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Hang on to summer a while longer with late night pizzas every Thursday through September (and maybe longer, weather permitting) at ZZest Market and Cafe, 1190 16th St. S.W., in Rochester.
Also, be sure not to miss the Smoke and Beers tasting event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Enjoy a four-course tasting from the smoker for $45 per person, paired with beer by the bucket at a discounted price. Charlie Bee will be on hand performing live music.
News from Culver's regarding the 55th Street restaurant, which was damaged by a car wreck earlier this summer:
CULVER’S OF ROCHESTER TO BE REMODELED
Restaurant operations will be affected
Culver’s restaurant, 3380 55TH St. NW, Rochester, will undergo extensive interior remodeling the week of August 28. The restaurant will be closed beginning Sunday, August 28 at 4:00 p.m. Only drive-thru service will be available beginning Tuesday, August 30 at 5:00 p.m. The entire restaurant is expected to be fully operational on Friday, September 2 at 4:00 p.m. The timeline is subject to weather and other construction factors.
The remodeling will provide Culver’s guests with a more upscale dining environment featuring more flexible and zoned seating, and warmer colors. The Rochester remodeling is part of a broader reimaging and modernization plan for other Culver’s restaurants. Look for changes at Culver’s on 28th Street coming in September.
Culver’s of Rochester on 55th Street opened in 1999.
The final stage of the Kemps Next Hometown Favorite Flavor Contest is underway and the top two flavors are ready for sampling.
Land of 10,000 Licks and Pubcorn and Peanuts are the final two flavors vying for the chance to be added to Kemps’ Hometown Favorites line-up and sold at grocery stores around Minnesota. Local residents dreamt up these flavors and now Minnesota State Fairgoers can vote on them at the Kemps booth.
Fairgoers can stop by the Kemps booth on Machinery Hill at 1 p.m. daily, taste the two final flavors and cast a vote for their favorite. At 1 p.m. Sept. 1, the grand prize winner will be chosen through a combination of fairgoer votes, online voting at www.kempsnextflavor.com and a celebrity judging panel at the fair. The judging panel will feature Kemps spokeswoman (and Joe Mauer’s mom) Teresa Mauer, Martha “Sweet Martha” Rossini Olson and the soon-to-be crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way.
2010 Frontenac Rosé wine from Indian Island Winery in Janesville won the Minnesota Governor's Cup trophy at the 2011 International Cold Climate Wine Competition, held Thursday at the University of Minnesota's Conference Center in Saint Paul.
The Minnesota Governor's Cup recognizes the "Best of Show" or top prize of all Minnesota gold-winning wines. This is third year the traveling trophy has been awarded.
This year's competition included more than 250 wines from commercial wineries in 12 states. Awards were based on blind tastings by 21 judges. Three-judge panels determined the initial awards, with the top-scoring Best of Show wines evaluated by seven-judge panels and all 21 judges for the Minnesota Governor's Cup award.
The ICCWC is a partnership between the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and the University of Minnesota, which developed several of the cold-hardy grapes used to make the wines in the competition.
...and what better way to celebrate than with a Banana Hammock? At least it sounds tasty...haven't tried this at home yet.
The recipe is courtesy of Sailor Jerry rum.
Banana Hammock
1.5 oz Sailor Jerry
.75 oz homemade banana syrup (1:1:1 ratio)
.75 fresh lime juice
Dash of angostura bitters
Shaken over ice. Strained into a coupe glass with spiced banana dusted rim
(Spiced banana dusted rim is sugar caramelized with homemade banana syrup and SJ)
My delicious research into the area's finest restaurants for shrimp continues, with the help of this reader.
Just read your article about the best shrimp in the area. You'd be missing the boat if you didn't tell your readers about Ralph & Mary's in Pepin, Wis., It's a bar, but they have the best batter-fried shrimp around.
Pat C., Lake City
I wouldn't want to miss the boat, so here you go. I'm a habitue of Pepin, thanks to the marina, the Pickle Factory and the Harbor View, so I need to broaden my horizons and check out Ralph & Mary's.
The Four Stars of shrimp will be harvested in the Tuesday, Aug. 30, edition.
A happy Four Stars customer commenting on The Port restaurant at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing:
I totally agree with your comment on The Port. They have fabulous food that I haven't found anywhere else, not just their KC Strip. And the Lava Cake is awesome....
It is one of my favorite places to eat when I visit the area.
Readers continue to offer tips on where to find the best shrimp in the area. I had a VM from a reader today who says the Elba House restaurant in Elba is a MUST -- says the batter-fried shrimp there is much better than at a popular restaurant in Rochester whose name I won't mention.
On that point, the whole purpose of Four Stars is to call attention to great food and avoid put-downs of area restaurants. The restaurant business is tough enough without the local newspaper piling on. But it's pretty easy to find four great places for shrimp, New York strips, apple pie or whatever.
Here's another reader comment:
The beer batter jump shrimp at Clarion Inn in Rochester is excellent. The shrimp are deep fried and cooked perfectly. Nice and simple, with a relacing atmospher.
And yes, if you do find a great place that sells cheesesteaks or even a good true deli pastrami sandwich, let me know.
In case you didn't catch it yesterday, here's a teaser version of the Four Stars Feedback column from yesterday...got a call from a reader this morning who says all you have to do is ask for the garlic prawns at Harbor View Cafe and they'll serve them up for you. I'm in!
The catch of the day is shrimp — I've netted a boatload of ideas from readers on where to go to find outstanding shrimp dishes in the eight-county area.
That's the Four Stars mission for this month, finding four can't-miss places for shrimp, whether as an appetizer, entree or (gulp!) dessert. Fortunately, no one came forward with a shrimp Jell-O salad, cookies or smoothie, but I've landed some good tips, including this one from a reader whose initials are V.S.:
"The only dish that I crave is the Shrimp Fra Diavolo at Pescara in Rochester. Being Italian, I appreciate a good red sauce and this sauce is so good that it tastes good on anything or alone...Pescara's Shrimp Fra Diavolo is by far the best-dressed shrimp in town."
Then there's the "remarkable price and the nice drive" that leads to to the Twin Bluff Cafe in Nelson, Wis., just across the river from Wabasha. Personally, I was hoping for a shrimp special at the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin this past weekend, but no luck — had to settle for an awesome tenderloin, instead.
Closer to home, I got a tip from a reader regarding the shrimp appetizer at The Restaurant, in the former Chardonnay house on Second Street Southwest in Rochester...I checked that out as well as the small plate of garlic shrimp at Nosh, overlooking the harbor in Lake City.
A few readers recommended the paella at Nosh and one other restaurant, but the shrimp would be just a role-player in paella or another seafood medley. Other readers recommended the Outback Steakhouse and its irresistible shrimp on the barbie.
Send me your tips and in the meantime, look for the next Four Stars column on Tuesday, Aug. 30, when I'll share the secrets of shrimp in the Rochester area.
News from Hardee's:
Hardee’s Double Loaded Omelet Biscuit is back, featuring a double-loaded omelet (with crumbled sausage, bacon, ham and cheddar cheese) stacked on a freshly baked, Made from Scratch biscuit. This breakfast comfort food is now available at participating Hardee’s locations in the Midwest (priced at $2.89 alone or $4.59 in a combo).
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