Gotham Gal

Amber Waves Farm, CSA

I got an email from Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett a few months ago announcing the CSA this summer.  I took me less than a minute to jump on the wagon.  I love it! 

We picked up our first basket today.  That basket is the one we will use all summer long.  Pick up is on Fridays.  They have been very busy this past winter partnering with the Amagansett Sixth graders to learn about farming and community service.  Together they have harvested 150 lbs of produce for the Spring Farms pantry.  Very cool. 

With the weekly pick-up we also get a recipe which is a smart idea.  This weeks pick up consisted of Red Russian Kale, Tuscan Kale, Summertime Lettuces, Easter Egg Radishes and Cinncinatti Market Radishes, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Italian Parsley, Garlic Scapes and 2 baguettes.  I also bought a dozen fresh eggs as they have a slew of chickens. 

I am really excited to get my weekly basket.  Just as an added bonus, I roped Josh up to grab a friend and work the farm for a few weeks in August.  After coming with me today to pick up the goods, I think he is actually looking foward to it!

more on the woman thing

Last week in the Science section of the NYTimes there is an article about the top women in the field of Science.  No surprises, many of the issues that are discussed among them are discussed among many women in a variety of fields.  There are two points that I think about, the first being that women have children ( unless there is some scientific breakthrough that is being kept under-wraps ) and that women toot their horn in a totally different way than men. 

I sat on a panel a few weeks back at the NCWIT conference in NYC.  The panel was about women in tech, should we change the women or should we change the system.  Maybe the answer is a little bit of both.  A very good friend of mine, who I find to be one of the smartest in the room, is in the midst of negotiating a huge contract for herself and she sent me a text saying that she might be over her head on this one and feels like an impostor.  I texted her back that I felt like one every single day.  She didn't believe me, but I promised her that was the case and she could confirm that by asking my therapist.  A good chuckle for both of us but oh so true. 

In the article about the top women Scientists, one of them tells the story of a man who is on a panel touting his findings and she realized that she was involved with the same exact project and certainly would not tout her findings like that.  Women cross all their t's and dot all their i's before giving themselves a well needed pat on the back, men not so much.  Perhaps getting women to stand up and say, I rule, is something that we need to work on more.

Let's get back to the babies.  Someone asked me the other day if I am seeing women's business ideas that are seriously disruptive and huge.  Most of the businesses that I see, that women start, are around areas that fill their needs.  It isn't that they can't participate in any idea or conversation or business for that matter that are big ideas.  

How do we change the industries?  How do we get investors do look at their companies and ask the question, why isn't their more women here?  We want to see a balanced gender ratio at the top because it is proven that companies that have both men and women at the top are more profitable, scale larger and are better environments to work in.  If that isn't a reason to ask the question of why aren't their more women at the top I dont know what is.

As I said at the NCWIT panel, I do believe that the next generation is going to be more balanced as men take more of an equal role in the household.  Where there are more opportunities for women to learn to write code in environments where they feel comfortable asking questions.  Where there seems to be more of a respect for the desire to treat women as equals because this last generation was told that they can do anything they want. 

Personally, I like investing in companies, led by women, that will hopefully become $30 or $50 million dollars companies because that creates many economies as well as the opportunity for women to find balance in their home life, a role model for their children and at the end of the day better community. Doesn't mean I don't get excited when I see something truly big. 

Women, more than men, are the ones who stand back after having children and ask themsevles, what role do I want to play in my children's life.  I was thrilled to read the article about the top Scientists in the NY Times because many women in that field drop out in the early 30's as the strains of that profession take them away from the home.  These women figured out the balance.  It certainly isn't easy but I do believe that it is getting easier.  The opportunity to log in at home has changed that.  The Internet is changing the way we live our lives and in turn changing the way we work. 

Yet, at the end of the day, it is the women who are having the babies and feel a responsiblity to being a mother while balancing the identity of their own lives that are separate from their husbands or partners or children.  Perhaps that is why many of the women entrepreneurs out there are not top on the radar but their are plenty out there who are creating companies around the most important thing, their families. 

Handshakes

Image via Wikipedia

Today I met with the women behind Pretty Young Profesionnal (PYP).  I met with both Amanda and Kathryn a few months back and it was really great to see their progress.  Not surprising we were discussing things that young professionals, who have just graduated college, should know but might not really know when entering the workforce.  The obvious answer to me is the handshake. 

I was taught at a young age to have a firm handshake. There are certain things that carry you far and I believe that is one of them.  I don't exactly remember the occasion but I certainly do remember teaching my kids.  Each kid was taught by the time they were probably two to shake someones hand.  We would practice.  Firm but not too firm, snug so that your hand fits firmly in the other persons hands and always make sure you look someone in the eye when you make the shake. Also, don't let anyone get away with the fish shake or when he gives you a little clutch.  Just stick your hand in there and go for it. 

I do remember that when the kids were about 3, 6 and 8 we were going somewhere or having an event that I thought it was important to make sure that they were all up on their handshaking skills.  I lined them all up and made them each shake my hand until they got it down and shake each others.  I am sure they laugh about it but I have witnessed them over the years meeting many people of all ages and always putting out their hand to firmly shake the persons hand and saying "hi, i'm whoever, nice to meet you.".  Manners are key.

Many times when I shake someones hand, particularly some men, they say, "wow, you have a firm handshake" as if that is a surprise or an acknowledgement, never quite sure.  Today I told both Amanda and Kathryn a story about shaking hands that I actually learned from my Mother.  She had done the same thing with someone years ago who had worked for her. 

I had a young woman working for me in the 90's.  We were going on a sales call together.  Right before we walked in the office building I said to her, shake my hand.  Her grip wasn't firm, it was soft and limp.  I went on to explain the importance of a good handshake and we stood outside for about five minutes shaking hands until she got it. 

I wonder about her once in a while and if she remembers that day.  I hope that it was a great learning moment that has carried her far into wherever her journey took her.  When she was working for me, she definitely fell under the category Pretty Young Professional 

One Arm, Tennessee Williams

My friend and I have been going to see the plays at the New Group for the past two years.  Always a nice evening and I love that we block out a few nights a year to do this together. 

Currently, the play is One Arm, an un-produced Tennessee Williams play.  The play runs an hour an 20 with no intermission which is always a bonus. 

The entire play takes place on one set that moves according to the scene.  Really well done.  There is a narrator who has an incredibly soothing voice so that just as you start to drift, he pulls you back in.  The play is incredibly depressing. 

It is a story of a young boxer from Arkansas who loses his arm in an accident.  It is the 1960's.  His ability to get a job or do anything with his life after losing his arm just goes down hill.  He becomes a hustler and over the course of a few years travels throughout the country meeting many men, hustling, to feed and drink himself eventually finding himself in jail for murder.  A story of human despair and loneliness.  A life gone wrong.

The acting is pretty amazing.  The main character, Ollie, goes through a series of emotions through out the play.  There is also something disconnected about him, like the character he is playing. 

Not sure I'd run out to get tickets but it is just another event happening around NYC until July 2nd. 

Graduation, the next generation and letting our kids find themselves

This week one of the front page articles in the NY Times was about private uptown schools and how much money parents are spending on tutors to get A's in every subject.  The question that rings out to me is simple, is it the parents or the curriculum. Probably a bit of both.  It continues to go full circle as many parents are determined that their kid gets into the best colleges in the country regardless of the kid.  My guess is that they don't pay so much attention to the needs, desires and assets of the kid but more to just getting the As, getting into the best college and then see where the chips fall.  The tutors can and do cost up to the same or more than the annual tuition.  You can't help but wonder if the curriculum is so ridiculous for a 15 to 17 year old mind that they need to be handheld and tutored on a daily basis to get through the curriculum.  One will never know but I'd be curious what percentage of kids in the elite schools of NYC receive tutoring a few times a week.  The schools know damn well that tutors are abundant because kids getting Bs and below are asked to leave.  I know that for a fact because many of those kids have shown up at our kids school where they totally excel. 

Then on the front page of the Dining section, same day, there is an article on second and first generation immigrant children whose parents push them to be doctors, bankers and lawyers and go to the very best schools. They say one thing but inside the house practice something else.  They are restaurant entrepreneurs who love what they do because their kids grow up in that environment.  These kids who did go to some of the best schools in our country are coming back to take over the family businesses they love because in life you should love what you do, at least I think so. 

An interesting take on both articles. I lean towards the second. Our kids have grown up in a house of entrepreneurs and so for them to grow up and do their own thing will not be surprising. Working for Goldman Sachs would be shocking. But we are believers in being happy and following your dreams to what turns you on. Pushing your kids to be something they aren't is terrible.  They aren't you they are them.  I do wonder about the next generation of kids who have been hand held each step of the way.  I certainly met and read about many of those children reaching that college goal and then literally wondering who they are and having a complete change of mind and heart of where they are as they get off the train and take a pause. 

Just to wrap these thoughts about, in the Sunday section of the NYTimes during graduation time they always post a few of the words spoken at graduation ceremonies across the country.   Many of the speakers were so poignant and spot on but I thought that Anna Quindlen, a mother herself, spoke the words that talk to what I wrote about today. She spoke at Grinnell College in Iowa. 

Here are a few quotes and for the full speech, which is fantastic, click here. 

We’re now supposed to apologize to you because it seems that that’s no longer how it works, that you won’t inherit the SUV, which was way too big, or the McMansion that was way too big, or the corner office that was way too big. That you will not do better. But I suggest that this is a moment to consider what “doing better” really means.

If you are part of the first generation of Americans who genuinely see race and ethnicity as attributes, not stereotypes, will you not have done better than we did? If you are part of the first generation of Americans with a clear understanding that gay men and lesbians are entitled to be full citizens of this country with all its rights, will you not have done better than we did? If you are part of the first generation of Americans who assume women merit full equality instead of grudging acceptance, will you not have done better than we did? And on a more personal level, if you are part of the generation that ditches the 80-hour work week, and returns to a sane investment in your professional life, the first generation in which young women no longer agonize over how to balance work and family, and young men stop thinking they will balance work and family by getting married, won’t you have done better than we did?

Believe me when I tell you that we made a grave error in thinking doing better is mathematical, a matter of the number at the bottom of your tax return. At the end of their lives, all people assess how they’ve done, not it terms of their income, but in terms of their spirit, and I beg you to do the same even if those who came before sometimes failed to do so. And I beg you not to let fear define you.

The voices of conformity speak so loudly. Don’t listen to them. People are going to tell you what you ought to think and how you ought to feel. They will tell you what to read and how to live. They will urge you to take jobs they loathe themselves and to follow safe paths that they themselves find tedious. Don’t do it. Only a principled refusal to be terrorized by these stingy standards will save you from a Frankenstein life made up of others’ expectations grafted together into a poor semblance of existence. You can’t afford to do that. It’s what has poisoned our culture, our community and our national character. No one ever does the right thing from fear and so many of the wrong things are done in its shadow. Homophobia, sexism, religious bigotry, xenophobia – they’re all bricks in a wall that divides us, bricks cast of the clay of fear, fear of that which is different or unknown.

At the end Quindlen wraps up with "We’ve let kindness slip away in our culture, too, trading it for candor which was not an even trade. Bring kindness back to our society."  What we also need to bring back to society is embracing the diversity and intelligence of each child by allowing them to create their own path, find their own identity and let them make mistakes, plenty of them, because we learn by our mistakes.  Expect your children to do what they are capable of not what they aren't.  Let them embrace their own personal loves and desires so that they move forward in their own lives, happy and confident and not living their lives for their parents expectations.  Living the latter can only turn out to be unhappy for all parties involved. 

Sara Chipps, Girl Develop It!, Woman Entrepreneur shaking up engineers

I sat on a panel at the NWCIT conference in NYC a few weeks back and had the pleasure of meeting Sara Chipps who sat on my panel.  I was thrilled to hear about what Sara had accomplished and made sure I contacted her after the event.  I love what she is doing for many reasons, teaching women to feel comfortable and confident about coding can only result in a positive outcome if they choose to run companies, be COO's or just become engineers.  A win win in my book.  Sara is one of the two entrepreneurs behind Girl Develop It! an organization that teaches women to create their visions on the web offering classes in coding as well as leveraging existing technology to feel comfortable as engineers of the tech world. 

Sara grew up in NJ about half an hour from the city but pretty much stayed to home.  Her social life existed around home and church.  She was home schooled until HS and found herself immersed in computers.  She was adamant that she went to HS outside the home and spent the first experience overwhelming as the school was large and it took a lot to adjust.  She moved to a smaller private school and found her groove. 

After graduation she went to Penn State, although a large school, she was on the smaller campus called Mount Alto which was intimate and more her speed.  Graduating college in 2001 was no exactly a booming job market.  She took a job through a friend who was working at a temp agency working at a help desk for computer issues.  The company was Philip Van Heusen.  She befriended someone who worked in the application develop department and told him what she really wanted to do was work in that area.  After her gig was up, they moved her into that area.  She initially did internal support for departments and then was involved in building an app that would help them track fabrications from start to finish.  How many yards, what are the colors, what factories the fabrics go to to be cut, etc helping the business to be more profitable.  She stayed there a year and a half. 

Next stop was Bradco, a leading supply company like Home Depot for contractors.  This job was developing all back end tools like data warehousing.  It drop her crazy and although she originally thought that was what she wanted to do, she decided it was not for her.

It was the next job that really changed everything.  She went to work for Paylock.  There were only eight people in the development department and she immediately clicked with the entire crew.  They had a patent on self released car boots.  So if you car gets booted, you call and 800 number and they give you the code to unlock the boot.  Think of Zip Car around car boots.  Once they hired her as a joke they had a boot put on her car in her driveway so she could go through the process of unlocking the boot. She had no web development experience so they paid for her to learn how to develop websites.  Unfortunately a private equity company came in, bought the place, fired the entire development team and sourced it out.  So she began to consult.  It was 2008.

Working from home and then eventually moving into a co-working space in NYC opened her eyes that there were a lot of people like her out there.  Friends recommended she meet Vanessa Hurst who is a database engineer and analytics engineer.  They started to have conversations about how difficult it is for women in the computer programming space.  When they were in classes, many times they felt uncomfortable asking questions as they might be perceived as they didn't belong.  This goes back to women second guessing themselves although I am sure there was no reason to that is how they felt.  So they decided to teach a class to women only and see what would come of it.  If you build it, they will come and both Vanessa and Sara realized that they had hit upon something.  They called their business Girl Develop It!

They go somewhere new every week and create a class.  Many places have donated spaces to Girl Develop It including Pivot Labs, Etsy and Meetup.  The classes come in a series of four at $20 a piece.  That $80 gives them enough money to get good teachers.  Pamela Fox took what they are doing and launched it in Sydney.  Jen Meyer is launching a chapter in Ohio.

So far they have graduated 450 unique students.  That is impressive.  As they drill down on their business model there are thoughts about mentoring after people graduate.  Just because you have learned the skills doesn't mean you feel comfortable just jumping in and this might be a great way to help more people enter the world of engineering by having a professional developer be a mentor to a graduate for a limited time.  They also did a project with Iridescent Learning that taught teenage girls how to built android apps this past year.  They started doing craft night where professional developers can come and look at projects that people are working on.  They are creating a community. 

Soon there will be another chapter in Philadelphia.  Also this summer they are running a three day hackathon in the Hamptons in a large house.  I definitely plan on going by.  The classes are not just relegated to women but you have to be comfortable in a class that is mostly going to be women. 

I am so excited about what Sara and Vanessa are doing.  How can their be chapters across the country, how do they create after school programs for girls 9-12 who are looking for something after school and writing code could change their life, how do you help mentor more women going into this field, how do you create a larger community around this. 

Really looking forward to talking more with Sara and helping Girl Develop It! grow.  I have two words,  Girl Power. 

Locande Verde

Yesterday was a big day.  Our middle daughter graduated from HS.  We are going through the time period of our children being full fledged teenager/young adults basically operating on their own.  Yet the kids are entering adulthood and yesterday closed one chapter in Emily's life and moved her into the next.  That is big. 

Of course, celebrations are in order and we had dinner at Locande Verde.  They have a bunch of large tables in the back which works well.  Also the menu is geared towards communal sharing which is another bonus.  I have been to Locande a variety of times for breakfast, lunch and only one other time for dinner.  The place was packed last night and the food has been consistent from the start.  There are a few things that are really good and a few things that are just ok.  I really think the best things on the menu are the appetizers and pasta.  These are all good for sharing too.

We started with the blue crab crostini.  Large helping of blue crab over a crostini that has been smothered with a tomato paste and then thinly sliced jalapeno on top.  A nice mixture of textures and tastes.  A win.

Fava beans are must at this time of the year.  A fava bean puree with hint ofmint and then whole fava beans sprinkled on top with shavings of pecorin over a prsocuitto bread.  This was really good and a good summer dish. 

Hamachi over a white caponata and meyer lemon.  I didn't love this combo.  There was too much sweet with the fish.  I would have preferred something more savory.

The last one the whipped Sheeps ricotta with sea salt and herbs.  This is a must for any table.  Toasted bread that is almost burnt with a creamy light ricotta loaded with fresh herbs.  So good.

We split three pastas.  All delicious.  Thick green noodles with a white bolognese sauce.  This has been on the menu from the very beginning.  A house speciality and absolutely worth having.  A twist on a classic dish.

Tagliatelle with spring peas, slices of asparagus a hint of lemon and pecorino cheese.  An excellent summer pasta.  Light and full of flavor.  I love the spring peas.

Grandmother's ravioli.  The name alone sounds good, Grandmother's.  Ravioli stuffed with pulled pork and beef with a red sauce served over it.  Just good old fashioned yum.

For a main course I went with the grilled Branzino served over piece of roasted sunchokes and a salsa rossa.  It was ok.  Everything was cooked well, presented beautifully but it just didn't compare to the other things we tried.  Someone had the duck which I tried and it was really quite good.  Josh had the porchetta sandwich which he said was really good and I am sure it was because it fits the bill of what is being cooked in the kitchen.  The scallops with snap peas, chickpea paste, and pesto.  Again, good but not great.

Will I return, absolutely as I have many times.  But I just have to wrap my arms around going for the pasta by myself instead of going for the few bites when we share.  It is absolutely the way to go. 

A nice family celebration.  Fred, me and my sister walked over to the Ear Inn and had another drink and walked home.  Now, summer has began.  

a rambling on women and the reality of life

When I was in Minneapolis this week, I had an interesting conversation with the woman who runs PR for Red Stamp.  She has three kids who are 6, 4 and 1.  Been there and funny enough our kids are the exact same spread and gender.  She and her husband moved to Minneapolis after they had their first kid.  Family is here and many people return to Minneapolis so it isn't so out of the norm.  She had lived and worked in NYC for one of the largest PR companies in the city.  After she had her first kid and wanted to come back to work, perhaps part-time they basically said no, full time or no time.  Pretty amazing that was six years ago and then again not so amazing.  Her and her husband left NYC and came to Minneapolis. 

She is in that place where many women are, I have been there myself.  I want to work because I want my own identity but I want to be home for my kids. too  I love my husband and he is definitely a partner but he isn't putting the kids clothes in the drawers or actually managing the household although giving it a good college try.  I do need some time for myself like just to work out, shop or see my friends yet I want to work too for my brain, ego and intelligence yet be there and present in my kids lives so not sure how that all works into a 24 hour day.  If I get off the treadmill of work because I can and my salary only pays for someone to help watch the kids then what happens to me and my career after being home for ten plus years.  What is the balance?  Is there balance?  Perhaps you can only do it all over the course of life but not at the same time.  Why again did I excel in school and college?  Maybe it is a good thing that I am not longer in corporate and I can reinvent myself and be more flexible in my day to day life yet it is hard to be a serious player only a few hours a week.  Do I want to be a player?  Well I do want to be a player but I want to be a Mom too and of course someone needs to watch over everything.  Ok, well I can multi-task but then when do I breathe?  Perhaps I am just an impostor anyway so who cares. 

Every day is a balancing act and my fear is years will pass and I will be in the same place.  My bigger fear is that I put all my energy into my children and then they move out and go college and I have a nervous breakdown thinking I just wasted years of my life but maybe I didn't but I did it all for them.  How come I had to do that?  Oh, my husband has been great and he has provided a really good income and a lifestyle for us but I have lost my brain.  Didn't I just run a start-up and back end for us for the past how many years by raising a family? 

These are so many of the questions that women ask, women think about but don't talk about...and we should.  This is one of the main reasons that many women are not CEO's of major corporations and nobody seems to talk about that.  How do we change that ratio?  When do companies embrace those intelligent women so they can be part of the game, be heralded for their thoughts and visions while still being able to be a Mom too.  We don't see top women who speak at conferences talk about this or the fact that they probably have one nanny per child so they can focus on their business.  I am not passing judgement on these women who do that but why aren't we being honest about it?  If women were more honest about the realities of motherhood perhaps we could be better mentors and role models for the next generation.  Pushing the reality of life under the carpet is not how we change the next generation or change the ratio. 

So why the rant?  I just want to share the thoughts that I have had for years as I begin to turn a corner back to me.  I still will have one kid at home and am well aware of that and do not want to short change him yet I am ready to take on more while still figuring out balance every single day.  After having a life where there is flexibility, you still want it.  How do you re-enter the working world while still having that flexibility and create your own identity.  It is something that women have to think about a few years out before everyone flies the from the nest.  Otherwise you look at your life and husband and begin to wonder, who am I and how did I get here.

I am positive that these ramblings above resonate with many women regardless of where you are in life because they saw it with their Mom's, they are entering that phase of their lives or they are in the exit strategy of kids leaving the nest or they are barely treading water trying to do it all.  These are the conversations that I want to see more women have.  These are the conversations that create powerful relationships between women and when we start having these types of conversations, things will change. After all, the truth be told, we are running pretty much everything as our husbands and children get in line but for some reason it isn't something we get reconigtion for or more to the point that we don't take credit for.

Walker Art Museum

I got into Minneapolis a few hours before our meeting was to begin.  Since I had wifi on the plane I really didn't need to sit down and do email so Erin suggested I go to the Walker Art Museum.  Minneapolis has a burgeoning art community and great museums.  I listened to the resident expert and off I went.

FIrst stop is the sculpture garden.  The cherry on the spoon is an icon.  Huge and whimsical sitting in the middle of the water.  Really a wonderful artistic description of Minneapolis particularly sitting in the middle of the lake as Minneapolis is built around multiple lakes. 

Architectually the museum is modern.  Small spaces to be discovered and large galleries to show art.  Really brilliant.  Today there were a variety of shows.  The first was Midnight Party on floors 4-7.  Clever and well curated.  My favorite group was a series of prints from a husband and wife.  He was a baker by day and by night a photographer.  He took pictures of his wife dressed up.  They printed them in their kitchen.  I had never seen these prints before.  Of course I can't recall the photographer and I couldn't take picture.  Very kitsch.

This is one of the pieces from their permanent collection, a Lichenstien I had not seen before.

The other show that I really enjoyed was this large room of art.  Visitors were asked to pick from over 200 pieces of art from the permanent collection, online and in the museum.  Over a quarter million people participated.  The curators then considered the choices and created this exhibit.  What the museum said is that this exhibit explores the dynamic and the boundaries between curatorial practice and popular taste.  Personally, I loved it. 

The one downside is that I wanted to purchase books from the two exhibits I really liked but they didn't have them.  A commerce mistake.  Regardless, a great museum and a worthy stop when visiting Minneapolis. 

Tilia, Minneapolis

I came out to Minneapolis yesterday ( on the hottest day of the year here ) to spend the day at Red Stamp to basically brainstorm.  Many of the companies I am involved with meet every six weeks to two months to look at the big picture.  I certainly talk with Erin and email frequently but having everyone get together and just hash out ideas and a vision provides an incredible value.  It was really a great day.  Over the course of the summer there will be two different launches which will really set Red Stamp up to be the leader in the space of modern correspondence. Very exciting.

After a day of strategy we set off for drinks at Erin's house and then to Tilia, a relatively new restaurant in the neighborhood of Linden Hills.  I believe the restaurant has only been open a few months.  Besides the fact that they were not prepared for the heat, it was so hot in there, but the food was delicious.  We ordered a bunch of things to share.  Our server created the flow of food which made no sense at all but we just all went with it.

Our first round out was three different dishes.  Shrimp with spring peas, grilled scallions and a spicy scampi sauce.  Light with a nice balance of flavors.  Excellent.

Roasted chicken thighs sorta jerk style.  I love chicken thighs.  These were boneless and perfectly cooked with a spicy jerk sauce.  Loved these.

Slightly seared scallops served with a puree of carrots with marinated mushrooms and a light curry sauce.  Simple light dish but again with a little kick.

Round two was the one special of the day.  Fish and chips.  Little crusted deep fried cod over yukon gold potatoes that had been roasted, smashed and then fried and served over sauce.  I think the sauce was an edamame sauce.  A nice twist on a classic dish.

Potted meat of the day.  Last night was duck.  Potted duck served with roasted shallots, a spicy mustard and grilled bread.  Very Parisian and this particular dish seems to be cropping up in many restaurants.  Really well done.

Beet salad, which should have come first, was hard to enjoy after so many layered flavors.  Really well done I just wish it had been round one.  A mixture of beets with pickled carrots, red onions, toasted sesame and a yuzu vinaigrette.

We only split one main course which was the Tagliatelle pasta.  Wow.  Spring peas, fiddle heads (seasonal), truffle parmesan.  Simple yet absolutely delicious. 

These brussel sprouts are some of the best I have ever had.  Carmelized with walnuts and little chunks of ham.  I could have had a whole bowl to myself.

Fish Taco Torta.  Deep fried fish with a creamy peppadew slaw, cilantro and lime.  Simple and different using the bun instead of the taco.

Then what we all were waiting for but had hit the wall.  It wasn't so much that we had too much food, after all there were six of us splitting appetizers but it was so damn hot.  BLT Hot Dogs.  Two hot dogs with crispy bacon, sliced tomatoes, pickled caulitlofwer, mayo and mustard.  I had a small bite.  Fantastic but I too had just hit the wall.

No desserts.  We were hot and done.  Tilia was terrific.  The menu is just exactly what people are eating today with their own twist. They have taken classic dishes and give them their own spin.  The food was really good, well prepared and I loved the vibe of the place.  When I come back to Minneapolis, I'd love to go back to Tilia.  If Tilia was down the street from me in NYC, I'd go back this week.