Congratulations Rudy Maxa! Rudy's new series, Rudy Maxa's World, debuted Saturday, May 3, and tonight was the celebratory party at Nick & Eddie. I went early, left early; John arrived late, left late - we overlapped by oh, about 10 minutes. But that's cool, I get to see my Johnny all the time - but hardly ever get to see Rudy & Ana, Stu The Wine Genius & Debbie, Tessa & Greg Becker, Andrew & Rishia Zimmern, and a boatload of other fun people we've met along the way (and just tonight!) like Lindsay & Ralph Bashioum. (Side note of personal humiliation: Ralph is a plastic surgeon, and major foodie, who was describing to Stu and me the boned guinea hen he will be serving at an upcoming dinner party. I asked him 1) if he was a good boner (egads), and 2) to cover for the first gaffe, if he was good with a knife. Plastic surgeon. Good with a knife. Yeah.)

Other than inserting my foot (feet) deeply into my mouth, I had a great time, downing tasty appetizers (fried walleye popsicles, barbecued duck, chicken liver on croutons, steak tartare) and sipping lovely wine. I'll admit, my 5-inch heels caused me a bit of pain after all the standing chat (and you know, after eating them, sigh), but sitting a spell on a set of bleachers - to catch the end of Nathan's baseball game - took care of that. All in all, a blast of a night, and a fine way to launch Rudy Maxa's World (showing locally on TPT at 2 pm on Saturdays) - thanks Rudy & Ana for the great party!

Moderate it: cocktail party strategizing - if you're prone to bad puns, think carefully before you speak, Stephanie. And at 100 calories apiece, choose only your very favorite canapes. It helps to skip anything that's more than one bite - I do it to avoid food in my teeth/awkward spills, but it also tends to wipe out the cheesiest, creamiest, deadliest little mothers.

OMG, how could I forget to mention one of my very favorite ways to warm up? LAUGHING, duh! And for certain, hearty laughs, I highly recommend Planet Dan's blog, one of the few blogs I (sort of) consistently read. Funny - evil, laugh out loud funny. Dan is The Man, no doubt.

Or, have dinner with Jen Leopold and Steve Katz, two of the coolest, funniest cats (Katz!) in the Minneapple (shown above at my Big 4-0 party last year, with Jon Brown on the left; oops, forgot my camera tonight...). We four had dinner at the newly-opened Nick & Eddie. Despite being big fans of Doug Anderson's previous ventures - Bakery on Grand and A Rebours - Nick & Eddie just isn't all that, I'm sorry to say. Great location! But...that's about it. Knowing Doug's previous ventures, I'll hope they find a new, groovier groove. Soon! But until then...

We head into the weekend. Thankfully warmer, the cold snap has finally snapped. And oh, things look peacefully, thankfully quiet, ahhh. My plan? To enjoy some fresh air, my friends. Fresh. Above-Zero. Air. Whatever I happen to cook (eat) is at this point completely secondary... Seriously! Well sort of.

So g'night then...

Update! No Nick and Eddie's tonight, some sort of permit didn't come through for the opening (?), so we're heading to Restaurant Alma instead. I'm not complaining, Alma is lovely and I've been meaning to go back for way too long. Thanks Rudy for quickly finding us a new res!

So the bling is donned, as are the purple open-toe pumps (uh, I'm technically not putting those ouchy mothers on until we are literally walking out the door), a smudge of purple eyeliner, and a spritz of Parfum de Therese. I'm ready for a bit of par-tay, I am. Woo hooooo!

Details in a few...

Ditto Day! More roast beef (this time in a sandwich), more hiking in Elm Creek Park Reserve (so glorious yesterday, I whipped right back up there today), more warm sun/cool breezes (aka prrrfect September weather), all good, all good.

Tomorrow night, dinner at Doug Anderson's (formerly of Bakery on Grand and A Rebours) brand spankin' new digs, Nick and Eddie's, on Loring Park. With Debbie & Stu the Wine Genuis, and Ana & Rudy, should be our usual groovy time. Can't wait! Stay tuned for the tasty details!

And with that shockingly brief note, I bid you all a good night.