Hudson Wisconsin Nightlife

Oh Danny boy, will you miss having the rewards card blarney now that we are through a second year of St. Patrick’s Days? Or pen a play about it for The Phipps? Watch out for the wake … in the wake of another such holiday.

March 18th, 2021

All things are green again, (this year?), despite the virus that surrounds us, but you don’t have to go overboard as a bit might do just fine. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Or a bunch of blarney? Bushwacked by all this verbage? Please read down. Way On Down.
It can all be part of the act, as in portraying an Irish wake!
Ask Dan at Kwik Trip, who recently finished a gig with his side hustle as an actor, as in The Phipps. He said the best thing about this was its ad lib nature, much like expousing the benefits of pumping in gas at one of the 20-or-so distribution stations on the north end that he spouts like a tea kettle (that’s not nice of me), and in the wake of that fans his glib fun by teasing me about forgetting my rewards card. This act has been gone on between us since the previous St. Patrick’s Day when he first advised me I was missing on out a whole bunch — more than dozens — of say, green braised apples, over the course of roughly 365 days, as being open 24 hours gives a lot of opportunity for serial Kwik Day and Night Trippers like me. The Little Green Men, the L-word is too hard to spell, come in spades full of blarney, as Dan says with my approval, or was this my idea, that it was first one of them who stole my rewards card, then was investigated for fraudulent trading when purveying potatoes for seed over the Minnesota state line, then finally was cleared by the long investigative arm of the Small In Stature Irish Ombudsman Association. The fine, of course, would have been a pot of gold.
That’s just a bad as my wife insisting that one of her people, positioned post mortem in a hearse, fell out the back at the top of a hill and when hitting the bottom said to the chemist, have you something to stop me coughin? Alas, this Kwik Trip does not have pharmacy.
But one would need a priest for such last rites, or even a bishop. To my wife’s jokes about the whole family of bishops? You gotta problem with that? To go with the flow of this joke, that was the surname of this family, or if it had involved a real bishop, it would have required a dispensation from a real bishop for, you know …

<<News break: For a long-list retrospective of how the virus gained a foothold and gave us our marching orders, and on occasion even our walking papers, check out the lead article in a few days.>>

With this being Lent, and fish lovers know what that means, one of the many kinds of sauce you can make with forgotten stuff in the back of your own fridge — and here goes Joe again — is your own tartar. These things always start with a base of mayo, and not the clinic although this stuff that follows is indeed comfort food in place of meds, ready made to put your bid in, as Judas Priest might sing, in repeated references. Mix in some pickle relish, or if you don’t have that, substitute finely chopped pickles themselves, and I would recommend the bread and butter kind. Put in a dash of sugar, a bit of vinegar, a smattering of green bell pepper — all optional if you don’t have it, but look in that back crisper first — and done to your taste. If you’re bold even top it off with just a bit of hot pepper, again the green kind being this is St. Patrick’s Day, and a touch of horseradish as that can be great with the cream sauce but even better with the veggie itself. You don’t need much and I wonder aloud if it is leftover In The Jar-O, as it keeps well and might hold to the next time you have fish, and don’t wait until Lent 2022, God Forbid.
Tuna steak is great, also, and has great health benefits that are even moreso than the stuff in the can, and dress it up with a Bit O’ Lime juice and/or the fruit itself. And we’re all on a budget these days, even if that day is the one of St. Patrick, so you might head to your grocer or even discount store and get some salmon in a thick, Metallica bag and dress it up also, as was mentioned above, and maybe even a touch of the canned tuna around the edges of your dish to round it out.
<<Back to the blarney>>
Its true, the Royals use them too. The Queen needed a dispensation, even though a Brit, when she overdrew her one million credit line from her “Capital” card by more than 10,000 pounds. It could have been even worse in U.S. dollars. Ask Donald Trump.
The last of the dispensations came when a crew of Little Green Men from Mars stole the last of the subterranian Holy Water from below, as there wan’t much left there to start with.The pimp for they and their entourage was the guy with the blazing red eyes from the Blondie video. He looks just like the guy who waited on me at the Men’s Warehouse, who also looked much the same as Snoop Dogg in the poster at Dick’s hawking his brand of liquor, soon to be available there, the name of which was a play on the idea of it all being doggone gone. Last year at Dick’s, around this time, the bar and grill offered multiple tasty toppings and glaze on its version of what could have been just routine fish fillets.
An online ad for Paddy Ryans showed several little people, as well as in prominent placement two curly and curvy redheads also in flashy green, with little cloth on the top or bottom of their dresses.

Hey its a Wednesday, and there still is a St. Patrick’s Day to be celebrated. So how to do? Paddy Ryan’s again has the O’Brien family singers, and there may be fine-tuned things about their show that you may not know. And throw in other spots with Irish drink, in their own special way (so much so it merits italics)!

March 17th, 2021
St. Patrick’s Day has largely been given a drop kick to the head this year, again being officially observed midweek, but being true Irish, Paddy Ryan’s Pub in the town of Hudson is leading the way for the celebration like it was on a Saturday!
And in this area, that means a mid-afternoon bevy of ditties by The O’Briens, an Irish-size family of musical performers that broadly is considered the cream of the crop in their genre between here and St. Paul. They go on at 3 p.m., but an encore might throw them will into the dinner hour.
The proprietor is known on such occasions to bring out the sampling of shots of Irish whiskey, but the place will be packed, so get there early for what likely will prove to be a free trial that can built on as the day continues to flourish. Talk about being pub friendly. And there are plenty other things that are Irish to imbibe in, not just the ones you tend to hear about most in popular culture.
Now we must enter in the name of another regional Irish performer, as the name O’Brien resounds all through the metro area and all over the world on St. Patrick’s Day.
His name is Paddy O’Brien, and yes leading the way among those St. Paul Irishmen, and you can’t miss the irony in the name.
He is a renowned two-button accordian player, and can be a bit buttoned down and introspective socially, but as a performer … Will be standing in on St. Patrick’s Day with the namesake group of Irish musicians? Hard to say exactly, but the Irish are known for their surprises.
But all such musicians, family of’ O’Briens or not, bring with their lilt a broad array of musical titles that are Irish to the core and seem to be masters at, being masterful, at most all of them. So there is a bevy of music to be heard today, no matter how you cut it … while cutting into that wonderfully tender corn beef and cabbage. So there is great food there, too, to taste if you have this taste in music.
So to wit, which is something you best not try once midnight rolls around, take my Irish music trivia quiz, and see if you can string together the pieces and come up with this song title, definitely a classic if my Google search of Irish tunes means anything, so it will likely be on play lists near and far today, with references that show both its universality and probable local presence: “Oh, me name is MacNamara, I’m the leader of the band …We play at wakes and weddings and at every fancy ball …
There is O’Brians, O’Ryans, O’Sheehans and Meehans, they come from Ireland …”
Or much closerby.
“That’s MacNamara,” the song concludes.
There is a place, too, to top it off that has been well-versed in these columns, that being Casanova’s Historic Liquors, in the bluff area of town that is capped off by caves. They feature brands of Irish whiskey, many of them, that I can’t even pronounce, and look at the not so wee people dressed up by their door that partake — armored soldier with a devil may care mask, and a smaller version of what I just have to assume is a Bigfoot.
And for vintage, classic bottles of wine to fit the day, all of them at prices no more than you’d expect from the greats of Wisconsin beer, there is always Charlie’s Pub in the old Water Street Inn just across the river in Stillwater. If you need to go for a nightcap, you will indeed get to do the math in dollars and cents of savings in that regard. And they also have bands today and tonight (plural). Tune in later for more on that.

First there was judicial adjustment lineup for the high court, then pardons for people who didn’t cut it there or get that far, then (below) call(s) for impeachment and the riot much like that at a testy World Cup game. The Never-Ending-Story continues to play on, like an overtime contest, at the TVs at your local sports bar, as there these days are not that much more to cover, unless unmasked.

March 8th, 2021

Throw da bums out? Take that St. Patrick’s Day in St. Paul push of hundreds of people and organize them — OK this is the Irish on their day and being organized is just not part of the plan — but now that there are no more parades, they could conceivably go on a rant to accomplish such, a chance to get the long-term-limitless-Legislators out of there, by having another hopefully Quieter Riot. But to go back a few months …
Then there was the mantra was to impeach Congress, and make term limits like a president has to abide by, but I guess that enforcement action didn’t happen either, (although I’m told brought about twice). The list for the push included the names of a few very longtime incumbents, all Democrats in for decades, and tacked on the end is Adam Schiff, so I guess you’d say his ship has come in — long ago. But that’s California for you. Some flyers were sent by a group calling themselves Citizens United For The Trump Agenda, with their name displayed in the shape of a coin, fittingly. But I don’t think “United” is an apt term here. So often such language is used, another example being advocacy for “Common Sense,” that I am calling for an action to leave the term “United” alone for just the airline to use. After all, with fewer flights they could use the PR.
And some of these politicians were being called “swamp creatures.” No matter your politics, that’s a bit harsh. Perhaps leave that term, to go down this dusty road again, to the Charlie Daniels Band. Old Charles might have gotten it right with The Devil Went Down To Georgia, to turn the tale of what state’s vote would determine who is president and also hold the Legislative majority. Do they not border with Florida, the State Of Chads? Or, as Billy Idol sang, “Hanging out by the state line, turning Holy Water into wine.” I’m not quite sure how that actually fits in, and I hope that none of the various items here are any kind of Idol worship.
I first heard about the Washington riots in two ways. A friend said, call be back later, I’m watching the news about all the hubbub just outside the White House. Later I ended up in the ER when my Tourette’s ran a much worse course then usual — fittingly it would seem, as the staff was running ragged trying to keep up, largely, with virus related health concerns. So it was closing in on an hour since the nurse had taken the usual basic information, and then the doctor could come and again, take the same usual basic information, so I tuned in and turned on, the TV, as all the analysis had already kicked in and the correspondent on the road to the White House was telling what she was seeing, and hearing, and again was far less tongue-tied then Anderson Cooper. But that nurse, who I had encountered briefly when she was back in high school, for a photo for the paper, was noticeable for writing down that information and holding the paper with a hand bearing a rock almost the size of a grape. I thought that considering everyone doing double-duty, virus-related and then the limited number by necessity of regular sneezes, she was really earning her pay. Also noticed just behind my other ear, a long statement these days that is a visitors policy, and seemed very heavy with exceptions when it comes to those with special needs, youthful status, and those in childbirth — and all of them tacking on a caregiver, and that usually means just one. Well-versed I thought, and I was intrigued by What To Leave In and What To :Leave Out.
So to summarize, if only in part: First there was the Not So Quiet Riot. Then followed the Not So Surprising Result. Like using too much gravel when blacktopping a dirt road.

I’m Zeb, and this is my brother Zeb (not Zep) and my other brother Zeb … OK, they are not the newest power trio, but when teamed with longtime fixture Garret who can put his stamp on things, the duo greet warm weather with almost that much musical sound

March 4th, 2021

As things musically continue to revamp, there is a new dynamic duo, and as such they are not just going solo like so much of the rest. Although if you want creative solos, these are your guys, especially the G-Man. Zeb and Garret, (no double T, and no Lennon or Zeppelin, as the song pop says, to milk a joke), who go stagewise as Z and G, are featured at the new acoustic Thursdays at Ziggy’s in Hudson. They go on at 8 p.m., and the mantle apparently has been transferred from the former purveyor, Tim Sigler and cowboy country, as they move to other nights and house gigs. But like the country stalwart, and that’s maybe the best term for him, the JG have been playing quite a bit around town and the immediately area frequently, at the expense we would presume of the Hastings area, which was a Garret mainstay around the time most music went asunder.
The longtime local player, showing some new twists in that solo vein that are even hard-to-find-for-him, and his new mate were at Guv’s Place six days ago and had a year-end, holiday-themed party playing there prior.
In their cover art, Zeb (I swear I know this guy too), looks like the slightly crazed Metallica man in their photos, with the big bushy beard that has come to be more common in these stir-crazy days, as people let their hair down, even if from their chin. Garret, to keep up, does sport a lip ring.

No more snowmo for the warm moment, rather big bags of the big beanbags brought out of the closet — or should I say out of the mancave? Pizza delivered in an even bigger bag became the name of the game (and there were also other sports won in Mad City, grappling or goal-shooting)

February 28th, 2021

The weather has warmed, and indoor becoming outdoor, so to speak as Saturday activities followed, meaning Kozy Korner is not the only game in town with beanbags — despite their just concluded 13th anniversary.
My kitty-korner neighbor made up for Fat Tuesday with his bagging of the beans in his driveway, and those in the know gathered to make up for a lack of the area mancave and Packer viewing here and there. Apparently I was not on the guest list and hey, I could see why. And what? Was there one of those foot-square plastic benches that was a target of the informal contest, all the more difficult to hit the much smaller hole? Uhm, no, it was within striking distance of a bad toss, but close enough for beverages — and the pizza guy, maybe from Kozy, who lingered as if he wanted a throw, but then bolted quickly with mask on and tip in pocket contributed by two, Get The Last Number, Then Walk (or Run) To The Road. And once more with a mancave reference? Pink letters on the freshly shoveled driveway that said, and I think I saw this right, GNR — not too long after the Rose Bowl, such as it was. Was it razed?
The Kozy Korner well-wishes sign then listed seven athletes who have gone to the WWL (or is that WWF?) state championships. (They are in equal numbers, and is that possible just exactly, my fact checkers, men and women?). You go girls and guys. And who else goes? Why the gridiron. The sign said it all in three woods, so this sentence doesn’t even need a colon, “I miss football.” Lastly, on the south side the sign says in a more worded way, What do you call someone who sneezes germs all over your pizza? The answer on the north side, Little Sneezers — to be redundant?
Across the street, the Village Inn had a new food offering that was so special that its rotating sign was frozen in place for long periods, with only the slightest blip as a changeup for the sports bar. Oh, just maybe the cold weather had something to do with it too. But they are not always timely, as it isn’t uncommon for something like the, granted cool, Taco Tuesday special to still be on the sign Wednesday morning — but they did it up right just the other day when announcing within the hour, the celebrations sure to come about from the Hudson boys hockey team winning the state title — as they have often done, but in gaps (more on that in a later post). Grappling and goal-scoring again.
But no gaps in the next-to-the-street creatures, as one anew is now literally a duck in a tree, not in the water, and it turns out that it is taking a turn as a feeder of other smaller birds.
Now then, when the night turns into day, in most years and in an ongoing way more quickly, and in most all places, New Years Eve is the place, is the place, for the helpful hardware (as in bling) man … But now to throw out the old rules. And who was out? And where did they hail from? Not so much Hudson. And to further advise.
And again, back a bit, two downtown servers I asked, the same old usual question, where are all the regulars? Got the question mark right. They both thought for a moment and then said, yeah there were some locals, semi sorta with a shrug, but hardly anyone they recognized. Although the newbies did fill up the place much more than in recent months, but still maybe not by NYE standards.
Thusly, the snows had piled up some major buildup, and on Fourth Street North it has at many times been more than a foot high, Straight Up For You, skyward from the curb. This means I think, that the doggies doing their thing had a much bigger target area, unless they are St. Bernards, greyhounds or sheepdogs. And this leads to a point, believe it or not, that one around the dogleg and up a curve could not be seen right away, and its owner appeared to be staring at … more snow. Until this middling mutt — is that being nasty? — lifted his hind leg above the height of his back and the paw became visible. And since Starr’s has attracted a bigtime following of late, there is much more traffic to be seen on Fourth Street North, right before the witching hour. They were the game on New Year’s Eve, as some people are in the mode that night of just find a place, but their choices are maybe these days much more limited then other years, possibly quite a few past. And that down the road a month or two can lead to even a bit more of desperation and effect decision making on relationships, even like All The Lonely People, Where Do They All Come From? Why at the bars on Valentine’s Day. In case an ex-ample is needed, and I’m making a leap here, look at Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. The altar at Vegas? As a just-met cougar woman said to me in my younger days, once we were away from the bar and going for a walk out down the road and became streetlight people — Hey, I’m not old enough to be your mother!
Lastly, we must invoke what I call the Management Snow Patrol for checking on boxed in cars of the sort from people who work at home, but do indeed have to travel once-in-a-while. If the latest snows are surrounding your vehicle on the street 360 degrees, for more than a day or two, you might want to quit the video gaming for a bit and dredge up your resume!

You can call them beads, or you can call them music beats, as old beatniks and other stalwarts may have gone as stale as beads before Lent, but there still is (with the added song sequel posted Down Below) to be found Good For Gary News, and The Voice comes to the area after alt as an alteration (but be vigilant in timing when hitting the villages and beyond)

February 21st, 2021

This is a sequel, or should I say prequel, to the post that follows and references that holiday of holidays before Lent arrives — down to the minute these curfew days with the music. Fat Boy Slim? Seems that is the wording, as Fat Tuesday continues to slowly fade from the scene like disco, as an example, but there still are moments where the unclothed flesh — to use a religion term — shines through (more on that in a later post). So the skinny on this is that the technically sound guitarist of the band that blazed in the Hudson area a few years back, for the aptly named this month, The New Skinny, has put his show on the road to Shooters in River Falls. But not for lack of trying, can they crack a gig at (below) Ziggy’s in Hudson? Managers there seem coy to somewhat portly men, as this is not a Boy Band.

There again was little of the beads and such that formerly, but not formally, were characterized by bar life earlier in the week just prior to Lent, but moving forward, as far as even timing of performances, there is an oldie but goodie at Ziggy’s IN HUDSON. Make a note of that, Good For Gary at 8 p.m. until closing hours later on Saturday, Feb. 20. This hour of eight thus beats Minnesota and its area by being old stalwarts (not stalemates?) Their Stillwater branch featured earlier in the evening and weekend alt man Tony Williams, who looks the part with all his tattoos if not the name, likewise but again, earlier when playing Stillwater. There to follow is then Adam Pearce (again maybe alt but this time because of the name?) hailing from The Voice, on Saturday, again at 6:30 p.m., to start across the river. But the Hudson area has long been a haven with such network vocal stars, usually gorgeous blond lead singers, and thus has beaten the heck out of it throughout almost all of the Cities. And at T-Buckets to the north, there is also live music and then karaoke, two-fer for music muscle made in addition to their 3-for-1 happy hour. And catch Rubber Monkey at Big Guys BBQ, halfway there, beforehand?
<The tale of the Twin Cities tape>
Among the meanderings At The Edge Of (Bar) Time, as Hudson servers have called their mates in North Hudson when the often unruly overflow from Minnesota starts moving northward, Starr’s Bar has settled in at a 12:30 shut down time on all seven days, (although if they are extremely busy they seem to flow with it). They at peak times have seen an almost overflow crowd, as if they needed that anyway based on their status as a relatively new go-to venue. So there is regularly, and especially on weekends, a need seen to staff another server or two beyond that same usual number of bartenders, and even a bouncer, who told me he can also double as wait staff or table cleaner — all the while with eyes in back of his head, the better to see things by … And the other village clockings have taken the lead with earlier than usual closings as a show of cooperation — and spite the extra sales.

When two become one, on this day forth — OK maybe just this day being the one where you honor her more than beer — give the pick and choice between one food item and what could be seen as its mate, or have both and eat them too, and you will be happy to ends of the earth; because she is

February 14th, 2021

OK its Valentine’s Day, and what have you done? Last minute man, hey we’ve all gone there, but here is how we’ve got you covered — with gonzo food ideas even if that is a decidedly macho term — and can even make it a positive in the eyes of your Sweetie.
Fudge a bit, and she loves fudge, and say that the treats I am about to describe were two days in the making for things other than the chocolate that has become cliche. After all the thought is what counts, and in this case there is the rule of twos, not necessarily threes, although that could indeed be read in if its something really primo and could be bear a repeat later, and put you in even better than that with you beloved. And you have full reign to claim these were your own ideas not mine, and make you seem even sweeter, as HudsonWiNightlife gets enough praise as there is, by all the people who thrive by its merits.
So what is the upshot of what you can milk with your significant other — as its you and her, as a couple and that means the two of you are actually one in spirit, so make her a special meal based on that symbolism, on what you choice as a main ingredient and even may need to add one to get up to two become one, and I’ll help you with that and as I am HudsonWiNightlife, I’ll refer mostly to things that are already in the kitchen, so you don’t have to make that 11:59 p.m. run to County Market.
Much of what I will suggest are pairing two different forms of the same variety of sauce, hence the double whammy of my theme. Pasta? Choose both the mainstream spaghetti and another form a curly pasta to change it up, and top it with not only spaghetti sauce — Hunts is like a buck and you can add in all kinds of chopped and maybe even sauted vegetables on your own, as you should know her likes and dislikes by now if you are paying attention — and also alfredo, make sure the sauces are laid out side by side, or even go by a ladder form if you trust your fingers. Hence, again, two meet as one. And the meats can include even coined sausage of all types, not just hamburger, and the variety of Italian or Polish, and/or versus good ol’ Wisconsin bratwurst or keilbasa. The meats will pair well with one side, the red sauce, more than the white sauce, so plan accordingly and bolster the pattern of twos — and don’t skimp as this is your entree — and to give the latter more flavor, carrots and the like. And cheeses can be either the old familiar parmisan or cubes aroiund the edges.
On the level of both salad and appetizer, there can be seven layer salad, or eight is not enough, and it can be topsy turvy, with the greens in the middle level of a single big dish and all the other good stuff laid individually top and bottom. Let me explain. Taco/Italian salad versus chefs? Now both? Lay It Down on the bottom boiled lasagna pieces and cover it with sauce and such meats as I described in the most recent paragraph. And then cheese, go to the cheddar side and combine white and sharp, and add a second variety on the theme of twos with swiss or mozzeralla, and you can be creative and go from there with even provalone or colby, which in case you don’t know was invented in a small town by that name right in the heart of central Wisconsin, and I don’t have to tell you they know cheese and the right amount (hey spread it on as follows just a bit of salsa). After all, as far as making a trio not just a duo, if you do it all right there could be another mouth to feed down the line. And another tiny bit not to be overdone, slosh on some Mexican corn — even you know what that is — or baked beans, and a smattering of heated black beans or hot peppers. Cover that layer with some of the meats mentioned above, then go to cream cheese, and olives or green peppers, and the standard four kinds of onions and the like, much like a taco salad. Drizzle on top lettuce, straight iceberg or if more adventuresome romaine and others, and again, all the staples of a chef’s salad, sliced carrots or celery, croutons or toast edges, a second round of diced or stewed tomatoes, and chicken or bacon. Dressing is a wild card for you, although I think French is safe. Cole slaw or, if you are getting confident, asparagus on the side. Put layers of crackers on both depths of the lettuce, to prevent the two types of salad, top and bottom, from intermingling and being too bipolar, like your sweetie (I will disavow any knowledge of having said that). Pringles bits of smoldering hot potato chips can add to the separation and spice.
And you do need a veggie right? Mixed vegetables give a varieity of flavors, but take a gander at this: Lima beans may seem staid, but they give a touch of sweetness, and this can be magnified by a few simple, small chunks of apple. Squeeze out strips of BBQ and Horsy sauce, the kinds you get when patronizing Arby’s and the like, and I’ll leave to up to you to be in straight strips or the shape of an altered every inch zig-zag. Or maybe write on the top, via the sauce, I Love You. And maybe some of those smoldering chips, as all good things are in twos …
And all this can carry over to the dessert, where no matter what is on the bottom as a base, pie or cookies or the cake she did not have to bake, various flavors such as chocolate or caramel, or fruit-based or vanilla, can be criss-crossed and wrapped around for a double trouble taste, as you know what she’ll be in the mood for right then! But she can have her cake and eat it too, because you are THAT CLOSE to being rewarded.
Don’t forget a card to maximize the understanding of my/our random theme of twos, and use some words that rhyme, such as pasta and salsa (food) to go with lotsa the spicy mosta (her), and one cheddar to go with none better.

In case you don’t want to cook and have $75, you can get Valentine’s full course dinner at Ziggy’s that specializes in things like a ribeye steak with whiskey deme glaze, and a halibut with pistachio dust and among other things a variety of confit and gastrigue (I’m not even sure what that is). Their Friday and Saturday bands too, although not totally new to the area, aren’t the staples you always see, and we’ll let you know if something truly different comes around, (and G.B. Leighton at Big Guys BBQ doesn’t strictly conform to that standard).

Is your dance card full? Want to fill it up more? Just in time for that big mid-February romantic day, and going forward into the new year, ramp up your game by signing up for lessons at Dance and Entertainment Studios, and also take in a ‘Red Carpet’ showcase, grand opening and dance party

February 10th, 2021

Just in time for that day you honor your dance partner, Dance and Entertainment Studios is rolling out new sets of classes for dozens of kinds of the activity, not to mention a grand opening and theme party to keep your feet tapping. And there also is a showcase of dance that even involves the performance format, with the five teachers and their students putting on display just how the lessons can up your game — all while having fun and all before March arrives.
So Dancing Days Are Here Again in Stillwater, just in time for Valentine’s Day and beyond, to quote Led Zeppelin. And we have Ledfoot Larry also. So sign up for some classes and tuck the receipt with a card into the mix with those dozen roses.
It also is a mixer. “Group classes are a fun, social way to learn basic steps, patterns and rhythms of different dances, on an affordable budget. Group classes are great for singles and couples of all ages and are changed monthly,” owners say. “They generally rotate partners, but you can stay with your own partner if you prefer. And you don’t even have to, necessarily, take courses with a partner, you can go it solo for awhile.” Or longer.
So, the rage is currently The Croix. “Our new location in Stillwater is located inside the Heights Hall and Club building, same with the VFW. We are renaming the entire building St. Croix Event Center, or ‘The Croix’ for short, but the old ‘Heights Hall’ sign is still up,” according to an email blast.

<<These are the styles to hone: Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo, Samba, Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Polka, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Country Two-Step, Night Club Two-Step, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Hustle, Argentine Tango, Line Dancing and Wedding Dances.>>

These are detailed dancing directions. Take Hwy. 36 going east through Stillwater. Turn right (south) onto Omaha Ave N. This is the small street between Speedway and McDonalds. They are the second building behind the gas station. Use the side door and second entrance, very convenient because currently the VFW sign lights the way. “We have a huge parking lot with over 200 parking spaces. Plenty of room inside and out!”
Its dubbed the Dance and Entertainment Studios at The Croix, at 5880 Omaha Ave N. in Stillwater. And you can see them live. “The Red Carpet Grand Opening Event consists of both our studio’s Dance Showcase (dance performances by our students and teachers — with social dancing between events to allow for costume changes, and then a social dance party with DJ music by Tricia Wood.
The dress-to-impress event is Saturday, Feb. 20, and feature free admission to spectators and guests. Here’s the rub — 5:30-7:45 p.m. The Showcase, and 7:45-10 p.m. social dance and the actual Grand Opening dance party. Maybe Jessica Lang is not the only movie star to grace Stillwater’s stages and get photo opps.
Then the following Saturday its the still danceable Ledfoot Larry country dance band. From 5-5:50 p.m. and add a Country Two Step lesson by teachers Troy Lerum and Tricia Wood. Its $10 if you come for the group class and prior to 5:50 p.m., and then from 6-10 p.m. the ditties of the Ledfoot Larry band, with $10 cover charge.
Private lessons are available daily by appointment, even after February passes, and can be booked with any of the instructors: Tricia, Troy, Austen and Emily, at EITHER location. Just send an email to tricia@danceandentertainment.com or text (651) 605-5784 to request your day, time and instructor.
And you may need new attire: Let them know if you wish to stop in for new dance shoes, zipper ties or studio logo wear! Email for an appointment in the Woodbury studio.
Private lesson packages are one for $100, (no two-step tier), but three for for $285 (save $15), five for $450 (save $50, 10 for $850 (save $150). Or bring friends! Three or more people for $120 per lesson, (note the discount). Email tricia@danceandentertainment.com to reserve your spot.
Current classes may still have openings and there will be new rounds of them also. February classes, with four weeks worth, all in a short month. (And you can come in the later stages if you wish).
Mondays: Evenings, Feb. 1, 8, 15, 22: Performance team with Tricia, four weeks for $80 per person, in Stillwater. Or line dancing with Tricia for $40.
Tuesdays: Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23: Beginner salsa with Austen, $40 per person, in Woodbury. Or beginner swing with Austen.
Wednesdays: Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24: Wedding dances with Emily, $40 per person, in Woodbury. Or intermediate foxtrot, part I with Troy
Thursdays: Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, intermediate rumba, part II with Troy, $40 per person, in Woodbury.
Due to the current Covid guidelines:
Masks are still required in indoor public spaces. Dinner will not be served, but a cash bar will be open. The event and bar curfew is still 10 p.m. An RSVP by email in required for all dance classes and events. The building capacity is 550, and the current mandate allows 25 percent.
Website is www.DanceAndEntertainment.com. Instructors are Tricia Wood, Troy Lerum, Austen Nepp, Emily Weinlick and Leah Waite, offering ballroom, Latin, swing and country.
More precisely, these are the styles: Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo, Samba, Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Polka, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Country Two-Step, Night Club Two-Step, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Hustle, Argentine Tango, Line Dancing and Wedding Dances.
Got all that? There’s a whole lotta dancin’ goin’ on.

As the two-state area produces nothing of Purple or Green on this Sunday thus Bloody Sunday, so don’t see red and rather make due with What Is And What Should Never Be, another football season with a Super Bowl finale that’s like kissing your sister, but party on anyway

February 8th, 2021

The Purple again plummet, while the Green get with gangrene.
As in a mailbox next-door with a Vikings violet theme, it’s hung together at its back end by a whole wad of duct tape thus making an arch, like that in St. Louis for another franchise mention — and QB Kurt Warner, take that Tom Brady. So as a metro daily said, with no playoffs, the purple people eaters have renewed blues (so check out more last-minute Super “Bowl,” from the pantry, eats options below, and thus pay homage to the savior that can also be your fridge, on the cheap. This from the otherwise Badger brew-laden Man Cave, and also claiming Writing Credits the plethora of plasma TVs you got, also cheap, on mega sale because of the Big Game at a mega store). Even though when walking down my street there are a few purple flags and strings of lights climbing up a tree, and prior to fall, before these mighty dreams had fallen, at least there were three different groups of flowers of the applicable color within a block. And so another headline read with its question, casting a trio of words, when was the Viking Super Bowl? (That would imply one trip there, and at least the Vikings have to their credit made it to the big game, though suffering a loss, four times).
The Packer fans too, with such a number En Vogue, were plump with promise prior to being derailed by the Rams. And the QB analysis started instantly for the Green and Gold, too: How long will there be Rodgers at the helm in their future? Although his lookalike has been seen at the Dick’s Bar late-night dance party, which could explain a whole host of things. America’s team? How about the following from the former U.S. Best: And so yet again, the Packers could have on a postseason game day, faced what had been the likes of Toy Troy, Peon Dallas Deion and Inclement Emmett. (Or was I to say Boy Troy or Boy Toy Troy?) After all these are futbal plawyors, and some of ’em can’t read none so well. OK, TA did well in the booth, but DS? He was just a punch line for the much more talented Chris Berman. And not all gridders are like the stereotype that I just helped reinforce. The Badger boys, and even the big UW linemen, are Rhodes Scholars compared to some. And the ones on the walls at Kozy Korner certainly are on the dean’s list.
So without those local mainstays come 5:18, maybe make like the Ice Bowl when the Packers beat, I believe, those dreaded Cowboys, and make your own football field with a Big Game snowblower and green and gold food coloring for yardlines, with actual enjoyment coming from the big hot tub positioned, with a lot of TVs, between the house and your own personal Lambeau. After all, outdoor extravaganzas or at least a small group of people chilling out in the backyard until the wee hours, even at holidays, have been more the norm virtually all year than in-house house parties since the virus tried to eradicate fun.

So, the time short to Reckon the Number of the Beastly scribe, with said: My wife is clamoring for the team of her relatives out in the Boston and beyond area, to behold another victory as known by the New England Patriots, even if through Tom Brady’s what, seventh Super Bowl win and counting (what team with now?) I guess I am not the sports reporter with such details that I once was, and recently was chastised by a reader about such. But popcorn in hand, here we go … And there will be no gloating call from the Cape Cod area, as they are stuck for a while and limited to Seventh Heaven.

In a time bind to super-size your Super Bowl house party and its trendy small plates? Want to know the fast food app that can take your apps to the next level? Or make them yourself in a shape like the quarters of good ‘ol Wisconsin butter? We’ve got the beef like a Packer processing plant.

February 7th, 2021

The football freaks will be at your place in the time of a two-minute-drill, and there is no time to go to the store, so in typical HudsonWiNightlife fashion you have to use what’s in the refrigerator and/or freezer and there still is grub (good football word) to avoid a challenge of the call on the field (that’s you). Reinvest that extra dough to get some money off Odd Uncle Sid and his badly thought out Super Bowl bet of a ten touchdown game, as we all know teams just feel each other out during the first half, and still have enough to invest in your child’s educational prowess via school lunch.
First, pull out any food that in any way might be needed, as you can always pack it back in like the Packers and their beef when halftime comes, and the commercials that were once new-ish are now old like yesterday’s news, and then get on the phone if you have to for delivery. Another way fast food places are getting their fair share of a fickle market is ordering your food via their own app, and yes it can even delivered, and even be used for a few bucks off your order, to boot — an even possibly, a coupon can be slotted into the equation. Like that ten-pin (I just made up that usage) of that many pieces of chicken, plus linebacker-size sides, in your bucket from KFC, and can offer up to four “offers.”

There I go again, and this is a remedy to shine as a cook, go to the concept of four squares. Cut one or more of those mucho multi-layered burgers from various fast food restaurants — and some will let you get more than one variation in their two for-ones, essentially, sliced into quarters and serve in a variety of ways in equal combination with other food stuffs. But first, if its like a big Whopper, wisp past the edges to get out the good goop that can be there when sliced — and a perk of being a cook is you get to lick the spoon — and not waste anything at the same time. HudsonWiNightlife loves that combo as much as two-for-one sandwiches.
And how to use these drawn (OK that instead would be melted butter, but on a lobster) and quartered, and still-much-more-than-bite-size beef and its accompaniments? Hey, this ain’t no slider however — not that there’s anything wrong with that — and even that can be part of what you could put on the individual skewers I will soon suggest.
Such quarter-burgers — and not pounders — can cap on the top the Bloody Mary you can make at home, and which mimic those that were started as a trend several years ago by both Woody’s in Bayport and then even more and more elaborate at Mallory’s in downtown Hudson. With that on the rim it doesn’t matter so much what is on the skewer beneath. But at that point, The Fire Down Below, can be other toppings you generally wouldn’t pair together, such as a huge pasta shell filled with all things meat and sauce and pepper-laden veggies, and even cheese for the Germans, and the earlier mentioned mongo Italian — that plays extremely well in North Hudson as it is an enclave like no other in the region. All these delicacies can be found at venues there, and can be the start of the Bloody you would offer your friends at party. But there are a host of other things between the top and bottom of the skewer. So here they are. Sausages in links or nuggets or cut into coins from their hot-dog-shaped origins of many ethnic kinds, bacon and consider doubling or tripling it over for more flavor, various colored bell peppers, different kinds of onions (and yes there are many), mushrooms that go beyond the one main type but are not the “funny” kind as it inhibits Super Bowl performance, not only the obvious standard pineapple but peach and apricot and even apple, and virtually any cheese of all strengths (or use more than one) picked to pare with the rest known to Wisconsinites (and again there are a lot). You also can add turkey-based wraps, and uyou can get them at fast-food drive-throughs. Grab the BBQ sauce back in the bin of the fridge and lay it on thick.

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