Good morning everyone! Lets start off the day with a Twitterview with a #CyberQueen like @VeraSweeney. Time for the fun to start! #jectv

Q – #1    So to begin @VeraSweeney, please share with us where you grew up and went to High School?

Vera:    I grew up in Astoria Queens – and went to St. John’s Prep

Q – #2    I see, so what was your next “life step” after High School? What interested you as far as job opportunities?

Vera:    I went to college in Albany and became a business consultant for both Accenture and Ernst and Young

I loved it but I wanted to do more coding and they kept putting me in front of the client.

Q – #3    Interesting. So how long did you stay on that course until you shifted to @imnotobsessed and other cyber ventures?

Vera:    After 9/11 I decided that I didn’t want to stay in a job that I didn’t LOVE. It took me a year, but I finally quit

Ended up teaching computers to K-8 at a local school in Queens. Did that for a few years and was happy

But then I got pregnant, was placed on bedrest, and then eventually became a stay at home mom

After 3 months or so of being home, I started to look for outlet. That’s when @imnotobsessed was born

It started out as a hobby – but then it just really caught on. Thats when I started to take it seriously

Q – #4    Great story! So about how many regular followers do you have for @imnotobsessed? An entertainment or gossip blog?

Vera:    I think we get about 5 million views a month on @imnotobsessed

Uniques are around 1.5 million

we write about gossip but it’s always PG rated

that was important for me because – as a mom – I never wanted to feel bad about my gig

Q – #5    Good for you! :) What is your source or sources for photos and info that you post? What has trended lately?

Vera:    I buy all my photos from WENN, FAME, and FLYNET

And after 6 years of blogging, I’ve ended up on a TON of PR blasts. I get most of my info from my email.

whats trending lately? Anything Twilight, pregnancies, Lohan, and Kardashian lol!

Q – #6    Is there any person or couple that you’re just TIRED of hearing about at this point?

Vera:    lol @JoelECarlson I dont want to insult anyone. There are some die hard fans out there. I never write negatively about celebs

Q – #7    I understand. Have you been able to parlay your @imnotobsessed blog to other biz opportunities or star connections?

Vera:    Ive had some great opportunities – done a few red carpet events, got a trip to costa rica to be on set for reality show

I’m so thankful @JoelECarlson ive been very blessed. It’s been a great ride. And I hope I have a few more years in me

Truthfully, these days most of my event invites come from http://ladyandtheblog.com though…

Q – #8    When you’re not taking care of your family and working on @imnotobsessed, what other interests take up your time?

Vera:    I love to read (when I can), play tennis during the warmer months, TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL. My fav hobby

I spend all day on the computer – so all my hobbies are offline.

Q – #9    Now some of your FAVORITES: Restaurant, comfort food, social media platform, recent book and celeb blogger.

Vera:    Ok! @JoelECarlson Fav Restaurant – La Nonna Bella in Long Island, Rosa Mexicana in NYC, Benihana (yeah I said it), Otto in NYC

Fav comfort food @JoelECarlson : fried chicken and colombian food (steak, rice, beans, plaintains)

Fav social media platform @JoelECarlson – Facebook – I find more interaction on that tool (twitter is second)

Fav recent book @JoelECarlson The Black Dagger Brotherhood (entire series) it’s like vampire porn so watch out, and The Hunger Games

Fav celeb blogger @JoelECarlson – dont have any. Is that bad? :)

Q – #10    Nope. You are your own creative leader. Do you think @imnotobsessed will ever include videos? (YouTube)

Vera:    I embed video (trailers etc) but I dont think I do enough to have my own YouTube channel.

Q – #11    To close. If you could have a meal with any one person (dead/alive), who would you pick and why?

Vera:    aw man that is a hard one. I guess I would pick… @JensenAckles__ (just kidding… or am i?)

no seriously I would choose my grandfather – miss him dearly.

@JoelECarlson:    That’s sweet! :) Thank you very much for your time and comments today. Enjoy the rest of your week. Regards! :)

Vera:    thank you for interviewing me! had fun :)

Hello everybody! Welcome to today’s Twitterview with special guest @TiffanyShlain. Where are you Tweeting from today?

Tiffany:    Tweeting from SF, CA :)

Q – #1    I LOVE that area! :) So to begin. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up, attend HS/college?

Tiffany:    I was making films & working in Tech to pay for the films.

Had been super into computers since 80′s with my first mac in ’84

Q – #2    What kind of work had you done that led you to coming up with the Webby Awards?

Tiffany:    the zeitgeist.

Q – #3    Your film – http://connectedthefilm.com/ has received a lot of good attention. Will it be coming to Minnesota?

Tiffany:    You could org. a screening:)

Q – #4    What kind of effect on people’s thinking are you hoping to have with this film?

Tiffany:    We look at the film as the appetizer and the discussion you have afterwards the main course.

@JoelECarlson:    I see. Well everybody. We have to cut this short today with Tiffany. But maybe we can Tweet with her again soon.

Tiffany:    Thanks again for your time. Have a good day. :)

Welcome to my 300th Twitterview with my special guest @andrewzimmern. Lets get started and have some fun!

Q – #1    Lets start by asking you first, what did you have for breakfast today?

Andrew:    let me repphrase #jectv , cold szecuahun peanut noodels and a cup fo coffee. . .

why do so many americans use the traditional food model for B-fast. nothing worse for you than the Perkins Grand Slam.

Q – #2    Lets move to your background. Where did you grow up, attend HS and then where did you attend college/culinary school?

Andrew:    i grew up in NYC, attended Dalton School, Vassar College and learned about food the right way, cooking in kicthens w great chefs

nothing against cooking schools, but 30 yrs back less relevant. i was lucky and was a stagiere in some great places and started there

i cooked summers as a teenager, and was always working in food biz, so by time i graduated college i was ready to work in real restos

Q – #3    Sure. Sometimes live experience is better than schooling. What influenced you to get into the cooking world?

Andrew:    my dad was my inflluence, i am a paler version of him. he took me around the world and showed me how to eat and live.

Q – #4     As host of @BizarreFoods, how did the concept of your show come to be? Did it take long to get picked up?

Andrew:    concept was easy, i been living it for years, travel+stories from fringe=education and entertainment. it took 4 years to get on air

Q – #5    So patience/persistence were important. With so much traveling, how do you fill that time? Reading? Music? Writing?

Andrew:    fill time? what time? i cant squeeze a burp into my schedule on most days. even in van in middle of nowhere i am on conf-calls! sucks

Q – #6    FAVORITE(S): Comfort food, vegetable, spice or herb, some chefs you admire/respect.

Andrew:    comfort food= any meal in a bowl from my wifes hot dish to braised beef borscht with dumplings

favorite ingredients= lemons, mustard, chiles, tarragon, ginger, game birds….and kudu, dont forget the kudu

chefs i admire= keller for being role model, achatz as creative genius, batali/flay/morimoto/nobu/collichio etc 4 sustaining quality

Cosentino, Ty Cole, White, Goin, Besh, Link, Franey, Hefter, Dufresne, Brock, Lata and about a hundred others are all amazing

i hate the chefs you admire question because i cant fit them all in tweets!!

Q – #7    Those rare moments that you’re home in MN, do you prefer to eat at home or eat out with your family?

Andrew:    when i am home in MN i stay home …i always want to be w wife and son more than go anywhere.

Q – #8    That’s great! What are 2-3 things that you’d like to see change to people’s eating habits currently?

Andrew:    quest 4 efficiencies & cheap meals killed food system, we need to eat variety of wholesome foods to rebalance a broken food world.

eating well in america is a class issue, that has to change. anything that furthers that cause will right a half century of wrongs

let your kids choose meals, coach them, read them about failed food system, cook w them, eat w them and u will see amazing difference

parenting = hardest job on earth, and there is no manual. there are no lazy parents, but we need to save our kids health, chng food

Q – #9    Do you have a garden at home, and if so, what do you grow?

Andrew:    we have a small garden. herbs/tomatoes. i am never home, so we go to farm market 3 times a week in summer

Q – #10    What food(s) have you really enjoyed that you can’t currently get anywhere in the states?

Andrew:     wish i could get puffin, kudu, chinese donkey, achacharu, baby birds, sea squirts, etc…love them all

Q – #11    Final question: If you could choose anyone dead/alive to have a meal with, who would you pick and why?

Andrew:    teddy roosevelt is my hero. explorer, cop, soldier, social change advocate, dad, leader, adventurer, parks founder, visionary, eater

thanks everyone, please spread word about our kids. we need real social change and that starts with education.

@JoelECarlson:    @andrewzimmern I know that your always tight on time, but thanks for sharing some of yours on #jectv. Nice job at the @CharlieAwardsTC too!

Hello! Today’s Twitterview guest is the food editor of the @StarTribune, it’s @StribTaste (Lee Svitak Dean). Lets get started!

Q – #1    Lets learn a little bit about you first @StribTaste. Where did you grow up, and where did you attend HS/college?

Lee:    Grew up in the western suburb of Mpls, in Crystal, in first class of Robbinsale Armstrong HS, where I was editor of newspaper

Graduated from Hamline U in St. Paul for B.A. in English, and U of M for M.A in journalism

Q – #2    I see. So did you do any intern work anywhere? What was your first job out of college?

Lee:    Worked for Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities, where had internship, followed as editor of North End News, a comm newspaper

Started part time at Strib while grad student, 31 years ago

Q – #3    What was it called then? (I know it’s changed names.) What did you 1st do there? When did you get the food topic?

Lee:    I worked at then Mpls Star, the afternoon paper, first as features copy editor, where did some work on Taste.

Did some writing on side for Taste, as was interested in food. Star merged with morning Mpls Tribune few yrs later and needed writer

Specifically a food writer. It meant shifting from afternoon/evening hrs to normal day hours. I had an infant at home and this worked

As important, it meant part of my job was testing recipes, which was terrific for a young family.

I expected to stay for a short while until I could move on to an “important” position, like covering politics or crime

But fell in love with food writing and never looked back. Always interesting, great people, always something new to learn

Q – #4    Had you enjoyed cooking/baking when you first started writing about it? How have your skills evolved since then?

Lee:    I always cooked a lot. Recipe testing meant I was constantly challenging myself, trying something new. Gained confidence and skills

Took some classes along way, talked with chefs and tried their recipes. Was a longtime learning experience

Also read loads of cookbooks, both for work and pleasure. Much to learn from there and interviewing authors

Q – #5    That’s great! Are there types of cooking, styles, flavors, that you prefer or are your go-to dishes to make?

Lee:    Prefer flavors that “pop.” Like fresh ingredients and farmers markets. Am practical cook and go for economy of time in kitchen

Like to put on dinner parties and lean toward restaurant-style presentation with its sense of drama.

Am a big soup maker (a really good one!). No scraps left unused in my kitchen.

Q – #6    You’ve had a book published and been in the “food biz” for awhile. What’s about food has changed in the past 10-15 years?

Lee:    Increasing interest in freshness of ingredients, availability of once-exotic ingredients, attention to local foods.

Also, alas, to relying too much on fast food or commercial products that are expensive, nutritionally inferior to make-your-own

A resurgence in interest in cooking at home, which I’m happy to see. A pandering to celebrity chefs, not so pleased about.

Q – #7    Good points! Briefly about your book, what’s it called, what does it cover and where can we get it?

Lee:    “Come One, Come All” offers seasonal menus that are each organized with a detailed game plan to fit cooking into busy lives

Each menu offers 3 approaches: suggestions for those w/lots of time, those who need a few shortcuts, those who want one main focus

Should be at all local bookstores, on amazon, at Minn Historical Society gift stores and w/links at my web site www.leedeanbooks.com

Q – #8    Cool! Now for some of your FAVORITES: Restaurant, store, comfort food, vegetable, spice or herb and kitchen tool.

Lee:    New fav: Bachelor Farmer. Cooks of Crocus Hill. Am a carb fan: anything w/pasta or rice. Veg varies by season: now it’s potatoes

Love eggplant anytime. Freshly cracked black pepper. Love dill, cilantro, sage. Kuhn colorful knives: cheap, handy and look fun

Q – #9    Lots of variety! :)  What should @StarTribune readers be on the lookout for in the upcoming months?

Lee:    Our highly anticipated Holiday Cookie section comes out on Dec. 1. And the winner is … well, I’m not going to tell you yet!

Restaurant of the Year is also a biggie for us and we’re working now on it; debuts Dec. 27. And next week’s Thanksgiving recipes

We’ve always got something good cookin

Always a delicate balance between restaurant coverages, recipes and food-related topics of interest. Each has a following

Q – #10    Okay. To close, what’s a personal or professional goal that you have set for yourself that you hope to achieve soon?

Lee:    Another cookbook! And to spend more time teaching. And advance my online skills to the next level. It will keep me out of trouble!

This has been a pleasure. Thanks for your questions.

@JoelECarlson – Ha! Ha! They sound doable and achievable. :) Thank you so much Lee for your time and sharing today. Have a good weekend!

I heard rumblings about this great hot dog cart that could be found in downtown Minneapolis.  It was a typical cart in that it had hot water, wheels, an umbrella, hot dogs, toppings and hot dog buns. This cart though was different, in that this cart had personality and character, delivered in big helpings from it’s owner, Nate Beck.

Nate sees the value in providing quality and well made, as well as locally made, food to the public. He even takes the time to make the mustards and other toppings that he uses. Just talking with him for a few minutes, his enthusiasm shines through and is refreshing. Before it gets too cold, check out Natedogs and see if you don’t look at hot dogs and brats in a whole new way.

Good afternoon everyone! Today’s Twitterview with @DeRushaEats is about to begin. Get your laptops and taste buds ready!

Q – #1    Welcome @DeRushaEats (Jason)! For those that missed the video – (BELOW)  how did you get started as a reviewer?

Jason:    In my job as a WCCO-tv reporter I was asked to judge the @MNMOmag first Local Chef Challenge at the Food and Wine show

I judged with @deardara and when the magazine expanded its omnivore section, she asked me to write and blog 2 years ago

Q – #2    I see. When it comes to your palate, what kind of foods do you prefer, sweet or savory?

Jason:   I’m more of a savory guy – I find more complexity in those flavors. But I wouldn’t kick sweet stuff off the plate!

Q – #3    Okay. Lets say then you’re in a restaurant doing a review. Do you ask for their “top dish or dishes” or what you want?

Jason:    I look at the menu ahead of time and try to have a strategy for a printed review that will go in @MNMOMag.

I do “quick bite” reviews of suburban restaurants. 1 visit. Usually with my wife + another couple, maybe with my kids.

I try to order a broad sample of the menu. 3 apps, 2 salads, 4 entrees. Or 3 small plates/2 entrees

Often I ask the server “What shouldn’t I miss?” They too often tell me “The xxx is popular.” I want the BEST stuff!

But it’s different for places I write up for the #DearDara blog. I’ll order what I want or what a server suggests

Q – #4    Ah. So planned eating. With you being a reviewer then, is going out in general tougher with that “label”?

Jason:    No it’s easy to go out with me! I just tell everyone what we’ll be ordering!

Q – #5    I meant by that question, do restaurant staff maybe treat you differently because of being a known restaurant critic?

Jason:    In city restos: often I’m recognized + I’m sure the kitchen knows about it. In suburbs: I’m rarely recognized by staff.

Q – #6    A restaurant “saturation” question. What style of restaurant do you feel there are too many of? Which one not enough of?

Jason:    Right now everyone’s opening gastropubs/brewpubs. They’re great for neighborhoods, bad for reviewers.

it’s very difficult to write about places that are fine. Not great – but not bad. Our brewpubs fall in that category.

We need more high quality suburban places! Preferably near my Maple Grove house.

Q – #7    Are there certain areas of the Twin Cities that need more variety or options?

Jason:    There are – but customers have to support them. It’s tough with a small, local spot in Eden Prairie. High rent

It’s changing – but the best food in this metro will always be in the urban core. People can drive to S. Minny.

Q – #8    What’s one menu item you wish was on the menu more? Fried Chicken? Pasta? Fish?

Jason – I’d like to see more Fried Pickles.

Q – #9    FAVORITES: Appetizer, dessert, wine selection, kid friendly, your comfort food of choice.

Jason:    Fave Dessert: Frozen custard from @Kopps in Milwaukee! Locally: Anything from @TheSaltyTart or @Pastrydiane

Wine Selection: @HeidisMpls has a great list, @SeaChangeMpls has the best white list in town.

Fave Kid Friendly: Brasa, @pizzarialola, @MidtownGlobal

Fave comfort food: Foie gras. OK- paella. Or any kind of braised meat.

I eat out too much to pick any one favorite…

Q – #10    What’s one of the best things you feel a restaurant can do to make kids feel welcomed and parents happy?

Jason:    Don’t charge me $6 for Kraft Mac + Cheese and then $2 for apple juice.

Coloring books, books are helpful. Places like @TiliaMpls also create thoughtful menus for kids. That helps too.

I find most restaurants are kid friendly- but I don’t bring my kids to nice places after 7pm.

Q – #11    Wow! Adult prices for kid appetites. If you could open your own restaurant, what would it be and why?

Jason:    I always wanted to open a place called “What’s for dinner?” One dish. One price. Changes nightly. Like @AdHocYountville

Q – #12    Going beyond the Twin Cities & suburbs, what other towns/cities have good cafe/restaurant options?

Jason:    Just got back from NYC -obvi a great food town! I’m from Chicago, the restaurants are amazing. Milwaukee is underrated.

Madison has some good food: Graze + The Old Fashioned are wonderful.

Q – #12    Do you get interested in food trends like cupcakes, pies, moon pies etc.?

Jason:    No. I think it’s all silly. Has that “year of the pie” thing really worked out in 2011? Nope.

Q – #13    Something for foodies to chat about right? :)  To close, what’s your #GoodQuestion tonight on @wcco?

i’m off fridays -but I’ll have a “DeRushaEats” segment on @moderncafempls on WCCO Saturday AM. That show starts at 8.

@JoelECarlson – That’s right. My mistake. :) Thank you very much Jason for your time and all of the work that you do. Have a great wknd!

Jason – my pleasure!