Meet the author
For local fans of the Duluth Grill (118 S. 27th Av. W., Duluth, www.duluthgrill.com) who can't make the drive north anytime soon, how about a crack at the next best thing?
That's a chance to meet Robert Lillegard, author of "The Duluth Grill Cookbook," who will be signing copies of the book — its 110 recipes include make-at-home versions of the restaurant's popular pasties and wild rice patties — at a series of signings: Oct. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Barnes & Noble (2100 N. Snelling Av., Roseville) and Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble (3001 N. White Bear Av., Maplewood) and 2 to 4 p.m. at Barnes & Noble (14880 Florence Trail, Apple Valley). A further incentive: free samples of banana cream pie, from the cookbook, naturally.
Party like its 1989
Trotter's Cafe (232 N. Cleveland Av., St. Paul, www.trotters cafe.com) is marking a major milestone — its 25th anniversary — with a weeklong series of events.
The celebration will include a pizza night with half-price bottles of wine on Oct. 13, half-price lunch on "Regulars Day" on Oct. 16, free birthday cake — the kitchen's signature "Chocolate Chaos" cake, a chocolate Bundt cake with a cream-cheese filling — on Oct. 17, and 1989 coffee prices Oct. 13-18.
Pat and Dick Trotter started out running a whole-grain bakery with three tables; today, the 65-seat cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and continues to embrace the farm-to-table commitment the couple implemented from the get-go in 1989.
Party, part 2
On Oct. 5, Butcher & the Boar (1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., www.butcherandthe boar.com) is putting on its block party shoes with its fourth-annual BoarFest.
From noon to 10 p.m., the focus will be on beer, bourbon and bands (with no admission fee), including Communist Daughter, Curtiss A and 3 Dillmans.
And food. Chef Peter Botcher is promising pork rib-tips in a rum-chile glaze, wood-grilled oysters, a sausage-clam chowder and house-made brats, smoked cheddarwurst and smoked hot links. Dessert? Caramel apples.
