Schneier on Security

There are many reasons why the influx of Hispanic immigrants is good for this country, but our favorite is the restaurants they open. We still have our share of Tex-Mex American restaurants, and fake Mexican dishes at corporate chain restaurants, but now it seems that every community has an authentic family-run Mexican restaurant.

Lino Lakes got its version last December, when Poblano’s opened up in a small strip mall. Run by the husband and wife team of Mateo and Janine Salas, they cook their own versions of standard Mexican favorites. The results are mixed…

For us, romantic weekends always seemed to begin with an airplane ride—until we found Canoe Bay. The secluded inn, just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities near Chetek, Wis., offers quiet, gracious service and luxurious rooms—but no telephones or in-room Internet hookup. Who needs the outside world when you’re in a warm, woodsy room next to a quiet lake? Canoe Bay is the Midwest’s only Relais & Chateaux, a collection of only the top 440 luxury hotels and restaurants in the world, so it’s our area’s own gem of a hideaway.

Why go now

Fall colors are peaking and the lakes are still open for canoeing. The property’s 280 acres are filled with miles of hiking trails, and there are two lakes on the property for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and row boating—no noisy motorboats allowed…

We’re a thousand miles from the ocean. It takes a certain amount of bravery to buy seafood from the back of a truck parked in a gas station, especially when the truck wasn’t there yesterday and won’t be there tomorrow. But every month, thousands of Twin Cities shoppers do exactly that.

“Their stuff is really, really fresh. It’s the freshest shrimp in the Twin Cities,” said Edina resident Pat Wrede. “I’ve been buying shrimp from them for three seasons and have never been disappointed.”

It sure doesn’t look like that. The side of the truck bears a large banner sign reading, “Fresh Shrimp.” Coolers are piled around the tailgate, price lists are taped onto the door, and a large scale hangs off the side. A couple of guys run the operation, scooping shrimp out of ice water, weighing them and stuffing them into plastic bags. But make no mistake, their roadside truck is merely the front for a sophisticated retail operation…