The Minnesota State Fair is one of the highlights of my year. I love the crowds, the nostalgia, the food, the overload of sights and sounds. I love it so much that my ideal Minnesota State Fair day starts before 8:00 a.m., just when things are ramping up, and goes until at least 10:00 p.m., when the colorful lights and overflowing buckets of chocolate chip cookies make the fairgrounds feel like a magical place set apart from the concerns of daily life.
I go to the Minnesota State Fair for many reasons: nostalgia, the live entertainment, the livestock, the educational exhibits, the display cases full of prizewinning knitwear. But mostly, it's about the food.
The Minnesota State Fair is known for deep-fried food, including cheese curds, Pronto Pups, pickles, cookie dough (one of my faves!), and candy bars. But what if deep-fried food isn't your thing? No problem!
Most coverage of the Minnesota State Fair is food-focused, although the live entertainment, farm animals, butter sculptures, crop art, and Midway rides also garner plenty of attention. Something that usually doesn't get mentioned is that State Fair is great destination for history buffs—the Minnesota State Fair dates back to 1859, and many of the fairgrounds' buildings were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s.
Some people love beer, others prefer wine, but my drink of choice is a craft cocktail—I think that's due to the fact that I didn't really start drinking alcohol until my late 20s. My favorite place to enjoy craft cocktails is straight from the source: at a local micro distillery. Minnesota is home to over 30 micro distilleries, which typically have tasting rooms where you can purchase cocktails, tasting flights, and bottles of spirits.
My third trip to Finland featured time in Helsinki, Turku, Rauma, and Porvoo—and lots of delicious food. From cinnamon buns to salmon soup, here are the best things I at in Finland during my trip in late May and early June of 2026.
Finland is a coastal country, and the southwestern region is home to the world's largest archipelago by number of islands (approximately 40,000). One of the best ways to experience this part of Finland is the Small Archipelago Trail, which can be explored by bike, car, or mass transit.
Helsinki is Finland's capital and largest city, as well as a captivating tourist destination. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki has unique architecture, interesting museums, a top-notch food scene, and distinctively Nordic design.
You might not recognize the name, but you've probably seen the photos: Porvoo is one of the most photographed spots in Finland. Porvoo is a small town about 30 miles northeast of Helsinki, and the riverside Old Town is beloved for its colorful wooden buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, and romantic, low-key vibe.
When it comes to international cuisines, Finnish food is a bit under-the-radar—and I say this as a proud Finnish-American who grew up in northern Minnesota, which has one of the greatest concentrations of people of Finnish descent in the United States. Other than leipäjuusto (bread cheese) and my great-grandma's cardamom bread recipe, I hadn't tried any Finnish foods before my trip to Finland.
Pristine lakes, pine forests, rocky coastlines, fanciful architecture, modern design, saunas, New Nordic cuisine, salty licorice, cardamom-laced pastries—there are so many things that make Finland one of my very favorite places that I've visited.
It's time to savor the all-too-brief Minnesota summer by dining outdoors at a local restaurant patio. Here's a roundup of my favorite restaurant patios in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
When I moved to the Twin Cities, a scoop of raspberry chocolate chip ice cream was what convinced me to stick around. Since then, I've become an ice cream connoisseur, scouting out the best frozen treats in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Here are my picks for the best ice cream in the Twin Cities—plus my all-time favorite.
Here are the best things I ate and drank in Nashville, in chronological order—this is only a taste of what the Music City's wide-ranging dining scene has to offer.
As a Twin Cities-based blogger and food writer, there's one question that I hate more than any other: "What's your favorite restaurant?" Immediately, my mind goes blank and I forget everywhere I've ever eaten. Typically I stammer out the first place that pops into my head, and my questioner inevitably looks disappointed.
For the past several years, I've hosted an annual Pi Day celebration featuring an assortment of pies. As you might remember from geometry class, pi is a circle's circumference divided by its diameter...
It's been eight years since I quit my day job as a intellectual property paralegal to plunge into self-employment. And now I'm taking another leap into the unknown-I'm writing a novel.
Hidden entrances, secret passwords, strong drinks: once an illicit way obtain alcohol during Prohibition, a century later, speakeasies have been reimagined as stylish spaces to enjoy craft cocktails. As I mentioned in my post about the best distilleries in the Twin Cities, I am very much a cocktail person, and speakeasies appeal to my love of history and penchant for the dramatic.
There's a good reason Minnesota's football team is named the Vikings—the state is home to more Nordic-Americans than any other state. About 28 percent of Minnesotans, or over 1.6 million people, have Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and/or Icelandic heritage. Even if you don't have Nordic roots, Minnesota's wooded landscapes and chilly winters evoke the Nordic countries, and Nordic-inspired cuisine, minimalist design, and hygge appeal to people of all backgrounds.
Afternoon tea is fun treat, with fancy china, tiered trays of beautiful desserts, and often, a unique, historic setting. Ready to settle in for an afternoon of tea, treats, and conversation? Here's where you can find afternoon tea in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the Twin Cities suburbs.
