Let others gawk their way across the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Foxy Falafel has a great sideshow going on at the Kingfield Farmers Market.
Last Sunday, Alexis Stiteler was pedaling away on a modified stationary bike, her aerobic workout powering a blender that was methodically pulverizing orange juice and frozen bananas and strawberries into a smoothie.
The berries reflect their local- and seasonally minded surroundings. Owner Erica Strait relies on ingredients from her farmers-market neighbors -- the strawberries hail from Svihel Vegetable Farm and Tiny Planet Produce -- and she's constantly inserting fresh new flavors. "I'm waiting for apple cider from Sweetland Orchard," she said.
The path to off-the-grid smoothies was relatively smooth. And cheap. The vintage bike frame was retrieved from a dusty corner of Strait's family's garage, and the blenders were discovered on Craigslist, two for $10. A tinkerer friend with a knack for welding did the rest.
"The pedal-powered smoothie bike was a natural for us, what with Minneapolis being the No. 1 bicycle city in the country," said Strait. "And smoothies and falafel go really well together."
RICK NELSON
Smoothies ($5) at Foxy Falafel (www.foxyfalafel.com) at the Kingfield Farmers Market, 4310 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., www.kingfieldfarmersmarket.org. Open 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
