sustainable food

Mention Michael Pollan in a crowded room (or in an elevator, at the dinner table, at work, etc) and you get one of two reactions:

Reaction One: the person rolls their eyes, remembering Pollan as some sort of a "Food Nazi" from a TV interview he gave over the past year, probably one where he said you should only eat things your Great-Grandma would recognize. Or maybe one where he discussed "edible foodlike substances," which are, according to Michael, often disguised as real food.

Reaction Two: An "oh my God"-like gasp, followed by vigorous head-nodding, a sense of brother- (or sister-) hood, and an in-depth discussion of how they selected their CSA, the size of their garden, and what's growing there this year.

Although it's just over a year old, I finally had a chance to visit Northeast Minneapolis' Red Stag Supper Club. Sometime between the flatbread appetizer (local butter, farm raised pork, greens) and the special chocolate dessert (4 kinds of chocolate in the cake, house-made mint ice cream), Red Stag became my favorite restaurant in the city. Here's what came in between:

The French Meadow Cafe has long been one of Minneapolis' best stops for locally grown, organic food. Here's their "mission statement", from their website:

French Meadow Bakery & Café believes that meals prepared with the highest quality fresh, local & organic ingredients are the building blocks for a healthy & happy life.

An amazing bakery with a host of grocery store products to boot, the restaurant makes some of the best breakfasts in town. The pancakes (blueberry corn or strawberry almond) are a sure-fire hit, even with my kids, and my wife was especially liking the oatmeal last time we ate there, with apples, dried, fruit, and nuts.