Last week, you and I finished exploring the skyway system downtown and were about to cross the Hennepin Avenue Bridge into the Northeast neighborhood of Minneapolis. There are two main drags in Northeast: continuing up Hennepin Ave. toward Central or heading right onto Main instead, the Riverfront District. I opted for Main St. first, wanting
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It’s that time of the week again! This time, I have two food blogging items to brag about, both recent developments. First, Carpe Durham, one of the blogs I contribute to, was a finalist for the third year in a row in the Best Blog category in the Independent Weekly’s Best of the Triangle awards.
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Buffalo Trace Bourbon Kentucky When tasting bourbon, I generally get a smell from it that I call “bourbon.” Fancy, I know. So from this point on, I think I’ll only comment when a new bourbon has a smell element to it beyond that distinctive bourboness. And Buffalo Trace does: a little bit of citrus that
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Last year, I went to Minneapolis for the first time, and I loved it. I was impressed by how well designed the city is in terms of transit, by the great food choices, and by the general beauty of a city on a river and multitudes of lakes. The atmosphere is lovely, friendly, and very
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Firefly Mango Palmer Alivia’s Durham Bistro (Restaurant Review) Brightleaf, Durham   My delight in this drink takes me by surprise. It is made with Firefly sweet tea vodka, sour mix, simple syrup, and Malibu mango rum. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know why the Firefly Mango Palmer was more
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Revelation Cabernet-Merlot 2010 Pays D’Oc, France This French blend comes across like a Spanish wine with plenty of spice in nice proportions. Those Spaniards can go overboard sometimes, so the balance is appreciated. The fruit is lovely, bright and young with raspberry and champagne grapes prominently featured. A bit of tobacco lends depth, and the
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Carmen’s Cuban Café 108 D Factory Shops Road Morrisville Website Lunch: $7 to $9 Dinner: $10 to $25 I have wanted to check out Carmen’s for a very long time, because it was the only Cuban option (at least, the only one I know about) in the Triangle for years. In the past three, both
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North Carolina Sour Foundation (Past Reviews) Downtown Raleigh $10 What a lovely drink to look at! The picture doesn’t do the contrasting colors justice. The North Carolina Sour is a pretty one with its bottom half orange from the combination of Carriage House apple brandy and lemon and the top half full of McRitchie Ring
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La Vieille Ferme Récolte 2010 Rhone Valley, France This red table wine smells like a black raspberry gumdrop. It tastes like a liquid black raspberry gumdrop with hints of licorice and eucalyptus. The aftertase is all spice, mostly cinnamon. Some strawberry and vanilla also comes through. It’s a thin-bodied wine with exquisite layers, making it
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Maniña Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Valle Central, Chile The Maniña Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 tastes prominently of cigarettes. Leather and smoke may be a better approximation. Think of it that way— it’s more appealing. On drinking, piquant berry is the first flavor. Apricot, gooseberry, and sandalwood are also present. The smoke is dominant; I’d wager that it’s
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