Stella's Fish Cafe in Uptown has slapped a highfalutin' pricetag on a rooftop patio seat: $100 -- minimum.

Caryn Goldberg is outraged. "I wanted to pass along my latest experience at Stella's," Goldberg e-mailed. "When we arrived for our 6 p.m. reservation, we requested a table on the upstairs patio. We were told there were 10 people ahead of us, but we could get a table right away inside. The hostess then added, rather cheerily, that if we wanted to pay $100 PER PERSON, we could get a patio table IMMEDIATELY. We left and ate at nearby Cowboy Slim's (on their outside patio, without paying a dime for the outdoor experience). I thought I would pass this outrageous item on to you, as I knew you would appreciate it."

Didn't feel like forking over $100, another member of Goldberg's party, Bette N., was asked? "No, no, no," Bette said, laughing. "I've been up on roofs before. It's not necessary."

While a caller's on hold waiting for Stella's event manager, Erin Mackley, to come to the phone, a recorded message gives the impression Stella's doesn't take itself too seriously. "It's a casual seafood joint" with the "elegance of a swamp" that serves, among other items, "sammages," aka "sandwiches."

Asked how much it costs to sit on the rooftops, Mackley said, "It depends on the day of the week, time of the year, as well as what time your group arrives."

How much to book a patio seat, saaaaay, Dec. 25? "Nothing," Mackley said with a laugh. How about Friday? "For like four to six people?" she said. "Then it would be $100 per person, food and beverage minimum, because we are so busy up there, it's kind of a business move. Usually, it's all just first-come, first-served. If you want a guaranteed table up there, we have a food and beverage minimum."

Mackley says she thinks other restaurants are doing this, too, but she couldn't name one.

That air must be rare without a whiff of fishiness up there.

At least Stella's rooftop customers won't have to look at diners at Cafeteria's Sky Bar, atop Calhoun Square, where they're not being charged for their bird's-eye view.

"So, 100 bucks?" said Sky Bar at Cafeteria's Phil Roberts, founder and chair of Parasole Holdings, which runs a bunch of restaurants -- but not Stella's. "They're good folks," he said of Stella's. "That's just their business model and probably works for them, but doesn't fit our culture."

The other day, Roberts said, he noticed a fence had been added at Stella's. "That's so silly. They put this [barrier], a sheet of white plastic you can't see through, across the south end of their patio so their guests couldn't see the rooftop at Cafeteria. So if you are sitting at Stella's rooftop and want to look at Cafeteria, it blocks your view."

Stella's staffer Bridget Ehrman-Solberg said the fence was installed because of construction dust coming from Sky Bar. "It was for dust, but it's also kind of nice for shade and stuff. We might leave it up," she said.

According to Roberts, the 200-seat Sky Bar is "really incredible and has a great vista of downtown." He laughed at the next question: "No, I'm not going to charge you $100. You can go up there, have a glass a water and some bread. You can have seconds, too."

Congrats to Eleanor and Greg Coleman, who just celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary.

Not many professional athletes have marriages that last this long. A former punter for the Vikings who now works as a sideline reporter for Vikings Radio Network, Greg said he'd "better be" someone whose marriage survives to the day of death-us-do-part.

That's because the Colemans run a "Marriage Education and Life Coaching Ministry." Greg, who can be reached at GColeman54@aol.com by those interested in strengthening their unions, stressed: "We are not counselors, but the marriage classes and seminar ministry is based on the Word of God. We're not perfect. We've found tools to keep us connected."

She is a certified life coach while he has been a pastor for a number of years.

"Good communications between each other is the key," Eleanor said. Greg knows that. While refining a detail in this item, Greg stopped and said he needed to run something by Eleanor: "That's how I've stayed married for 32 years."

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.