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City Cast Twin Cities

Keep It Local

Keep It Local by City Cast Twin Cities features spotlights on local businesses we love and personal, curated, and neighborly recommendations that will help you live your best Twin Cities life right now. So, if you’re ready to ditch the national chains, e-commerce giants, and big box stores,

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Roseanne Pereira

This beloved, family-owned establishment in Northeast has been around since 1973. From spinach pies to pints or quarts of what I consider the best tabbouleh in town (my desert island food, people!), 

 has many affordable picnics and cabin weekend options. In the mood for meat pies filled with pine nuts, ground beef, and lamb, or smoky baba ganoush and pita? Hot tip: their stuffed grape leaves include ground lamb in addition to rice - mwha! So good.

Whenever I’m in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, I seem to leave 

 with to-go containers of two items – their traditional creamy coleslaw (a guarded family recipe), and their potato salad that’s bright (egg yolks must be involved!) and has notes of mustard and pickle juice. The chunky texture and mix of flavors hits the spot, truly. It’s no wonder, as 

 for decades. The deli’s been around since 1949. With an array of bagels, sliced meats, and in-house baked bread, discover your own picnic go-to to-gos next time you visit.

If I really wanted to impress someone, I would fill my picnic basket with 

,” an artisan elixir made with elderblossom syrup. Add sparkling water or one of the liquors recommended by owner, Mo Kotb, for a refreshing summer drink. (The former Tilia bartender knows his stuff.) Dervish Mazza spreads are familiar, but with a surprising twist, like 

, which takes the fire-roasted eggplant of classic baba ganoush and mixes it with the flavors of tahini, sweet-tart pomegranate, and chermoula herbs. One of my favorites (and a Dervish Mazza bestseller) is 

, where hummus meets Thai chili and sun dried tomato. Here’s a recipe for an 

) that prioritizes personal, engaging service. The friendly staff offers recipes and samples, and they sell dried fruits such as unsulfured apricots, a wide variety of nuts, dates, Middle Eastern pastries, and oh so many olives. You’ll likely discover something you’ve never tasted before. The last time I was there I learned about how the inner kernels of apricots (a sweet, almond-like seed) are eaten as snacks - and of course I was given one to try.

Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it, so let’s eat well on our summer get-togethers while we can.

Easy Minnesota Picnic Delights - Savory Pies, Dips, Salads

Easy Picnic Delights - Savory Pies, Dips, Salads

On a recent trip to Maryland and Virginia, I was bowled over by the treats in Asian bakeries there. This made me want to see what I could find in the Twin Cities. Luckily, I discovered 

 in St. Paul. The light-filled cafe with wooden beams and hanging vines was so enticing that I sat down for some piping hot congee with ginger chicken for lunch and got most of the buns to-go.

Zao’s bakery case includes red bean steam buns, taro twists, and many other delights. If you are uninitiated to the standard offerings at Asian bakeries, check out this 

video on 14 buns you need to try at a Chinese bakery

Responding by email, owner and baker William Ratsamy said the cafe is a family bakery in every sense. “Everything from the recipes (my mom's culinary experience) to the ingredients (from my brother's grocery store) to the design of the space (my architectural background) came from within our family.”

Ratsamy’s recommendations for a first visit are to try “a sesame ball, char siu pork bun, congee and our homemade soymilk. This would fill up your tray nicely. This includes something fried, something baked, something from our kitchen, and a homemade drink that you really can't get anywhere else.”

I can vouch for the slightly, but not-too sweet homemade soy milk which I tried after my congee along with a 

. This is a soft milk bread shaped like an oval, sliced down the middle and filled with buttery whipped cream, then dusted with coconut flakes. In other words, a bun of dreams.

Ratsamy says Zao’s best-sellers are the Spicy Chicken Curry Bun (that has a curry filling), the Pork Steam Bun (minced pork, an egg, and Chinese sausage surrounded by soft white bread), Sesame Balls (chewy, crunchy, nutty, sweet), and Ham Sui Gok (a glutinous fried dumpling).

Many of the baked goods in the case are easy grab-and-go items for a picnic, and for this purpose, Ratsamy’s top recommendation is the 

. It’s a hot dog wrapped in milk bread and arranged into a flower shape before baking. The result is an easy, pull-apart, soft treat that’s pleasing for both adults and kids. (You pull off the “petals”!) My picnic pick? A wilder-looking 

The light-filled cafe was so enticing that I sat down for some piping hot congee with ginger chicken for lunch and got most of the buns to-go.

St. Paul's Zao Bakery + Cafe - Hot Dog Flower Bun, Anyone?

Zao Bakery + Cafe - Hot Dog Flower Bun, Anyone?

Winter Keefer

I recently found the lunchbox of my dreams.

It’s the cutest blue, red, and yellow little zip-up with a perfect cutlery pocket inside. As much as I wanted to gatekeep this find, I’m sharing it with all of you because your kids probably need it more than I do.

So here’s how you get it: If you head to the back corner of 

 in downtown Robbinsdale, you’ll find this lunchbox in a small but mighty children’s section of the store.

Carefully curated by Golden Age Design co-owner Kara Kurth, the store’s selection of children’s items includes high-quality, Montessori-inspired toys and school items. “The kids section was something that we've always really liked to pour into because happy kids make happy parents,” Kurth said.

The space includes items like wooden and plush toys, storage containers, and notebooks for “tiny hopes and dreams.” A parent herself, Kurth said her goal is to foster children’s imaginations and encourage play. “We really believe in them and don’t want their magic to disappear,” she said of the children in her life.

Kurth also thinks about the experience of parents and grandparents of children shopping in the store. Many of the items sold harken back to the days before technology dominated children’s entertainment. For adults, “it's like this passing of the torch – they're excited to share something that maybe they played with when they were little.” 

Kurth emphasizes quality in addition to cultivating whimsy and nostalgia through her collection. Instead of buying pencils, erasers, and scissors from a big-box store that might last only a few months, she hopes her store can offer ethically-made and sustainably-sourced items that last years.

As she looks to the future, Kurth hopes her children will one day pass down items from her store to their own children. “We think those lessons are really important for kids – buying slower, buying quality items so you can use it for a lifetime.”

Carefully curated by co-owner Kara Kurth, the store’s selection of children’s items includes high-quality, Montessori-inspired toys and school items.

Robbinsdale's Golden Age Design Offers Generational Keepsakes

Golden Age Design Offers Generational Keepsakes 

Greetings and happy back-to-school shopping season!

 Do you want to shop local, but you don’t know where to go other than the big-box stores? Do you have a long list of school supplies that’s stressing you out and burning a hole on your kitchen counter? Don’t you worry, City Cast has a list of local shops that will have you and your kids covered this school year.

This St. Paul hidden gem is the perfect place to find school supplies on a budget. The store inside 

 in St. Paul is filled with an assortment of donated and recycled art supplies and materials. I’m talking 20-cent folders, 50-cent notebooks and 25-cent to $2 binders. There’s a whole bin of tape dispensers for $1 each. If your kid has a science project, this is the place to go for construction paper, popsicle sticks, egg cartons, bottle caps, paint – whatever catches your fancy.

This women-owned, women-run children's boutique in Edina has been dressing Twin Cities tykes since 1999. Offering a wide variety for babies to tweens, 

 boasts on its website its “classic, preppy styles you won't find anywhere else in the Twin Cities.” The store believes shopping for kids should be a joyful, in-person experience and offers the merchandise to match.

Looking to find quality designer resale on a budget? Look no further. At 

 in south Minneapolis, you can shop for your kids while trading in the clothes they outgrew last year. The store opened in 1981 as the Twin Cities' first maternity consignment store, so it’s always had kids and parents in mind offering brand-name items without the luxury price tag.

With its new downtown Minneapolis brick-and-mortar storefront, 

 is ready to welcome you in to peruse its collection of children's wear. The family-run store started as an online-only boutique and “grew from a desire to offer clothing that feels comfortable, meaningful, and right for everyday life,” according to its website. It opened its store front earlier this year and this is your perfect opportunity to check it out!

The store inside ArtStart & ArtScraps ReUse Center in St. Paul is filled with an assortment of donated and recycled art supplies and materials.

Back to School Shopping in St. Paul

Back to School Shopping 

Here’s where you can find children’s books for the kids in your life or nurture your own inner child!

Once, during a major time crunch, I stopped by 

 for a child’s gift. In under 10 minutes, an employee had found the ideal gift with my parameters in mind, placed an order to have the books shipped, and rang up my sale. Red Balloon’s service is unbelievably strong – I’ve even had booksellers email me book ideas. The store hosts a number of 

 that meets this Tuesday, where kids ages 8-16 can meet to write and draw together.

 while eating lunch at Brasa in Northeast Minneapolis. The shop carries mostly used and rare books, which means there’s ample opportunity to rediscover books you may have forgotten you loved. On my last visit, the children’s section included classics like Shel Silverstein’s 

as well as Dr. Seuss books, but there was also plenty of manga, graphic novels, and young adult series.

Are you science-minded? If so, check out 

, which in addition to literary and genre fiction, curates STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)-focused nonfiction for both kids and adults. The shop also hosts special 

 with speakers who are scientists, engineers, makers, and more. In October, The Thinking Spot in collaboration with The Bakken Museum will present the 

This beloved, Linden Hills bookstore for children and young adults values experiential learning and play. In addition to books, 

 also has animals. These have included chinchillas, doves, ferrets, rats – even a tarantula. You can see current critters 

. Want to hear something wild? Tom Braun, one of the shop’s co-founders who passed away in 2018, 

Bookstores for Kids at Heart in the Twin Cities Metro

Bookstores for Kids at Heart

When Rachael Ostrom saw a “For Lease” sign at the former Micawber’s Books space in St. Anthony Park at Milton Square, she felt like the stars were aligning. Ostrom had worked in marketing at Aveda for 25 years and was ready for a change. Micawber’s had been a bookstore she took her kids (now, college-aged) to, and she’d considered it a magical place. The result of her momentous decision is 

Walking into the space, you’ll likely soon see that 

 has its own magic. So much thought has been put into the details. In addition to a tea station, reading nooks, and a big tree mural, there’s a treehouse

 the shop, which Ostrom bought online. A man had initially made it for his son, and Ostrom’s own father installed it in the shop. There are used books in the treehouse for kids to read and a free library in the front of the store among the foliage. Ostrom says pretty much every day she works, she sees her vision for the store realized. “Right now, there’s a mom and kid in the treehouse reading stories,” she points out.

75% of new titles at the shop are written by women. This is intentional. Ostrom was inspired by a 

 about how men weren’t reading books by female authors. Free bookmarks by the register cite one of the article’s statistics, that only 19% of top-selling books by female authors were read by men, but 45% of top-selling books by male authors were read by women. 

Let’s work together to read more women authors and amplify their voices

, the shop’s bookmark states. The store also sells wares from women’s small businesses, like 

The space is not just a shop of her own; it's a family affair. Ostrom’s sister is a kindergarten teacher who weighs in on children’s books. Her daughter helped design the store logo. Ostrom says the store is split in half with her niece, Peyton Taylor, who is the store’s assistant manager and the buyer for the young adult and fantasy sections. Ostrom’s half includes classics and historical fiction. (Incidentally, the two both praise 

 a book that combines fantasy and historical fiction).

A designated middle grade section is rare for a bookstore that isn’t solely a children’s bookstore. But there's a robust section here, even broken down by genre. (If, like me, you didn’t know what middle grade was, it’s the bridge between children and young adults, often for kids ages 8-12).

One consistently top-selling children’s book in the store is 

 but Ostrom is quick to point out books by local authors that are also popular, such as 

 offering reading ideas (see them listed online 

), such as reading a translated novel, a genre you’ve never read before, or a book about nature. The August 19

 includes an end-of-summer sweepstakes. The party is just one example of how 

 is more than a place to buy books. As the store’s website says, “it’s a living, breathing space where stories take root, worlds expand, and community grows.”

When Rachael Ostrom saw a “For Lease” sign at the former Micawber’s Books space in St. Anthony Park, she felt like the stars were aligning.

St. Anthony Park's Acorn Bookshop: Discover the Magic

Acorn Bookshop: Discover the Magic

Indoor rock climbing, sound healing, Feldenkrais? Try a new practice this month.

 is a wellness studio in Minneapolis that specializes in sound healing. Here’s how it's described on the studio’s website, “As a form of energy medicine and vibrational therapy, sound healing recognizes that every living being carries its own frequency and vibration. Through this practice, we can harness these frequencies to restore balance, strengthen, and create new pathways through the body and nervous system.” The studio offers 

. The intention is to offer unique experiences that you’ll cherish. I still remember one I attended that included 

Founded by Jaqui Howard in order to create “a safe and inclusive space for women of color to practice and thrive,” 

 to improve flexibility, strength, and overall well-being. Some people think you can’t break a sweat doing 

, but these classes are for sure challenging, as I learned in a recent Spyce mat pilates class. In addition to pilates essentials, the studio offers classes incorporating sculpting and cardio.

With locations in Bloomington, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul, 

 offers newcomers and experienced climbers alike a variety of indoor climbing opportunities. Artificial walls, colored plastic holds, and a controlled climate allow people to practice skills like bouldering, top-roping, and auto-belaying, all while forming a community based on a shared passion. Here’s a 

 if you want some amazing views of their climbing walls. Lessons, clinics, and kid 

, a somatic practice developed in the 1940s by Moshé Feldenkrais after he suffered a severe knee injury. Through this method practitioners rewire neural pathways by bringing 

awareness to specific isolated movements and body parts. Classes are sloooooow and many are conducted entirely lying down. Counter to the prevailing American fitness ethos, participants are encouraged to 

 push themselves to their limit. The results are phenomenal. After each class, you move with greater ease and efficiency. If there’s a movement that you cannot yet do, you 

yourself doing it. Moshé Feldenkrais believed imagination was a more powerful force than raw willpower and regained his own mobility through these methods. Practitioner 

offers in-person sessions at East Lake Aikido in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood, or 

Indoor rock climbing, sound healing, or Feldenkrais? Try a new wellness practice this month in the Twin Cities.

How to Be Well this August in the Twin Cities

How to Be Well this August

, a studio in the Eat Street part of Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood. At my first class, the person on the mat next to me told me that this was a great place, “a real community.” Maybe that helped me keep an open mind. “

, I like the plants,” I replied, admiring the lush, well-cared for plants that bordered the room we were in.

Many teachers at Yess have a master's in public health, are bodyworkers, or have decades worth of experience in community organizing. Lucia Yess, the studio’s founder, initially thought she would be a social worker or therapist, but after attending a yoga teacher training in South Korea, where she was living at the time, a new vision emerged.

She cherished the authentic connections people had in the South Korean yoga studio where she practiced. “People hugged with greetings and departures, they ate meals together, they shared stories, books, and laughter as well as tears,” she 

writes of the experience on Yess Yoga’s blog

. “This is what I can bring to the world,” she thought. The intention was for the studio to be a third space for all, focusing on inclusivity and authenticity.

When Metro Surge was at its peak in Minneapolis, Yess saw her initial mission realized as the yoga studio community responded by collecting supplies for a neighboring clinic, raising thousands of dollars to supply the health providers with blood pressure cuffs, phones, diapers/wipes, contact solution, menstrual supplies, and more. “We wanted to ensure our neighbors received support and stayed healthy during this trying time. Additionally, we added a drop-in sliding scale option which made Yess Yoga classes more accessible.”

What really wowed me about Yess were its 

 - all based on teachers’ personal interests. These include qigong, yin (highly recommend!), restorative, and curvy, where “people of all shapes, sizes and abilities” can practice in a supportive and body positive environment. Later in August there’s even yoga accompanied by live cello. I realized I didn’t hate 

 include group singing, family yoga, sound baths, acupuncture, and more. New students who want to check the space out can try unlimited yoga for a week for $25. There’s also an ongoing 

Far from my past experiences of yoga teachers that seemed to exalt rigidity and perfectionism, Lucia Yess is a teacher who can laugh at herself. “We foster light-hearted and authentic connections between self, each other, and the universe at large,” she says. (And they do.)

Many teachers at Yess have a master's in public health, are bodyworkers, or have decades worth of experience in community organizing.

Yess Yoga - Community in Practice in Minneapolis

Yess Yoga - Community in Practice

Choo Choo Bob’s store manager Biel Wiel (pronounced “wheel” and yes that’s his real name) starts his workday revving up a model train and filling a bouncy house with air. He then suits up in overalls and a train conductor hat, ready to usher kids onward into the store’s interactive playspace.

Located in St. Paul’s Union Depot at 214 4th St. East, Choo Choo Bob’s is a well-known and long-running Twin Cities model train store. But in 2019, it was bought by owner Jenny Moberg who evolved it into what it is today, Wiel said. “We still sell trains and toys, but now we also sell an experience.”

The store’s pay-to-play playspace and event space includes a bouncy house, an engine full of toys, multiple interactive train tables, and even a bubble machine. The bright and welcoming atmosphere makes it perfect for a birthday party, event or casual hangout on a hot day.

A former desk job worker, Wiel said he now looks forward to coming into work each day.

“My favorite part is the constant sound of joy and play,” Wiel said. “Instead of staring at a laptop all day, I’m surrounded by kids laughing and the bubble machine going. I’ve heard kids yell ‘bubbles’ more times than I can count.”

If you’re looking for a particularly special time to stop in, every Monday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. Engineer Paul comes by to play music and read stories. Parents may recognize Paul from “The Choo Choo Bob Show.” A bonus: hosted by the store about a decade ago, the show is still 

. So if your kids love story time, you can continue the fun at home.

Regular admission into the playspace is $10 per child ages 1 to 10, $2 for adults, and free for children under 1. They also offer a buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) deal for twins. As a twin myself, I thought that was pretty cool. Story time is included in the admission price. Event pricing and booking details can be found on Choo Choo Bob’s 

Located in St. Paul’s Union Depot at 214 4th St. East, Choo Choo Bob’s is a well-known and long-running Twin Cities model train store.

More Than a Model Train Store in St. Paul's Union Depot

More Than a Model Train Store

Whether you're looking to get outside or find an indoor hang and escape the heat, we’ve got you covered.

This free outdoor play area in Bloomington’s Hyland Lake Park Reserve is sure to get your kids excited and (hopefully) tucker them out. Set in the back of the park’s wooded area, the sheer size of

 makes it a perfect place to spend an entire afternoon. If you’re worried about losing a kid because this place is so big, don’t fear. It’s fenced in and there’s only one exit. Sit back, relax and let those kids run and slide to their hearts’ content.

From drop-in roller skating to birthday parties and special events, this family-friendly roller skating rink is bound to be a hit for your kids. 

 in Burnsville offers skate rentals for newbies and classes for those who get the skating bug and want to come back for more. The rink includes an arcade and snack bar, and parents/guardians who accompany their children but aren’t skating get in free.

Nothing hits quite like a waterslide on a sweltering summer day. While Minneapolis might not be Wisconsin Dells, we can still find that slide. For $10 per person (ages 3 and older), 

 in Northeast Minneapolis offers three water slides, including a tube slide. The park also features a log water walk, interactive spray features, and lap swimming lanes.

in Minneapolis is the little cartoon caricatures that play on the screen after each bowler takes their turn. It reminds me of my own hometown bowling alleys. This nostalgic local hangout is the perfect place to take the kids for a round of bowling and a bite to eat. Mom or dad could even get a beer. Fun for all.