Issue 416
Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois
It’s all about the river in the Quad Cities—the quartet of river towns straddling the Mississippi where Iowa meets Illinois. Low-slung barges slouch under the iron spines of down-to-business bridges. Wailing freight trains trundle along the riverbanks, while bikers and joggers pursue tracks of their own. Old-time paddle wheelers provide excursions, and double as casinos….
Journeying Toward Pride
June will be here soon, and with it come both Twin Cities Pride and Minnesota Leather Pride. My usual Pride warm-up is the International Mr. Leather (IML) Contest year in Chicago on Memorial Day weekend. This year, however, I started thinking about Pride earlier than usual. During the Creating Change conference in February in Minneapolis,…
Your Wayside Restaurant
Before the era of the drive-thru, wayside stops served a basic need. Signs pointing out picnic spots (with restrooms!) dotted the highways. They invited families to their grassy parks with barbecues and benches. Sit, enjoy a meal, stretch your legs, and throw the ball. Road trips became more bearable with a half-hour out of the…
I Saw You!
“I Saw You!” is the newest way to rekindle fleeting romances, and make up for missed opportunities. Saw him at the bar, but just couldn’t say hi? We’ve got you covered! Now, you can tell him, “I Saw You!” A Sugar & Spice production, “I Saw You!” results may vary, and satisfaction is not recommended….
Marla’s Caribbean Cuisine
Patrons return often to enjoy their favorite dishes at this authentic Trinidad restaurant. Marla Jadoonanan and her husband, Ian, tried their damnedest to explain the intricacies of Trinidad and Tobago cuisine. At a strange intersection of Latin, French, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian, but also heavily influenced by Indian cuisine, the island nation has invented…
Food Bites
Lyn-Lake Eateries Park once, eat globally. No passport needed, and not much damage to your credit card. That’s the draw of Lyn-Lake in Minneapolis, a once-dingy-to-outright-dicey crossroad, now reclaimed by avant arts, retail, and dining ops, from fine to funky. Falafel King, a longtime anchor of the crossroad, reigns as monarch of that Middle Eastern…
Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra Presents Hit Parade 2: Censored!
On May 14, the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s Spring Concert features three “hits” that have experienced some type of public censorship, but survived to see the light of day. • Wolfgang Mozart’s “Overture” to The Marriage of Figaro. This opera was based on the Pierre Beaumarchais play of the same name, which was banned in Vienna…
Music
The Family Sign Atmosphere The first sound you hear on the latest Atmosphere disc is a slightly out-of-tune piano playing a quick downer melody. It’s a mood that serves this collection from beginning to end, as vocalist Slug has plenty of heavy ideas on his mind, while partner Ant, along with new members, keyboardist Erick…
STD Rates Surge Among MSM
Sexually transmitted disease. Ooo, doesn’t that sound exciting? Usually, when you start talking about STDs, people turn the page, turn down the volume, or leave the room altogether. They don’t want to hear about it, or don’t think it affects them. They think, “I’m not dirty, poor, or a tramp, so I don’t have to…
Three Theaters Coproduce In the Brown and Red Water
Lorca’s Yerma and Yoruban folklore inspired this first installment of a trilogy. When Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Brother/Sister Plays trilogy opened at New York’s esteemed Public Theater a year-and-a-half ago, The New York Times’s chief theater critic, Ben Brantley, compared the 30-year-old to Eugene O’Neill and Sam Shepard. McCraney currently is RSC/Warwick International Playwright in Residence…
