Mojo Monkey Donuts



From left to right: Raised Donut with Mango Glaze and Coconut Flakes, Carrot Cake Donut, Maple Bacon Bar

 Until recently there has been a dearth of delicious donuts here in the Twin Cities. As a girl who grew up with a Dunkin' Donuts on every block, this was a serious problem. Okay, maybe not a serious problem but definitely a bummer.

My luck changed when I found out that a new donut place was opening almost half way between my house and my parents' place. Sweet! Mojo Monkey Donuts is a cute little place on a not very cute stretch of West 7th Street in St. Paul. They serve coffee and donuts and other delights in a cozy space that was hoppin' when I stopped by on Saturday.

The donuts (doughnuts?) I tried were all delicious! The raised donut is pillowy but not mushy like a Krispy Kreme (sorry Krispy Kreme fans - I like a little more substance and flavor to my donuts). The glazes are just sweet enough but not tooth-achingly so.

Mojo Monkey Donuts has a bunch of different selections - some offered every day, some offered on certain days of the week, and some monthly specials. I was checking out the September menu online (yes, the menu is available online! And there are pictures!) and came across this little gem:

September 15–16: Poached Pear Bismarck

Spiced poached pears make up this creamy pear curd. The Bismarck is topped with honey walnut icing and roasted pears.

Delicious! I will definitely be there - early! Because I hear that they do sell out of some flavors. Early bird gets the donut, dontcha know.

Address:
1169 7th Street West
Saint Paul, MN 55102

Website:
http://www.mojomonkey.biz/index.html

State Fair Cupcake: Crop Art!

Today's cupcake is a tribute to crop art. Yes, the fine art of using seeds, beans and grains to express yourself. My cupcake below is decorated with nonpareils, sugar pearls, and candy-coated sunflower seeds. Yes, I'm pretty sure sprinkles don't count as seeds, technically, but have you ever planted and watered one to see if a cupcake bush will grow? I haven't tried it so who can say with 100% certainty?

One my favorites in the crop art display at the fair is the Bad Seed. Below is from last year.....

And below is a pic of this year's piece! Cool, right?

Below is a smattering of my personal favorites from this year's competition.

Below is another, less sucessful, crop art cupcake. I think crop artists must have a boatload of patience - and lots of tweezers! Perhaps a magnifying lens, too.

These last two are very representative of the political tradition in crop art. THere are two amendments on the ballot in November - one limiting marriage  and one limiting voting rights. This isn't a political type blog, so I'll just say both pieces are creative and clever in delivering their message.

Artists in Storefronts - Jack Edwards Pop Up Gallery

A friend and I happened upon this pop up gallery when driving past on Nicollet Avenue. I saw the giant White Rabbit sculpture and was like, "What is THAT? That is awesome! We need to stop!"

It turns out that it was a Pop Up Gallery featuring the work of Jack Edwards. The gallery is part of the Whittier neighborhoods "Artists in Storefronts" project that has been going on this summer.

I had the chance to speak with Mr. Edwards while looking around the gallery. In addition to decades of costuming work for the Guthrie Theater, the artist worked on the old Dayton's department store 8th floor Christmas show for many years and designed some of the Holidazzle parade floats, as well. Since Macy's acquired Marshall Fields (which acquired Daytons), the holiday display has been exactly the same for three years running and Mr. Edwards is no longer affiliated with the display. Macy's is so lame. Apparently, they own all of the figures from past displays but won't sell them and hardly ever display them. It's so sad; these quirky characters should be shared with the public.

There are some good interviews with Jack Edwards at these links:

http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom/2012/01/from_broadway_to_the_guthrie_to_holidazzle_a_jack_edwards_retrospective.php

http://metromag.com/blog/arts/theater/studio-jack-edwards

The Artists in Storefronts project is ongoing until September 9th. The last walking tour is scheduled for noon on Saturday September 8th. There is more information on their website:

http://www.artistsinstorefronts.com/

Sculptures on my lunch break

I often take a walk around downtown during my lunch break. I have a only thirty minutes (and they are very strict about it) so I have to figure out places where I can go and still get back in time. I often go to Barnes and Noble (yay books!) but that can be dangerous to my wallet. Another frequent destination is the Central Library bookstore (yay MORE books!) which is slightly less dangerous. The other day I decided to travel a little further out so that I could share some photos of one of my very favorite sculptures/parks downtown.

Here is a photo of Minneapolis City Hall. I like it because it looks like a castle or chateau of some kind. I've often thought it would be cool to live here if the apocalypse ever comes. But then I think about having to defend all of those windows. Hmmm, impractical.

The park and sculptures are another block over.

These sculptures are in the plaza of the U.S. Courthouse. A quick google search shows that the artist is Tom Otterness and the work is called, "Rockman". They are made from bronze.

When these sculptures were first installed, I remember reading an editorial saying that they weren't appropriate for a federal courthouse building. They were too "whimsical". Well, you know what I say to that...

"BRING ON THE WHIMSY!"

Geez, it's not like you can have too much whimsy in your life. I daresay the people who have to spend time at the courthouse could probably use an extra dose of whimsy.

These guys kind of remind me of the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters by Roger Hargreaves (yes, I had to google that to get the name of the artist. Sir Google and I are bff).

Remember those guys? www.mrmen.com

Some Local Art



Detail of awesome mural on 32nd Street and Bryant Ave South in Minneapolis. Check out the whole thing below. I wish every building had an awesome mural. Truly.



This giant head sculpture is right by the Landmark Theatre in the Uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis. Cool but a little creepy. It reminds me a little of The Face of Boe from Dr. Who and a little of those Easter Island heads.

Love is a warm puppy! There's a whole group of these Peanuts sculptures in downtown Saint Paul. They are in the park right by the Saint Paul Hotel and the Landmark Center. I wait there everyday for my connecting bus. Amusingly, every Thursday they've been having giant group dance lessons in the park - salsa, swing, you name it! It looks fun.

This Weekend

The view from the (frigid, windy) bridge across the Mississippi, heading from our neighborhood down to the Winter Carnival parade....

...and the white squirrel who lives in the tree next to our house. We call him "Al" - actually, we call all white squirrels Al (short for Albino). I think he's happy that there is finally a little snow around to camouflage himself.

The parade was fun! There were Vulcans and Klondike Kates (crazy traditions that I barely understand), bands, and unicyclers.

A trip to Mojo Monkey Donuts! Yay! This place is right on my way to work and has been open for months. Lucky for my waistline that I hate getting up early more than I love donuts :) Still, it's gotten rave reviews so I was excited that I had time to stop by this morning.

Mmmm....Mango Coconut, Maple Bacon, and Carrot Cake! I tried all three. My favorite was the mango coconut and I'm not usually a huge fan of raised donuts. Delicious!

This orange guy on the dashboard always looks like he's looking disapprovingly at the speedometer. The purple dude is dejected because the weekend is over.

Faces at the MIA

My sister I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art (http://www.artsmia.org/) last week. While I was there, I thought it would be fun to take some photos of different faces in the paintings and sculptures.