, practiced, in the other room. They were too loud and not particularly good and not once while we were there did they play a whole song.

Stub & Herb’s is a Uof M college student hangout and a sports bar near Dinkytown that has entirely too many Packers fans. They have plenty of small screen TVs and two very underwhelming large-screen TVs for watching sports. Their food is decent and reasonably priced–the French dip sandwich is particularly good and their chilli is decent, as well. They ocassionally have live music, which is really unfortunate because the place is far too small for the too-loud garage bands that seems to be the only "talent" they employ.

They have pool tables and they serve Summit Beer but they do not have wi-fi access. The place is owned by Sue Jeffers, who is running for Governor of Minnesota as an independent candidate because she’s pissed off about smoking bans. I really can’t blame her.

If you park in back, MAKE SURE THAT YOU GO INTO THE BAR IMMEDIATELY or they will put a boot on your tire and tow your car away. Once, after a Lions game in 2004, I went across the street to get sme gum at the drug store and they already had a boot on my Jeep. I practically went into a righteous rage until I got them to take it off. Minneapolis sucks. Here’s the notice they left on the Jeep:

But getting my vehicle booted wasn’t the most interesting thing that happened that night. As we were watching the Packers game, a girl in the next booth started flirting and I’m game, of course, ’cause flirting’s fun. So it’s back and forth flirting here and there throughout the night but when it comes time to pay the bill and I’m digging in my wallet, she says something to the effect of "twenty-five bucks to look, fifty to touch."

?!?

I was shocked. I was speechless. That was the last thing I expected because this cute young woman looked and acted nothing like what I imagined a prostitute to be. But, I guess, having no experience with them, I wouldn’t have known what to expect, anyway.

Just so you know: Watch out for the boots and the hoes.

Check out more cool places around the metro at my Twin Cities Bars, Restaurants & Entertainment Hotspots map.

Technorati tags: stub and herbs | restaurant | bar | sports bars | minneapolis | dinkytown

Okay, this is a new thing I’m going to do in conjunction with my Twin Cities Bars, Restaurants & Entertainment Hotspots map. I will occasionally write up a little blurb on places in the Twin Cities  that I like for one reason or another and then link to these posts from my Twin Cities mashup. We’ll see if it drives traffic deeper into my blog. Without further ado, then…

My eldest sister is the best! I absolutely love Tavern On Grand and she knows it because I took her there when she visited from Vermont for her annual trek through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. She remembered and sent me a gift certificage from Tavern On Grand for Christmas. Sweet!

Whenever I have friends or family in from out of town, I take them there for the Walleye dinner. It’s about seventeen, eighteen bucks for a two-fillet dinner but it’s worth every penny. Uhhhhhhhh, so good. They’ve got plenty
of seating but a small bar, so if you’re going there to hang at the bar and take
in a baseball game, good luck.

Not only do they have the best Walleye
ever, but they serve Summit
Beer as well. They have wi-fi access, but it’s restricted. ASIDE: You
might want to mention something to them about that .

Check out more cool places around the metro at my Twin Cities Bars, Restaurants & Entertainment Hotspots map.

Technorati tags: tavern on grand | walleye | minnesota walleye | saint paul | st paul | minneapolis | twin cities | restaurants | food | bar | summit beer

I’ve started a Twin Cities bars, restaurants, entertainment and just places I like Google mashup. Click on the balloons for each location to get a popup text box with more information. There are also links below the map you can use to the same effect. I’ll try and add a location a day. You can always get to it by clicking the Twin
Cities Hotspots Map link on the sidebar on the right.

Technorati tags: minnesota | twin cities | twin cities minnesota | st paul | saint paul | minneapolis | twin cities mashup | google maps | google map | google mashup