Food Spotlight – Red’s Savoy Pizza
Last time I covered what I consider to be the best place to get a burger in the Twin Cities. I figured I’d stay within the junk food theme and turn my attention to pizza. Really, really amazing Pizza.
Enter Red’s Savoy Pizza in St. Paul. In recent years, this unique pizza joint has expanded into Uptown and other locations in the ‘burbs, but the original, and still the best, is an aged greasy spoon-style building downtown St. Paul The interior is something out of a 1950s diner…not the charming version with swirling colors and soda machine, more like a workman’s cafeteria that time forgot. It’s cramped, loud, and the smell of grease and cheese instantly reminds you that you’re about to make a delicious mistake.
I live just a few blocks from this pizza Mecca, so I rarely have cause to actually dine in. It takes them about 45 minutes to cook a pie on an average night, so calling ahead is the key to success. As far as I’m concerned, nothing else on the Red’s Savoy menu matters except for the pizza, and even that doesn’t matter unless you order your pie with American style bacon.
This isn’t cured meat that Canada is trying to pretend isn’t ham, this is breakfast bacon crumbled up and mixed into thick, tangy pizza sauce. On top of that, a generous layer of mozzarella cheese and big chunks of whatever topping you desire tops off a pie that 90% toppings, 10% crust. Perfect.
Red’s Savoy bakes that pizza until the cheese begins to turn golden brown along the edges. That longer bake ensures that everything stays together, which is especially important because they cut their pies into squares, not wedges. Take a look along the side of one of those squares and you’ll see that they don’t skimp on the toppings. You want pepperoni? Get ready for layers. You want sausage? Get ready for nickel-sized chunks. It’s all intensely flavorful, as greasy as it gets, and completely addicting. You’ll be visiting the fridge later that night for seconds, assuming you have any leftovers at all.
Food Spotlight – Shamrock’s / The Nook
This is the first in an ongoing feature where I highlight some of my favorite eateries in the Twin Cities. I don’t eat out very often because I like to cook at home and I try to be budget conscious, but I do have some go-to restaurants that I think deserve some attention. This definitely won’t be a comprehensive guide to Twin Cities dining (for that you’ll have to consult my good friend Nick), but I love these places and so should you.
So without further ado, I unveil Shamrock’s and/or The Nook!
The Nook is basically a historical landmark in St. Paul. I say that facetiously, but it’s definitely a beloved establishment that has occupied its little hole-in-the-wall location on Hamline for years. It’s cramped, busy, and loud at times, but it’s still probably the best place in the Twin Cities to get a burger. While they’re well-known for their stuffed-with-cheese heart-attack-on-a-place Nookie burgers, any menu item that involves a beef patty and a bun is absolutely incredible.
As far as I can tell their secondary location, Shamrock’s, has an identical menu with perhaps a few Irish-inspired additions. It’s a more spacious location (West 7th Street), and happens to be just minutes from where I live in St. Paul. I favor this location because the wait is shorter and the service is a bit less chaotic. It’s not the original, but sometimes newer is better. In any case, no matter which location I decide to visit, these are the places to go when you want a burger.
Which burger in particular? Well, that would have to the Triple B Bourbon Bacon Burger. You have a top quality half-pound slab of ground beef atop of thick slice of smoked cheddar cheese. Topping the beef are several strips of brown sugar bacon and their own bourbon barbeque sauce, all between a tasty not-too-bready burger bun. It’s a dynamite combination of salty and sweet, and placing the cheese beneath the patty is a real stroke of genius. Rather than that smoky savory flavor getting lost amongst the other toppings, it’s a star player in every bite.
Pair that with a nice Arnie Palmer (or a beer if you’re so inclined), and you have the perfect burger experience. The rest of the menu is very good and everything is very competently executed, but I almost never stray from the awesomeness that is the Triple B. This is perhaps not the best restaurant or menu option if you’re on a first date, but Abby and I are big fans of Shamrock’s and make it a point to eat there once every month or so.
Moment of Geek
I thought I’d take a break from the politics or politics-adjacent subject matter and mention my latest geek interest. I’m back in an MMORPG (for the uninitiated, that a massively multiplayer online role-playing game). This time, it’s Final Fantasy XIV. It’s a bit like World of Warcraft with deeper gameplay, better graphics, and fewer kids.
Unlike many games in this genre, FFXVI is a fairly casual experience. It’s geared around the idea of community and social interaction, rather than the frantic pursuit of experience points, levels, or gear. Although the learning curve is fairly steep and there are some really poorly designed features (ahem, Market Wards, ahem!), I’m enjoying the game so far. In addition to strong community elements, the game has a fairly engrossing storyline and memorable characters. The combat is fluid and dynamic, and the crafting is actually interesting and interactive.
There are a bevy of reviews on the web that decry FFXIV for some of its performance and user interface faults. Those are valid criticisms, but I think the game has a lot of potential and the developers are committed to addressing those faults very soon. The review sites also place little emphasis on elements I really enjoy. Along with a strong community, I love the ability to instantly change classes. It keeps the experience fresh and allows players to explore different gameplay styles without starting all over again.
Anyway, if you find yourself on FFXIV, a good buddy and I are on the Palamecia server, and my character name is Neven Dane. We have a guild called The Merchant’s Coin that centers around the crafting and gathering elements of the game. The group is very friendly and inviting to new players. See you in Eorzea!
Ignorance Abounds
I was at the polls promptly at 7AM yesterday morning. It was an orderly affair as usual, and I was able to register in my district (finally got around to updating my driver’s license earlier this year) and vote within 20 minutes. To better inform myself, I used Minnesota Public Radio‘s excellent resources to learn about my candidates. Armed with that knowledge, I filled in my bubbles with confidence and fed the machine my ballot.
As my good friend Nick pointed out, we live in a free society and are not required to serve in the military like most democratic nations. Voting is a privilege in this country, but it is also an important responsibility. Failure to vote, unless there are extenuating circumstances is inexcusable. Voting in ignorance, however, is also inexcusable.
A friend of mine posted on his Facebook wall that he overheard a coworker claim that she doesn’t vote because “it’s boring”. I heard an MPR interview with a lady who voted straight Democrat two years ago, and straight Republican this year. She was unemployed, back in school, and cannot afford healthcare. When asked whether a Democratic policy had contributed to her situation, she said no and that she “wanted to give the other guys a try”.
This level of willful ignorance is intolerable. I say willful because these individuals do not engage with the process in even the smallest measure. We have access to instant and unlimited information, and yet some of us still walk blindly through life, failing to see our place in the greater society and relying on the soundbites of agenda-motivated news organizations to inform our decision making.
The Red tide that is sweeping this country is largely the result of knee-jerk reactionary ignorance. The unemployed lady that fears for her financial situation and faces life without access to health care has helped pass the reigns to politicians who wish to make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, and to repeal an expansion of health care. To be fair, the Democrats are complicit in this societal regression. In a time of potential social change (gay marriage, legalizing marijuana, ending torture, etc.) our progressive leaders proved to be anything but.
Once again, we are stuck between a party of no ideas and a party of bad ideas. I have little doubt that the tide will turn again in two years, but at what cost? The new guard is even less likely to create jobs, protect the middle class, end our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, close Guantanamo, or repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell. I fear for what is happening to our nation, but I remain hopeful that at rock-bottom, our only possible trajectory is upward.
Rally – Day 3 (10/31/10)
I was curious all morning to see how attendance compared to Glenn Beck’s rally. Estimates suggest that between 200000-250000 were at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Amazing numbers, and it helps convince me that truly radical-America isn’t real America. We are.
I thought I’d wrap up my posts about the Rally by pasting in the transcript (thanks Wikipedia!) of Jon Stewart’s moment of sincerity, where he brought the Rally’s message home…
“So, uh, what exactly was this? I can’t control what people think this was: I can only tell you my intentions.
This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear–they are, and we do.
But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus, and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke.
The country’s 24-hour, political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the dangerous, unexpected flaming ants epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.
There are terrorists, and racists, and Stalinists, and theocrats, but those are titles that must be earned! You must have the resume! Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Party-ers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult–not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more.
The press is our immune system. If it overreacts to everything, we actually get sicker–and, perhaps, eczema. And yet… I feel good. Strangely, calmly, good. Because the image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. It is us, through a funhouse mirror–and not the good kind that makes you look slim in the waist, and maybe taller, but the kind where you have a giant forehead, and an ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin, and one eyeball.
So why would we work together? Why would you reach across the aisle, to a pumpkin-assed forehead eyeball monster? If the picture of us were true, of course our inability to solve problems would actually be quite sane and reasonable–why would you work with Marxists actively subverting our Constitution, and homophobes who see no one’s humanity but their own?
We hear every damned day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of catastrophe, torn by polarizing hate, and how it’s a shame that we can’t work together to get things done. The truth is, we do! We work together to get things done every damned day! The only place we don’t is here (in Washington) or on cable TV!
But Americans don’t live here, or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done–not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done.
Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, liberals or conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often something they do not want to do! But they do it. Impossible things, every day, that are only made possible through the little, reasonable compromises we all make.
(Points to video screen, showing video of cars in traffic.) Look on the screen. This is where we are, this is who we are. These cars. That’s a schoolteacher who probably think his taxes are too high, he’s going to work. There’s another car, a woman with two small kids, can’t really think about anything else right now… A lady’s in the NRA, loves Oprah. There’s another car, an investment banker, gay, also likes Oprah. Another car’s a Latino carpenter; another car, a fundamentalist vacuum salesman. Atheist obstetrician. Mormon Jay-Z fan.
But this is us. Every one of the cars that you see is filled with individuals of strong belief, and principles they hold dear–often principles and beliefs in direct opposition to their fellow travelers’. And yet, these millions of cars must somehow find a way to squeeze, one by one, into a mile-long, 30-foot-wide tunnel, carved underneath a mighty river.
And they do it, concession by concession: you go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. ‘Oh my God–is that an NRA sticker on your car?’ ‘Is that an Obama sticker on your car?’ It’s okay–you go, then I go.
And sure, at some point, there will be a selfish jerk who zips up the shoulder, and cuts in at the last minute. But that individual is rare, and he is scorned, and he is not hired as an analyst!
Because we know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is there will always be darkness, and sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the promised land.
Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey.”
We fly back home today. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t stay longer to take in some of the sites. Abby’s been to DC before, but this is my first time and I would love to do the tourist thing just for a day so I could see all these historical sites. I’m sure we’ll be back sometime, so I’m not too worried. I have a whole lot of sifting through pictures to do when I get back. Even though we were too far from the stage to capture a lot of what was happening there, we got some great pics of the crowd and their signs. There’s a huge photo dump on the web that’s accessible through the app (probably through Comedy Central’s site as well) so I’ll be able to see some great shots from the people up front.
Rally – Day 2 (10/30/10)
[7:00AM]
Although the permit for the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear is for 60000 attendees, I’m a firm believer that this event will surprise everyone. It’s just as Jon has been saying, while the public conversation is dominated by the ignorant 15-20%, there’s a much larger percentage that has been screaming for a voice. That sentiment brought me here all the way from Minnesota, and will bring many many others.
It might be too optimistic to hope for the “million moderate march” that Jon joked about when he announced the Rally, I’m assuming hundreds of thousands and so we’re up at 7AM getting ready to take the 8AM Metro shuttle. Another 30 minutes on the train should get us within the few blocks of the National Mall. I’ll update this post as the event progresses.
[8:30AM]
The National Mall is buzzing! There are so many people gathered here already, and more are pouring in all the time. I really hope that the crowd reaches all the way back to the Washington monument…that would make a great aerial shot for the very news outlets this Rally is designed to shame.
It’s pretty damn cold out here right now. The temps are supposed to reach into the 60s, but that won’t be until this afternoon. Right now it’s in the 40s, though the sunshine definitely helps. Still, I’d rather be here five hours early and in middle of this thing than wait until it warms up and be a mile away from the stage. Besides, there are a bunch of jumbotrons and speaker systems flanking the National Mall, so we should be okay.
I’m really getting excited. What I immediately notice is that the crowd seems to be so nice and respectful so far. We’re all finding our space, and any accidental bump I get as someone passes generates an apology. There’s something to be said about an audience full of literate and engaged individuals. No one is getting their head caved in during the Rally, I can guarantee that.
I’m taking lots of pictures of the crowd just so I can get a sense of the number of people out to support this great message. Some people came in costume, either to celebrate Halloween a bit early, or to make a point about one issue or another. I walked past three guys in stereotypical Mexican gear (sombreros, ponchos, etc.) and they were shouting about taking all of our jobs. Really funny stuff!
They’re playing clips from the Daily Show and Colbert Report. Basically, they cut together all their back-and-forths as they teased the announcement and then finally announced it. I love how much Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert crack each other up…man I’d love to have dinner with those guys sometimes. Those two, plus Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant, and I could probably die happy.
The atmosphere at the Rally is really great so far. We have about an hour to go, but people seem excited for what I hope proves to be a historic moment. I know Jon and Stephen are entertainers/comedians first and foremost, but satire has always been society’s way of looking at itself in the mirror. We’re certainly not going to get anything meaningful from the new media or real political pundits. More later…
[5:30PM]
Abby and I are back at the hotel getting ready to go out for Halloween. The Rally ended a couple hours ago, and already Fox News has its head up its ass trying to discredit the scale of the event. Jon Stewart is a comedian, they’re trying to be political, blah blah blah.
Let me tell you the truth, the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was an amazing cultural phenomenon. It was not politically motivated in the slightest. No one mentioned any candidates, ideologies, parties, Fox News…nothing like that happened, no matter what the 24 hour fear machine wants the public to believe. The first two-and-a-half hours was a collection of music acts and comedy sketches. The comedy stuff was fine; standard fare for the Daily Show/Colbert Report (though any banter between the two hosts is always charming). The music, though, was completely amazing!
The Roots, John Legend, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Yusuf (Cat Stevens), Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples, Ozzy Osbourne, the O’Jays, Tony Bennett, and 4troops…tell me that isn’t an awesome show right there. I couldn’t believe that so many tremendous acts came out in support of the Rally. It was such an amazing and diverse set of performers; it really was something for everyone, and the crowd was eating it up. I was really touched at how humble and thankful Jon and Stephen were to these music legends for supporting them.
I couldn’t believe that the Mythbusters (Jaime Hyneman and Adam Savage) showed up as well. They were having fun with the crowd, seeing how long it would for such a huge crowd to do the wave, or how loud it would be if everyone jumped at the same time. It was silly and probably went on a bit too long, but still, the freakin’ Mythbusters!
The medal ceremony was also amazing. When Stephen Colbert called out the news networks (and NPR) for preventing their staff from attending the Rally, then gave a seven year-old girl the medal because she showed more bravery than them, I couldn’t stop laughing. I love how, even in character, Colbert can still bust out a fantastic zinger. You have to give their writers tremendous credit.
At the end of the event, Jon took about 15 minutes to get serious and address the underlying issues that inspired the Rally in the first place. As much as I enjoyed the music and entertainment, this was the meat I was waiting for. Jon spoke thoughtfully and intelligently, and really echoed my feelings about our civil responsibility and that the failures in our society are the result of ignorance and really only exist in the vocal 15%, the news media that perpetuates their thoughtlessness, and our cowardly congresspeople that fail to lead on a daily basis.
I am thrilled that I was a part of the Rally and I genuinely hope that the attendance and the message helps turn this around. Like Jon Stewart said, “these are hard time, not end times”. Here here, Mr. Stewart!
Rally – Day 1 (10/29/10)
Abby and I just arrived in DC. I’m getting the impression that the Rally to Restore Sanity is going to pull some big numbers. The flight was packed, and a good number of people around us were talking about Stewart and Colbert. It’s nice to be surrounded by like-minded individuals, even if some of them were too damn chatty. I’m not a plane-talker.
Our hotel picked us up from the Metro station…pretty nice service for what is pretty much a glorified motel. The driver, Suresh, seemed to think that the Rally would beat Glenn Beck’s event by a good margin. About 70% of the hotel is booked by Rally-goers, which beats Beck’s numbers, and the weather is perfect. It should be about 65 all weekend and clear skies.
Sounds like a great recipe for lots of sanity! For today, Abs and I are going to hunt down some lunch (Five Guys, right across the steert!) and then meet some her friends for dinner. She studied abroad in South Africa with these ladies, so this is a big reunion for her.
Road to the Rally to Restore Sanity
I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report religiously. Our current political and cultural climate is poison. We have extremism, racism, xenophobia, and irrational fear dominating the public discourse. So maintain my own sanity as a centrist socially progressive individual, I’m thankful that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert can provide some rational perspective.
So when the Rally to Restore Sanity (and the March to Keep Fear Alive) was announced, I felt a strong need to participate. Abby and I are saving for our wedding, but we’re gladly paying for airfare and hotel so that we can be a part of an important message. Honestly, I don’t see this as a political rally at all. I don’t expect to hear political slogans that come out in favor of one candidate or another. That’s not just a PR decision, that’s a genuine will on the part of the Daily Show/Colbert Report writers to rise above the din and address the soul of our nation, not necessarily its leadership.
Should a commitment to sane rationality inform the decisions we make at the polls on November 2? Absolutely. We can choose to put our country in the hands of politically motivated blowhards, or we can elect real leaders. Spoiler alert: that ain’t the Tea Party. Vote with your head. Despite what the media tells us, our leaders shouldn’t be people we’d feel comfortable having a beer with. I want to be inspired by the intelligence and charisma of my leaders at all levels of government. That’s something campaign dollars can’t buy. Anyway, that’s all the soap-boxing I’m going to do at the moment.
So all that said, Abby and I will be at attendance at the Rally to Restore Sanity. I hope to write a few blogs and tweet from DC so that my friends can experience the event from afar. I think the media will be surprised how many Americans are tired of the fear-mongering and hatred that has gripped us since 9/11.
Welcome to CONFLICTOR!
If you’ve found this blog, you either already know me or have finally located the last page on the internet. Congratulations, this is the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow…or it’s just a series of random observations and some bad inside jokes. You decide.
By way of introduction, my name is Arthur. I’m almost 30 (woo!) and spend my days in corporate America doing marketing for a Fortune 500 (double woo!). I’m engaged to a beautiful girl, play amateur hockey with a lot of mediocrity, and geek out about gadgets, language, politics, games, sci-fi, music, and food. I’m sure all these disparate interests will make appearances in upcoming posts.
So what does “conflictor” mean? That part’s pretty simple. Conflictor is Latin for “to engage”. I’ll be using this opportunity to post ideas that I find engaging, and also topics that I wish to engage with.
I’m using this blog as a mind-dump for myself, but I expect it will evolve into something a bit more focused down the road. But congratulations, you’re on the ground floor…
CONFLICTOR 
