floyderdog blog: MMCAP

I had to go to Minneapolis recently for a yearly pharmacy purchasing meeting (The Minnesota Multistate Contracting Alliance for Pharmacy). The meeting is run by a lot of really nice Minnesotans, which makes the meeting reasonably palatable despite the extermely dry subject matter. The other plus is that the Twin Cities have really become one of my favorite places to visit. I've gone the MMCAP meeting annually for five years. Plus, I often end up there once per year for a concert. I've got friends and family all over the place up there (cousins, Matt Wilson fanatics, friends from the University of Iowa, friends from MMCAP, etc.). It's gotten so that each trip ends up being stuffed to the gills.

I've gotten to know the area well enough. One thing I like is that the area is pretty easy to get around. It's not too big. There is decent public transportation (for my needs, anyway). There is great dining. There is great music and culture. It's mostly safe. I like the multicultural quality. To me, it really feels like they've found a way to make society work in way, for example, that Albuquerque or El Paso simply have not. The only thing I really don't like about the Twin Cities is the Vikings. I even enjoy the cold and snow, although to fair, I don't have to put up with it for 8 months/year like the locals do.

On this particular trip, I was able to meet up with my cousins Tracy, Herschel, and cousin-in-law Bill. We had a fine meal at the Red Sea Bar and Restaurant where I had big pile of east African vegetarian fare piled up on a plate made of thin bread. I don't know exactly what I ate, but it was tasty. The next night, I met up with a pharmacist friend from college, Laurie, who I had not seen in 20+ years. Our meeting came about through the magic of Facebook. A year ago, I had a similar meeting with and old college buddy, Mike, also through the magic if Facebook. All I can say is that people who were your friends from way back are still your friends many years later, even if you haven't had contact with each other for years. In each case, it really felt like I had just been hanging out with them just the other day. It was really cool. Also, Laurie turned me on to Black Sheep Pizza in Minneapolis, which was superb.

Over the years, I have become an aficionado of a peculiar kind of hamburger from Minneapolis called the "Jucy Lucy" (sic). There are two places that claim to have given birth to this concoction of two beef patties sealed around a center of American cheese. One is Matt's Bar. The other is 5-8 Club. Most sources claim that Matt's in the original. For this reason, I have always eaten at Matt's. However, there seems to be extensive, heated debate over whose Lucy is the best (go ahead and google it, if you're curious). For this reason, I went to the 5-8 Club this year in addition to my usual trip to Matt's. I have to declare Matt's the winner. Here are pictures of each:

This is the Juicy Lucy (sic) from the 5-8 Club. My primary issue with the 5-8's Lucy is the way the cheese melts in the center. Specifically, the cheese is kind of gloppy. It stays separated from the meat. Look carefully at this picture:

Now, for comparison's sake, take a look at the Lucy from Matt's. What you see is that the cheese at Matt's has mixed with the grease of the burger to create a super-tasty fat/cheese amalgamation. Yes, I know it is unhealthy. Look here carefully:

The second night that I hooked up with Tracy, she took me to her local curling club, where I finally got to see this peculiar Olympic sport in person. Tracy's been telling me about it for 100 years, or so. It's looks like great fun. It has the social qualities of being in a bowling league, which helps get you out of the house in the middle of the winter. I hate to say more, for fear of getting the details wrong, but it looks like shuffleboard on ice to me. It's pretty intense.

Here's another place that is rapidly becoming a required visit each time I end up in Minneapolis: Kramarczuk's, a deli that specializes in handmade eastern European food. It is super tasty.