Went to the "Island of Misfit Makers" local artist sale that was held here. Three unique rooms to…read moreshop in. Really cool building with interesting lighting, huge metal sliding doors, and even glass garage doors that look like they open in the summer. The creamery, bakery and butcher weren't open while we were there, but there are big windows you can peek in. Looks like a neat place to tour.

The best, most kind and attentive staff in NE. We were about to leave since we felt bad about…read moreordering close to their closing time and the gal at the counter gave us a bunch of free samples and invited us to visit them again. The pastries were bomb and the vibe was friendly. We will definitely be back

We did the indoor skywalk tour in St. Paul. It was very informative and lasted about 3 hours 10…read moremin. Our tour guide Kim was very friendly and informative. There were 5 stops on the tour. We we're told the outdoor tour was the same stops you just walk outside in between. This was very good to know for the future! I'd definitely consider doing their downtown Minneapolis tour. My favorite stop was Afro. The dishes were very unique and tasty! We also sampled beer, cheese curds, chocolate, popcorn, chicken skewers, gyoza, and cucumber rolls. I don't drink beer but they provided a root beer and a ginger beer that were pretty tasty. I appreciated the substitutes.

We went as a group; it was advertised as an activity at a conference we were attending. It was…read morealmost $50 to participate. The website listed 5 stops, and we only went to three. The website listed gourmet food, and at two of the stops I had chips and salsa/guacamole, not "local specialties." We got two tiny samples of beer, when it was advertised as a beer tasting tour. It felt like a waste of money, and I think it was false advertising based on the website. Our tour guide was nice and polite, and he seemed to have good knowledge of the city. It just seemed like it wasn't what we paid for. I wouldn't recommend it.

My bf & I took this tour yesterday and had such a great time. We love our local beer scene and the…read morestories behind the breweries. Our guide, Eric, was very informative of the breweries, their beer and the neighborhoods we went to. We visited Eastlake Craft Brewery in the Midtown Global Market (Such a cool place), Sisyphus Brewing by the sculpture garden in Minneapolis where we got to meet the owners Catherine & Sam, and wrapped the tour up with a delicious Oatmeal Porter at 612 Brew in NE. It was nice to just relax, enjoy the ride, take in the sights, sample the beers and meet some fun out of towner visiting from New York.

Wonderful tour with Nick! We ended up being the only two and it was such a blast to spend a few…read morehours exploring fun local brewpubs and learning more about the city! He even recommended a few local spots to grab grub afterward & dropped us off at one. Highly recommend to anyone who loves (or loves to try) beer!

We did this for a bachelor party and John Welch was great. He did everything to make sure we had a…read morewonderful time and took great care of us. It was awesome to have water on the bus to refresh between breweries. Two thumbs up.

This tour is so much fun and a great way to see some of the microbreweries in MLSP. We did the…read moreSunday afternoon tour, which takes you to 3 microbreweries and starts and ends at Sociable Cider Werks, so you actually get to experience 4 of the numerous microbreweries in town. If you like artisan beer, are visiting from out-of-town, have an opening in your schedule, then you should consider adding this to your itinerary.

If you want to search for a culinary adventure without a large group and basking the glow of…read moreanother country, Bret is your host with the most! I went with Bret and a small group for my 50th birthday in September 2025 to Nice, France. It is still the most memorable trip of my life and for all the right reasons. We enjoyed laid back French breakfasts with the group. Amazing Nicoise style dinners. A tour of Nice. Picturesque drives to vineyards and nearby towns and of course each other's company. If you are a Francophile or budding Francophile (for the France tours) and have a deep curiosity for travel, culture, food and language then consider taking a culinary trip with Bret. It's more curated, he's thoughtful on who he finds to assist with local activities, the restaurant selection is fabulous, and the cost is less than a lot of companies out there. The bonus is that plenty of free so he does not focus on monopolizing your time for tours and restaurant visits. You get to actually explore the you're in or just relax in your hotel or Airbnb. if you were looking for something new to do for a trip, think about Bret next time.

Bret is a very personable chef and fun to work with. Whether you're a beginner or advanced and…read morejust want to learn how to prepare some delicious meals, Bret's Table can help teach you. If you're rather inexperienced like I am, and have no clue what meals to prepare or what dishes to present, you can ask Bret, and he'll come up with a menu. His private classes can range from teaching one special dish or dessert, to teaching you how to make a multi-course dinner. Let him know what you'd like to learn. If you're a beginner, also plan some time for learning cooking techniques and knife skills. What to expect: I booked Bret's Table for a small dinner party themed event, where the guests were invited to help in the preparation of the dishes that would be presented for dinner. Not knowing what to make for the dinner party, I asked Bret to help me come up with dishes to prepare. We came up with a 6 course dinner plan. If you already know what you'd like to learn, you can make that specific request instead. Through emailing, Bret provided me with recipes and the list of ingredients I needed. Because I was a nervous wreck hosting my first ever Dinner Party at my home, Bret was kind enough to show up early to help me get acquainted with some of my kitchenware before the guests arrived. He showed up nicely dressed with his white Chef shirt, apron, and twirly mustache! We designated areas in my kitchen as stations to prepare each different part of the dinner. Starting with appetizers all the way through dessert. Bret was very attentive and helped give directions to each guest. Everyone had a great time learning and cooking together. It's a great way to build friendships! And during the down time, the people who worked on the less demanding dishes drank wine. The dinner itself was amazing! The food tasted great, the company was great, and by the end of the night, we went through 10 bottles of wine. Not bad for an eight person dinner lol! Ok, ok, maybe a bottle was used in the cooking. I highly recommend hiring Bret from Bret's Table. He's very professional and friendly, and did I mention the cool mustache?!! And it speaks for his reputation for the fact that my dinner guests immediately hired him for their own dinner party after meeting him for the first time. It will be a fun experience for all, especially if you are cooking with friends! Also, how amazing is it that you get to work with the chef in your own home? Great fun! Highly recommended!

Classic, reliable brand that just makes life in the kitchen…read moreeasier. Whether you're a busy parent, a beginner cook, or someone like me who's constantly in the kitchen prepping meals, it's a solid go to when you need convenience without sacrificing taste. They offer everything from refrigerated crescent rolls, biscuits, and pie crusts to cake mixes, brownie mixes, frostings, and cookie dough. Their crescent rolls are perfect for quick breakfast bakes, pigs in a blanket, chicken roll ups, or even creative brunch boards. The biscuits work great for breakfast sandwiches, pot pies, shortcakes, or quick dinner sides.The cookie dough....easy, consistent, and always a crowd pleaser. It's especially great for: -Holiday baking (pies, sugar cookies, cinnamon rolls) -Quick weeknight dinners -Kid friendly recipes -Last minute desserts -Beginner bakers who want guaranteed results Everything is straightforward, affordable, and easy to find in most grocery stores. The instructions are simple, and the results are consistent, which matters when you're juggling a lot in the kitchen. If you like shortcuts that still taste homemade, Pillsbury delivers. Perfect for busy households, meal preppers, and anyone who wants to take the stress out of baking and cooking.

You have to hand it to the food scientist,they've been highly successful these last 6 decades. As…read morethe Frozen prepared foods industry began in earnest,learning to " make" food taste good after freezing became an obsession. Jump forward to 2025 and chances are you have a favorite out of the freezer section that you owe to those pioneers. I think my current alltime favorite is the Grands frozen biscuit! Amazing. Next in line and not to shabby,the Grands Cinnamon Roll. I had a craving this week so,picked some up for Saturday morning. Nice....

Oh my. This was truly the best night of 2016 so far. And…read moreit's going to be tough to top. How does one convey in words such high levels of epicness? I will press on. If you have a deep appreciation for heritage pork, then you should be at this venue. If you don't, then you clearly do not belong in such a place with this kind of zeal and squeal. Nothing less than 5-stars, my friends; nothing less. First, I have history with pigs (aren't reviews really just a way to tell the stories of our lives?). I grew up loving pigs. Miss Piggy was my favorite. In 6th grade, I begged my parents to get a pot-bellied pig (one day I'll give them the kudos for sticking to their guns on not letting that happen). Also in 6th grade, I ate too much candy and started to resemble a pig, so I decided to stay quiet about my love of pigs until I got my waistline under control about a decade later (phew). While loving pigs, pork did nothing for me...until I learned of heritage breeds back in 2008. The color! The flavor! The texture! There was no going back. And just to show off ('cause that's fun to do from time-to-time), I discovered & tried, at a fundraiser dinner back in 2011 for the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Mangalitsa pork belly for my first time, and knew right then there could be no other. And this is where the Cochon555 story begins... My sweet Mangalitsa was here in many culinary creations (and other breeds, too). And many of its dear relatives were here. It was a big family reunion and I was on cloud nine. Out of sheer randomness (& a reminder from God that He loves me), I won 2 VIP tickets from Yelp to this event! I wasn't even aware of what Cochon555 until I saw the contest (HOW did I MISS THIS?). When I read up on it, I realized that this evening was scripted for me and soon enough I found that I won! The joy! The rapture! The tears! Thank you, Yelp! The machine bots that chose my name were Divinely guided! I will write reviews for you until I perish from this earth. I invited a foodie friend that gets as excited about sustainably raised heritage piggies, from our beloved local farmers, as I do. Our tickets were thoroughly redeemed with every delicious, lovingly prepared, & creatively presented piece of pork. People talk about how drugs have altered their mind and enhanced their experience. I can't speak to that. But I can speak to what THIS pork did to me. There were top notch, sustainably & creatively-based restaurants, competing & representing at this event, including: Travail Kitchen & Amusements Spoon & Stable Chef Shack Ranch Surly Brewing (who won the MN Pork King title) Zen Box My favorite food delivery mode was a man, from Travail Kitchen, scuffing around the room on his knees in a sombrero. The sombrero contained a delicious & subtly sweet pate in the center of the hat and the rim of the hat contained chicharrones broken up from a large hide they fried late the night before. The server was on his knees so that people could just grab from his hat at standing height...it was brilliant. There was prociutto-like bacon (I know, it's either one or the other...but in this case, it wasn't!) "skewered" in waves on a thin crispy bread stick (no, it wasn't a pretzel ;-). There were also sweet lard-filled chocolates (I could have eaten those all night!). I was blown away by Spoon & Stable's creation of marshmallows made out of pork blood (same whipping properties as egg whites; who knew?!) and so much more. There was also the whole hog butchery going on right after the votes were taken. This is something IMPORTANT! We're a society that is detached from where our food comes from. Majority of us aren't going to be able to tell others what portion of an animal that a particular cut comes from, so this was valuable, precious, AND educational. All parts of the animal were put out for sale! Loved that feature, too! For as much gushing as I'm doing, I will say there were a few items that I thought were boring and uncreative for it being at an event like this: wonton-type items (wrapping pork in pasta is most likely what all of us would have thought of doing...just wasn't a "wow" (not that it has to be). Another item is that this is NOT a gluten-free friendly event. Considering the focus on sustainability and that wheat is an overcropped item (which is overshadowed by those who have gluten allergies & sensitivities). While I CAN consume wheat, I choose not to, because of past wheat sensitivities. I was truly surprised that at this day and age how many chefs went with the bland wheat berry. There was even a separate pie outfit that came in as a pop-up towards the end that didn't offer gluten-free options. Wha? Yes, one can consume the filling if they must, but one can also create a stellar gluten-free pie crust. Regardless, I would go to this event again & again. Oh, and ladies, 3 out of 4 attendees (or more) are men. If you're looking for a piggy-partner-in-crime, you may find your match here ;-)

I had never been to an event like this so I knew very little about what to expect. It ended up…read morebeing awesome! There is a wide selection of local wine and other beverages to try. It was a great opportunity to learn more about some of Minnesota's local food and wine producers! There were many different variations of pork as well as other dishes to try. The seafood bar was phenomenal! Overall, great experience. I highly recommend d for those who love pork or are just looking for a unique food experience!

A must do if you're visiting or as a local as well! For under $25 each you can see d time on the…read moreMississippi and the surrounding banks , hearing how it started and grew into the twin cities. Highly recommend and maybe do a couple of times a summer .

Fun, no frills cruise down the Mississippi and back. Informative pre-recorded narration, but very…read morehard to hear from the back upper deck. Especially when there is a group of women talking loudly non-stop. LOL! A very good value and something different to do in the city. No outside food or beverages are allowed, but they do have snacks and sodas available. This would be even more fun in the fall when the leaves are at peak color.

Outstanding stay over the Fourth of July weekend! The Four Seasons Minneapolis continues to set the…read morestandard for hospitality. Every staff member I encountered was friendly, professional, and genuinely seemed to enjoy making guests feel welcome. The pool staff was attentive, the gym is one of the best hotel fitness centers I've used, and the restaurant delivered excellent food and service. Even during a busy holiday weekend, everything ran flawlessly. I can't wait for my next stay. Five stars!

The lobby is luxurious and welcoming. There is a bar, restaurant just off from the lobby. Very…read moreupscale. The staff is professional and friendly. The coziness of the the bar and restaurant with elegance in a beautiful setting makes the trip rewarding.