Happy Hour at a Museum??

It is true!

The Bakken is a very "hands on" museum, showing us the power of electricity. The night I visited was "Monster Mash", so it was very Halloween themed. There was a big focus on Mary Shelly and Frankenstein, although there is a permanent exhibit on Frankenstein. Bakken may have had an obsession with the story (did you know Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 15 and it was published when she was 18!?) and has a first edition book.

The Tudor style house is quite beautiful too. And, it does have a quirk - the amount of doors. A small den had 6 doors! The man that built the house, Goodfellow, was a little paranoid (like eccentric, rich folks tend to be) and thought an intruder would get lost in the dead end of doors, giving Goodfellow enough time to escape. Poor guy should have been more paranoid about his relationship though. He built the house for his girlfriend, but before the home was even finished she dumped him. He never married.

Probably one of the top highlights was this:
Yes, you get to have your picture taken -- showing the power of static electricity!! HA, strangers were screaming at me, "you look like a dandelion!"

So be sure to check this out sometime, the second Tuesday of every month. And yes, admission (which is $7, but don't forget to log onto the site before you go, sometiems they have links for 2 for 1 coupons!) does cover wine and appetizers!!

~Posted by Ann

Visit to 35W

A few days ago we decided to head over to see the progress being made on the 35W bridge. There is something surreal about the stage it is a right now; the North and South sides are slowly approaching each other.

As we were staring out at the concrete and steel we noticed how it was raining in the distance, we probably should have taken that as a preview of what was to come, but I wanted more pictures... and I got some. Although, I also got soaked to the bone.

~Posted by Ann

VIA Cafe and Bar

VIA Cafe and Bar
Address: 6740 France Avenue South
Edina, MN 55435
Website: http://www.viacafebar.com/

Well UNO underwent a bit of a change... They now spell their name with different letters (VIA), they serve wonderful food and in fact it is a totally different establishment! The inside is wonderfully decorated, chandeliers with draping crystals, nice upholstered chairs and rich, dark woods. Even on a Minnesota night with a stiff wind and probably a negative wind chill they had their fire pits roaring outside; it created a cozy, fireplace atmosphere inside.

We were greeted by a hostess wearing a stylish black dress, like the kind I wear every 3 years when I go to a Broadway show or something and I also saw a guy wearing a 3 piece suit eating near by. Needless to say I felt a little frumpy in my jeans. So fair warning, you may not want to stop here for dinner after shopping at Southdale for hours and looking to crash at a casual place.

I had a big lunch this day (at Cap's Grille, another great Minneapolis locale: http://www.capsgrille.com/), so I wasn't looking for a big dinner. Which was a good thing, because my one complaint was that they didn't have a vegetarian entree option. I ordered the Fresh Mozzarella flat bread: yum, yum. It was loaded with melted cheese, on a nice crisp flat bread. I could have used more basil on it, but I don't want to complain about it, it was great. My mom's dish was the Pork Tenderloin. She hasn't had Pork Tenderloin like this before! It was elegantly served, with a side of spiced, stewed pear and a potato au gratin side. I sampled the pear and potatoes, delish.

All in all, I am looking forward to go back!

Trivia: Via is run by the same company that operates Mission and Atlas Bar and Grill.

~posted by Ann