Good afternoon! I was up early yesterday to enjoy a breakfast fitting of the State Fair: a key-lime pie ice cream bar. There was a crush of first day, early bird fair visitors at the gate, but despite no clearly demarcated lines, we all generally refrained from cutting and maneuvering. Because we’re Minnesotan.
As I explain to friends elsewhere, “Minnesota Nice” contains a spectrum of connotations, from sarcastic to sincere and every shade in between. At the fair, I got to see the most genuine versions of Minnesota Nice on display. I asked for directions to a restaurant and instead a jovial bunch walked me there because they were kind of, maybe, headed in that direction. That’s the fair at its best.
Today my co-host, Jay Gabler, has a look at the pickled products available at the fair this year. We also chat with Michael Che, the “Saturday Night Live” actor and writer, who is in Minneapolis this weekend to film a live comedy special.
Here’s what else we’ve been following:
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Operation Metro Surge is one of the topics that has loomed large among this year’s crop art at the fair. MPR photographer Ben Hovland has a great visual roundup previewing some of the pieces.
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The same hyperlocal neighborhood networks that shared information and resources during Metro Surge are now turning to voter organizing, with training and encouragement led by Unidos MN, reports Joey Peters of Sahan Journal.
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You’ve noticed it, too: Prices at some food spots in the cities increasingly veer toward the unfathomable. Adam Platt at Twin Cities Business reports why a side salad now costs $15.
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Three questions with Michael Che
The comedian Michael Che is best known for his performances on “Saturday Night Live,” where he is co-host of the news parody segment “Weekend Update.” But his first love, he says, is doing stand-up, and he’s bringing that to Minneapolis this weekend. He’s shooting his third Netflix comedy special, this time at First Avenue, with live shows tonight and tomorrow.
First Avenue, where Prince set “Purple Rain,” is imbued with artistic significance. The club was an incubator of the “Minneapolis Sound” that Prince popularized, and later became a Twin Cities landmark in its own right.
This interview has been lightly edited.
SHADI: Why did you choose First Avenue as the venue for your special?
MICHAEL: I loved how old it is, and how it used to be an old Greyhound station, and just the feeling that the more intimate, historic space gives you.
I liken it to a really good skillet, a really good pan that’s been used for a lot of stews. Each one leaves a little bit of flavor in there. You sense that vibe when you walk in, where you can feel the music still in the walls.
Why did you want to film stand-up in front of a Twin Cities audience?
Certain cities receive shows well. They’re there to see something, and they’re on board. You don’t have to fight them. You can tell they’ve been outside before, you know.
Maybe part of it is Minneapolis’s remarkable theater background. Audiences there get performance, and you can see that by how many artists, musicians, performers come from there. It’s a breeding ground for talent, so they’re used to shows and they just dig it.
I’ll also be in Minneapolis to finally solve the mystery of who really invented the Juicy Lucy.
Did the federal immigration surge affect your decision to come here?
This is the first I’m hearing about it. Did something happen here?
Of course there’s a cultural significance to being around people who are on the front lines of any fight for social change. I always loved performing with them and for them because they matched my frustration about having to prove our humanity to anyone. That’s where a lot of my performance, my humor, comes from, and it matches the spirit of Minneapolis.
This particular night, I want people to let their energy out through laughter. That doesn’t discount other ways of processing it. But I handle things best through jokes. And you’ve got to use your superpower.
GETTING PICKLED AT THE FAIR
It’s Jay here. Minnesotans might be loath to admit it, but the association of pickles with state fairs reaches beyond our borders. Competitive pickling figures prominently in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “State Fair,” although the Iowans in that 1945 musical modestly claim only that “our state fair is the best state fair in our state.”
At the best state fair in our own state, pickles are pervasive.
Official competitions include 13 pickle categories, including six for cucumbers alone. Refrigerator pickles need not apply.
Outside the competitions, the taste of pickle pervades the fair. Pickle items include:
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Fried pickles. While I would make a case for the spear as the ideal fried pickle cut (try an order at the Groveland Tap), at the State Fair it’s all about the rounds. The Perfect Pickle’s two locations offer multiple fried pickle varieties, thickly breaded.
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Pickle pizza. A surprise hit (to me) when it debuted in 2022, the weighty slices at Rick’s Pizza go way beyond the topping. The sauce is dill ranch, the seasoning is dill weed. Short of sticking a slice into a jar of brine, you can’t get pizza much more pickled than this.
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Pickle booze. If you’re looking to get pickled in multiple senses of the word, your options include beer (Dill Pickle Kölsch), cider (Pickle Lemonade Cider), seltzer (Dill Pickle Seltzer) and even sparkling wine (Pickle & Vine). If hard liquor were allowed at the fair, a pickle-tini would be inevitable.
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Pickle dog. Have you ever looked at a tray of pickle roll-ups and thought, “What if we just didn’t slice them?” The result would be a pickle dog: a quarter dill snuggled up in a slice of pastrami with a cream cheese buffer.
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New pickle frontiers. This year’s new food list includes both a Pickle Pie (LuLu’s Public House) and a pickle cookie (“Dill with it, Cookie!” at Urban Glow Mocktails). Shadi’s take on the Pickle Pie, one of this year’s most talked-about new foods: “Prepare yourself for something really pickle-y.”
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Pickle on a stick. The classic, available at the Pickle Dog stand and the Perfect Pickle. Consider it a palate cleanser.
Want to learn more about pickles? Wirecutter, The Times’s product recommendation site, will be at MPR’s booth at the State Fair for a live podcast recording on Sunday, Aug. 30, at noon. The subject: pickles.
OFF HOURS
Three weekend events
We’ll be back at the fair this weekend — watch for Jay’s report from Saturday’s Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Homecoming show. Here are a few more weekend recommendations.
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Shania Twain has become a cultural icon (don’t miss Lizzy Goodman’s recent article in The New York Times Magazine). An annual Twain tribute at the Turf Club reliably brings some of the Twin Cities’ most exciting singers to the stage, and Saturday’s show will be no exception.
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After five years as an online publication, Racket hits print this weekend. Friday night at Arbeiter Brewing, Racket will be celebrating its anniversary as well as the release of a book containing eight stories from its virtual pages. Ross Raihala at Pioneer Press has the story of Racket’s rise.
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The Guthrie Theater’s 2006 move was the key to a transformation that’s completely changed the vibe of the Mill District. Sunday, the Guthrie is marking two decades with an open house free to the public.
SPORTS
There may be extra anxiety among parents as football season begins for Minnesota high school students.
A new study, which we referenced in an earlier newsletter, found that among the nearly 900 former N.F.L. players who died from 2016 to 2021, at least one in four had C.T.E., or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The neurological disease, which causes dementia-like symptoms, impulsivity and depression, has also been found in children as young as 15.
So what should you do if your children play tackle football?
Researchers advise looking for ways to minimize the total number of blows to the head. Limit contact in practice, and be wary of coaches or teams that have a “play through it” mentality. If your child is knocked unconscious, they should be removed from the game and evaluated by an independent medical professional before returning to the field.
Football is among the most popular sports among high school students in Minnesota. After reaching a low point during the 2021-2022 school year, participation among Minnesotan students rose and now remains fairly steady. During the last school year, 23,816 Minnesota athletes played football, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.
YOUR TIMES
Top Times stories, selected for Minnesota readers. We have made these links free for readers of The Local.
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Big Tech: Tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple have influenced nearly every step of the education supply chain. St. Paul public schools rely on iPads, and Minneapolis public schools use Chromebooks.
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Deportation flights: The Trump administration is planning to expand deportation flights to Haiti, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. In mid-August, a federal judge also ruled that the Trump administration could end Temporary Protective Status for people from Somalia.
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Divorce: Divorcées in Minnesota and elsewhere are choosing to celebrate their new life status with indulgence, big hats, long dresses and, maybe, empowerment.
WEATHER
Heat can deter people from visiting the State Fair, according to an Axios Twin Cities analysis, but rain? Not so much. That suggests crowds tomorrow will still be sizable despite the strong possibility of a midday thunderstorm. Today, gathering cloud cover will make an expected 85 degree high feel more bearable.
OPE! JUST ONE MORE THING
No sooner had we decided to embrace “ope” than Shadi spotted this tattoo on a fair-goer.
Thanks for taking a break with us this afternoon!
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The post The Local: Michael Che on First Avenue appeared first on New York Times.
