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Category Archives: Minneapolis

Parkway Pizza, Minneapolis, MN



Parkway Pizza Pepperoni Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

The other day a guy called me after Googling thinking that I was Parkway Pizza. I gave him two suggestions for better pizza in the area. Feeling a bit bad about this situation, I figured I should give them another shot.

I’ve had a bunch of mixed experiences with these guys. They’ve been decent, they’ve been bad, they’ve had some weird service, and I was at Ed’s house a month or two ago and they ended up delivering the wrong pizza there. I’ve even had weird comments from them and about them on my site, many under pseudonyms.

I called them to order deliver and the line was busy. I guess that’s a good thing for them, right? Five minutes later I get through. He verified that I was “Aaron” but didn’t have any more information about me in his computer. I gave him my last name and my address. We got disconnected for some reason and I called back. I verify the rest of my information and then he asks me to hold. Then someone else picks up and asks for my phone number, then verifies my information with me again.

I order a 14″ Pepperoni, figuring I’ll have half of it now and reheat the rest the next day. I put it on my credit card and I’m asked if I’d like to put a tip on the credit card. I’ve never pre-tipped pizza delivery before. I said, “sure, put three bucks on it” figuring if it’s worth more than a 22% tip I’ll give the driver a couple more bills. I’m told I’ll get it in 30 to 45 minutes.

24 minutes later I get a phone call from Parkway Pizza asking to verify my order of a 14″ Pepperoni and another large pizza with mushrooms, sausage… “woah, woah, woah!” I interrupt and explain that I only ordered the one pizza, “and you put it on my card for like 13 bucks, right?” “Yes, of course,” they said.

38 minutes after I finished my original order I got another call asking if I got my pizzas fine and everything is in order. I didn’t get any pizza “and I only ordered one” I explained. I was told that he’s just trying to get down to the bottom of the mixup.

43 minutes after I ordered the pizza arrived. I asked to verify it before the driver left and he understood. It looked like it took the long trip around Minneapolis even though I’m 13 blocks away. The pizza was warm, not hot.

The pizza itself wasn’t all that photogenic. The pieces on the edges didn’t have cheese on half of them and it slides right off when you try to eat it leaving just huge piles of sauce. The crust is thicker than most thin crust pizza and it’s soft, foamy and flavorless. I don’t really like this pizza at all. That’s all I’m going to say about it.

I love supporting local, independent pizza places but Parkway Pizza needs to shake things up. I’ll give them another shot in about six months.

Parkway Pizza
4457 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-729-9090

Posted 11 May 2008 § Pizza ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Water Power Park



Water Power Park, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

It’s funny how sometimes one doesn’t end up seeing some of the sights of the city you live in until you have an out of town guest to show them to. Rachel had an extra couple hours and we decided to head down to St. Anthony Main. Although our plan wasn’t to walk around I noted that I had never been to Water Power Park before. So we went.

Water Power Park is was created by Xcel Energy as part of their agreement to continue operating the Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Plant at the same location. The plant was built in 1882 and currently generates about 12 megawatts of power.

The park, which opened last summer, gives good views of the falls, the Stone Arch Bridge and parts of the Minneapolis skyline.

Posted 05 May 2008 § ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , ,

Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop, Minneapolis



Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

After enjoying some cupcakes, Courtney, Max, Alexis, Rachel and I went to Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop.

Golooney’s has been around for as long as I can remember and at one point I thought they were rather representative of New York pizza. This was before I had ever visited New York. I’ve only visited twice since and haven’t been a fan.

I was surprised that Courtney suggested we go here especially as we were with Rachel who is actually from New York. To give Courtney credit, she hadn’t been in over four years. Either way, it’s probably the worst idea for an out-of-town guest from the east coast.

Put simply, our service was slow (especially for a slice shop), the people were rude and worst of all was the pizza. I ordered a plain slice. It hardly had any sauce and the cheese was almost tasteless cheese although it was piled on excessively. It wasn’t easy to fold or hold like I would expect out of a slice shop with the Twin Towers in their logo. In fact, this pizza was the worst I’ve ever had at Golooney’s. Courtney and I agreed that it was actually poorer than we remembered.

I was taking a few shots and I was scolded for taking photos and was asked to put my camera away. He said I needed to ask for permission first and to be fair, I should have done that. I promptly put my camera away. Unfortunately to make matters worse, he goes to his co-worker after scowling at me and exclaims “I hate that fucking shit.” Classy. We joked our table that the generally male-dominated staff are stereotypically rude to male clientele but “all hey baby” to women. In our experiences, at least.

Humorously while we were waiting the 10th Global Marijuana March was across the street. The gathering wasn’t terribly well organized as many of the protesters wandered in and out of Golooney’s getting a slice. My advice? Keep on marching down 24th Street and eat at Leaning Tower of Pizza.

Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop
2329 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55405
612-377-8555

Posted 03 May 2008 § Pizza ‡ Comments (5) ° Tagged: , ,

Rachel Kramer Bussel in Minneapolis



Rachel and Sheela, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Rachel Kramer Bussel of Cupcakes Take the Cake is in town this weekend tasting cupcakes as well as doing a couple seminars at Smitten Kitten. I got to introduce her to Sheela Namakkal of Miel y Leche and some of the best cupcakes Minneapolis has to offer.

More cupcake photos and if you’re interested in hearing Rachel speak she will be doing a free erotica reading at Smitten Kitten on Sunday at 6:00 - 7:30 P.M.

Posted 03 May 2008 § Cupcakes § Food, Drink and Dining § Media, Blogging and Technology ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Flat Earth Black Helicopter



Rett and Rebekah Martin, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Thanks to a heads up from Brew52 and MNBeer, I stopped down to the Ugly Mug for the Flat Earth Brewing Company Black Helicopter release party.

Black Helicopter is a darker stout that’s mixed with a bit of coffee. At first glance the pints looked and smelled almost as if they were filled with coffee. Little to no head on this beer and we joked that we could get away with this at the office if we put it in a mug. It’s about one part coffee for every twenty-five parts beer but honestly, it tastes like it’s closer to one to one. The coffee comes through loud and clear but it’s not too overpowering. It’s a smooth beer but has what I’m starting to call the “Flat Earth Flat,” the tenancy for Flat Earth beers to taste like they have little to almost no carbonation. It’s tasty though — and I don’t generally drink coffee. A very drinkable beer overall and I went through three pints without really even noticing it. Well, I noticed it a lot when I was done.

We also took the opportunity to take photos with Flat Earth brewmaster Jeff Williamson who’s a very personable and nice guy.

I’d like to have another pint of this soon.

Cross-posted on Brew52

Posted 02 May 2008 § Food, Drink and Dining ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

Arezzo Ristorante, Minneapolis, MN



Pizza Margherita at Arezzo Ristorante, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

For the Aliveness Project’s Dining Out For Life day, where participating restaurants donate a percentage of their proceeds to the organization, Sarah and I went to Arezzo Ristorante. I hadn’t been before, and honestly I’m usually not down in the 50th and France area of Minneapolis and Edina.

While Arezzo is technically in Minneapolis, Edina is across the street and the crowd is to match. We were seated near people that were barely murmuring to each other and we had a hard time maintaining a comparable volume. I also muttered a vulgarity in conversation and the family behind us, including the head of the family in a full business suit, turned to stare at me. My mistake, but the point is that one doesn’t get away with poor manners here.

Our server was shy but formal and prompt. We ordered a bottle of Allegrini Valpolicella which was quite tasty. Overall their wine menu is well rounded out mostly with Italian wines. Their dinner menu is full of Italian cuisine and their brick oven pizzas are surprisingly tucked away on the bottom part of one of the pages. I wrongly assumed, as they invested in having a brick oven for pizza, that they would put it on the menu more predominantly.

Our Neapolitan-style pizzas came quickly. I got the Margherita. I noticed first that their pizzas are a bit larger than most pizzas of this style. The cheese tasted quite fresh and held together well. It didn’t have much basil but the sauce was tasty and sweet. It wasn’t too oily and had good consistency. My favorite part was the crust: chewy, a tad bit doughy, not too sweet and a slight crispy edge to it. The cornicione of the crust was just the right size and was enjoyable like a small breadstick at the end.

Our server multiple times made sure our wine glasses were full and was very attentive. Overall great pizza, and a good experience but priced a bit on the higher end. Certainly worth trying if you’re in the area.

Arezzo Ristorante
5057 France Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-285-7444

Posted 25 April 2008 § Food, Drink and Dining § Pizza ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

ZENN Test Drive



ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) Car, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Ed and I went down to the Linden Hills Co-op, where Twin Cities ZENN is located to test drive a ZENN.

The ZENN is a fully electric car that’s powered solely on batteries and charged with a normal power outlet. They’re manufactured in Québec and sold all over the United States and the world but they’re illegal for use on most roads in Canada for the time being. (British Columbia just recently created law to allow them.)

Even though I had seen a video of a ZENN before driving it, when I turned the key I felt like the car hadn’t turned on yet and I cranked on the key an extra time. When it’s not moving it’s completely silent. When driving, I’m not sure if I’d say it’s a “zero noise” vehicle as it sounds like a small golf cart. Comparatively very quiet though.

It’s governed to a maximum of 25 M.P.H. to fit as a neighborhood electric vehicle. It’s meant for city driving. There is a law going through that if passed would change the limit to 35 M.P.H. The ZENN can run 35 M.P.H. with a software change.

I thought the speed would be very limiting but our trip had no problems. I was surprised that it had no problems accelerating as well. The only issue was being slower than other drivers on Lake Street near Uptown but it wasn’t a problem for me. Something I could get used to pretty quickly. It’s faster than most bikers who sometimes slow up that right lane of traffic too.

Ed posted a video of a stretch of Lake Street where I was going 25 M.P.H.:

We had a fun trip going around Minneapolis where I honked frequently. The horn seemed to be significantly louder than most car horns. Contrasting that with the fact the car barely made any noise seemed to take a lot of people off guard. That is, the people that weren’t already staring at us already — it turned a lot of heads.

Ed and I said that if we didn’t work in the suburbs it’d be a smart choice. They’re priced well and there’s barely any regular maintenance. No oil changes and no gasoline to buy. Just a battery replacement every few years or so and paying for the minimal costs of electricity to charge it. The ZENN takes about 8 hours for a full charge and 4 hours for an 80% charge. The range of the ZENN is about 35 miles on a full charge, plenty for a in city commute.

We had a fun time and took a bunch of photos. If your normal commute is within the city, I think it’s definitely worth taking one of these for a test drive.

Twin Cities ZENN
2813 W 43rd St
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-279-2467

More photos on Flickr.

Posted 05 April 2008 § Travel and Transportation ‡ Comments (5) ° Tagged: , ,

W(e are )here: Mapping the Human Experience



W(e are )here: Mapping the Human Experience Exhibit, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

I attended yesterday’s happy hour and exhibit showing of W(e are )here: Mapping the Human Experience. A good mix of different medias and mediums on exploring the concept of “where.”

Ed Kohler has a quick write-up and I took a couple photos. I recommend checking it out - there’s some very good pieces and a lot to think about. Make sure you add yourself to the interactive map of where everyone’s coming from and how they got there!

Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-871-4444

Posted 02 April 2008 § Art, Music and Film ‡ Comments (0) °

Local T-shirt Marketing



Frattallone’s Ace Hardware T-shirt, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Three short stories about local T-shirt marketing:

Frattallone’s Ace Hardware

The other day bundled with a local newspaper was a T-shirt for the new Ace Hardware store that moved in two blocks from my house. The photo on the back is kinda strange and the logo on the front isn’t aligned very well. On the back is a “coupon” saying that if I’m wearing this shirt “visible for everyone to see,” I get 10% off any private labeled items I purchase. I thought it was a humorous marketing ploy.

Fashion is certainly not my forte but I don’t think I’ll be caught wearing this one. One never knows when you’ll show up on Flickr. Oh, by the way, a shoutout to Voltage: Fashion Amplified for thinking of me despite my lack of fashion sense and sending me an advance copy of their 2008 compilation CD.

Anyway, while I am happy to have new businesses in town, and to see fun marketing ideas, I am a bit concerned that they moved in just four blocks from River Lake True Value Hardware, a locally run hardware store that usually has my business. Ed has more on Frattallone’s.

I wonder how many people I’ll see around town getting their T-shirt discount.

East Lake Liquors

East Lake Liquors is also two blocks from me and sometimes I’ll see neighbors wearing an East Lake Liquors T-shirt with a logo that resembles that of a softball team. For a liquor store, they’re not bad shirts. In the store there’s a sign hanging in the back corner saying “T-shirts” and the price. Ignore that you noticed that though. Here’s a tip: show up to buy beer a few times some month and on the third time ask, “say, what do I need to do to get one of those cool t-shirts?” and I bet they’ll only ask you one question in exchange: “what size you want?”

Stook

When Stook had his latest CD release at the Varsity Theater he came up to me at some point in the night and asked if I got the T-shirt. I asked, “what T-shirt?”

“The one I gave you!”
“I didn’t get one.”
“I put it in your mailbox.”
“I didn’t see it.”
“You’re at thirty-two hundred forty-third avenu….”
“Forty-first.”
“I thought forty-third.”
“I live on Forty-first.”
“Oh shit! Well, if you ever see your neighbor wearing a cool shirt while he’s out mowing the lawn…”

I’ve yet to follow up with my neighbors and ask if they got a cool T-shirt in their mailbox. Maybe they’re new Stook fans though.

Posted 30 March 2008 § Miscellaneous ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ Technology and Communications Conference



7:05AM, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

I spoke this morning at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits‘ Message+Medium+Message Technology+Communications Conference on “Web 2.0″ (and how yeah, there wasn’t really an upgrade but it’s a philosophy on utilizing the strengths of the medium.) The photo above was 40 minutes before it filled up.

It was good to meet Beth Kanter, who had a great turnout and Peter Fleck who also got a good turnout. I suddenly got a ton of new Twitter friends from the conference and I never mentioned Twitter once!

Good to see some old friends and meet some new ones too.

It humored me that when I was using Parents for Ethical Marketing in my presentation the woman behind it, Lisa Ray, raised her hand to let me know she was in attendance. (Good thing I was using her online presence as a good example!)

It was especially funny for me to have Erin Stojan add me on Twitter and then for me to realize she was sitting a couple rows in front of me. I haven’t met anyone in quite that manner before: getting connected on an online social network as the first point of contact even though you’re in the same room. So we met in real life a few minutes after we connected online first. (The world we live in now!)

Overall from the parts of the conference I attended it’s something I’d absolutely recommend for non-profits next year.

If you attended my session, I had a good time and I hope you enjoyed it as well. I didn’t get to answer everyone’s questions and I didn’t get to meet everyone that tried to talk to me afterwards. If you were there, please comment to say hi or feel free to contact me directly. For a few of you, it might be your first time commenting on a blog. I say go for it!

Posted 27 March 2008 § Miscellaneous ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , ,