this is what i did today. today today.

my car died in center lane of the middle of busy street in NE as a motorcyclist yelled at me, "you ran a red light!". i totally DID NOT. it was yellow. and no, i did not run out of gas. this time it was something that isn't my fault. i don't think...

anyway, super inconvenient! a nice cop pulled over & pushed us & talked stories about hawaii instead of giving me the three tickets i could have gotten. thank you, mr. po po!!! "he's strong!" lili said.

i sat in the illegal spot for a while calling megan to tell her i was gonna be late & kris to try to get some advice. he doesn't answer any of my fifteen calls. lili says, "call wayne." random! she's only met him once.

i wasn't sure how i was going to get myself out of this mess so i grabbed my st. christopher coin & my st. anthony necklace & was like, "hi, guys, um, i'm traveling & things are not going well & i need some help. could you please help me?" instantly, a random guy came to push us from no parking to parking-ok-here-area. as he pushed, he said, "my pants are falling down!" lol. thanks, dude! that was super helpful. "wow, he's super strong!" lili said.

so lili & i started walking to the skatepark to meet megan. she drove to meet us & toted us the rest of the way. lili practiced on the little ramp until her leg hurt. then we went to patina for fun. as lili and megan shopped, i went to sebastian joe's for the world's best cold press.

a friend called me & said he wanted to skate too, so came to meet us. i texted another cool friend cuz he lives across the street. he & his wife came to hang with us too. who knew david pearson skateboarded?! i do now.

so we watched everyone fall off their skateboards doing tricks for a while & that was fun. megan cringed a lot. the two boys & lili shared their boards with some other little kids with no boards at the park. that was sweet but i could tell all three of 'em wanted their boards back! the guys taught the kids how to do tricks. well, they tried anyway.

when it was time to leave, we went to check on the car. it started! hip hop hooray!!! please make it home, please make it home, please make it home, i promise i'll fix you tomorrow.... my friend stayed on call for us in case we didn't make it. thanks, fella!

as i pulled into the parking garage, my car died again. thank you sooooo much for making it this far! i love it! i appreciate it! thank you to all of my angels & guides that are looking after me. please make it into the stall, please make it into the stall..... oh well, that's close enough. "lili, steer. i'll push." lili, "mimi, you cannot push this car!" me, "lili, steer! hurry up!" i pushed it like ten feet into the stall. good job me. "wow, mimi, you're strong too! how heavy are cars?" me, "they're pretty heavy. yea, i am strong." ;)

ok, car, you're going to hang out here until tomorrow morning and i'll deal with you then. please rest so you can try to start and make it across the street to be fixed since none of my friends responded to my request to borrow their tow truck.

we walk into the condo to see kris looking at a magazine. super. me, "where have you been? i've been trying to call you for five hours!" kris, "my phone's dead." me, "well so is the car." lili & i exchange glances. she had just finished telling me she's sure he had a good reason. as i wonder why - if his phone is right there and the cord is right there - he couldn't charge his phone, i remember brooklyn's at her bff's house and i was supposed to get her over an hour ago.

so lili and i walk. it's not far, it's like five blocks...

so when we left the house originally, brooklyn takes two big bags full of stuff. "brooklyn, what's in those bags? what are you doing?" brooklyn, "toys and stuff." me, "doesn't julia have toys at her house?" brooklyn laughs as if my question is ridiculous, "yea!" me, "well then do you really feel it's necessary to bring all that stuff?" brooklyn, "yes, i do." me, "ok, come on."

and when we pick up brooklyn, she has completely changed all of her clothes. i recognize the sweater but nothing else. "are those julia's clothes?" brooklyn, "no, they're mine." me, "you had a bunch of clothes stuffed in those bags too?" brooklyn, "uh huh." ok, whatever, let's go...

guess who has to carry the bags? nbd when they were in the car on the way there but carrying them home was not fun!

so, we go home to drop off the bags but really we're on our way to lund's for dinner stuffs. brooklyn decides she doesn't want to go, which is good cuz she's slow & she'd totally hold us back. we go inside, lili runs upstairs for something & brooklyn says, "so i have to stay home alone?" lili, "of course not, krissy's here." so brooklyn settles in on the couch trying to open this gross soda pop flavored candy lili gave her.

lili and i get a few blocks away. there's a guy walking towards us. i think, "that guy looks cute." yes, these are the things i think when i'm walking around. he gets closer. me, "is that krissy?!" lili, "YES!' we both bust out laughing. we thought he was at home. brooklyn's there alone. we wonder if she knows or if she's just hanging on the couch. krissy agrees to hurry home. i call him to see if she's alright. of course his phone is on now. she didn't notice him walk in the door.

we're around the corner from the store, passing raku, a cool new sushi joint. wayne's the bar manager there. he sees us and comes outside. lili tells him about our adventures in one breath. he's sweet and gives us lots of hugs. we're on our way...

i'm not trying to make some gourmet dinner tonight. lili decided on chicken nuggets & sweet potato fries with sriracha mayo. brilliant. and i also buy a loaf of bread cuz we're out. i stuff the stuff in my handbag because i of course do not remember my shopping bag. the bread doesn't fit so lili carries it for me. "look at my baby," she says while holding it lovingly in her arms. we walk towards home.

as we pass raku, we put our faces to the glass to smile and wave at wayne-o bueno. he tells us to come in & pull up a bar stool. don't mind if we do.... lili plops the loaf of bread down on the bar. i feel like we look slightly silly because of the bread. lili picked out cottage bread and it has a flourescent orange $1.99 sticker on it.

wayne's a darling. he's squeezing fresh orange juice on some fancy shmancy juicer that he brought home in his carry on from his last trip to italy. he's making me a cocktail and lili a "mocktail". love that. "mocktail." my children are already cosmopolitan for goodness sake. but anyway, how fabulous is that? he starts saying, "you probably are usually offered a kiddie cocktail. old school." as he's prepping, lili's like, "i think wayne's making me a new school kiddie cocktail." cute.

our treats are presented in orange rings over ice. he mentions that he'd use crushed ice if he had a crusher. amazing and darling. i take photos cuz my life is fun. we sip em and he refills em when they're low. at the end, you're supposed to squeeze the orange so all the juice comes out. i forgot that but lili reminded me when i didn't do it.

i'm sure brooklyn's starving so we have to skedaddle.

and now i'm safely at home. we wrapped up a gorgeous sunday funday with lost reruns while eating our lazy people's food on the couch and exchanging back rubs.

i love my wild and precious life.

this is the food i like

i know you wanna know so...


i really love avocados.

and perfectly ripe mangoes.

and heirloom tomatoes. with fresh basil, fresh mozz & really good EVOO.

and papaya.

and poke.

and MOCHI! especially pumpkin mochi or the chocolate truffle kind that i don't know how to make. or the ones with strawberries. or the peanut butter-mint.

i also have a thing for the egg salad sandwich at the bean.

and of course their blended white chocolate coffee. yes, that's food.

acai bowls with granola & bananas.

i like honey.

the popovers & papaya butter at mariposa. with the tiny cups of broth.

the crab salad at the wynn restaurant by the pool in vegas.

and the sliced steak at tropics.

all of the sushi at sensai

and the scallops misoyaki at aka saka.

beet salad and lobster risotto or whatever it's called at 2021. and the little spicy ahi sesame cones. and that salmon on tiny pancakes. and the amous bouche spicy string beans.

garlic fried rice, honey shrimp, hot & sour soup at little village.

tomato shabu shabu with lots of junk in it at home sweet home cafe.

gyro salad from the falafel king.

curried tuna salad with chickpeas and italian parsley in romaine wraps.

the blue crab stuffed sashimi calamari at sasabune.

the green curry with seafood at the thai place on waialae, what's it called? and the long rice soup.

the gnocchi at town, especially the one with turnips. and the avocado & mango salad.

paella at palomino. oh, and their chop chop or the lamb shank on risotto with baby carrots and garlic cloves. or the rotis pork with fennel crust & braised fennel, celery & onions.

the racetrack dog or connecticut dog at the penguin and their sweet potato fries and their coleslaw.

sandwiches at james & jen's house.

honeynut cheerios and i like granola with greek yogurt & berries and i LOVE malt-o-meal and oatmeal.

i like cottage cheese with the fruit that comes in syrup, but not the canned kind, the good kind in the jar.

spicy shrimp truck shrimp with corn on the cob.

chicken fingers and siracha-mayo.

potato-mac salad.

kalbi ribs.

kim chee.

key lime pie with a green tea latte at kincaid's.

beer something salad when they have it at sidestreet. sidestreet's pork chops, kalbi, yakisoba and fried rice.

french salad and ahi tartar and the daikon from bistro sun, when there was a bistro sun on king. and the beautiful rice. what was that one called again?!

manapua and shumai from 711.

my mom's calico beans, pot roast, chili, fried potatoes, cottage potatoes and any of her baked goods.

my grandma's (or my mom's since she can make it now - yay!) sauerkraut and dumplings.

my aunt elaine's monster cookies & friendship bread.

krissy & connie's meatballs & pork rib & homemade sauce.

connie's pasta with squid sauce, eggplant parmesan, st. joseph's day dinner beans and pizzelles.

anything made with love is my favorite.

i really like bacon, too. i don't think bacon is made with love though.

you know what i really, really like? vosges bacon milk dark chocolate candy bar.

b&j's makes the perfect ice cream - neopolitan dynamite, which is half cherry garcia and half chocolate fudge brownie. and guess what? YOU CANNOT GET IT IN MINNESOTA. lame.

and another thing i miss about hawaii... MENCHIES!!!!!

in minnesota,

lurcat's veggies: cauliflower, brussels sprouts, beets, squash - wow. i liked veggies before but now i wanna marry 'em!

lurcat's burgers and fries are probably the best out there.

d'amico kitchen's ahi with melon, avocado & lemon smear

d'amico kitchen's lobster gnocchi

masa, masa, masa - chicken tortilla soup, their salsas remind me of my grandma's chili, tres leches, cafe da olla - omg, their food is fantastic!

azteca in honolulu had hands down the best guacamole i've ever had (except my own, mine's like 99% avocados) and super delicious meat nachos and super delicious shrimp fajitas. they also had PITCHERS of patron. oh my!

i also really really like eggs. i make sandwiches out of them like my mom (because she makes everything into sandwiches) or scramble always with onion and my current favorite is red bell peppers, corn and rosemary.

k, i gotta go.

yea, so, did i miss anything? i'm hungry.

il gatto (not I'll gatto)

this is a test, this is only a test ••••••••••••••••••

(disclaimer: this will not be well written.  as a rule, i don't follow writing rules.  

also, there will be a lot of sidenotes because i am attracted to sidenotes.)

i think i'm a restaurant critic, among other things.  

i think, therefore i am, so here you go:  

my first visit to il gatto, a new restaurant in minneapolis~

i can't like it.  i tried, me no likie.  i went to visit a friend that works there and hoped to sit with him.  no such luck.  it was really busy.  'oh, charlotte, you nitwit, it's restaurant week.  what are you doing dining out?!  it may as well be valentine's day.  run away!'  some minutes later, 'oh, nevermind, they're not doing restaurant week.  they're just busy for no apparent reason.  maybe they're busy because this joint is super fabulous.'

we'd been in there one other time for drinks only.  it was so unmemorable, i don't remember it.  and no, i only had one drink, if that's what you're thinking....

the inside is perfectly fitting for the new uptown.  the wall you face walking in is full of logs.  i see some exposed HVAC hardware.  in the room where we sat, by the wall of windows, one wall is brick red, one wall is elephant grey.  what is this area?  are we in the bar?  

i like the giant artsy cat posters.  and i very much fancy the name "il gatto", just like i fancy the phrase "oh my gato!"  two different cultures, i know.  i like the cats but the naughty cat stuff, i'm on the fence.  trying too hard?  i don't like it, i don't not like it.  at least they're trying, i suppose.

our server came over shortly after we sat.  he spoke so fast i thought his lips were going to jump off his face and run away.  he was very excited.  he was very animated.  i'm sure he was very busy but he was borderline scary.  he did the right thing by asking if we'd dined there before.  when we answered negatory, he gave us a one line introduction to the restaurant that went something like this:  "well, we're italian and have dishes from all over italy."  i see.  i don't expect him to tell me about the artichoke festival in sicily or anything, but why even bother with that?  he did a quick run down of the menu.  all i remember is this: "the small plates are good for one per person."  i see.  i do remember there were no descriptions, there was no guided tour, there were no recommendations.  he didn't have time if he wanted to, he had to go.  he was nice though.  for a hyper blond guy.  ;)

i ordered a limoncello mojito and kris ordered a gin & tonic, or something boring like that.  they took forever and a day to make it to the table, but at least they made it.  this gave us time to complain about the music and how loud it was.  the group of a million girls sitting at the table behind us yelling and cheering didn't help.  we also wondered whether or not the windows opened and if they didn't, why not?  i think we missed figlio, slightly.  or at least what it represented - old school uptown.

i like to order fancy pants drinks when dining out.  i have no idea why, i rarely like them.  the recipe tasted like equal parts rum and limoncello (yum, rum!  reminds me of johnny depp - another yum for gypsy pirates!  i will write another blog someday about limoncello and maybe even lemons, i adore them so).  there was plenty of mint but the pieces looked whole and i prefer my pieces in pieces.  it was garnished with a sugar cane stick and kris decided that meant there was no simple syrup, which made sense because i didn't taste any.  there was probably a splash of soda but you couldn't tell.  being one never to complain when my drink tastes like pure alcohol, i shook and stirred the contents wishing warmth to the glass to melt the ice.  when that didn't work and i felt drunk after half my pint, i dumped my water over the top and fixed the drink.  all in all, it gave me an idea:  limoncello mojitos at my house for all my friends!  are you there limoncello?  it's me, charlotte.

were we supposed to get bread?  we didn't. the table next to us had bread.  

dear italian restaurants, 

you must always serve bread.  always.  capiche?  

thank you, 

charlotte

***

dear other restaurants, 

you don't have to.

you're welcome, 
charlotte

i detest having to ask for water.  i know, i know, conservation, i know.  i agree with that but often times when i dine out, i feel like if i ask for one more thing, my server might kick me.  why can't you just offer?  i wouldn't even be offended if they said, "would you like a glass of water?  i'll bring you one but you have to promise to drink the whole thing and eat all of the ice cubes."  i never know if i have to ask for water or not.  in hawaii, i knew, but i don't know here.  so, i wait.  i wait a really long time to see if they will bring it or not because i don't want to annoy someone that has every intention of bringing it when it's supposed to be brought.  or why can't they just tell me, "water is served on request".  they could give me a choice of bottled water so i have an opportunity to tell them that iced is fine, unless they have san pellegrino aranciata, then i'll take that!  and if they are going to bring it automatically at some point, they could definitely say, "water is on the way" or some variation using their own words.

i devoured three pieces of leftover pizza bianca this morning.  it was yummy.  but last night, the crust was so chewy it gave me a headache.  my aching head stole the thunder from the sweet onions, pancetta and fresh thyme.  i wanted to like it, i really did, but it hurt me to eat it.  "ouch.... ouch..... ouch......" i thought, as i tried to get through my second and last piece.  kris ate three pieces.  usually, he eats a whole pizza.  i kept thinking about punch pizza.  i LOVE everything about punch pizza.

sitting on top of the pizza box in the fridge was a chinese to go container filled with linguini con vongole.  this in itself bothered me.  isn't that dumb?  it totally shouldn't bother me.  i love those boxes.  i think they are especially cute for gifts and baked goods.  had this been an eclectic, non-themed restaurant or asian, i would not have noticed the box.

i have had vongole pasta many times, many places.  it's always different, just like bolognese, just like carbonara, just like fried rice.  and that's the beauty of dining out.  i have never not liked it before.  it sits in my refrigerator now, waiting for one of the people that live here to fix it.  it came to us with flat clamminess - no bright lemon, garlic, anchovy, white wine, olive oil, parsley or crushed red pepper flakes, much less any creative ingredients.  my 11-year-old daughter's pasta recipes have more complexity than this one.  this dish made me feel like a fool for ordering it.  

fish and chips:  i ordered it, i'm guilty.  it sounded good!  and the fish was good but i was not aware that this is italian fare.  is it?  ok, i just googled it and learned about the first fish and chips in ireland being sold by an italian immigrant.  i see.  anywho, the fish was pleasing - super white, super flaky, a batter than was not too thick and not too light.  the tartar sauce was no palomino recipe with artichoke hearts and capers but it was a simple kind of good.  what was that sweet marinara sauce?  a chutney?  just a marinara?  idk but with a heavy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, i thought it was a tasty treat.  the pecorino fries really lured me in.  had i not ordered the fish and chips, i'd have ordered just the fries.  and i'd have been disappointed, that's all i have to say about that.

you know what was my favorite part of il gatto?  marinated artichokes with mint served in a glass jar on a wooden board with some very rustic but buttery bread.  yay, bread!  kris said this tasted like toothpaste but i thought it was wonderful, the highlight of my visit.  for the record, he thinks everything with mint tastes like toothpaste.

it was at this time that i also tried to think of a name for "refreshing" to add to that category of tastes, like the guy that threw umami in there for savory joining salty, sour, spicy and sweet.  kris chuckled at me and debated "umami" for a second:  "charlotte, that means 'deliciousness' or some shit like that."  

"right."  i responded.  and now i want to add "refreshing" to describe palate cleansers - things like sorbet and mint.  and then i laughed a lot, "is that really what the japanese word means?!"  

i just looked that up too.  umami means "flavor" or "taste".  and it is exactly what that stupid clammy pasta was lacking, which could've been easily fixed with some melted anchovies, i'm not recommending msg or anything.

what's the japanese word for "palate cleanser"?

finally, we had dessert.  i am catching a cold and do not allow my house to eat sugar while we are sick so this was a point of contention for me and kris.  he just doesn't understand my addiction to sugar.  i would allow my cold to develop, it had already been decided.  i ordered the olive oil cake with blood oranges and ice cream.  it turned out to be a fancy name for strawberry shortcake.  i'm not sure my health was worth it.

and that was the end of my long awaited visit to one of minneapolis' newest dining destinations.

i'm sure i'll go back at some point, for some reason.  but i don't think kris will.