When I first moved to Minneapolis 13 years ago, Lyn Lake was like a ghost town. But thanks to Jungle Theatre and Bryant Lake Bowl the area soon got exciting. For the past eight years I have lived two blocks away from BLB and there's NEVER been a problem with the late night customers, despite all the good beer and wine that the establishment serves.
Early last year, BLB's owner, Kim Bartmann, was doing great things with the recently restored Suburban World Theatre (a lovely space, indeed). If I'm not mistaken, there were some disagreements between her and the landlord and now the theatre has been sitting empty for a year which is an awful shame. I just hope Ms. Bartmann doesn't get in over her head with operating too many businesses. While her other restaurant, Cafe Barbette, has great food and lovely ambience, the service is consistently under par, and recently its hours have been cut due to lack of business. Also, several months ago BLB had to close its kitchen for a few days, and when it reopened the menu was downsized (someone told me this had something to do with inspections and codes). All this isn't to criticize Ms. Bartmann. Along with our former city council member, Lisa McDonald (who also was instrumental in the Lyn Lake renaissance), she's one of the most outstanding cultural visionaries in Minneapolis. Still, she may be better off trying to make more with less, and I'd hate to see Hollywood Theater get off to a bad start. But if it turns out to be an unqualified hit like BLB, then Northside citizens will have good reason to celebrate. Since I'm on the topic of restaurants, I'd like to pay tribute to the late Pam Sherman. Even though I never knew her personally, her eating establishment, Pam Sherman's Bakery, is still my fondest Uptown experience. Though it's been several years now since her place closed, I've never gotten over the loss.-----Peter Schmitz CARAG TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
