The Red Stag Supper Club - Minneapolis, MN

We left Wisconsin on the first day that collective bargaining rights were officially taken away, and we entered Minnesota on the first day of the state government shutdown. We have no intention of making this blog a politically tainted one, but it was hard to ignore the general mood in Wisconsin with countless signs disgracing Governor Walker sticking from carefully groomed lawns and dusted windows panes. Even the cats lounging in the windows looked defeated.

Upon entering Minnesota, we noticed bright orange "closed" signs blocking every entrance to rest areas and State parks. 23,000 state workers now have forced furlough days -- ones they most likely won't receive back-pay for -- and state camp grounds in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" kicked people out on Thursday evening in preparation for the shut-down. This drastically decreased projected revenues over the holiday weekend from camping fees, etc... With a potential national shut-down looming overhead come August 2nd, Minnesota's current fiscal issue merits recognition and reflection.

On to the main point: the weather (and some music, I guess). We descended upon Minneapolis in a furious storm - one of the most intimidating storms we've witnessed since the one we drove through last year in Southern Illinois (which had funnel clouds in the near distance). Minneapolis had a prominent ring of dark grey/green clouds hovering above it, which looked eerily similar to the alien space craft in the 1996 film Independence Day. We turned on a talk radio station to make sure we wouldn't be sucked into the sky by a tornado (or an alien spaceship) before making it to the venue.

The radio show we ended up listening to was almost more entertaining than the giant drops of rain battering the windshield and the ferocious clouds overhead. They were taking calls from people around the city and surrounding suburbs, who were i-witnesses to the developing storm system. Most people would call in and say things like, "Hi, this is Mike here, I'm in the North Eastern part of the city. It's gettin' really windy here, and very dark" or "Yah, it's raining here" then the radio hosts would say something like, "Thanks, Mike, for your insightful report. Now onto the next caller. We've got Bev here on the line who said she just saw some hail." Then Bev would come on the radio and say something like, "Yah, Bob, I've seen a little bit of some hail up here, yah. It's pea sized." It was radio at its most gripping.

We made it to the venue as the storm subsided. The Red Stag Supper Club turned out to be a corner bar in a quiet part of town. Everything was red, too. They had dark red carpet, red walls, red-shirted waitstaff, a giant red stag statue on the front awning... They served fantastic fried cheese curds along with other fancier delicacies, and as an identifiable hipster hang-out, they offered a better-than-average selection of regional and imported beers on draft. They didn't have a stage, but they pulled a black curtain over the kitchen area and set up a P.A. system right in front of it. A few friends in the area showed up (as well as a fan of Carl's - a real fan!), and we had an enjoyable evening.

The next morning, our more-than-accommodating host Ben made us a breakfast feast good enough for a pack of stags. He busted out some Texas Toast and panned us up a few restaurant-style french toast platters, paired nicely with crispy bacon and fresh cut fruit. We ate to the brink of nausea, then packed our car and headed southwest to Sioux Falls, SD.

Driving Music:
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - Disc 1
Cedarwell - A Stone, A Leaf, A Door
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - Disc 2
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Mem Shannon - Memphis in the Morning
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
Iron and Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black