Minneapolis Rising From The Ashes - Saturday

I woke up Saturday morning with the feeling that I absolutely had to help. All of last week was raging in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder by the police a week ago today. Minneapolis was burning. Everyone felt helpless and scared. I had to go down there to see if I could be of any help. And boy, was I not alone. Lake Street looked like a Chimney Sweep convention, with people of all colors and ages were walking down both sides of the boarded up street carrying their brooms over their shoulders. I started to cry and had chills the instant I walked up the to the street, because I knew right then that Minnesota was going to get through this - and be better for it.

Businesses were boarded up all the way to Richfield, as I drove north to Lake Street down Cedar Avenue. The beautiful thing was that on every single boarded up window were also signs that SUPPORTED the protest, and have joined the struggle for justice and equal rights that is so sorely in need of allies.

I parked the car, grabbed my broom, and set off down the street. The first thing I saw were the women from the Panaderia San Miguel on the corner of Lake and 17th handing out free pastries that they had bagged up. While their own business struggles, they were out there handing out their wares to anyone who wanted it. Beautiful.

All the stores were boarded up, and one that really hit home for me was our beloved Norwegian (OK, all Scandanavia) store, Ingebretsen's. Their windows had been broken out and were now boarded, but they had a sign saying ONE HUMAN FAMILY, and their total support of justice for Floyd. That is grace itself. And understanding.

Understanding has been in fairly low supply from many that I've seen on social media (which I should totally avoid, because the trolls have been so bad, and I've been so triggered, but you have to stay on top of things too). Calling peaceful protesters "Rioters" and "Looters", not understanding that people have been driven to this. After hundreds of years of terrible oppression. Voting, calling your government officials, blah blah blah ... nothing has ever produced real change other than the People standing UP, and loudly, for what is right. And that's what we see now happening around the entire GLOBE over this. That's why this time feels different, and that's why it must continue until there IS justice. For EVERYONE.

Yes, there have been rioters and looters, but we now know many of them have infiltrated the peaceful process from out of town, and from organized terror groups. Yes, there were also local hoodlums getting in their licks - but I hope you saw how many of those were young white jackasses, looting just because they wanted stuff. That's always going to happen in the way of peaceful protests, but they are still necessary - or nothing changes.

I'm white. I'm blonde, like really white. I think it's very important for people who look like me to be out there too, side by side with our community, showing others - and the media - that it isn't just all angry Black people - it's everyone. If I had been in front of Cup Foods last Monday, I'd like to think I would have tackled murdering Officer Chauvin (no shock that his name is short for chauvinistic. I mean, Central Casting white supremacist pig name!), and forced him to try to do something to the blonde lady on camera. I'm sad that I even have to think like that, but that's truly the way our society has always been. I read an article about how white women should get all snazzed up when we go out to march, and if anyone gets in trouble with the police, to put ourselves between them and the police to make sure everyone sees that. I'm totally down. Systemic racism and murder hurts us all as is now very clear to see.

One of the best signs I saw all day was Cops = Virus, I Can't Breathe! Because unchecked police brutality/murder has been going on for far too long, and it really is a global pandemic also. Not that anyone really seemed to care about the pandemic this weekend. Most everyone was wearing masks and gloves, but there were an awful lot of people in close proximity too. We'll have to see. It's pretty impressive that so many came out to help, virus or not. That means something.

It appeared that everything had already been cleaned up where I was on Lake Street, and was a very upbeat atmosphere, amid some tears too. Live music was going down in the parking lot of The Salvation Army, and a cute little man was there handing out sandwiches to anyone who was hungry.

That's the thing. Everywhere you looked, people were helping others. Ladies were in the street, handing out bottles of water to people on their way to help. I asked them where help was still needed, and they told me to keep walking ... I'd see it real easy for myself.

Wheelbarrows full of cleaning supplies from peoples' own homes were making their way down the sidewalks among all the chimney sweeps. Chimney sweeps is accurate too, because a lot of the clean up was ashes.

Like at the totally destroyed MPD Third Precinct. Kids were inside the building getting souvenirs as it was still smoldering. They would come out with handcuffs, live rounds of ammo (! - great planning, cops), whatever they could get their hands on. It's not often police abandon their own building and leave it to the people to destroy in their anger. Rightfully, if you ask me. Today, a week later, there are three officers that remain free, and the main murderer is only charged with third degree murder. That's not nearly enough for what we have all seen ad nauseum on our televisions. It's VERY telling that the police had now arrested over 4,000 protesters (I prefer activists), and cities worldwide are being destroyed, and it could all end if they would simply charge all four murderers. But nope. The "Blue Brotherhood" sticks together. As was evidenced by the army of police protecting Chauvin's house the night of the worst rioting, and not caring at all about their own city. It's disgusting.

The Auto Zone was completely gone, and we know that was started by a white man, rumored to be a St. Paul police officer. The media skews everything so badly, that people who don't dig deeper don't get all of that. They just knee-jerk react "Oh, more angry black people messing up my commute", and that makes me SO sad. They're just not getting it - because they've never had to. Their privilege allows them to say those kinds of thing with zero empathy, but you KNOW if it was their relative with a knee choking the life out of them, there would be an outrage like you've never seen yet.

And that's why there IS one now ... because people are finally beginning to understand that we can't live like this anymore as an entire world. At least I sure hope they are. The WHOLE world has never collectively stood up against something like this together before, and that is WONDERFUL to see - whether white commuters see that yet or not.

Arby's was gone.

Walgreen's was gone.

The Hexagon Bar was gone.

There were huge crowds of helpers, like nothing I've ever seen. I made my way over to the destroyed Target, where the biggest crowds seemed to be. People were sweeping debris and water out of the building and into the parking lot, where more people would sweep that up. A little boy, no more than five, was out there with his gloves on, totally meaning business with his sweeping. It made my heart fully swell.

There were organizers letting ten people at a time into Target to help. I didn't go in because it was dark and sad and creepy, but I was happy to be on outside duty. The mood generally seemed pretty high, as I think it meant a lot to everyone there that, well, everyone was there! Helping!

It was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen, and really did make me feel like not only will this time be different, but better. Now we all KNOW how much most of us really do care, about all of us. That's the only way we're going to be able to go forward, actually, if we all can once and for all realize that everything that happens affects ALL OF US. The Covid-19 virus showed us that first, that one little market in China can - and will - spread around the whole world. And now, one man's murder at the hands of the very people who are meant to protect and serve EVERYONE, has also shown us that the racism pandemic has also spread worldwide, and everyone is fighting against that too. (In fact, it's great that we're already wearing masks - no facial recognition to bust peaceful people with).

I made my way back home feeling way better about everything. I passed by neighbors meeting in their yards to discuss the strategy for the night ahead (no burning happened, yet police still shot paint bullets at people on their own porches, not realizing still that they are the problem and who we are marching against.) Still, the unity and support I saw was overwhelming, even from people who had their businesses destroyed. They were helping as much if not more than everyone else. They get that material things can be replaced, but human lives cannot. They get that to get to justice, we all might have to sacrifice ... but in the end, it will be so very worth it.

I wasn't made to sit by and watch when I think something is very wrong. I'm not afraid to say something. I'm not afraid to do something. I'm not afraid to show my absolute solidarity with people that have been hurting for their whole lives by how our society treats them, and it's very important to me to show them that I am an ally, a friend, and that I will be there for them - whatever they need.

The Ingebretsen's sign really was all anyone needs to know. We are ONE HUMAN FAMILY, honestly, whether you like it or not. Whether you think pale skin makes you better or not (It doesn't, fyi, and stop going sunbathing then, you hypocrites). Whether you're scared or not. Whether you're mad or not. Whether you're sad or not. Whether you're tired or not. Whether you really don't care or not. Whether this directly affects your family or not (It does. You're on curfew and your streets and businesses are most likely closed). Whether you love the police or not. Whether your commute is disrupted or not. Whether you like hippie idealists like me or not. It just doesn't matter. We're all in this together, period.

Thank you to everyone who I saw out there helping, supporting, and caring. I encourage those of you who haven't been to give it a try. Being among your fellow citizens side by side in a noble effort to better the world is one of the most beautiful experience you will ever have. You're not supporting "rioters" by doing it. You're showing the whole world that everyone here cares about justice. And we'll get it by standing up to injustice together, united in these states, finally once and for all.

There is no other choice if we are to ever have harmony. One Love!

*There are SO many ways to help. Donate to We Love Lake Street.  Donate food. Help clean up. March. Show your white face caring! You can do it. TRY EMPATHY. Thank you. Deeply.

**Please stay tuned for the story of Sunday. Whoa. 

Clogtown: Trio Plant-Based - Good For Your Body and Soul Food

I was hanging out with friends in Venice a couple of years ago when they had friends in visiting from Minneapolis. I met Louis Hunter, who was going through a hard time back in Minnesota. His cousin was Philando Castile, who was murdered by police in front of his partner and child and it was all streamed live on Facebook Live. Hunter was involved in the protests that shut down a local freeway, falsely accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the cops (who were acquitted, of course), and was now facing his own charge with a potential of twenty years in prison. Heavy stuff. He had never seen the ocean, so we took him down to shoot pool at The Townhouse, and then out to the sand. It happened to be a rare night of the incredible phosphorescence that turns the waves neon blue in the dark. Incredible! I told Hunter that this was a fantastic omen for him - who gets to see phosphorescence the first time they see the ocean?! Well ... that turned out to be true, as Hunter is now the sole proprietor of the first black-owned 100% plant-based soul food restaurant in Minneapolis (and maybe the country), Trio Plant Based.

While I'm in Minneapolis helping out my Mom, it was high on my list to visit Hunter at Trio and hear his story. We met up last week on a rainy evening to catch up, and to try out his plant-based menu. I'll be honest ... I was less excited about the food than the chat, as I'm not afraid to eat real meat. My brother, Paul, was with me, and he leans pretty veg already, so Trio had already been on his list also. Being the only black-owned, plant-based soul food spot in town causes a great deal of interest, so Hunter was being interviewed by someone else on camera when we got there, so we took our time to peruse the menu and figure out what we wanted to try. Basically, all of it (there's another side to the menu too!).

Located on the busy intersection of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue, Trio provides great people watching from its light, airy location, and the dining room decked out entirely by Hunter and his brother is a great place to just kick it. We were wise to come early before the dinner rush began, as it was nice to sit down and have the time to chat with Hunter. After our greetings and re-living of the charmed phosphorescence night, Hunter told us how hard it had been when facing those serious charges. He had lost his home, his landscaping job, his truck ... pretty much everything but his spirit. His community put together a house party and a documentary to raise funds for his legal fees, and his story touched a couple named Sarah and Dan Woodcock. They rallied on Hunter's behalf, reached out to different organizations like Black Lives Matter to get support. Hunter went to church one Sunday,  and his Pastor told him that God told him his charges would be dropped that week. And they were. Then it was time to figure out what he was going to do next.

Raised around soul food all of his life, Hunter had the idea for a soul-food food truck, and the Woodcocks wanted in on that if it was a vegan food truck. Hmmm. Hunter was intrigued, but insisted that it would have to have "Seasoning and flavor!" as that was what he felt was missing in any vegan food he had tried. He set out to figure out how to adapt his family's soul food recipes but with plant-based ingredients ("I just did my home thing here"), and soon they were doing pop-ups at (now closed) Breaking Bread Café. The soul food night's pre-sale sold out, there was a line around the block, and they had exactly zero food left at the end of the night. They did a Kickstarter that raised $65,000 in one month. They knew they were on to something.

The food truck dream was skipped over for a brick and mortar restaurant when an investor suggested that she would give them money for a real spot, because it was that good. We know, because Hunter ordered for us, and WOW. I had the cheeseburger and my brother had the soul food platter, and we were both like, WHOA. It was SO good, and immediately made me un-crinkle my nose to the whole idea of plant-based burgers. You miss nothing, and with all the health issues like diabetes and obesity, and all the climate issues like methane gas from beef cows (never mind burning down the Amazon for it), it really is just a better, smarter way to go (though I will always return to Matt's for my Jucy Lucy, sorry).

Paul's soul food platter of all the greatest hits like ribs (jackfruit), mac and cheese, greens, yams, corn bread (with amazing maple butter) and Paul cleaned that plate. Hunter told us that he's had guests in from the deep South, telling us, "SOUTHERN people have come in and said it was smackin'!" And they were right. The ribs were a little weird texturally to me if I'm honest, but the flavor was there, and the yams were DELICIOUS. You can also get it all as a "Bowl for your Soul". And you should. "It's comfort food ... but healthy," as Hunter puts it.

September 30th is the one year anniversary of Trio Plant-Based, and Hunter is now the sole owner after parting ways with the Woodcocks as his partners. His daughter was our waitress, and you could feel the pride Hunter has in the fact that his restaurant gave his daughter her first paycheck. He stressed that Trio is plant-based, not vegan as there are people that that matters to, and not all is strictly vegan ... but it is all delicious.

There is now a Go Fund Me for Trio, as they want to continue to thrive, but also expand (LA NEEDS THIS!!!) and do things like add a little farm to the roof so they can grow their own produce. "There has been a tree of people who have helped me," explained Hunter as both fact and as the look of the place with all of its leaves theme. Local artists' work lines the walls, and the entire operation really is a fine example of community. "I want this to be a lovely community spot that you can come and have a plant-based meal, and leave feeling good about it." We talked about how diabetes affects the Black community (and everyone these days in America) and the changes that need to happen for that, and also how really good plant based food is - "as long as it's seasoned!"

What a powerful example of how faith and hard work can transform a life in such a short amount of time. Hunter went from really having almost nothing to owning a trend-setting, first of its kind restaurant that helps people live healthier in a matter of just a couple of years! Congratulations, my friend! It's exciting, and encouraging, and really speaks to the power of community and humanity. Please visit Trio Plant-Based for yourself and get what we're talking about - and tell Louis CJ sent you! Enjoy!


Trio Plant Based
610 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
#612-326-1326
Tuesday - Sunday 11-9/11-11 weekends
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: TrioPlantBased

Clogtown: Urban Forage Winery & Cider House - This Cider House Rules!

While I'm in Minneapolis this summer, I want to find as many cool, unique things as I can for the people, just like I do in Venice. I love it when friends say, "Oh, you have to do a story on this!", and tell me about some new awesome thing happening in town. That happened when my friend, Michelle Larson, visited my Mom in the hospital and told me about Urban Forage Winery & Cider House on Lake Street in Minneapolis. She said that it was a wine bar that made all of their own wine and cider from the produce foraged from the city neighborhoods nearby. I had to know more, and made an appointment with Urban Forage owner, Jeff Zeitler, to go check it out.

I spent a lovely afternoon last week learning about Urban Forage, and how they make their magic. I met Zeitler at a house a block off of Minnehaha Avenue in the heart of the city that had called him to come and pick all of their sour cherries. The homeowner, Brian Nelson, told me that he was one of the original contributor's to the Urban Forage Kickstarter in its infancy, and donates all of his yard fruit to the cause.

The tree was bursting with bright red cherries, and Zeitler pulled his equipment out of his truck to go get them. A tall ladder, a hook on the end of a pole, and tarps to lay on the ground to catch the bounty are the main tool of the trade, and Zeitler had been making his rounds around the Twin Cities all day in order to harvest all of the fruit that people are now calling him to come and get. "Growers are finding ME now," Zeitler told me, happily, after years of basically knocking on doors to ask people if they were going to use their urban produce. Apples, pears, cherries, rhubarb, black currants, raspberries, blackberries, honey, dandelions, lilacs ... all of them are used to make lovely wines and ciders, or as Zeitler puts it, "I make country wines in the city." Imagine the wines and ciders that could happen in Venice! Pluot! Apricot! Passion fruit! Can someone please get on this?

Fruit's life expectancy is not long, however, and Zeitler was a day or two late to get these gorgeous cherries that had fallen victim to a little maggot that loves cherries and they were all rotten. Bummer. You have to act fast with fruit ripeness, and you could tell that both Zeitler and Nelson hated to see them all go to waste (thankfully there were gallons upon gallons already harvested in the truck).

Nelson is also growing black currants from a plant Zeitler gave several neighbors around town to propagate especially to keep up with the demand for the very popular black currant cider, so all was not lost. Nelson is now a member of the "Cider for Life" club, after donating cash to keep them going when they started in 2014, and that now looks like it will be a heck of a bargain. Everything is SO good. But let's back up ...

Zeitler is a Midwest guy, bouncing around between Wisconsin and Minnesota all of his life, and between St. Paul and Minneapolis the last 15 years (yes, you can like both!). He made wine for fun, and even nearly blew up his dorm room making cider while at college. Back then it was more like, "Hey Man, I made booze!" but now that he's been doing it for 27 years ... the man knows his brewing. He explained how he's using fruit from older trees, as the ones he has planted himself won't bear fruit for years. The city offers more shade, people water their yards, pets chase away pests, and "You don't have to worry about deer in the Longfellow neighborhood", so it's almost easier to grow fruit in the city. Which got him thinking ...

After being laid off from his job as a landscape architect, he had some time to do more thinking. The idea to get the neighborhood connected through agriculture - and wine - just came to him, and soon a business plan was drawn up, and a Kickstarter fund was up and running. He thought of it as a political campaign, only he was running to make a business happen - and it worked. People at the kickoff party loved the idea, and a video was made to raise awareness, and that's really what sold the idea to the local masses.

The Kickstarter goal was soon met, and Urban Forage found its home in a converted old jeweler's building on Lake Street (open Thurdays-Sundays). The Cidery is in the basement (where people come to the side door to pick up their bottles), and the Tap Room is upstairs in a cozy room with a polished wood bar, a recycled door ceiling, and local art on the walls. After bidding farewell to Nelson and his cherries, I met Zeitler back at the Urban Forage space.

We bellied up to the bar, where the bartender, Nick, set us up with a flight to taste the results of previous foraging. I tried the Dry Cider (super crisp and refreshing - my favorite), the Black Currant Cider (tasty, high in Vitamin C, grows like weeds in Minnesota), the Mead (basically honey wine, very sweet, "warms your core", but not my favorite), the Cherry Melomel (cherry and honey wine - summer itself!), and the Dandelion Wine (weird, but I had to try the "Rural legend" wine).

There are no additives, there is zero sugar, it's all gluten free (you can tell your friend that always asks), there is no waste, it's super local, it promotes community, and I couldn't love it more. This is a concept that could and should be copied in every city to promote gardening, zero waste, eating and drinking locally, and building your community in an extra positive way - which is why I'm doing this story about it. Positive, unique, cool things are what I'm interested in, and this certainly fits the bill. Plus, as Zeitler told me, "It's a blast ... you spend a beautiful day with your wife (Gita) and kids, picking fruit and dandelions, then make it into wine and cider ... there's nothing better."

After our tasting, Zeitler brought me downstairs to the Cidery to see how it's done. "Basically, you wash the fruit, it infuses the water, you add yeast, put it into tanks, and it turns into wine," said Zeitler, downplaying how labor intensive it really is. Someone had brought in 20 pounds of rhubarb the day before, so that was being made into rhubarb wine, and an odd-sounding pineapple/banana experiment was fermenting nearby. "I want to do weird, edgy stuff you can't find anywhere else," Zeitler explained, so be on the lookout for a blueberry melomel and an artisan, literal Rootbeer (beer made from roots) coming in the months ahead.

It's all taking off, with people ordering special wines for their weddings, and locals regularly dropping off their yard yield in exchange for bottles of wine and cider. "I'm in it for the long haul," Ziegler told me. "I want to be a 65 year old man serving my cider behind that bar upstairs." As Urban Forage is celebrating it's five year anniversary - and thriving - I'd say that's a goal that Ziegler will  easily meet.

As that bar upstairs got busier on that Friday evening, with customers coming in to buy their retail bottles for home picnics, but also staying put to kick it at the bar. I kept thinking about what a great gift any of the bottles would make for something truly super extra local - from yards mere blocks away! "We make stuff that's REAL, from the backyards of our neighbors. We are really, REALLY Minneapolis," said Zeitler with evident - and deserved - pride. And I left thinking that this was really, REALLY wonderful.

Drink REALLY local!

Urban Forage Winery & Cider House
3016 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 584-4398
www.urbanforagewinery.com