Hello, and welcome to today’s Twitterview of @MNMOmag Senior Food Editor, @rachel_hutton. Lets begin!

Rachel:    Good morning, @JoelECarlson! Ready for your questions!

Good morning! To start off with, share a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up and go to school?

Rachel:    I grew up in the Twin Cities, went to college at Stanford, and then spent a couple years in New York before returning to Minnesota.

What did you study in school, and what helped develop your interest in writing about food?

Rachel:    Well, I’m the only food critic I know with an engineering degree, which sounds a little less weird than it sounds if I explain

My degree is in product design, and I found that the first part of that phase–the design research, to understand the product’s user

was my favorite. Turns out that such ethnographic research and hanging out with subjects, understanding their world

isn’t so different from reporting. So after a couple years at a design consultancy I got into magazine writing @MnMomag

I started out as a general interest writer–business, arts, travel, profiles–but I always liked cooking, had served at restaurants

Long story short, the previous critic left, all the other staff were doing @weightwatchers, so I volunteered myself for the food gig.

How did your experience as a server go?

Rachel:    Long story short, the previous critic left, all the other staff were doing @weightwatchers, so I volunteered myself for the food gig

In fact, the three restaurants that employed me all shuttered within a year or so of my tenure there…hoping I wasn’t the cause!

How long did you handle the @MNMOmag food writing responsibilities? What were some of the things you wrote then?

Rachel:    A couple years, doing reviews and features, including one on @SlowFoodMN back before, well @MnMoMag had online archives

i.e. before I felt like I wrote the words “local” and “sustainable” every other sentence–I consider this repetition a good problem

After @MNMOmag, where did you go, and has your writing style and food critiquing changed at all over the years?

Rachel:    I was at City Pages for about four years between my first stint at MnMo and my current one. At the weekly, I had more space

for writing “scenes” into my reviews, which I think can give a piece more energy. The more I learn about who’s doing what in the

local food arena, the more I have a sense of what’s truly interesting. More than writing change, I’d say my idea curation is pickier.

I also understand that you’ve branched out into bathroom decorating for restaurants. Care to elaborate?

Rachel:    Ha! Yes, I did buy a new toilet seat for the Nicollet Ave Barrio—theirs was “worn”—but I’d consider that less decor than function!

Here’s further explanation:   Article

I see. To close, what can we expect from you over the next few months, topic wise?

Rachel:    More reviews, both brief and extensive, of new or changed restaurants, including a couple of great destination spots near Brainerd.

plus trends in food and beverage… Two art directors just walked into my office so I had better skedaddle, but thanks very much!

Joel:    Thanks for you time and comments today. Welcome back to @MNMOmag!

Rachel:    Enjoyed our coversation, @JoelECarlson!

Hello everybody! Welcome to today’s Twitterview with @mallofamerica Exec VP of Biz Development, Maureen Bausch. Time to roll!

Good morning Joel!

Hi Maureen! Can you briefly explain what your role is so that we can understand your perspective & responsibilities?

Maureen:    I am EVP of Business Development. My main responsibility is making sure @MallofAmerica always has something fresh & new for guests!

Sounds fun & rewarding! This year the mall hit the 20 years old mark. Congrats! How is it being celebrated?

Maureen:    We are so excited to celebrate 20 years and we have so much in store for our guests!

So far every month we have done something special for our anniversary beginning with a passport of savings in January

Opening of Diana: A Celebration in Feb. as well as marrying 20 couples on the Ferris wheel!

7/8 We’ll celebrate with first outdoor concert at Target Field. We’ll be doing a Pepsi Golden Can promotion… and…

Aug. 11 is our real birthday and we’ll have a big cake celebration, Beerfest and culminate our 20 wks of giveaways.

Phew, that’s a lot of celebrating! We’ll have all the ways guests can participate on our website http://mallofamerica.com

Lots of things to check out for sure! In that 20yrs, there have been lots of changes. Care to share some history?

Maureen:    Technology, social media, cell phones were not popular 20 yrs ago. This has changed the way we communicate with guests

Fast fashion – people want things now! Black Friday now starts on Thursday – all of these things have changed business

9/11 has changed the way we protect the building and our guests.

International retail is invading the U.S. in a positive way and many retailers have joined MOA!

Checks were king 20 years ago and today you pay with your cell phone.

A lot more ‘high-end” fashion has been brought into the mall too. How has the response been to that?

Maureen:    Excellent response. People will either spend for investment they will wear for many years or they want fast fashion.

Luxury and fast fashion are exploding – opposite ends of the spectrum

The mall is well balanced then. Lets talk about food and restaurants. How has that changed over the years?

Maureen:    Certainly sushi is king now – we’re excited to welcome Masu this summer! Sushi wasn’t very popular 20 years ago!

An onset of fast casual where you can sit down. Themed restaurants not as popular as the ’90′s.

One thing that hasn’t changed – it’s all about good food!

How about in the way of entertainment, beyond food and fashion. How has that evolved/changed over the years?

Maureen:    Country music was huge when we opened (Gatlin Bros. Bar) , then it dropped in popularity, now it is popular again!

An insurgence in stand-up comedy – House of Comedy is doing well – people love to go and see a show!

We switched from Peanuts to Nickelodeon in ’08 which is #1 brand for kids and Nickelodeon Universe is very popular.

Lets look forward to the future of the mall. There’s something about a hotel being built right? :)

Maureen:    11 stories, 500 rooms, an upper-upscale hotel called Radisson Blu opening in Spring of 2013. We can’t wait!

We’re beginning construction next year on the north side with another hotel, medical office and add’tl retail.

Any brand associated with the north hotel yet? Isn’t the medical space going to be for the #MayoClinic?

Maureen:    No brand yet for the hotel and yes #MayoClinic will be the medical space!

Any store openings that people should look forward to this summer? New details on the Bloomingdale’s space?

Maureen:    Henri Bendel, Athleta, Juicy Couture, Masu Sushi and Robata and more coming soon! Forever 21 superstore in Bloomie’s.

Newly opened stores include Cotton On, Typo, Dr. Martens and Tilly’s.

Stil working on other details for the Bloomie’s space so be sure to stay tuned!

Fabulous! To close, please remind people the hours that the mall is open so they can see all of the new stores.

Maureen:    We are open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mon. – Sat. and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday!

Joel:    Thanks Maureen and the digital team at the mall for making this work out today! Have a great day & shop everyone!

Maureen:    Thank you!! Be sure to stay tuned to participate in all the fun activities for the 20th!!

Good morning to @weeklydish (Stephanie Hansen) and everyone following #MNMOtv today!

Good morning fellow foodies

To start off with @weeklydish, please share with us where you grew up and went to school?

Stephanie:    I went to Blooimngton Jefferson and the U of MN. My training happened on the bar as a dancer at the Heartthrob Cafe in St Paul

ok that sounded bad. I wasnt a stripper but a waitress

I served burgers and shakes and drinks in a poodle skirt with 1980′s permed hair that was so big they

they called us Care Bears. That was where the foodie love started.

Good clarification! So lets move forward a bit. Any other work you’ve done for say publications or marketing companies?

Stephanie:    I work now as a talk show host on @weeklydish on @mytalk1071 and I own a printing and direct mail company @printzcom and blog on food.

food blog a @the651 http://the651.com/category/foodie as well as on our show page at http://www.mytalk1071.com/shows/weeklydish

Talk more about @printzcom. Starting your own company is a BIG step. What does your company do and how big is it?

Stephanie:    @printzcom employs 25 people. We have http://Postcardbuilder.com, http://Printz.com, http://directmailtools.com and http://ourprinter.com

we have a new brand under development that we will launch in a few weeks. Running your own business is super hard but rewarding

I like being a women owned business. I have two partners and 2 of us are women. The other is my hubby so that can get interesting

I’d imagine so! What do you think of the Twin Cities environment for women business owners?

Stephanie:    The TC is very supportive there just are not enough women owned biz as a % of the population. A few good groups to check out are

http://www.mnwin.org/ and http://www.nawbo-mn.org/ are good orgs for women to check out in the TC

Lets move on to your interest in food. You have a blog and a radio program. Are you more of an eater or a baker/cook?

Stephanie:    I am an eater first and foremost but I am also a good home cook. I bake and I love to cook but I am not super technical. I am

always in risk of cutting off a thumb cause my knife skills are so bad. I worry about that when we do food demos on @twincities_live

I love to entertain and have big foodie parties at my house with my foodie friends. Its a blast but sometimes people drink too much

I love to serve champagne as an appetizer which can be rough later when you add wine and after dinner drinks. @surdyks sponsors our

@weeklydish show so we get previews of lots of new liquors and wines and whats hot in food

I understand. :) What kinds of places are your places to go to for “Stephanie Comfort Food”? Are you sweets or savory?

Stephanie:    I am more sweet than savory. When @stephmarch and I eat together at a dinner I always get the desserts she goes for cheese

Comfort foods would be @moderncafe for pot roast @brasa for any of their meats or mac and cheese and I still have a soft spot for

@lexingtoncafe in St Paul and @mancinnis @twincitiesgrill for steak, chicken pot pie and creamed spinach

on the higher end of Comfort food I want to eat @sanctuary and @inseason and I am excited to try @butcherandtheboar

To close Stephanie, what does Spring mean for you when it comes to food and entertaining?

Stephanie:    Spring is LAMB with rosemary, Asparagus on the grill with lemon aoli, artichokes and delicious spring milk cheeses. OH and…

the barefoot contessas coconut cake which I always make at easter or moms day. That recipe is here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cake-recipe/index.html

I get so excited about food I make myself hungry! Thank god its lunch!

Joel:    Thank you so much Stephanie. All the best to you and congrats on your recovery from cancer. You are a fighter!

Stephanie:    thanks for having me @JoelECarlson and listen to @weeklydish on Saturday from 1-2pm

Stephanie March is the Senior Food Editor at the Mpls/St.Paul magazine. She has a real passion for food and sharing her “finds” with others. Find out how she got her start in the food-business and what kind of training she received to get where she is today. Stephanie will also share her views on the “food scene” in the Twin Cities and what some of her food preferences are. Be sure not to miss any of Part 1 of a 3-part interview with Stephanie March.

In Part 2, Stephanie shares what some of her restaurant service pet peeves are, explains how she manages her work and family life and then shares what she feels is missing from the Twin Cities food scene. (Part 3 will be released tomorrow.)

In Part 3 of her interview, Stephanie March talks about how the local food scene is influencing other parts of the country, her thoughts on doing TV and radio work and what other interests or activities that she has beyond the food world.

Good morning everyone. Today’s special guest is the Senior Food Editor at @MNMOmag, @DearDara. Set your timer to 1hr and lets begin.

Dara:    let’s!

So @DearDara, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up, go to school and what did you want to be as an adult?

Dara:    NYC, math-geek high school, and then came to MN for college, Carleton. Wanted to be: A writer! A cook. A writer! A cook…

How did you get into the food industry, and what kind of jobs did you have at first?

Dara:    Dishwasher! Started when I was 13, then worked my way up thru kitchen positions, ending as a sous & pastry (2 places)

I see. So when did you start transitioning to writing about food and restaurants? Did you have a blog?

Dara:    After college. & no, print, pre-blogging days…

Since critiquing people and the food that they make is such a personal thing, did you find it difficult at first to do?

Dara:    At first, yes. It’s rude to say people can’t cook! Six months of bad linguini in, it gets easier.

When then did you start working with @MNMOmag and what do your responsibilities cover?

Dara:    2008, food & wine writing.

I can imagine that you eat and taste a variety of foods. Do you have a style or ethnicity of food that you prefer?

Dara:    I like just about everything, really, hard to beat great Korean, French, Japanese, Italian… But a talented chef can

make anything great, ie Haute Dish’s revelatory 1980′s Midwest Americana.

In addition to all of the KINDS of food that you try, you probably eat/taste a lot of food. Is calorie counting tough?

Dara:    Not really-no problem w the wine either, neither gout nor hazleden seem to be on my horizon… Knock wood!!

Good! :) In addition to @MNMOmag, what other kind of publications and writing have you done or would you like to do?

Dara:    my book is Drink This, Wine Made Simple, & I write for Saveur, Bon Appetit, more.

Impressive! Besides food & wine, what other interests or hobbies do you get involved in? More book ideas on the way?

Dara:    I like hiking, walking, having children, and not going crazy. Museums & books help.

have another book in the works, but it’s top secret for now.

To close, what TC food events and openings are you looking forward to in 2012?

Dara:    So many! Just blogged a bunch at mnmo.com, but our food & wine show, chef challenge, butcher & boar..Thanks! Was fun!

Joel:    Thanks for your time and sharing some of your life on #MNMOtv today. Be sure to read her work at www.mnmo.com. Later!

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!

For awhile I’ve been contemplating the idea of starting my own business that helps people and businesses to learn, understand and use social media. Can I really do this though? Should I take the leap? After some great advice and encouragement from some of my close social media connections, I’ve decided to take the plunge in the consulting pool.

Now my next step was to figure out, what to call my social media consulting company. Facebook and Twitter were already taken, so I had to think of something else. I really enjoy communicating with people, so how about something with the word social in the name. Social Joel didn’t role off the tongue well when I tried to say it, and I wanted the name to be both easy to say and easy to remember, so I had to figure out another name. Maybe something that describes what I’m trying to do. So after a good amount of time thinking about it and figuring out what could work, the name Sociability was born.

I have a name now! What do I do next? How about a business card?  Around the time that I had gotten to this point, I saw a deal being offered by a company run by @PrinterPete who does all sorts of printing, and so we talked. We discussed what needed to be done, did some tweaking, and this is the final result:

So I have a company, I have a company name and I have a business card. That then marks today, as the official launch date of my new company, Sociability. The Twitter handle for my new company is @SociabilityMN.  I’m very excited about moving forward with this plan and what it will mean for me.  A very big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me and encouraged me through this whole process. I really do appreciate it!

Onward and upward!