As Tom mentioned, we had a lot of fun with his parents this weekend. They arrived on Friday in time for Surly Beer at Common Roots and dinner back home.

Saturday morning we headed to the Midtown Farmers’ Market. Though we had planned on tamales from our friends at Fireroast Mountain Cafe, they hadn’t yet arrived at the market before we were ready to bike back with our veggies. Instead, Tom and I decided despite the repeat that bagels and (more) coffee from Common Roots would be a great alternative. Both Amy and Kevin were tempted to buy more bagels to take home and share, but given their 2-day drive, they decided that perfect combination of crispy crusts and chewy centers probably wouldn’t make the trip. Finally fed, the four of us took a walk around Lake of Isles. By the end of our walk it was time for lunch. With rain on the forecast and feeling a bit tired, we decided to drive, rather than walk, to Punch Pizza near Lake Calhoun. Following lunch we drove to Linden Hills to visit some of my favorite shops in the neighborhood (besides Clancey’s): Wonderment, Creative Kid Stuff, and The Wild Rumpus. Tom and I each bought a new game and Amy took home a few surprises for family in Michigan. Still no rain, we started to return home and decided instead on a drive down Park Avenue to catch a glimpse of the American Swedish Institute and visit the Mill City Museum–a big hit. The photo at left was taken on the endless bridge at the Guthrie Theater, just next door to the museum. The rain hit just as we arrived at the Craftsman to share drinks and their housemade charcuterie plate. We were early, as we’d planned on dinner at home. Thanks to our friends’ great idea to roll-your-own spring rolls at Julia’s birthday party, we decided to try this out on Tom’s parents back at the apartment. Light and fresh, the spring rolls were the perfect end to a very full day.

Sunday morning it was brunch at Blackbird with eggs all around and a stop at the Uptown Market before our visitors headed back to the Great Lakes State. Thanks for visiting, Kevin & Amy. Hopefully we’ll have you back again the next time the weather’s warm–but not too warm.

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This entry was posted by Martha on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Minneapolis, Restaurants. You can subscribe to responses to this entry via RSS.