Erik was planning to spend Halloween night seeing Xymox. Thus, it was decided that this would be a great night for me to hang out with Carroll in Northfield. I’ve never been much on Halloween or Xymox. All involved parties seemed relieved.
Actually, we spent the morning in the city, checking out some bookstores and thrift stores, and wishing we had time to visit Murray’s (home of the butterknife steak). Minneapolis and Saint Paul were both victimized pretty badly by urban renewal in the 60’s and 70’s, but a few old sights, like Murray’s, the incredible Foshay Tower, and Dayton’s Department Store can still be seen downtown.
Then it was off to the ‘burbs for some quality time at Target and at the most obscenely huge (and crowded) supermarket I’ve ever seen. I had a car. Carroll needed stuff. I have this strange obsession with grocery stores and have to visit a few everywhere I go. It worked. Trust me. For an afternoon of entertainment, there are few things better than a Minnesota supermarket. With a huge aisle full of cheese. And Count Chocula. And a cute produce clerk giving me the eye…
Back in Northfield, we had dinner at a cool resturant in the basement of an even cooler hotel (neither of whose names I can remember). What I do remember is pretty good food, French dressing (damned near impossible to find in California), and a waitron who wore jeans very well and who reassured us that yes, it was OK to smoke in the smoking section.
Afterwards, there was a quick tour of the stunningly safe (even on Halloween) streets and a stop by the local grocerteria in search for a very special product:
Frank’s Kraut Juice. Contains 100% kraut juice. Ingredients: cabbage juice and salt. Serving suggestion: “chill well and serve icy cold, or blend with equal parts of tomato juice and a squeeze of lemon”. It’s “just naturally good”. I wouldn’t know. I was afraid to try it. But there’s some in my kitchen right now. Maybe on New Year’s Eve…
I also stocked up on Count Chocula and Grape Pop-tarts (also impossible to find in California). We skipped the economy size chocolate pudding. Figured it might keep us awake.