Last Wednesday I invited some co-workers from India out to dinner. I like to make sure they get to see more of the Twin Cities than just their hotel room and the restaurants in Roseville. After getting suggestions from other co-workers, I decided to take them to a restaurant I had never been to, Tanpopo.

The restaurant was easy to find in downtown St. Paul. It is located in a warehouse style space within sight of the St. Paul farmers market, off of 4th and Broadway.

The restaurant primarily serves Japanese noodles either Soba or Udon, Teishoku (which reminded me of a Bento style meal), and appetizers. There is a small but decent wine and beer list with a nice selection of Sake. Not that this matters to me since I don’t really care for Sake myself, but I digress.

For an appetizer we ordered the smoked salmon roll. It was ok, but nothing special. I probably wouldn’t order sushi again here. There was nothing wrong with it, but if I wanted sushi and I was in downtown St. Paul, I would head over to Sakura. I don’t need appetizers anyway as I’ll be saving more room for noodles when I go back to Tanpopo.

For an entree, I ordered the Wild Mushroom Udon noodles. It was, in my opinion, insanely good. The broth had a really good full bodied mushroom flavor. There were lots of mushrooms and fresh spinach floating in the broth surrounded by phenomenal noodles. The portions were enormous. Even though I loved the food and couldn’t get enough, I couldn’t come close to finishing my vat of noodles.

The prices were extremely reasonable, with most entrees being less than $10. It was so good, I would have been happy paying more.

There was one awkward bit to the meal. It was the first time I had eaten noodles in this style and I was initially stymied by having only a spoon and chopsticks. It was easy to grab a mushroom but getting a hank of noodles required some practice. I actually liked this part of the experience. It’s hard to be stiff and formal when awkwardly slurping slippery noodles from a chopstick.

The restaurants web site show that their mission is “… to bring Japan’s authentic home-style dishes, that are healthy and affordable, to the Twin Cities.” From my observation, they succeed brilliantly.

I loved it so much I took Jeannie (aka my lover) back there on Saturday. She didn’t like the noodles in the least and declared it flavorless. Must be that the subtle Japanese flavors just don’t work for everyone. Oh well, more noodles for me. Jeannie was a good sport about the experience. I had the same Wild Mushroom noodles, but with Soba noodles this time. I loved them, but think I love the Udon noodles a little bit more.

308 Prince Street #140
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-209-6527

Here are a few other links about Tanpopo Tanpopo:Dishing in the kitchen, Minnesota Women’s Press,
Tanpopo Noodle Shop , Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine and
Tanpopo Noodle Shop, CitySearch. (What the heck, Scott McGerik doesn’t have a review posted? Seriously, I’ve never eaten at a Twin Cities Japanese restaurant he hasn’t reviewed.)

Hmmm, chocolate.

These are so rich and so delicious one can least me an entire week. so far I like the Rich Dark the best.

So what’s your guilty pleasure … other than reading my blog I mean?

It’s been way too long since I saw a movie in the theater. Work has been getting in the way of life lately. Next week, I’ll see “Revenge of the Sith“. I can’t say I thought much of “The Phantom Menace” or “Attack of the Clones” so my expectations are very low. George, you’ve fooled me once, you’re not fooling me again.

I’ve been trying to avoid reading plot spoilers and reviews. This spoof movie poster contest was too good to pass up. My favorites included the following: Attack of the Clowns, Migrant Queen and Me’sa is your father.

If the “Migrant Queen” photo isn’t recognizable to you, then you should check out the LOC’s page Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview. I was amazed when I first saw this web exhibit. The nursing photo is so compelling to me and speaks to me in a way the iconic “Migrant Mother” never has. I hope some day I can take a photo this good.

Google has something like a portal now. google portal. I found the link in my del.icio.us/popular in my rss reader. It looks like the story also ran on slashdot, so I might be the last to know. The drag and drop bit is truly lucious.

I remember how distinctly wonderful altavista was until it went portal. I hope google isn’t going to go the way of altavista. I also hope they don’t become evil, now that they have my mail, my web pages, my desktop and my search terms.

Since I read “the girl least likely to“, waxing rhapsodic about the wonders of chai, I decided to bump chai up on my priority list of things to try. (BTW, It is taking all of my considerable will power to not say “chai it, you’ll like it.”)

So I got the Organic Oregon Chai. I’ve had the occasional cup over the last week or so.

The verdict: I like the taste of it quite a bit, but it’s too sweet for me by at least one order of magnitude. Unlike “the girl least likely to” I have a predilection for adult drinks like black coffee and unsweetened tea. I like the taste enough to consider trying the less sweet version, if only I can get through the syrupy carton I now have. I’ve tried diluting it with a lot of water or milk, but you reach a point of diminishing returns once you can’t taste the spices in the chai any more.

I’ve been attracted to the idea of guerilla art for some time. While I’m not in any advocating that one should deface private property, these “art installations” at secretwalltatoos amuse me to no end. Be sure and roll your mouse over the images to see the before and after photos. I especially like the chalk outline under the hotel bed.

The absurd pointlessness of these art pieces both make me smile and remind me about the beauty in life that is present if you just take the time to look under the surface.

It’s 2:00 A.M. and I’m still in front of a computer instead of a pillow.

Reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite movies.

I heard a couple of great songs this morning on my commute. The one I was able to track down was called “Transit” by Richard Shindell. It seems to appear on two albums: “Somewhere Near Paterson” & “Courier”.

I’ve always been a sucker for songs about cars and driving. I really like this one. It starts off being about traffic and angry drivers and ends with a nun directing a choir at a prison.

She entered the common room and their was her choir
Altos and baritones, basses and tenors
Car thieves and crack dealers, mobsters and murderers
Husbands and sons, fathers and brothers
And so it began in glorious harmony
Softly and Tenderly – calling for you and me
With the interstate whining way off in the distance
And the sun going down through the bars of the prison
They poured out their souls, they poured out their memories
They poured out their hopes for what’s left of eternity
To sister Maria – her soul like a prism
For the light of forgiveness on all of their faces

My great aunt, Aunt Sister, was a nun. She taught school mostly in Wisconsin and was a kind loving soul. Her students from grade school would seek her out and visit her years after she retired. She was among the kindest people I have ever known. Although her vocation was teaching not leading choirs, I like to think the sentiments of the song would have appealed to her sense of both the common and the divine. I know it appeals to mine.

I’ve enjoyed reading Real Live Preacher for some time. While he was on hiatus, he pointed towards some articles he had written for other publications. I was entranced by this one, entitled “The gospel according to Anna“. He even posted scans Anna’s gospel on the web.

His article made me think about the phrase, “The Gospel According to Tim.” I’m quite sure Young Joel will correct me if I’m wrong, but gospel literally means, good news. So what is the “good news according to Tim?”

I’ve been thinking about it and I’m still not sure what if there is anything I feel confident labeling as “Tim’s good news.” “Cautionary tale”, yes, certainly I could do that. “Sarcastic look at the day’s events”, sure, it’s my specialty.

I am certain, that if I did have any good news it might look something like this description of the aftermath of constipation by Heather B. Armstrong.

I finished the book “Choke” while visiting Chico, California a few weeks back. Like the other Chuck Palahniuk books I have read, this book contained some really bizarre ideas. Some concepts that were so disturbingly funny I can’t help but grin and grimace when I think about them.

The book is both disturbing and obscene. If you liked “Fight Club” there is a pretty good chance you’ll like this book. If you are under 18 do me a favor and don’t read this book, I don’t want to try and explain it to your parents. In fact I’m not even sure I want to try and explain this to anyone.

The book opens with this promising sentence.

That reminds me, I am not suggesting anyone reads this book. If you read it, do not blame me.

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