Q: You recently wrote about pizza farms. Are there more than the ones you listed?
A: Glad you asked, because, yes. The Women's Environmental Institute is holding its last Artisan Pizza at the Orchard of the 2017 season on Aug. 23 from 4 to 9 p.m. at WEI's Amador Hill Farm and Orchard (15715 River Road, North Branch, Minn.). Cost is $18 for prepaid tickets (find them at w-e-i.org), $22 in person. Nick Schneider of Thrive Chef Works (thrivechefworks.com), a personal chef service, prepares his pizza dough using local flour from Sunrise Flour Mill and tops his pizzas using seasonal ingredients from the farm. Sawmill Pizza & Brew Shed (805 30th Av., Clear Lake, Wis., facebook.com/sawmillpizzabrewshed/) convenes Sunday from noon to 7 p.m., offering a handful of varieties at $24 a pop. Beer, too. Oh, and if you missed it, here's my original pizza farm story.
Q: The Minnesota State Fair opens next Thursday. Is there anything in particular that you're excited to try?
A: Yeah, there's the usual long list of new foods that I'll check out, including the S'more Fun ice cream — that's toasted-marshmallow ice cream blended with chocolate chunks, graham cracker swirl and graham cracker pieces — that Izzy's Ice Cream is fashioning for 120-year-old Hamline Church Dining Hall. I'm also happy to see an expansion of certified kosher fare at the fair, because the Great Minnesota Get-Together should be as inclusive as possible. Last year, it was chocolate chip cookies at Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar; this year, it's the big bucket of fries — made with Minnesota-grown potatoes — at Fresh French Fries.
Q: Is there anything new going on in the Minneapolis skyway?
A: Kind of. I add the qualifier because the new Elevate Food Hall (100 Washington Av. S., Mpls., elevatefoodhall.com) is located on the fourth floor, not the second, but it's accessible via skyway. This stylish breakfast-and-lunch food court includes stalls of a few favorites (One Two Three Sushi, Sonora Grill) with a branch of Chicago-based (and barbecue-focused) Pork & Mindy's, a pizza counter, a sandwich spot and a serve-yourself salad and hot bar. Order via touch-screen kiosks and pay with plastic; prices rarely go over $10. Most food items arrive with the speed comparable to that of a food truck, and the colorful, comfortable dining room offers plenty of seating (along with a pool table and pingpong) and skyline views.
Q: I'm looking for a good pork tenderloin sandwich. Any suggestions?
A: Drop in on the Original on 42nd (1839 E. 42nd St., Mpls., 612-729-2377, theoriginal42nd.com), where co-owners Andy Lilja and Stephanie Kochlin channel their fine-dining backgrounds — both cooked at the former Heartland Restaurant & Wine Bar, among other spots — into producing thoughtfully composed, first-rate sandwiches. The couple affectionately recall a road trip discovery in their fantastic version of this Iowa classic, which is served on a top-notch sesame seed-sprinkled bun. "It's also not as ridiculously huge as the versions you see in Iowa, so it's easier to eat," said Lilja. "And we don't have a deep fryer, so we can't over-fry it. It also helps that it's Berkshire pork, and not commodity pork. That's our Heartland background. When we're buying ingredients, we try to buy as sustainably and responsibly as possible, while still keeping an eye on the price point." Price? $11, a great value.
