Northbound Smokehouse is Warmly Charming, Eagerly Welcomed in Minneapolis Brew Scene

Some of the ultimate pleasures of returning home for the holidays is checking out all of the new and fantastic dining spots that have sprung up since you disappeared into your other worldly expeditions.

I recently returned home to Minneapolis for the holidays. If you know me, you know how much I respect and cherish my beloved hometown and truly worship everything about it. Many of my dearest friends from college are from Minnesota and have rightfully returned to the promise land of arctic chills and balmy summers. It is truly a wonderful place, and I recommend with feverish delight a visit in your near future.

Luckily, this visit included a much needed catch up date with a close friend over lunch. We decided to venture over to the Northbound Smokehouse, a brewpub located in the Powderhorn neighborhood in South Minneapolis, just blocks away from the lightrail on Hiawatha Avenue. My friend and I were ultimately attracted to the fact that the restaurant brewed their own beers, and being a Milwaukee transplant, I have proudly become a craft beer lover.

Nestled nicely on the corner of 38th Street and 28th Avenue, what first stood out was the large windows that let in abundant amounts of light. It was charming. Walking in, the restaurant had an open feel, with larger four tops lined along the walls and windows and other four tops and two tops located on the floor. The bar was also quite nice, giving a lovely view of the brewery in the back. My friend and I immediately went for the beer list, ready to indulge our taste buds on a satisfying home brew. We started with the Snowmageddon, a brown ale, which has a slight nutty and sweet hint to it. It was appetizing and paired nicely with my grilled chicken sandwich. Originally the fried chicken sandwich, I opted for it grilled. It came nicely charred and topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and a savory garlic mayo. Being quite the cheese fiend, I know for sure I will be adding a nice cheddar to my sandwich next time. We split a half order of the fries, which were evenly dashed with some salt and pepper and nicely complemented our sandwiches. 

My friend order the “18 Hour Porketta” sandwich which was topped with swiss and sautéed onions, and came with a side of barbecue. I immediately had meal envy and vowed to order that the next time I returned. She was instantly surprised at how much she enjoyed their barbecue sauce and devoured the entire side of it along with her sandwich.

The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was equally as enchanting. It was mellow and quiet on a Saturday afternoon and made for a marvelous spot for us to catch up on friends, family, and job situations. I loved the way the sunlight drifted into the restaurant, casting stunning rays of warmth. It was a much needed break from the dreary gray weather we have been forced to experience throughout the month of December.

Since we were far from satisfied with our conversations, we decided to split a flight to get a much better grasp on all the beers this local brewpub had to offer. The flight came with 6 beers, four of their year long brews: Light Rail Pale Ale, Big Jim IPA, Honey Wheat Ale, and Smokehouse Porter, and two of their seasonal’s: Auburn Night and Snowmageddon. Their seasonal’s knocked my socks off. They were heavy with flavor and really nicely wrapped up winter in a glass. They were warming to both my heart and tummy. I was slightly disappointed with the Honey Wheat Ale. It had no hints of sweetness and reminded me too much of a light beer. If I wanted a Miller Lite, I would go back to Milwaukee. The Light Rail Pale Ale was decent. Nothing in comparison to my smooth and delectable New Glares Spotted Cow, the Light Rail was slightly more hoppy in comparison to a Spotted Cow, which came initially as a shock and threw me off my beer drinking game. Lastly, the Smokehouse Porter was by far my favorite out of their year long brews. It was heavy, dark, and left this flawless smokey flavor in my mouth. A perfect winter beer for those blustery nights on Minneapolis streets.

All in all, I would highly recommend this restaurant with its captivating atmosphere and well thought out menu. It has all the comforts of home wrapped into a local brewery. I am happy to see the Minneapolis’ beer brewing scene exploding with tantalizing tastes and colors. I might have to move back sooner then I thought.

Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub is located 2716 East 38th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Superb, A Hidden Gem, "Birdsong" Will Make Your Heart Sing

Under appreciated and superb should define Eddie Redmayne’s performance in the 2012 BBC two-part television drama Birdsong. Redmayne’s acting is spot on as the love-lost and heartbroken, Stephen Wraysford, who is reliving his romantic escapades with the alluring and alluding Isabelle Azaire (Clémence Poésy) during the summer of 1910 in Amiens, France.

Based off the novel of the same title by Sebastian Faulks, the film interweaves the past with the present by offering flashbacks of Wraysford’s passionate relationship with Isabelle and his current life in the first World War. Wraysford uses his wild and vivid imagination to his advantage as a means to escape the horrifying war that has haunted and hardened him.

Beautifully directed by Philip Martin, the war scenes are picturesque and accurate, depicting perfectly the mazing trenches and barren land that was once decorated landscape, ravaged by war. Martin offers stunning contrast throughout the film. Wraysford’s flashbacks give way to bright and optimistic beauty compared to the desolate and matte feelings of World War I. Everything from costume to location is enchanting, yet realistic.

But Martin is far from the real showstopper. Redmayne dominated his performance, displaying such lust, love, loss and heartache. Using few words, Redmayne captures a million with just one glance at Isabelle. His performance is passionate and emotional. Whether he is captivatingly seducing his paramour or protecting his troop, Redmayne acts with fervor that should be revered. Though the character arc could have posed a challenge when filming out of sequence, it proved to be a feat Redmayne could conquer. Capturing with finesse the boyish charm of a young and enamored Wraysford, to a bitter, tight-lipped lieutenant during the war; recognition is in order for the young man’s acting abilities.

The story itself is enthralling because it is this fiery love story encapsulated by this treacherous war that took millions of young men’s lives during the early 1900s. The scenes are exquisitely woven together like a handmade tapestry, giving us the perfect blend of romance and scorn. The heart goes from feeling so warm it might burst to quickly emptying every bit of blood it might have had left, leaving you empty and hoping something soon will come along to reinvigorate your soul. It is a tale of relationships and how the best one’s get you through the toughest times. 

Jack Firebrace (Joseph Mawle) and his undying love for his ill son are just another great example of how relationships truly are the fuel driving this film. Firebrace and Wraysford find their stories intertwined all the way to the end. And even though it is never clearly defined, the two of them find a deep appreciation and admiration for each other. The friendship helps to remind viewers that Wraysford still, deep inside, has a heart and Firebrace has someone to lean on in a time of need, finding an odd comfort in Wraysford. The two men find something to live for in each other, which is an extraordinary gift.

Maybe written off as another boring period drama, or because it was a part of Masterpiece Classic, is why people refuse to check this film out. Yes, it is a part of public broadcasting, but that is no reason to turn the other cheek. This film is a hidden gem with formidable acting by Redmayne and Mawle, as well as wonderfully directed by Martin. It is a beautifully written and performed tale that will leave your heart swelling so much it will ache.

Witty, Charming, Fantastic! Three Cheers for "Obvious Child"

The other night I had the opportunity to divulge in Obvious Child, a romantic comedy starring Jenny Slate and written and directed by Gillian Robespierre. This witty, biting, and absolutely out of the ordinary romantic comedy is by far my favorite I have seen in 2014. Complete with crude fart jokes delivered with relaxed ease from Slate, I found myself listening to an hour and 23 minutes of my own laugh track.

The film follows young comedienne, Donna Stern, who spends her nights dropping raunchy and socially inappropriate jokes at a local night spot and her days packing up the book store she works at because it is going out business. All of this comes upon her break-up with her boyfriend, which is dealt with with lots of wine, some horrible comedy, and a one-night stand.

What is so great about this film is that it speaks to today’s generation in such honest means of comic relief. As much as we want to deny that many nights are spent drowning sorrows with bottles of red wine or in a dark dingy bars with subpar beer, we can’t. We often escape many pains through alcohol, or sex, or both. It might be something that we are ashamed of or love, that I will let you decide, but this film does a great job at remaining candidly charming and obnoxiously clever in the midst of keeping twenty year old’s real and funny, when we can be most annoying.

Slate’s character, Stern, is just looking for stability in comedy, at work, with family, and through life. She is faced with some tough decisions. The toughest coming with her shocking, unexpected pregnancy after her one night stand with Max (Jake Lacy). One part that had me bursting with laughter is when she tries so hard to recall what exactly the condom was used for that faithful night. The scene is brutally honest and completely hits home to how I will often try and recall moments when I was foolish. 

Stern handles the situation with casual ease as she understands that she is unable to take care of a baby at this point in her life and opts for the abortion which is set for none other that the infamously overrated Valentine’s Day. Though some might chastise the film for its lackadaisical approach to abortion, I applaud it. Often a taboo subject, we get the opportunity to see a women exercise the right that is given to her and it is refreshing. Robespierre pushes boundaries by on top of that, turning this challenging decision into a comedic romp. Applause all around!

Though the film finishes in classic “rom-com” fashion, it doesn’t spare us any laughs along the way. Slate gives a delicious performance that makes one want to jump on the stage and give her a hug right in the middle of her set. Thank you for this refreshing take on life as a twenty something. Thank you for finding ways to push boundaries. And thank you for again reminding me I am not the only loser out there.

Watch the trailer for Obvious Child here.

They Have, and Will, Leave Their Mark (Four Unstoppable Women)

1. Alice Paul

This woman led the crusade through the early 1900s for women to get the right to vote. Her methods were considered uncouth, unladylike, and treasonous as she often picketed Woodrow Wilson during the first World War. People, like Carrie Chapman Catt, were not her number one supporters because they believed her reckless ways were never going to get that infamous 20th amendment passed. Paul picketed, protested, and was arrested and sentenced to Occoquan Workhouse several times where she started hunger strikes (a practice she learned in England) and was force fed raw eggs. I admire her passion. There wasn’t much Paul would not do to guarantee women the right to vote and for that all women today should be thankful for all she sacrificed.

2. Jane Wilde Hawking

I am currently reading Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen and must applaud Jane’s incredible strong will, yet tenderness in her caring for Stephen Hawking. Stephen was often times brash, commanding, and aloof to Jane’s sacrifices she made for her husband and family. She was fully dedicated to her husband and was willing to give up many things to guarantee that he had the most fulfilling life that one with ALS could have. She accompanied dinners, flew overseas, and helped him to school by offering up her arm as a crutch. She devoted a majority of her life to him and her love was unwavering, despite development of feelings for her choir master. She truly was Stephen’s rock and her determination and will is something all women should admire.

3. Michelle Obama

Not only is she one of the most fashionably dressed First Lady’s of the United States since Jackie Kennedy, she is a powerhouse. Like her husband, she has experience with community organizing and making things happen. Her crusades currently include spreading awareness of healthy eating, especially for children, to help combat the ever growing epidemic of obesity in this county. She is intelligent, eloquent, motivational, and a complete American icon, what more could we ask for?

4. Beyonce Knowles-Carter

Dear Beyonce, my name is Kelsey, and I consider you to be my idol in all things life. She sings, dances, and is the fiercest woman to ever grace this planet we call Earth. She wakes up flawless, has no problem belting out power chords about love, life, and relationships. She is also one of the strongest, most loving mother’s to ever grace our television screens. She is always glamorous and always seems to be enjoying life to the fullest extent. She is the definition of a strong women by continuing to defy odds in hip-hop world and becoming a reason for all women to belt out amazing songs to their heart’s content. I love her and hope that the world respects her as much as I do.

Two Characters, One Book, And A Lack of Passion

The life-defying fiction novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green became a cult classic for love hungry teenagers with hopes of emulating the sarcastic but true romance of Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters. I spent the last couple weeks of my life indulging in the novel to find what all the rave was about.

The novel follows Hazel Grace, a 16 year old girl growing up with a death sentence because thyroid cancer has ruled a majority of her life. She carries around an oxygen tank named Phillip and can thank her continual fresh flow of oxygen and a drug called Phalanxifor, which has kept the mets in her lungs from neither shrinking nor growing, for keeping her alive. She has quite a blasé view on life, knowing that she most certainly will die at a young age. Hazel doesn’t necessarily push herself to do anything remarkable, but has managed to earn her GED and is attending college classes (pretty phenomenal if you ask me) at a local community college in Indiana.

Her life revolves around hanging with her parents, watching "America’s Next Top Model" and being forced to attend support group meetings for cancer patients at a local Church. There she meets the infamous Augustus Waters; easy on the eyes who has had only a slight duel with cancer (osteosarcoma) before claiming his leg. Augustus is witty, sarcastic, and has a hero complex that most people would find endearing. I, in turn, find it insufferable.

From the support group meeting we are dragged through 300 plus pages of two young teenagers trying to understand the meaning of life and how to make the most of the time that they do have on Earth. Green puts together two characters who are flawed by this horrible disease, but still lack the amount of years needed to really debate the meaning of life. I understand that death is staring right back at them, but why not allow them to be teenagers. We get the feeling of youth only slightly through the ever present love for video games, poor teenage driving, and love for silly television shows. I almost feel as if Green has robbed these characters of their youth all because of a death sentence.

For a majority of the book, both refuse to acknowledge that the two are indeed in a relationship with each other for fear of hurting one another in the end. It is incredibly frustrating and completely unnecessary because the reason I am reading the book is to find how love can heal and reinvigorate the passion one has for life. Or maybe I read it just for fun. Either way, the ending came as painfully predictable and anti-climatic, which after many raved reviews, maybe I ruined it for myself. I had friends who told me they shook with tears for the last 75-100 pages. Though tears tickled the backs of my eyes, and yes, maybe a few dribbled onto the pages, I was never wrought with agony as most said I would be.

Though The Fault in Our Stars was touching, it fell short as life-defying or life-changing. I came to expect the ending. The only true hero in the book ended up being the sarcastic, douchebag Peter Van Houten who penned the tragic book An Imperial Affliction that helped blossom the young love between Hazel and Augustus. Van Houten, an angry, depressed and seemingly ignorant alcoholic, spits venom and hurtful truth towards the doomed teens in a wishful journey to Amsterdam. Not your typical hero, but his blackened hatred of life is what ultimately brings these two teens fully together. It was a nice break from the forced sarcasm and “deep” conversations often had between our two death bound lovers. I enjoyed the bitterness his character brought to the bubble gum verse between all characters in the book.

Call me a Grinch, but the novel failed to evoke the emotion I found myself longing for throughout my reading. I applaud its attempt to tackle a heavy subject with light-hearted humor and witty remarks, but in the end I was left with a handful of empty characters and a desire to run to the nearest book store.

Five Reasons to See "Theory of Everything" This Season.

1. It is a raw, emotional, and triumphant love story.

The Theory of Everything explores the intensely supportive and remarkable love story of Stephen and Jane Hawking, the famed Cambridge physicist and his first wife. It explores the the romantic high points and devastating low points of their other worldly love. Many know Stephen Hawking, the professor, but what came as a surprise to me was this incredibly strong and determined women who made Hawking’s world a possibility. I had not heard anything about Jane until I saw the movie, and afterwards I had this insatiable desire to fly to Cambridge and meet her personally. The movie may not follow their relationship to a chronologically tee, like is depicted in Jane’s memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, but it captures the raw emotion and strong desire of two brilliant people and their passion for life and each other.

2. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones give performances of a lifetime.

I am certain every major newspaper, online news source, and anything that can print words for people to read are raving as much as I am about the performances that Redmayne and Jones fulfill. There are no other words to describe it except “embodiment.” From Jane’s sturdy and quiet demeanor to the chronicled deterioration of one of the world’s most brilliant minds, I was swept into the Hawkings’ world for 2 hours, and left feeling like I had made two new friends. Their sheer embodiment led me on a roller coaster of emotions from happiness to love to disappointment to joy to anger to frustration to the utmost sadness and longing. They very much deserve every award they are nominated for in this upcoming season.

3. Director James Marsh took it and owned it.

Not only did he cast two of the best leads, he beautifully wove together a magical love story that made most people in relationships question their love. Marsh’s use of vibrant, yet different color palettes along with the theme of circles throughout the film make my heart leap with joy. It is so aesthetically pleasing that you almost want to weep the entire time at the pure beauty of it. Though I have not had the opportunity to see anything else he has directed, I can only expect that the themes will wrap up just as nicely as in Theory. By far my favorite thing is his use of a Super 8 camera to capture what are quaint and delightful family moments shared by the Hawkings’. They weave in and out of the film, connecting the past with the present, the Hawkings with the universe. It is beyond lovely.

4. Johann Johannsson’s score though…

Almost like Marsh’s use of the Super 8, Johannson’s score captures the spirited highs and painful lows of the Hawkings’ life together and tells their story through strong, uplifting strings and melancholy piano riffs. The music starts off cheery, bright to depict the feverishly intelligent and still healthy young Stephen Hawking, but as the music moves throughout the film we get slower, deeper tones to show the deterioration Stephen’s health as well as their marriage. The score is stunning and rightly captures these two incredible people and their heartwarming story.

5. Not your typical Romance film.

Though I keep ranting and raving about how romantically enlightening this tale is, it is in no way your typical romance. As we all know now, Jane and Stephen are no longer married. They did stay together for 26 years, but alas their marriage crumbled under the weight of fame and a desire for something more. Both remarried, Stephen to his nurse Elaine Mason (later divorced) and Jane to choir director Jonathan Hellyer Jones. At first thought this was incredibly heartbreaking to me. I wanted these two individuals to be triumphant in all aspects of life. But that was me fictionalizing two very real people. I think the lines that hit me the hardest where when Jones’ said, “I have loved you. I did my best,” because it slapped me back to reality. These characters are real people, with real challenges and real emotions. I can’t put them into my neat box and hope they stay together for romance sake. This movie showed us real people and how they tackle tough issues. It was refreshing, heartwarming, and devastating all at once, but above all it was a satisfying journey into the mind’s of two phenomenally “out-of-this-world” people.

The Theory of Everything is playing now in the U.S., click here for trailer.

5 Reasons To Be Thankful for Flying

Flying has become a custom commodity in today’s world. The gift of flight given to us by the Wright Brothers has provided what very few people could see by ship before the 1900s. A flight from New York to London is 7 hours. A trip like that back in the 1700s would take months! I am not sure when the world become so un-amazed by flying, but I will tell you, the gift of flight is one of the greatest gifts this world has ever received. Here are some reasons why I love flying in this day of high security, angry, travel-tired customers, and communicable diseases exchanging continents.

1. Airports are gathering places.

Coming, going, running, sleeping. Airports have an energy all their own. With carts carrying luggages, sleepy business travelers checking in, to families running to meet connecting flights, there is always a feeling like something is about to happen. It is exhilarating. It bums me out that in order to enter an airport nowadays you need to be flying. If that were not the case I would spend my days hanging out in airports; talking to people, writing, reading, enjoying the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle of world travelers.

2.  Anything can happen on a flight.

So we often here in the news how disruptive travelers are getting kicked off flights for being rude and creating unsafe situations, but what about the really awesome things? I remember seeing a video posted online about the Disney cast of the “The Lion King” musical serenading a jet full of people in Australia. And yesterday on my short flight from Minneapolis to Milwaukee I had a flight attendant who made the safety demonstration fun by dancing to show where the exits were and made quirky faces. It was awesome and definitely put a smile on my face.

3. You are 30,000 feet above the earth.

Okay, maybe not Space high, but 30,000 feet in a large metal contraption that weighs more than 200,000 pounds…there is no argument about how phenomenal that is. Next time you have the opportunity to sit in a window seat just watch the Earth pass by underneath you. It is breathtaking the amount of square fields, mountains, and cities you will see.

4. Oh, the people you’ll meet.

I have met some extremely nice (and extremely rude) and friendly people in airports. It is nice to hear people’s travel stories, from dreams to nightmares. I once met a couple who really enjoyed baseball and were from Nova Scotia. They were traveling to Texas to meet their grandchild for the first time. They shared with me that they had recently received over two feet of snow. It was April. Though the conversation wasn’t life changing, it was a nice way to pass the time, and we had the opportunity to talk about education and how healthy play is important for a child’s mental and physical growth.

5. Airports are filled with stories.

You see people from all over the world coming together to experience new things or see old things. People who are navigating the world through a translation book and maps. People who are returning from war overseas. People who are leaving for war overseas. People who are rushing home to see family and friends. People who are just putting a bag on their back and going out to find something or themselves. It doesn’t matter where they are going, it is just that they are going somewhere. They each have a story. Sometimes they feel like sharing, other times they don’t, most of it is up to you to write.