P.S. Steak with the fam

Thank you Target Center (and Shelly)

I hope they keep the Frenchie forever

Four bars, two cities, one night

Thanks, MK

Fresh from the farmer’s market

Rose Street Patisserie

Pit stop after medical imaging

Uniqueness in South Minneapolis

Cecil’s hot pastrami + Toy Story 4

Thanks Rich (and team) for a great day

One of the best (and getting better)

Nice to see Lynn and Dad

…plus the new north end event building.

But I will take the $56

Come on, Hootie

As I pulled out my red concert shirt today, I realized I better post my pictures and grab the setlist from the fun Tenacious D show I saw with Mike and Jake at the Palace last month before I forget all the details. This really was about as perfect as a concert gets for me these days: early access pre-sale seats in the first row of the loge (three seats all by themselves, even), pre-show dinner at a nice restaurant (finally crossed Pazzaluna off the list), our own little bar with no line right behind our section, two great friends I don’t see nearly often enough and a band that changed people’s lives that night.

This was my second time seeing the D. The other time was, believe it or not, a get out the vote concert with the Beastie Boys and Ben Harper at Roy Wilkins. The first half of the show was the new Post Apocalypto album in its entirety, followed by a greatest hits set and a one song encore (set list and pics after the jump). Other than missing out on Wonder Boy, I was very happy with the song selection. JB and KG definitely gave it their all, with a talented group of musicians backing them up.

Softly. Gently. Sweetly. Discreetly.

Set List (July 30, 2019 – First Night of Two):

• Hope
• Making Love
• Take Us Into Space
• Fuck Yo-Yo Ma
• Daddy Ding Dong
• Robot
• Colors
• JB Jr Rap
• Woman Time
• Save The World
• Post-Apocalypto Theme (Reprise)
• Rize of the Fenix
• Low Hangin’ Fruit
• Sax-a-Boom
• Roadie
• Kickapoo
• Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)
• The Metal
• Dude (I Totally Miss You)
• Kielbasa
• Tribute
• Double Team
• —
• ENCORE
• —
• Fuck Her Gently

Is it, punk?

It will be cold before you know it

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/moua-friends-and-family-event-tickets-65762839423

Barrio Lowertown, 79F

Go to The Left Handed Cook, L.A. people

They seem extra large to me

Too cold, too hot?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2019/07/11/the-cosmopolitan-las-vegas-hotel-is-now-better-than-ever/

As opposed to?

Lunes likes her waffles

Nothing else quite like it

MK + Gordy = true love ❤️

That hit the spot (as usual)

One purple and one red – thanks, SK

Thanks for the pie, Betty

Too bad the patio is only open about 10% of the year

Only the best on the North Shore

Delta 360 Club @ Target Field

Glad we went when we did

Good luck to Toyya in SoCal

Dinner at Mystic + no luck (or play time) on the slots

Culture + colleagues

Long graduation + no food at zoo = hangry

In the “new” location @ Bellagio

Meat vending machines = brilliant

These are sweet

Thanks, Yagya – great to catch up

Quick trip over to Keg and Case

The croque madame @ Barbette

Race Day 2019 could snow (again)

Thumbs up on the Howe

…with that gourmet shit

…ends here.

IT Command will be the place to be the next three days

Calm amongst the chaos

Really needed that burger today

Favorite medical center ever

Squeezing in a few more…

Two of my all-time favorites (Minnehaha Grill @ Mystic Lake)

…and my damn Shirley Temples

Fortune cookies always make me think of the Simpsons

Parking really is free

There’s nobody that’s trying to kick the crap out of Philly cream cheese…

When I cook for myself

Zantigo Woodbury (with MK)

• My wife and daughters, who are so kind and whip-smart
• Everyone who has supported my recovery
• Driving on my own
• The Saint Dinette cheeseburger
• Our Lowertown loft
• The choo-choo
• Progressive jackpots
• Kingdom Hearts 3
• Code (that works)
• Live music
• A well-struck golf shot
• Sunshine (on my shoulders)

The flip side of that other mini-post…

Another stop at the HCMC cafeteria

Fudds Forever

I’ve never seen such a small clown serving

Thanks, Jim and Darla!

Last year, we had a big blowout birthday party in the Sinatra Lounge (the invite we did still makes me smile). This year, I was planning to go on a ski trip in Banff to celebrate landmark birthdays for MK and I. Then I had my little medical incident and we postponed the big stuff and scaled back 2019 birthday plans. I still wanted to do something a little out of the norm, so we booked a dinner reservation at the new Minneapolis hot spot, P.S. Steak.

I will forever call Chef Mike DeCamp “YoungChef2,” as that is his Twitter handle. Young Chef is a busy guy for Jester Concepts, listed as Executive Chef at Monello and Constantine and Borough and Parlour. He is also behind the weekly Sunday old-school Italian pop-up at Monello, Mama DeCampo’s (which is great, BTW). Somehow Mercado slipped by him, but P.S. Steak is the latest DeCamp project for the group.

We never made it to La Belle Vie before it closed in the 510 Groveland location, but there is so much history there (Dara called it “heavier with history than any restaurant in the state” in her first bite review). Not only was Chef DeCamp in that kitchen, but so was Tim McKee, Matt Anderson and a host of Twin Cities cocktail pioneers (make sure and read this Strib article to find out the backstory on the “Obi Pip Kenobi”). Man, I miss seeing and talking with Pip at Marvel Bar…

Joy Summers has some great pictures of the remodeled 510 spaces in her Eater story, including one of our exact table in the steakhouse dining room side (to the left as you enter – the lounge is to the right). There is complimentary valet parking and I don’t think I really knew how easy it is to get there from Lowertown via I-94 and Dell Place (and back again). In Dara’s story, she described the newly renovated dining room as “Ravenclaw-meets-Eyes-Wide-Shut-for-a-drink” and personally, I couldn’t stop humming the Haunted Mansion music (which actually made the whole night extra fun for me).

So how was it? You never know what service will be like at a place that just opened, but everything went swimmingly. Our server was wonderful, all of our questions were answered, the flow of food out of the kitchen was consistent and everything tasted great. The room is not overly loud and really looks spectacular (was that Norm Green at the table next to us?). Dara asks, “Is P.S. Steak suddenly among the most expensive restaurants in town?” Yup, for sure. It’s also an instant classic that will be busy with special event and corporate expense account business that will give Manny’s a run for their money.

SK and I are the steak people in the family, so one of us tried the 8oz beef tenderloin and the other had the Denver steak. Both were wonderful – I added Stilton blue cheese to mine, while SK had a side of curry béarnaise. We all shared some Aligot (mashed potatoes with cheese), roasted baby carrots and Parker House rolls. Colleen went with one of our Chef Ramsey faves, sautéed sea scallops, while MK had the sautéed chicken breast with smoked chicken thigh, mushrooms and kale. I also shared the P.S. chopped salad with Colleen, while SK had a bowl of the caramelized onion soup (which came with tasty rye gnocchi and cave aged Gruyere).

We saw Young Chef do the cool baked Alaska thing at the table next to us, but we passed on that one. They did bring out a birthday candle in my really good hot fudge and salted peanut sundae, though. The girls shared the Andoa chocolate brownie and added a scoop of the excellent vanilla ice cream (which we think is from Izzy’s). It was a great way to end my birthday and I would definitely go back again. Sorry for the highly filtered photos – it’s not an easy room to take pictures in at night. Oh, and a shout-out to my colleague Keri, who started a new food blog called Keri Tyler Moore that made me realize I need to write about food more often (and not just post pictures to Instagram).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

We may live without friends, we may live without books. But civilized man cannot live without cooks…

Quick stop before errands and parties