Today 7 Minute Miles was named the “Minnesota Blog of the Day” by City Pages newspaper. I don’t publish this site with an intent to have a large audience, but it’s always nice to get recognized. For the record, my goal is not to run the Boston Marathon–that’s more of a wish. My times are so slow that I’d have to be about 70 years old to qualify, but I’ll keep trying to get better.

Last week, City Pages published their annual “Best of the Twin Cities” issue. The controversy over “Best Cheap Thrill” was dumb, but I always enjoy that issue because it gives me ideas of new places to eat. Like most people who grew up in Saint Paul, I don’t know much about what’s good on the other side of the river. City Pages seems to favor Minneapolis establishments, so this works out well for me (but why no “Best Wild Player” category?).

Locally-owned restaurants are sometimes more expensive, but they are also more unique and often have better quality food and service. This week I tried two of the winners at lunchtime: Matt’s Bar for best burger and Cafe Barbette for best fries. I had been to the latter once before for dinner and the sirloin burger special with fries didn’t disappoint. I had a Jucy Lucy at Matt’s and got burned by the cheese (despite the warning from our server). It was very good, though, and you can’t beat the atmosphere…DK