Minneapolis

Alex Christensen is a regular contributor to Simple, Good, and Tasty.

I remember having this odd experience when my wife was pregnant with our first child. For 30 years, I'd lived my life completely unaware of "baby culture," and now, as we'd stroll through the Galleria, Lake Harriet, Southdale mall, or one of our favorite Minnesota food spots, we were surrounded. Pregnant women and babies were suddenly everywhere.

Every Saturday at 8:00 am, the Central Minnesota Vegetable Growers Association presents Fresh & Local, a fun, local MN food show on AM950. Here's what it says on their webpage (located on the Minneapolis Farmers Market website):

If you were one of the first 36 people to sign up for the local, sustainable meal in Minneapolis, I'm very excited to see you tonight at 7:00 at the Birchwood Cafe. If you weren't, hope to see you at next month's event! I did finally get a copy of the menu, which looks fantastic. I'm not going to spill the beans, but I will give you one word: nettles. See you later.

So here I sit, day after day, week after week, writing about my favorite local foods and places, like The Craftsman in Minneapolis, Flatbush Farm in Brooklyn, and Peace Coffee, roasted in the Twin Cities.

Lucia Watson is a phenomenal chef and business person who is extremely important in the Twin Cities local, sustainable food movement. She makes some of the finest food in the country. Here's a bit more about Lucia Watson, who you might not know much about - especially if you don't live in the Midwest (this information comes from Lucia's website):

Tucked quietly beside Turtle Bread near the corner of 48th and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, Pumphouse Creamery doesn't really scream for ice cream; rather, like its owner Barb Zapzalka, Pumphouse wins you over one locally made, organic, scrumptious ice cream scoop - and, as of this spring, one locally made, hearty, 9-grain organic cone - at a time.

Local beer is easy to find these days, especially if you have a tendency to drink microbrews, as I do, and live in a decent sized city (like Minneapolis or St. Paul, as the case may be).

My friend Jen turned me on to San Francisco's Bi-Rite Market, the kind of mom and pop supermarket our moms and pops never had (or even imagined). The home page of the Bi-Rite Market website proudly proclaims the store as:

a destination for restaurant quality prepared foods and catering, organic produce, sustainably raised meats, poultry, and seafood, as well as fine wines and everyday groceries.

Minneapolis' Birchwood Cafe, one of the Twin Cities' community supporting, local, sustainable food treasures (whose praises I've sung in the past), is hosting what is sure to be a fantastic Earth Day Beer Dinner.