The Definitive Minnesota Holiday Playlist

by doitinnorth | Dec 20, 2019 | people/passions

Minnesota has a storied history of producing timeless seasonal tunes, with classics from the Andrews Sisters, Judy Garland, and Prince of course. Here are the holiday hits and lesser-known local gems to play if you get passed the aux cord this year.

by Peter Diamond

Photo by Brian Shuel/Redferns

Bob Dylan performing at the Singers Club Christmas party on his first visit to Britain, December 22, 1962.

Judy Garland, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Written for the 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis, Judy Garland’s tender voice comforting little Tootie solidified the song as an instant classic.

Lizzo, “Never Felt Like Christmas”

“I’ve always loved Christmas music. Working in retail deferred my love for it, but time heals all wounds,” a pre-global Lizzo said about her 2015 Christmas anthem. “Ricky Reed and I really enjoyed ourselves in the studio trying to reimagine the modern-day Christmas love story. Not everybody’s in the Christmas spirit these days, but love can give even the biggest Scrooge a little holiday cheer.”

Low, Christmas

Low’s Christmas EP is seven solid tracks comprised of holiday standards and originals.

Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart

It took Bobby D until 2009 to record an album of Christmas songs, his thirty-fourth studio record, but he still manages to hit all the holiday high notes.

Prince, “Another Lonely Christmas”

Released as a B-side to the “I Would Die 4 U” single, “Another Lonely Christmas” is the only holiday song Prince ever released, and he performed it live just once on December 26 at the St. Paul Civic Center Arena in 1984.

Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”

Before John Legend and Kelly Clarkson rewrote “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” local crooners Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski made the duet less predatory for the #MeToo era.

The Andrews Sisters with Bing Crosby

The Minneapolis-born Andrews Sisters recorded dozens of Christmas songs both with and without Bing Crosby that have stood the test of time, giving you hours of boogie-woogie potential.

Mark Mallman and Lazerbeak, “Peace on Earth”

“I believe in peace on Earth, a day where nobody gets hurt,” Mark Mallman sings on the heavenly “Peace on Earth.”

J.S. Ondara, “Mother Christmas”

“Oh I want my mother here for Christmas,” J.S. Ondara sings as his ode to the spirit of the holiday invokes maternal love.

Tom Waits, “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis”

Released on the 1978 album Blue Valentine, legend has it that Tom Waits, walking through Minneapolis dressed in “just a bra and a slip and a kind of dead squirrel around my neck,” was inspired to write the song after getting caught in a “pimp war” in the street during subzero temperatures

Hüsker Dü, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

Hüsker Dü’s ramshackled version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” sounds straight out of the garage.

Bob Mould and Craig Kilborn, “Little Drummer Boy”

Bob Mould paid a visit to Craig Kilborn on a 1996 Christmas special of The Daily Show to duet some pa-rum-pum-pum-pums. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

The Trashmen, “Dancing With Santa”

The 1950s band The Trashmen used their surf-rock vibe to make holiday cheer seemingly more groovy on “Dancing With Santa.”

Alexander O’Neal, “Our First Christmas”

Here for the icy 80s synths and “I walked into the mall and saw ya / doing your Christmas shopping.”

The Hold Steady, “Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You“

Led by the Edina-raised Craig Finn, the indie-rock band took on this Billy Squier tune from 1981.

Trip Shakespeare, “Snow Days”

Trip Shakespeare, formed in the ’80s, included Dan Wilson and John Munson before they went on to create Semisonic. The New Standards play the song at their holiday show every year. The booming singalong chorus (“It’s coming down!”), has the words us office-bound Minnesotans all want to hear in the middle of a storm: “Go home and take a snow day!”

Sounds of Blackness, “Soul Holidays”

Your heart will grow three times as big with Sounds of Blackness’s irresistibly warm “Soul Holidays.”

The Replacements, “Beer for Breakfast”

“I am dreaming of a white Christmas,” the Mats’ frontman Paul Westerberg sings on this rare B-side. “All I want to do is drink beer for breakfast.” Gross, but okay!

Atmosphere, “If I Was Santa Claus”

Socially-conscious hip hop duo Atmosphere make it a point to talk about the hypocrisy of commercialized festivities on “If I Was Santa Claus” from the album Lucy Ford, capturing the true spirit of the giving season.

Now, Now, “Lonely Christmas”

The pop band Now, Now make a modern Christmas love story in “Lonely Christmas,” with pluckish synths emulating a strobe-lit miracle. “I’ll do anything baby to make you believe,” vocalist Cacie Dalager sings. “Baby, I don’t want no presents I just need your love.”

“How the Grouch Stole Christmas” feat. Brother Ali

Minneapolis rapper Brother Ali is featured on this Christmas-rap cypher from a 2010 winter tour.

The Jets, Christmas with The Jets

Seek refuge in The Jets’ “Christmas in My Heart,” a slowed-down anthem off their Christmas album that sounds housed within a snow globe.

Information Society, “Xmas at Our House” / “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”

If your holiday traditions are decidedly new age, Information Society’s industrial take on two Christmas classics will be right up your alley.

Mint Condition, Healing Season

Released in 2015, Mint Condition’s ninth record and first Christmas album earned them a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.

Faux Jean, “My Gift for You”

Peak early-aughts group Faux Jean spread the love with “My Gift for You.”

The New Standards Holiday Show

A Twin Cities tradition, each year the jazz trio The New Standards perform a vibrant and eclectic holiday show that will make you leave feeling as enthusiatic as Buddy the Elf.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Boogie Woogie Christmas

The ’50s are alive with rockabilly guitarist Brian Setzer.

Matthew Compton, Josiah Steinbrick, and Har Mar Superstar, “All I Want for Christmas is You”

The Mariah Carey power ballad finally hit number one on the charts, but before that happened, Har Mar gave us a sincere rendition.

Limited Warranty, “Santa Claus Is Missing Christmas”

The pop-rock band Limited Warranty was one of many Minneapolis acts to break out in the ’80s.

Bad Bad Hats, “Last Christmas”

The local trio take on Wham’s forlorn hit that defines the winter blues.

Bonus: Weird Al once parodied Soul Asylum’s “Black Gold” with “The Night Santa Went Crazy.”

Where to eat in the Cities (beyond your family’s table) this Christmas

by doitinnorth | Dec 20, 2019 | eat/drink

Tullibee (in the Hewing Hotel) almost kinda has a Yule log. rau+barber

Sure, it’s the season of roasting beasts and gathering ’round the Yule logs, but… what if you skipped it this year? We live in a glorious urban metropolis filled with professionals who’ve sharpened their blades just for the chance to make merry for you. Below you’ll find a round-up of places where the halls come pre-decked. You might even be treated to chestnuts and Christmas puddings (if you’ve been good this year).

Giulia at the Emery — merry and bright. Giulia / Instagram

Giulia’s chef Josh Hedquist is taking on the the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a classic Italian holiday tradition. Enjoy a different seafood special each day the week of Christmas beginning Monday, December 23 through Sunday, December 29. Nightly wine pairings will be available for a little bit of an additional splurge.

Monello is preparing a three-course dinner that includes a special, take-home holiday bread. They’ll serve a salad of baby lettuce with apple, fennel, cranberries, and walnuts to start, then either roasted beef ribeye or honey glazed ham with au gratin potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and maple glazed carrots. Before going on your merry way, you’ll choose between buche de Noel or a New York-style cheesecake. ($50 per person, $24 for children)

FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar at MOA will offer a prime rib Christmas dinner including a prix-fixe menu of three courses. The feast begins with popovers served with maple butter and an apple and pomegranate salad with manchego cheese and passion fruit vinaigrette as a warmup to the main entrée of spit roasted prime rib au jus with hand-carved Minnesota beef, freshly grated horseradish sauce, and roasted, tri-color baby potatoes. For dessert, diners can savor FireLake’s Dutch apple pie with locally harvested apples and Sebastian Joe’s peppermint ice cream as well as Christmas chocolate rum truffles for a sweet midnight snack. ($48.95 per adult, $18.95 for children)

Perfect Pair for The Holidays, at Oceanaire Photo Courtesy of Landry’s Inc.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room has holiday specials beginning Christmas Eve and extending through New Year’s Day, featuring some of the Cities’ freshest seafood, flown in daily. From December 26 through 30, diners may enjoy the Perfect Pair for the Holidays menu, which features a six-ounce filet mignon and a cold-water lobster tail for $49. The meal can be paired with a bottle of Clos Du Val Pinot Noir, Carneros for $59. Through New Year’s Day, the Oceanaire is offering a specialty seasonal drink called Santa’s Cider, involving a mix of Grey Goose vodka, elderflower liqueur, Benedictine, Monin cookie butter syrup, Martinelli’s unfiltered apple juice, and a lemon juice, grated nutmeg, and orange garnish.

Tullibee’s chef Nick Flynn is preparing a prix-fixe menu special for Christmas to supplement the restaurant’s regular offerings. On it, guests will find everything form bread and kale and apple salads to parsnip and chestnut soup, duck ragout, slow roasted lamb, salmon adorned with sweet and sour cabbage and beets, and a Chocolate Yule Log dressed with creme fraiche and meringue to finish.

Kincaid’s Fish, Chop, & Steakhouse is offering a decadent holiday menu with smaller options like oysters on the half shell served with a bloody mary cocktail sauce and mignonette, or a warm brie with a macadamia nut crust accompanied by orange-blossom honey, sliced apples, a balsamic reduction, and fruit compote. Mains include an eight-ounce American Wagyu sirloin aged for 40 days served with crispy green onion potato cakes, roasted green and cannellini beans, slivered almonds, a 10-year aged balsamic vinegar, mustard aioli, and cabernet demi-glace, or a bone-in beef short rib Surf n’ Turf special that’s been braised in apple cider, accompanied by garlic-roasted jumbo prawns, a celery root and parsnip puree, a jicama and pickled apple coleslaw, and micro greens. Open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Call for hours and the full holiday menu.

by Sarah Brumble in Food & Drink

citypages.com

Textile Center’s 2019 Holiday Gallery Shop created by 100+ artists! – Minneapolis, MN

by doitinnorth | Dec 20, 2019 | shop/share

Doily by Wendy Richardson, Mittens by Julie Steller, and Succulent by Marlene Gaige.

At a time when protecting the earth’s natural resources, eco systems, climate, and atmosphere for the next generation is top of mind, Textile Center’s 2019 Holiday Gallery Shop features earth-friendly fiber gifts that you can feel good about giving. The assortment features an abundance of eco-friendly merchandise, ranging from sustainable, organic, or local fibers; naturally or over-dyed textiles; repurposed materials, upcycled fashions, and even items to help one live a more sustainable life.

The 2019 featured artist, Wendy Richardson, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, showcases hand-dyed and embroidered vintage linens. She has made a career of being seduced by color, specializing in overdyed vintage textiles, accessories, apparel, and quilt fabrics. She will be featured among 100+ artists’ handcrafted work at this year’s Holiday Gallery Shop.

The Shop carries exquisite handmade fiber art, from wearables, to home décor and gifts, along with books, professional art supplies and tools, fiber craft kits, and other unique finds. For the holidays, Textile Center more than triples the Shop’s regular footprint, filling the galleries with even more fabulous one-of-a-kind fiber art, just in time for gift giving.

info@textilecentermn.org

Twin Cities 2019 Eater Award Winners – Minnesota

by doitinnorth | Dec 14, 2019 | eat/drink

The best restaurant, chef, and design of the year.

Today, we’re excited to announce the winners of the 2019 Eater Awards, celebrating the chefs and new restaurants that made a major impact on the dining scene this year. In each of Eater’s cities, including here in the Twin Cities, the local editorial staff chose finalists and ultimately a winner in each of three categories, taking into account nominations submitted by readers over a monthlong period. Restaurants had to have opened in the past year (including the last few months of 2018) to be eligible and must be located in Eater Twin Cities. Please join us in celebrating this year’s incredible group of winners. Without further ado, here they are.

Restaurant of the Year

Travail’s Minneapolis Residency

A wide white dish with an indentation in the center holds mussels with tourneyed potatoes and a small herb salad — Always expect the unexpected from this constantly evolving chef collective

When Travail took over the former Bradstreet Craftshouse location to host a few pop-ups while a new restaurant home was constructed in Robbinsdale, it seemed like a fun lark. Starting with the return of the momentously popular Umami, this restaurant became a sudden unmissable chameleon of tremendous dining experiences. Whether reliving the 90s greatest hits of Minneapolis fine dining, serving jamón from a chandelier or pressing whole poultry tableside, Travail’s residency on Hennepin Avenue became a consistently delightful happening. The bar is consistently busy, serving up small snack bites and an outstanding drink program that follows the kitchen’s lead to amp up every dining experience.

Travail’s James Winerg with Homage’s guest chef Doug Flicker, along with Travail’s Mike Brown and Bob Gerken

In the past year Travail not only served up the most interesting of dining experiences, ticketed events that progress through eras, cuisines, and the dining room, but also managed to keep pace with service reflecting each new iteration as the chefs would parade dishes to diners with occasion and care.

Now, sadly, the party is coming to an end, with just a few more dinners in Minneapolis before the talented team of chefs return to Robbinsdale. It’s been a sweet ride that has been unlike any other the city has seen before, or will taste again.

Chef of the Year

Justin Sutherland

From a star-making turn on Bravo’s Top Chef to opening restaurant after restaurant, chef Justin Sutherland was everywhere this year. From the small screen to moving into the leadership of the Madison Restaurant group it has been an incredible year for the St. Paul-based chef.

First, he was the absolute best reason to turn on the TV Thursday nights this winter with quotable quips like, “My body is probably about 60 percent bourbon, 20 percent pot and 40 percent fried food.”

Then there were the pop-ups with his new crew of Top Chef pals, followed by revamps at just about every restaurant he works with the Fitz, Public, Gray Duck, Ox Cart Arcade, Pearl & the Thief, and more. He also launched two new fast-casual concepts including a ramen and Japanese fried chicken stand, O Bachan that was the single best bite of fried chicken we encountered this year, and a concept primed for duplication.

A large piece of fried walleye in a basket with skinny little French fries — The walleye from the menu refresh at Gray Duck

Although, it’s not just the usual kitchen and celebrity turn that makes his rise and rule of 2019 so impressive. Sutherland has traveled the country and worked here at home to promote diversity in the kitchen, and share his experiences. He’s begun difficult and important conversations while also opening the door and welcoming in others to follow him.

2019 was the year of Justin Sutherland, but the most interesting this will be seeing what this brilliant and energized chef does next.

The dining room with large dark red booths and gothic walls — The unbelievable makeover at PS Steak

Design of the Year

PS Steak

It cannot be easy to take a restaurant dining room, that was once home to an icon of the city’s restaurant world, inside a historic building and make it feel entirely new without sacrificing elegance, ease, or charm. Yet that is exactly what the restaurant team from Jester Concepts with the help of Shea Design managed to do with the back room of PS Steak. What was once white, and ornately formal, is a deep, dark, masculine den built for massive cuts of meat, attentive service, and just begging for a giant red wine, or an expertly mixed cocktail.

Hard to believe this bar hasn’t always been here

The front bar area received a refresh from the restaurant’s last tenant inside the 510 Groveland address, but the most impressive transformation is the dining room. In addition to giant blood-red booths dark floors, walls, and ceiling, they build an entirely new bar that manages to feel like it’s always been there.

by Joy Summers @JoyEstelle

TWIN CITIES

Minnesota-Made Gifts

by doitinnorth | Dec 13, 2019 | shop/share

Handmade wooden toys at LarkToys in Kellogg

Minnesota-made gifts—from buttery leather moccasins and sturdy adventure gear to cozy coats and kitchen wares—draw on a love of the outdoors and a passion for great food and heritage to add taste, warmth, tradition and style to the holidays.

Here’s a sampling of North Star State standouts and where to find them:

CLOTHING & OUTDOOR GEAR

Duluth Pack, Canal Park / Lisa Meyers McClintick

Bemidji Woolen Mills stitch lumberjack-worthy coats, shirts, pants and hats in bold buffalo plaid, a tradition since 1920. Shoppers can also find blankets, hats, mittens and more at their downtown Bemidji store.

Canal Park’s Duluth Pack has been making its iconic waxed canvas canoe camping packs since 1882, with modern items from buffalo plaid totes to purple canvas purses—a nod to the Minnesota Vikings or dearly departed Prince. Machines hum through the upper floors of Duluth’s Frost River store in Lincoln Park, where it also crafts waxed canvas and leather goods such as growler bags, packs for fat tire bikes, backpacks and duffels.

On the cusp of Minnesota’s famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely shoppers can find locally made ribbon-trimmed anoraks and coats developed by dog sledders at Wintergreen Northern Wear and traditional moose hide boots at Steger Mukluks.

The leather gleams at Red Wing Shoes, a company that has built footwear for tradesmen and women for more than a century, and also appeals to style mavens and weekend adventurers with a full line of boots and shoes in downtown Red Wing. Red Wing Pottery fans and collectors also head to this city along the Mississippi River with wish lists in hand.

Itasca Leathergoods’ candy-aisle colors coax people into its stores in Crosslake and its factory outlet where they make the buttery moccasins, baby booties and wallets in St. George near Itasca State Park.

HOME GOODS & KITCHENWARE

Faribault Woolen Mill / Kirsten Alana

Famous for its invention of the Bundt pan, Nordic Ware’s St. Louis Park factory store has catered to bakers for 70 years with hundreds of molds, specialty pans and innovative kitchen wares that add flair to the holidays.

Winona-based JR Watkins, which started selling liniment and apothecary products in 1868, has sold vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon and other fragrant holiday spices for generations, along with aromatic natural cleaning products and lotions.

The looms at Faribault Woolen Mill have been weaving classic wool blankets since 1868, along with stadium-ready Pak-a-Robes, wearable blanket capes and even buffalo plaid placemats.

FOR THE KIDS

Kellogg’s Lark Toys offers its own line of handmade wooden toys, along with an expansive selection of imagination-sparking toys and games, nostalgic exhibits of toys from Christmases past, and the state’s most whimsical carousel.

Plush, fashionable and whimsical, Edina-based Oh Baby makes everything from crowns and wands to party dresses and masks for superheroes in training.

EDIBLE GIFTS

Tremblay’s Sweet Shop, Stillwater / Alma Guzman

Austin’s Spam Museum and gift shop lets guests stock up on all things dedicated to the spiced canned ham cult favorite, from lunchboxes and T-shirts to Spam Snuggies.

Looking for spirited hostess gifts? Check out regional distillers, craft brewers and vineyards that make holiday wines and beers, and small-batch spirits that draw on ancestors’ Old World heritage.

Add flavor twists to food and drinks with St. Paul’s Golden Fig spice and salt mixes, infused vinegars, and sugars infused with flavors such as cranberry orange.

For sweet stocking stuffers, longtime candy makers can help. Look for nostalgic Nut Goodies, Salted Nut Roll and Peppermint Patties from St. Paul’s Pearson Candy Co. or Minneapolis’ BT McElrath Chocolatier’s handcrafted Salty Dog, truffles and caramels.

More regional treats include crunchy caramel corn from Candyland in St. Paul and Stillwater; “chippers” (chocolate-covered potato chips) from Widman’s in Crookston; chocolate-covered hot air (sponge candy) and buttery brittle at Virginia’s Canelake’s Candies; pistachio bark, coconut brittle and handmade ribbon candy at Knife River’s Great Lakes Candy Kitchen; and fudge and nut rolls at Tremblay’s in Stillwater.

If you need a one-stop shop for Minnesota gifts, check out nostalgic Pillsbury, General Mills and kitchen-related gifts at Minneapolis’ Mill City Museum or a wealth of local products and books at St. Paul’s Minnesota History Center gift store, as well as other Minneapolis museum shops.

#ONLYINMN

By Lisa Meyers McClintick

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