Thursday, June 17, 2010

Holy Hummus

One of my favorite Minneapolis delis was featured in the NY Times the other day:  Holy Land!  I'm a big fan of their hummus, but their pita bread, pita chips, tampenade, and random snack mixes are also great.  Other brands of hummus simply don't compare - gross texture, bad taste, weird chemical additives...  As the story describes, they have many many delicious varieties.  I love the classic plain style, but also enjoy the guacamole (I'm American, after all), jalapeno and artichoke & garlic.  I have yet to see the peanut butter variety, though!  Maybe you can only find that at their original Northeast location.  Field trip? 

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I would like to thank the Rand deli

...for being so awesome.  The Rand deli is actually called Allie's, but it was introduced to me as "the Rand deli" (it's in the Rand tower, downtown Minneapolis).  Everything at the Rand deli is delicious.  And they have about 10,000 menu items daily.  And everything is homemade.  With a smile.  The people who own the place are a married couple, and they are perpetually friendly and kind and genuinely thankful for your business (so they tell you)!  This morning I ran out the door without breakfast and was faced with the conundrum of where to go and what to get once I arrived downtown.  Bagel and coffee from Starbucks?  Nah...  Coffee and scone from Caribou? Nah...  Bruegger's for something different?  Nah.... Everything so underwhelming.  And then it hit me... Rand deli.  I walked up to two steaming baking sheets full of freshly-baked scones.  In about 29 different varieties.  I asked for the raspberry almond and a small coffee.  Guess what?  It's cheaper to get a medium (with a scone)!  Thank you, kind Rand deli employee, for telling me! 



I'm reminded of that scene in the movie "Clueless" in which the stoner guy Travis gives an acceptance speech in class upon receiving his award for being the most frequently tardy student throughout the year.  He credits the employees of McDonalds who made his egg mcmuffins every day as contributing to his achievement in tardiness.  Granted, I was not late for work as the result of my going to Rand deli this morning, but I am equally grateful for the experience!


image via
The Rand Deli website:  www.alliesdeliandcatering.com 
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