Many of you heard that the cart was involved in a “hit-n-run” recently.  I wanted to share with you some pictures of the damage.  The good news is that the cart took a lickin’ and kept on tickin’!!

We had an absolute blast feeding the wonderful folks at the City of Lakes Loppet. The snow conditions were less than great but spirits were very high! Thanks to all for making it the best turnout ever for Natedogs!

SurlyFest 9/10/11

Youth Leadership Golf Tournament 9/12/11

North Coast Nosh 2 9/31/11

Taste!/Street Eat Awards 10/1/11

Several weeks ago I met a new friend, Kristo Sween (@kristosween), while serving at Minnesota Public Radio, who presented me with an interesting proposal: Would I be interested in making a ketchup made with MN wine?  Kristo serves on the board of the MN Grape Growers Assoc. and had sampled a wine ketchup years earlier and was interested in trying to make his own but with MN wines.  Well, most of you know my thoughts on ketchup and hot dogs, but I said yes immediately.  I don’t actually hate ketchup, I just feel it is best used as an ingredient and not as a topping.

Well, we met last Tuesday and set out to make two different ketchups.  One with a red table wine from Fieldstone Winery and another with Warehouse Winery’s Marquette.  The results were excellent.  The Fieldstone yielded a fruity and intensely tomatoey ketchup and the Marquette gave us a thick ketchup reminiscent of a classic Mexican mole with hints of vanilla and tobacco.

While I still feel that mustard is the appropriate condiment for a classic wiener, both of these ketchups will be showing up on the cart next week and I can’t wait for you to taste them.

This past week we had the honor of being able to give away 750+ free hot dogs and bottles of water to those affected by the tornado that ripped through North Minneapolis.  When we decided to launch Natedogs, it was very important that we use the cart to be able to give back to the community and help those in need.  Borrowing from the example of Tom’s Shoes, we created a mission statement for Natedogs: “Get a dog, Give a dog”. Seeing the devastation and loss on tv, we saw this as the perfect opportunity for us to prove it!  We had the pleasure of serving alongside Austin & Terese from @KindredKitchen, Catherine & Steven from @GastroTruck, Steve & Sue Ramlow from @SimplySteves, Josh Thoma & Crew from @Smack_Shack and our friends Jeff Fuller & Adam Raatz.  All we can say is thank you North Minneapolis for blessing us by allowing us to serve you.  You are in our prayers.  God bless!

Thanks to all the wonderful people who came out to visit me at the Capitol this week.  I have had an absolute blast providing delicious dogs to all of those working hard during this legislative session. Thank you very much!!

Well folks, Natedogs has been open for one whole week! Whew.  What a ride.  I can’t believe I get to live out my dream every day.  The response has been overwhelmingly positive and I have made many new friends already.  I look forward to meeting all of the new faces that will visit the cart and I can’t wait for you all to taste the delicious creations that I will be bringing to Minneapolis & St. Paul.  See ya soon!

Holmberg Design Co. is working on a menu board for my cart using reclaimed wood from a nearby barn.  Currently he is proofing the layout and preparing wood for gluing/clamping with a set of fixed items to be painted & weathered on the wood. Dado tracks will be cut into the board for a series of inserts to handle content that changes day to day.

This is a proof of the menu that will be applied to the wood and hand antiqued.

Everything is ready to make my first batch of Kraut!

I made my first batch of sauerkraut at the Kindred Kitchen on Monday.  I have to say that it was a surprisingly simple process that will hopefully yield delicious results.  The kraut will ferment for anywhere from one to four weeks depending on how I want it to taste.  I am so excited for all of you to taste it.

Next week baby, next week!