I’ve been calling Saint Paul, “Saint Small,” for quite some time now because every once in a while I experience a situation that makes me think the entire city of Saint Paul is the size of Rice Park.

What started as a simple trip to find a wedding band started a whole new Saint Small episode.

Case in point, last Saturday my fiance and I went to R.F. Moeller Jewelers to  pick out my wedding band.   We found my band in about 10 minutes (I’m not the pickiest person in the world) and then we just mingled around while our friend Jamie rang it up.  With one eye on the Gopher basketball game I noticed another sales rep talking to a guy about putting something on his significant other’s (SO) wish list.  I thought to myself “that damned wishlist marketing technique” but I also remembered the guy’s face.

We left R.F. Moeller and while we stood on the corner waiting to cross the street, I noticed the same guy from the store across the street on the sidewalk with his SO.  I lost track of where they disappeared to but we decided to poke our heads into Patina and see what they had for unique gifts–it was our anniversary and I needed a little something to say “I love you.”  As I perused the uniquely laid out store, I saw the same guy from R.F. Moeller, now with his SO shopping in Patina.  I thought it was kinda weird but not too crazy as the stores are simply across the street from each other.  This all happened around 2:00pm.

Fast forward through the rest of the day and right up to our 7:30 pm diner reservation at the Strip Club.  Yes, I took my future wife to a Strip Club for our anniversary–a Strip Club that serves fantastic New York Strips and Shrimp Risotto.  We had a great little table for two upstairs and as we ordered our beverages, I looked down to check out the crowd and atmosphere below.  To my amazement, it was the same guy from R.F. Moeller and Patina with his SO sitting directly below us at the Strip Club.

All sorts of thoughts permeated my brain–were they secret service, a crazy ex-boyfriend of my fiance’s stalking us or just another victim of SSS–Saint Small Syndrome.

I wanted to go down and say something to them but I thought, what if this guy was buying an engagement ring for his SO at R.F. Moeller and I come along as the schmuck stranger and blow his whole night.  Definitely not cool.  So I

waited and contemplated and watched them from above.  They were very into each other, she had a ring on her left ring finger, and they seemed to be into their wine.  I figured I had to say something.  We finished up our dinner and decided we had to say something.

We walked down the cool spiral staircase in the Strip Club and approached them at the bar.  I said, “You don’t know us but we’ve seen you at R.F. Moeller, Patina and now here.  We’re staying at the Holiday Inn tonight for our anniversary and if you show up there, we’re calling the cops.”  They started to laugh and we had a good chat about SSS and how we were all victims that day.

We went to the Holiday Inn and they never showed–thank goodness.

It just goes to show you that even when you’re on the off beaten path, people–even complete strangers, can and will find you.

A new exhibit at the Goldstein Museum of Design

They are often the under-appreciated or overlooked when it comes to the glue that holds a well functioning office together but now, thanks to a new exhibit at the Goldstein Museum of Design, secretaries will get their day in the sun!

The exhibit, How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image, and Culture will run from February 6 through May 23, 2010 with an opening event on Friday, February 5 from 6-8pm.

The Goldstein Museum (364 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108)  is off the beaten path on the Saint Paul campus of  the University of Minnesota.

Some areas the exhibit will explore include:
•  During the 20th century women poured into offices all over the U.S. to work as “typewriter girls,” stenographers, and secretaries. New spaces, furnishings, and clothing emerged to meet their needs, while popular culture glamorized them
•  The exhibition explores transformations in the workplace and women’s lives and features office equipment, furniture, fashions, magazines, and much more
•  Co-curated by Midori Green (Ph.D. candidate, Art History) and Katherine Solomonson (Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Design) They mined archives from New York to Los Angeles, researched office design, and talked with scores of women who had been secretaries.
•  During the exhibition GMD will collect donations of gently used women’s office wear for Women Achieving New Directions
Related Programs

Along with the exhibit, there will also be a Curator’s Talk and a Coffee Break Series and information on that is below.

CURATOR’S TALK: SHAPING OFFICE CULTURE: SECRETARIES AND DESIGN, FROM “MISS REMINGTON” TO “MAD MEN”
Thursday, February 18, 6 PM, 33 McNeal
With exhibit curators Katherine Solomonson and Midori Green

COFFEE BREAK SERIES: THE OFFICE ON FILM
All films at 6:30 PM, 33 McNeal
April 20 Skyscraper Souls (1932)
April 21 The Best of Everything (1959)
April 22 Nine to Five (1980)

This exhibition and programs are supported in part by Friends of GMD, the College of Design, and the Fashion Group Foundation of Minneapolis/St.Paul, Inc. GMD funding provided in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private funders
Gallery Details

The Goldstein Museum Gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday 10am – 4pm, Thursday 10am – 8pm and weekends 1:30 - 4:30pm. The Gallery is closed Mondays and all University holidays. The Gallery is on the second floor 241 McNeal Hall.

It’s safe to say that international travel these days is overpriced and a pain in the butt.  However, what if you could experience the unique attributes of a foreign culture without airport security, Dramamine,  or that annoying, crying kid kicking the back of your seat.  Well, you can!

Landmark Center is ready to kick off its sixth season of the Urban Expedition series “Urban Expedition: Korea” on Sunday, February 7 from 1-3pm.  This opportunity for the entire family costs less than one checked piece of luggage on a flight–it’s FREE!
KATE THOMPSON | PROGRAMS & MARKETING ASSISTANT | (P):651-292-3063 | kthompson@landmarkcenter.org

Families can celebrate the Korean culture with traditional music, dance, food, arts and crafts without experiencing jet lag! Come and enjoy traditional Korean drumming performed by Shinparam, dance by the Mu Gung Hwa Dance Academy and a Taekwondo demonstration by Kukkiwon TKD Academy.

Kids and adults alike get a passport and enjoy authentic cultural experiences from around the world. The Urban Expedition program draws on the Twin Cities’ rich multi-cultural array of performers, artists, chefs, and other community members sharing their heritage with both their own community and Twin Cities’ community at large. Urban Expedition is made possible with support from Travelers Foundation.

In addition, Landmark Center has partnered with community organization, Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf, who will be hosting food drives at each of the Urban Expedition programs in order to benefit those members of our community in need.  You are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items.

Urban Expedition: Korea! is a part of the Sundays at Landmark event series sponsored by Minnesota Landmarks, the nonprofit programming and management agency for Landmark Center. Sundays at Landmark is sponsored by Travelers Foundation.  Landmark Center, owned and sponsored by Ramsey County, is located in downtown St. Paul at 75 West 5th Street, facing Rice Park, next to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and The Saint Paul Hotel.  Landmark Center is accessible to those with impaired mobility.  Parking is available on street and in nearby Macy’s, Lawson, Science Museum and RiverCentre Ramps. For more information call 651.292.3276 or visit www.landmarkcenter.org .

You’ve dealt with everything this holiday season from long lines at malls to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams to ice cold temperatures to putting on a smile for holiday gatherings at the in-laws.  You’ve held up your end of the bargain and now it’s time for you–time to put a smile on that face, kick back with a frosty cold one and say good bye holiday blues.  Now the only question is where should you do it?

Well, you’ve come to the right place.  Look no further for your list of holiday brews to cure your holiday blues!

Senor Wong’s in Lowertown might just be the place for you.  Located on Kellogg Blvd behind Kellogg Square Apartments, Senor Wong’s offers locally crafted beers and imported beers from Asia and South America.

Asian beers include Tsing Tao (China), Singha (Thailand), Tiger (Singapore) , Lion Stout (Sri Lanka), Asahi (Japan), Sapporo (Japan) , Hitachino Ginger Brew (Japan) and Hitachino Xh Sake Cask Quad (Japan).  Latin American beers Corona Extra - Mexico City, (Mexico), Brahma - (Rio De Janero, Brazil), Negra Modelo - (Mexico City, Mexico), Pacifico - (Sinaloa, Mexico), Tecate - (Los Cabos, Mexico).

If you’re looking for that trip around the world but can’t afford it after all that Christmas shopping, grab any of the beers above and sink into the Asian or Latin culture.

Across town at the corner of Selby and Fairview is the Blue Door Pub.  The “Blue Door,” as the locals call it, offers some great brews on tap including:  Surly Furious,  Lift Bridge’s Farm Girl, Summit Extra Pale Ale and Summit Oatmeal Stout.  Additional seasonal beers rotate through the Blue Door including, Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, Summit Winter Ale, Summit Scotch Ale, Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale and Widmer Brrr.  This shoe box of a restaurant offers great burgers to complement your frosty brew and a great neighborhood feel.

Back in the West end area of Saint Paul is the oldest bar in Minnesota known as The Spot Bar.  This bar is a major dive but one of those bars you grow to love and a staple of the neighborhood.  Mike O’Toole has owned the place for over 25 years and you can strike up a conversation with just about any of the regulars inside.  Beers on tap are pretty simple including Premium, Summit Extra Pale Ale, Leinenkugel’s, Michelob Golden Draft Light and Guinness but they are incredibly cheap.

On the east side is Saint Paul’s only Strip Club–get your mind out of the gutter, I wouldn’t send you to a REAL strip club to cure your holiday blues.  This is a meat and fish place, with a fun name and the bar is fantastic.  Tucked under the second floor balcony, the Strip Club bar has a smattering of beer options to choose from including the North Coast Pranqster Golden Ale on tap, a bunch of Budweiser, Miller and Coors products in the can,  some more sophisticated canned beers in Lion Imperial Lager, Tilburgs Dutch Brown, Scaldis Noel $12.50.  If you’re looking for something in a can, there are some unique choices such as the 11.2 oz Wittekerke or the 22 oz Sapporo.  The Strip Club also has what they refer to as large format beers including Avery Imperial IPA (22oz), La Chouffe Houblon (750ml) and Delerium Nocturnum (750ml)–the last two will run you $25 apiece.

Finally, if you want a little education with your beer, you may want to consider a tour at the Summit Brewing Company.  You can get a tour of the brewery over the holidays on Tuesday Dec 22 & 29 and Thursday Dec 31 at 1pm.  Call 651.224.BREW to get on that tour list.  Summit is Saint Paul’s largest functioning brewery located on Montreal Circle.  Get an inside look at how their brewery works from brewing to packaging to sending it out for purchase.  Taste their delicious brews after the tour.

So, I hope you have a chance to get out in Saint Paul to enjoy some brews to drowned those blues.  There are many unique places but remember drink responsibly and never drink and drive!  Happy Holidays.

If you’re like me you’re a sucker for a great magic show!  I love being completely dumbfounded while my brain asks my eyes if they believe what they just saw.  Did you know we have a theater in Saint Paul that regularly brings magic acts to town?  It’s the Jewel Theatre in the Twin Cities Magic & Costume store on West 7th Street.  Not only does this place have every kind of costume you could ever imagine, it has an upstairs theater for magic shows.

TCMC is not messing around either.  Their website boasts:

“We have Magic,  over 4,000 Rentals,  Makeup,  15,000 Wigs, Masks, Boas, Costumes, Novelties, Gloves, Hats, Rhinestone Jewelry and much, much more  ! ! ! !  15,000  items  for  sale!  THE ONLY COMPLEX OF ITS KIND ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT”

That write up alone was enough to get me there.  I mean with 15,000 wigs you could wear a different wig every day for 41 years!

So check this place out for costumes or for magic.  In fact, here is the next show:

Eric Anderson
Jewel Theatre
Monday, December 21, 2009
7:30pm–doors open at 7pm.

Who is Eric Anderson, you ask?  Well, he was a featured performer at the Atlanta Olympics and has performed for President Jimmy Carter.

Or as Stephan Marston, Sales & Marketing Director at an international publisher says, “I must admit that when I told some of my colleagues that I was going to fly this guy named Eric Anderson from Atlanta to London just to perform for a couple of hours at our cocktail party, they all thought I was crazy!  Now that they have seen you in action they all agree that it was worth every penny.”

Speaking of pennies, it’s $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.

No word yet if he’s planning to make subzero temperatures or bump to bumper commutes disappear.

I hope he does!

If you’re like me, you get a little claustrophobic at the mall or big box stores around the holidays with thousands of people clamoring for that perfect gift.  I mean look at what OSHA has spent their time on recently:

OSHA Tries to Prevent Holiday Shopping Trampling Deaths

Thursday November 19, 2009

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has issued new guidelines on how retail employers can prevent their employees and shoppers from being trampled to death - yes, trampled to death - during holiday season sales events. (continue reading…)

They say you should always stretch before any rigorous activity.  If you’re like me, eating on Thanksgiving is a rigorous activity so why not do some stomach stretching as you build your food tolerance toward November 26!

All the better, when you can stretch that stomach for a great cause.  If this sounds good, you should check out:

“A Taste of Thanksgiving”
Friday, November 13
7 - 10 p.m
Cretin-Derham Hall High School

Sample 20 wines, an assortment of appetizers, artisan cheeses, pastas, salads, desserts created by 8 local chefs.   Bid on 200+ silent auction items.  All proceeds fund the St. Joseph Worker Program, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.  This year, 12 workers are volunteering in 14 non-profit organizations bringing hope and help to 3,000 children, women and men in need.

Tickets are $40/person ($25 tax-deductible); $75 for two people ($45 tax-deductible). Register here– Registering online is recommended but there will be limited tickets available at the door!  This event is not for the lil ones, you must be 21 to attend!

Check out the chef video with Janan Juliff, Pastry Chef of The Cake Diva, talking about her buttermilk cake and giving tips about frosting a cake.

Questions:  call Kate Brady at 651-690-7058.

Great service and cheap food at Kelly's.

Saint Paul’s bar scene runs the gamut from complete dive like The Spot Bar to ritzy high end places like Barrio and everything in between.  One of those in between joints is Kelly’s Depot Bar located across the street from Union Depot.  This is a working man’s, neighborhood establishment.  You won’t find a fancy website for it but you will find some great reviews online!

Walk into this place and the decor will underwhelm you.  Decorations range from neon beer signs to old model cars to beer steins.  Grab a seat at the bar or at a table (high or low) a few feet from the bar.  The place is a shoebox so you better not mind being close to people.

The place has all the amenities you could ask for with four nice sized flat panel TVs, an electronic jukebox, pull tabs, Silver Strike Bowling arcade, pistachios, cashews and Hot Tamales for $.25 and an ATM.

The bar has eight beers on tap including Summit EPA and Fat Tire.  Drinks are cheap and free flowing.

If you think the above is good, I haven’t even gotten to the food yet.  Kelly’s kitchen is just an extension at the far end of the bar producing some of the best greasy spoon food around.  The soup is always homemade and delicious.  I had turkey vegetable wild rice when I visited and it hit the spot on a cold rainy day.  The menu is full of tasty sandwiches and salads.  My favorite is the bacon cheeseburger basket for $6.50.  The burgers are simply delicious!  They also have coneys–I recommend having two with fries for $6.   Stop in Wednesday for the spaghetti special and ask for Susie.  She waits the floor while sister Renee works the bar.  Susie just celebrated 25 years with the USPS and she is anything but postal.  Sweetest lady you’ll ever meet.

Save room for a bite sized homemade dessert.

My favorite feature is the tupperware full of homemade desserts that Susie brings over after the meal.  They are tasty and a staple at Kelly’s Depot.

Even the folks from Minneapolis like it evidenced by this online review from Michael M in Minneapolis:

“As an avid dive bar fan, I’m always on the hunt for a good hole in the wall.  I stopped in here back in April on recommendation from one of my friends that has an art studio down the block.  It’s a perfect place for an after-work beer or catching up with some friends.  The service was great and the prices were spectacular!  Also, how many dive bars have Fat Tire on tap these days?  After sitting there for about 3 hours with friends, we all ended up owing about $10 (which might have been a record.)

I stopped by here again after the Irish Fair again this weekend and had a similar experience.  The prices have gone up a little on the Fat Tire, but it was still a great time.  The jukebox was pumping various 90s tunes all night and the waitress was extremely attentive despite having a reasonably full set of tables.

If I lived in Saint Paul, I’d be a regular here.”

Come on down to Kelly’s Depot and formulate your own opinion on this fun spot.

241 E Kellogg Blvd
St Paul, MN 55101
(651) 298-0099

As Brett Favre piles up victory over victory for the Vikings and the new Gophers stadium, “The Bank,” piles up national accolades, there are several opportunities to take in football in the capital city on a crisp Saturday afternoon this fall.

Saint Paul is home to a slew of liberal arts colleges and many people have said, “We’re like Boston, without the snobs!”

Snobs or not many of these schools have football programs and beautiful venues to get away to on a Saturday for a few hours of gridiron fun with the family.  And unlike the football played in Minneapolis, the outings in Saint Paul won’t sack your wallet.

Check out a game for free at MAC this Season.

Macalester College, located at 1600 Grand Avenue, plays football in Macalester Stadium, built in 1965.  While the 4,000 seat stadium has seen its fair share of football, the field itself was renovated from grass to turf just a few years ago.   A trip to Macalester Stadium will cost you nothing at the gate–that’s right it’s free.  And while you won’t find Dome Dogs, you will find a Scot Dog reasonably priced at $2.  Another great perk is the aromas that waft over the field throughout the game from the nearby St. Clair Broiler.  It’s great marketing for one of Saint Paul’s finest diners and will likely draw you in for a post game meal or beverage.  Catch Macalester playing Martin Luther on 10/24 or Hamline on 11/7.

Just down the street is O’Shaughnessy Stadium at the University of St. Thomas which was built in 1947.  Tickets for a Tommie game will run you $7 for adults and $4 for children age 5-17–the wee ones are free!  Indulge in some sweet corn, or a frothy cup of hot cocoa on a brisk Saturday.  Old Tommie gear from various sports is usually being sold so if you’re an alum or just in need of some purple in your wardrobe, buy it here for cheap.  Talk about the game afterward at Tiff’s–a Tommie hang out just a few miles away on Ford Parkway.  The Tommies play Augsburg on 10/31 and Northwestern on 11/14.

Lastly, Concordia University boasts the newest football stadium experience in Saint Paul at Sea Foam Stadium.   This $14.5 million stadium holds 3,500 spectators.  You may wonder later in the season what the large marshmallow is off of Hamline and 94.  It is in fact a temporary dome that will cover the field and allow for temperature control usage in the cold winter months.  The Concordia Golden Bears play Wayne state on 10/31 and Bemidji State on 11/7 at Sea Foam Stadium.

So enjoy Favre this season as he leads the Vikings to victory and take in a Gopher game if you can, but when it comes to quality time with the family or friends for a small amount of ching, find your way to one of these stadiums above and see how football is played Saint Paul style.