Pip Pip hooray
Pip Hanson's emulsified olive oil cocktail caught the eye of I.W. when Marvel Bar first opened in August. Now, it appears the buzz has gone beyond the Twin Cities. Marvel got some love in the new issue of Imbibe, the country's liquid bible, as Hanson's Oliveto was named "Drink of the Week" on the magazine's website. Hanson described the cocktail's creative ingredients (which also include egg white) as giving the drink "a totally unique, silky meringue texture." Drink of the week? I.W. has had the pleasure of downing quite a few Olivetos. Around here it's known as "Drink of the Week," "Drink of the Weekend" and "Drink of the Week-After-Next."
- TOM HORGEN
Badger buddies
I.W. was arguing that "Breaking Bad" was superior to "Modern Family" during a segment Tuesday on Channel 5's "Twin Cities Live," when we were suddenly interrupted via Skype by a surprise guest: Steven Levitan, co-creator of "Modern Family." Turns out Levitan is close friends with fellow panelist and KSTP personality Rusty Gatenby. In fact, they were roommates at the University of Wisconsin and have been in each other's weddings. I.W. quickly tried to recover, lauding Levitan for maintaining such high quality in Season 3, but we couldn't escape at least one jab. Before the segment was over, we asked Levitan to tell us an embarrassing story about Gatenby from his college days. "That will be answered on 'Breaking Bad,'" Levitan said.
- NEAL JUSTIN
Exit stage left
Whose voice will welcome patrons to the Guthrie now that production stage manager Russell W. Johnson is no longer with the theater? Johnson -- whose recorded voice is, for the moment, still being played for escalator riders at the Big G -- became a former Guthrie employee late last week after a nearly-three-decade run in which he worked on some of its biggest productions. He had been stage-managing "Much Ado About Nothing." Johnson's abrupt departure has left the Twin Cities theater community perplexed and atwitter. Guthrie spokester Quinton Skinner said that as a matter of policy, the theater does not comment on personnel matters.
- ROHAN PRESTON
Graywolf in the hunt
The finalists for the National Book Award were announced this week, and, no surprise, Graywolf Press of Minneapolis was in the thick of things with Deborah Baker's "The Convert," a biography of a Jewish woman who converts to the Muslim faith. "Deborah was bold to take on the subject," Graywolf publisher Fiona McCrae told I.W. But competition will be stiff. There's another bold book among the nonfiction finalists -- a gorgeous biography of Pierre and Marie Curie told in a most unusual way. "Radioactive," by Lauren Redniss, is not quite a graphic novel, not quite a picture book, but something in between. It's well-researched and beautifully designed, with pictures and typography and a special font Redniss designed herself. And just think, there are another 19 finalists out there. An embarrassment of riches.
