Friday Night Long Snapper: Part I
Posted on May 23rd, 2008 – 8:20 AMBy Michael Rand
Ramon frightens us sometimes. In a good way. Here is Part I of his three-part homage to Peter King, which he calls:
Ramon > Friday Night Long Snapper
Is that Interweb jargon? In any event, he wrote this a week ago. If any of the points have since gone askew, we can’t do much about it now. Consider it a miracle that we even know how to post things for advance use. Here we go:
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Notes on Chris Simon, Nick Punto, the upcoming NBA draft, things I think I’m thinking about, the NBA, how I feel about the beer at Herkimer’s and Shjon Podein’s Children’s Foundation, on a damp, cold Minneapolis afternoon:
*The Twins miss Nick Punto. I’m not going to get into stats or the whys or wherefores. They just do. And that’s sad. The saddest thing since Calvin Griffith let Rod Carew go.
*Chris Simon has signed to play pro hockey in Russia. Turns out Simon is actually a KGB double-agent who’s job it was to destroy North American Hockey as we knew it. He almost succeeded, but his ultimate failure was to sign with the Wild, who get about as much national attention as RandBall.
*According to my sources at the Champps in Butler Square, the Wolves will end up trading the first round pick they got back from Boston back to Boston for Boston’s next three second round picks, M.L. Carr and the Twin Cities syndication rights to “Cheers” reruns. Some teams wouldn’t make such a bold move, but you have to love how gutsy Kevin McHale is.
*The beer at Herkimer’s needs work.
*My good friend Shjon Podein, Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche (thanks for letting me sip on the Dom, buddy), Rochester native, UMD alumni, is holding his 11th annual Shjon Podein Children’s Foundation Celebrity Party and Golf Tournament for his foundation that raises money and awareness for children in “facing extraordinary difficulties” including children stricken with the debilitating disease Ataxia. The event’s June 29-30 in Rochester. Tons of fun, lots of hobnobbing with local and national celebs and sports figures, live music, and golf with a celeb at the beautiful Rochester Golf and Country Club. And most importantly, you get to meet the kids, which will make you forget every bad shot you made on the course. Shjon won the 2001 (same year he won the Cup) King Clancy Memorial Trophy awarded to the NHL player “who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and who has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.” Shjon and his beautiful wife Sherry, who have settled their family in Minneapolis, put their hearts and souls into this foundation. Guy’s a local hero.
*The Lynx may win it all this year.
26 Responses to "Friday Night Long Snapper: Part I"
*Or the Lynx may not
*The beer at Herkimer’s needs work.
True
Making all of the beer not taste exactly the same would be a good starting point.
That was damn fine, Ramon.
RE: Punto. Did anybody hear when Dickandbert had TK in the booth on Wednesday night, and he bemoaned Punto’s absence? I had to hit my TV a couple times to make sure it was working properly. If you can reconcile that opinion with his two World Championships, please let me know.
Friday Night Long Snapper: Part I
Is it just me or does this sound like a Football Porn? And not just any football porn…football porn with a sequel…
I have no idea what movie ANY of those quotes are from.
DaveMN, Snapping on the Friday Night Long does not a happy porn start make.
Punto is our Jeter. Heard a Redmond ‘interview’ on ks95 or some such saying that he wishes he could get hold of a taser, that he’d like to see how much he could take, and that Punto would be right there with him.
And don’t knock the Herk. The Herk is our Jeter, too.
‘porn STAR’ even. not start. craptastic.
If the Herk is our Jeter, too, then I’m all for condemning the building and imploding it.
Which sport do the Lynx play again?Hmm… Just hard to keep track of these teams that make me want to pluck my eyeballs out when I watch them.
Maybe they’ll win the title, making it a more attractive job to McHale. He’ll take over and run them into the ground, and the Wolves can hire Isiah! He can make some debilitating trades with the Pistons, keeping them a powerhouse, and the cycle can restart.
I’m frieds with a few of the Herk’s bartenders, and I will agree with the statement of their beer needing work. Although if they have “Alt” available, I would suggest trying it. Plus their jukebox is free until 5 p.m.
Mess up on my part, was writing in between shifts. The full line should read:
“The Lynx may win it all this year. But I’m still not going to any games.”
Buzz Bissinger has editors.
Hey, I know where the Herkimer is! Huzzah for the outstate kid!
Granted, I’ve never been in there, so I have no idea if anyone’s right, but a free jukebox until 5:00 PM is a large point in their favor. Is it CD-based or one a them fancy intarnet mp3 ones?
Stu: I believe it is still a CD based jukebox. And it’s a good jukebox, they actually had a Queensryche album in there the last time I was there.
So okay, I won’t implode the herkimer, I like their food, they have a good jukebox, they have bar shuffleboard, the beer just needs help. But comparing it to Jeter is not doing it any favors.
Herkimer has completely underrated food.
I’m completely infatuated with a blonde server from the Herk after she recommended the Vienna Country Bier because it is a smoked lager and has sausage undertones. She followed up this recommendation by saying “I really like sausages.”
The meat beer is a tasty beverage and goes great with their homemade pretzels.
Stu
The also have Iggy Pop’s “Nude and Rude: The Best of Iggy Pop” in their jukebox. Before looking at the track list, I thought to myself if I could name one of his songs, and I couldn’t. I asked 4 people that were in our group to name one song by Iggy Pop, and I would pay the persons tab that answered first. All of them in their 30s and none of them could name 1 song. They in turn bought me lunch…and 7 Alt Beers.
Joker: you’re lucky I wasn’t there. Me and Iggy (at least the version from 1969 to 1973), we’re tight.
Dave MN
I know you are somewhat of a restraunt conocer, at least in your mind, so I have a question for you.
You got any good places to eat in St. Louis Park that are not a chain restaurant or the sort? Looking for something that isn’t going to break the bank. Thanks
jama
Bunny’s on Excelsior and 100 isn’t too bad. It’s not a younger crowd. Granite City right there is good too. If you’re looking for the best frozen pizza, and strongest/cheapest drinks every, I would say Al’s on the corner of France and Excelsior. But they only take cash or check, and don’t run tabs. Edina Grill on 50th and France isn’t too bad either.
“If you’re looking for the best frozen pizza, and strongest/cheapest drinks every, I would say Al’s”
This place sounds like heaven to me, it would have been ideal during the college years. I have a feeling the lady friend wouldn’t feel the same way though.
We really shouldn’t complain about the Herkimer’s beer. It is a Green Bay Packer bar. At least they don’t have Old Milwaukee, Point, Red Dog, Icehouse, and Olde English on tap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_breweries
jama, if you ever get to St. Paul I’d suggest staying away from Alary’s. It’s a Chicago Bears bar, and no one wants to see that.
unless you’re this guy…
http://tigersmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/les-miles-bears-1.jpg
jama: For St. Louis Park there are a few places…
El Gordo - a little Mexican Restaurant in Knollwood Mall. It’s not actually in the mall, but rather one of the outdoor entry places. Not too expensive from what I remember. They’re under new ownership, but I just had a torta from there the other day and it was still great.
Than Do - Asian restaurant (I don’t know that it picks a specific cuisine) at the intersection of Minnetonka Blvd and Texas Ave.
Park Tavern - Not bad, not great, but it has some affordable eats and a decent number of tap beers, off of Highway 7 and Louisiana Blvd.
As Joker mentioned, Granite City is good, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go there. The beer is good, the food is good (but kind of pricey for what it is)
Bunny’s was pretty decent, too, but I remember being disappointed with their beer selection
You might want to look at some of the restaurants in Excelsior and Grand. There’s a place called McCoy’s Public House there. Looks like a British Pub type place. I haven’t been there. It looks like you could eat at a reasonable price though…
Oh yeah, ThanDo is only one word
Thanks for the heads up Dave. I’ve heard there is a decent Mexican place by Knollwood so I’m sure that is the same place.
I can vouch for McCoy’s, upscale bar food - decent beer.
Brix (formerly Mojito) in Excelsior and Grand is alright too. Somewhat fancy Italian, probably a tad pricier than anything mentioned above though but nothing compared to downtown prices.
“Herkimer has completely underrated food.”
Yes. Herk is a great restaurant/bar experience. The fish and chips happy hour deal is second to none. Great bartenders/wait staff. Only remarking on the brew. Personal opinion of course.
I second Dave’s call on Bunny’s and Park Tavern. I grew up in SLP and remember both places - when they were in different locations and didn’t have full liquor licenses.
