arts and culture : Buzz

The Wall Street Journal highlights a standout Minneapolis home that was locally designed. It belongs to Kaywin Feldman, who leads the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and her husband, Jim Lutz. 

The house originated as a part of  the prefabricated “weeHouse” series designed by area architects Geoffrey Warner and Scott Ervin of Alchemy Architects, the story states.

The modern house has a boxy exterior and glass walls, while the couple’s art collection, midcentury furnishings, and library fill the space, the story reads.

About the white walls, which provide a neutral backdrop, Feldman says, "It's my world," adding, "Our museum is all white walls."

Reclaimed wood and renewable bamboo floors characterize the place, which has a treehouse feel.  

Besides being an attractive retreat, the home is energy-efficient and doesn't require too much in the way of upkeep, according to the story. 

According to a Scarborough Research report, Minneapolis is among the top microbrew-drinking cities in the country.
 
About seven percent of adults had a microbrew within the past 30 days, putting it at 10th in the nation, tied with five other cities, including San Diego, Tucson, Austin, and Hartford.
 
At the top of the list were Denver and Portland, which reported that 13 percent of their adult population had sampled a microbrew within the past month.
 
The report notes: "Microbrews, or craft beers, are a terrific example of how localism has become trendy." Brands would do well to capitalize on the consumer loyalty that comes with rooting for the home team, or visiting neighborhood hot spots, the research firm suggests.

The Washington Post recently featured the Minneapolis restaurant the Bachelor Farmer, in its lifestyle section.

Writer Tom Sietsema describes the Nordic-themed restaurant as “homespun and stylish.”

“Cheery blue-and-white awnings welcome diners to the sprawling corner property,” along with an underground cocktail lounge that’s known as the Marvel Bar, the story states.

“Asked to define Minnesota cooking, Eric Dayton says it revolves around the simple use of a few ingredients, preferably local. “There’s a humility to the cooking” in his state, he says. The description sums up my meal in his restaurant, where nothing shouted “Look at me!” but everything reveled in good taste, right through dessert.”  

The internationally touring 48 Hour Film Project, which gives filmmakers a deadline of two full days to put together a movie, included Minneapolis in its 125-city tour this year, KSTP reports. 

As a part of the project, filmmakers had to complete everything from the writing to the editing of a movie within 48 hours, the story states.   
 
Teams also had to work with certain genres and props and some scripted dialogue.

Standout work will be screened at the 48 Hour Film Project Filmapalooza in 2013.

More and more airports are sympathetic to those facing long layovers, and they're adding unique amenities to keep travelers entertained, a recent CNN story notes.
 
The article highlights an interactive touch-screen concept at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: Digiboo kiosks, where travelers can download digital versions of more than 500 movies to watch on their laptops or table computers.
 
The movies can be rented or purchased, and since they're digital, there's nothing to return, according to CNN.
 
Other airports highlighted in the story include Schiphol in Amsterdam, Hong Kong International Airport, Zurich Airport, and Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport.

Recently, Kevin VanDeraa, who owns Cupcake, a Minneapolis bakery, won the Food Network’s TV show competition, “Cupcake Champions," according to a Twin Cities Business Magazine story.

As such, he took home the $50,000 grand prize.

It was his desserts inspired by the "Yo Gabba Gabba!" children’s TV show that earned the top spot.

Minneapolis's La Belle Vie recently was named one of the top 25 bars in America by Men's Fitness Magazine.

La Bellie Vie is one of the Twin Cities' most award-winning restaurants, the story states.

Its executive chef, Tim McKee, is a 2009 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Midwest.

"Fittingly you can expect this posh eatery, outfitted with high ceilings and crystal chandeliers, boasts a meticulously chosen wine list, but don’t let an evening go by without sampling a drink from their French-influenced cocktail menu," the story reads.

The Parlez-Vous made with raspberry vodka, pineapple juice, cava, and topped with orange-passion fruit foam is a must-get, it says.

A recent Star Tribune story highlights University Grove, which it calls the state's "own mid-century architecture laboratory."

The New York Times has dubbed it "an architectural time capsule of modern America."

University Grove is a part of a new history crawl of sorts next month.

"University Grove, tucked into a corner next to the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, was sort of an early version of a planned community," the Star Tribune story states.

More recently, there's been rising interest in building from this time period.

 

The Twin Cities is already well known for its bike-friendly environment, and this week and weekend we're showing off that reputation.
 
As highlighted in Downtown Journal, the metro is hosting Bike Walk Week June 2 - 10, an annual cavalcade of events and activities promoting walking and bicycling. The week drew nearly 10,000 residents last year, and promoters expect a similar or better turnout this year.
 
One highly anticipated event is the Midtown Greenway Coalition's Greenway Glow, scheduled to start at 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 9th. The Greenway Glow features local food and beer, and a tour of Northern Spark art installations.  

Local sushi lovers, rejoice: one of the country's top new sushi restaurants is in Northeast Minneapolis.
 
Masu Sushi and Robata was recognized by gourmet magazine Bon Appetit, in its debut of the BA Top 10, a monthly roundup of the best new restaurants and bars nationwide.
 
The magazine highlighted the restaurant's silky scallop sashimi, as well as a Firecracker roll that's packed with shrimp tempura, snow crab, cucumber, avocado, and spicy tuna. Also notable is the "tasty bowl of ramen" on the menu.
 
Other new sushi spots on the list included restaurants in Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.

KSTP reports in a recent story that the state’s music scene is “experiencing a groundswell of national attention.”

The hip-hop collective Doomtree, which just got back from a national and European tour, is getting quite a bit of traction, the story states. (See this week's interview with Doomtree member Dessa here.)

Kevin Beacham, who is a marketing specialist at Fifth Element and Rhymesayers Entertainment, states in the story that Doomtree was a favorite at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, this time around.

"Last year their presence was strong, but this year they were everywhere. People from all over the world were packing these Doomtree shows to see Doomtree,” he says in the story.

The Pioneer Press reports that the food truck scene in the Twin Cities “shows no sign of petering out.”

It cites the Orange County Register, which used information from the Roaming Hunger website to assert that the fastest-growing food truck cities are Philadelphia, Raleigh, N.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

At this time, 2,300 gourmet food trucks and carts can be found across the country, it states.

Ross Resnick, who is behind Roaming Hunger, is quoted, saying, "We're adding over 150 trucks to the site every month.”







 

PBS’ Antiques Roadshow filmed three hour-long episodes in Minneapolis last July, which premiered on tpt this week.

Minnpost highlights some of the results of the show’s local visit, which will continue to air over the next two weeks.

“The show visits the American Swedish Institute to look at Mora clocks, the Wabasha Street Caves to talk about flashlights, and the World War II hangar of the Commemorative Air Force—Minnesota Wing, whose holdings include (who knew?) wartime Disney cartoons and memorabilia," it states.

One local woman finds out that her 1885 heirloom oil painting by Russian artist Franz Roubaud is highly valuable, thanks to the current Russian art market.

The upcoming May 14 episode includes appearances from Minnesota Supreme Court justice and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page, who collects black Americana objects.

The Walker Art Center magazine features a story about the “Art of Placemaking,” as it pertains to Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

“Despite its status as a major, historic thoroughfare in Minneapolis--or maybe because of it--Hennepin Avenue has for decades been regarded as a problematic, contested public space,” it reads.

A project called Plan-It Hennepin aims to change that, by turning it into a “lively, compelling cultural corridor,” the story says.

The story touches on the Walker’s perspective on the process, in which it’s a participant:  It quotes the Walker’s Olga Viso, who says, “Along with our partners in Plan-It Hennepin, we thought that the Walker could help lead a different conversation in terms of creativity and envisioning possibilities, by bringing artists’ voices into the process.”

This story dovetails with The Line's feature this week on Candy Chang.

Even with a somewhat improved economy, belts are still tightened when it comes to vacations and extra expenses. Fortunately for the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, we still have the ability to entertain visitors without risk of giving them sticker shock.
 
A recent study from Livability.com ranked the top 10 most affordable vacation cities in the country. The website took its database of 500 cities and narrowed them down based on factors like availability of discounts on local attractions and quantity of free activities.
 
The Minneapolis area was ranked second on the list, after Louisville, Kentucky. The editors noted: "Explore the City of Lakes and 180-plus area parks, where 81 miles of on-street and 85 miles of off-street trails showcase landscapes and historic neighborhoods."