Uptown gets a soda fountain, dripping in nostalgia

Uptown is about to get its own ice cream shop, one with a menu that's dripping in nostalgia.

When La La Homemade Ice Cream (3146 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.) finally opens in a week or two in a former kids' shoe store, it will be something of a homecoming for owner Jennifer Lisburg.

Back in 1993, Lisburg operated the shop's first short-lived incarnation, at 48th Street and Chicago Avenue S. It closed after about a year, but Lisburg kept her ice cream-making equipment and continued to make the cold stuff for events (her cart, and stand, have been making appearances around town in recent weeks).

She moved to Fertile, Minn., in 2001, and by 2008 she was running the town cafe, which she renamed La La Ice Cream Coffee & Grill.

After eight years, she decided it was time to return to the Twin Cities, and to a larger audience for her ice cream and sorbet.

The La La scoop case will feature 16 flavors, most of them rotating in and out with seasons, from rhubarb and sweet basil-vanilla in the summer to pumpkin and Pfeffernusse for the holidays.

Lisburg pledges to always have two signature flavors on hand: honey-dipped raspberries folded into raspberry ice cream, and toasted coconut and semisweet chocolate blended into vanilla ice cream, a concoction she calls "Charlotte's Web."

"I'm fascinated by the history of ice cream," said Lisburg. "And by soda fountain history. I mean, who doesn't like flavored carbonated water?"

As for the La La name, "I wanted something that was fun, because ice cream is fun, and easy to remember," she said.

Minnesota-made Spam is sending its food truck out on a 15-city blitz that Hormel, the brand's maker, has dubbed the "Spamerican Tour."

For its Twin Cities stop, the truck is parking at the Uptown Art Fair (uptownartfair.com) on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., where Meritage (410 St. Peter St., St. Paul, 651-222-5670, meritage-stp.com) chef Russell Klein will do the cooking, dropping his usual foie gras and escargot to embrace the canned pork delicacy.

"The staff sure thought it was interesting when nine cases of it showed up," he said with a laugh. "They approached me about participating, and I said yes. As I understand it, they're asking a chef in each city to create a recipe using Spam. It's such an iconic American brand, and I'm psyched to be a part of it. "

While the native New Yorker didn't grow up eating Spam, his wife and business partner Desta Klein did.

"She loves it," he said. "It's a cool thing because it's a Minnesota thing. It's local, and it's very much a nostalgic thing."

Last week was a tough one for south Minneapolis neighborhood cafes. Turtle Bread Co. (turtlebakery.wordrpess.com) owner Harvey McLain pulled the plug on his Cafe Levain and Trattoria Tosca.

Here's the only good news in this situation: Those holding gift certificates for the two restaurants can redeem them for food, merchandise or cash at any of the three Turtle Bread locations.

Also sad to report that Pilgrimage Cafe (2403 E. 38th St.) closed after a two-year run, and Zio Italian has closed after less than a year at the Mall of America.