It’s hard to believe it’s August already!

I’ve been catching up with friends and having business meetings over meals during the past few weeks.

Next week, it’s family vacation time. We rented a huge lake cabin in the middle of Wisconsin and there will be swimming, fishing, card playing and, as always, lots of cooking.

I’m making my corn tortillas for the gluten-free members of my family, which is always so much fun. Who doesn’t love a taco?

Holman’s Table

Brussels sprouts at Holman’s Table in St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

My neighbor and I were trying to get out of cooking for our families (oops, I mean we needed to catch up!) on a recent Monday, but so many things were closed!

We ended up ordering giant salads while we sat on the patio at Holman’s Table. A storm hit while we were sitting there, but the rooftop kept us mostly dry, so we waited it out with a few other guests.

Because we are trying to get all the fiber at our advanced age, we started with some excellent crispy Brussels sprouts, topped with blue cheese, candied walnuts and pickled Fresno peppers.

By the time our salads arrived, we were nearly full, because we couldn’t stop eating the sprouts, but our salads were so good that we ate most of them.

I had the farro, which honestly could have used a little more of the nutty, wheaty grain, but the greens were good, too. It was full of fun ingredients, including pickled golden beets, more of those tasty candied walnuts and some aged cheddar.

My neighbor’s Tuscan salad had loads of vegetables in it — fennel, cucumber, radish, snap peas, sweet peppers and green olives. The bite I had was so good that I think I’ll be back to order one of my own.

The patio is fun, too, because you get to watch small planes taking off and landing. It’s like having dinner with a show!

Holman’s Table: 644 Bayfield St., St. Paul; 612-261-1620; holmanstable.com

Cloverleaf Bar and Grill

A mushroom and swiss burger at Cloverleaf Bar and Grill in Newport. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

A friend who lives in Woodbury is aware of my love of a good dive bar, so she suggested we meet at the Cloverleaf, just off of U.S. 10 and I-494.

She was spot-on with the suggestion. The out-of-the-way, squat brick building is appropriately dark inside, but clean and fairly spacious. Your dinner is cooked on a griddle behind the bar, and my friend was raving about the mushroom and Swiss burger, so we both ordered one.

It was crisp outside and juicy inside, the mushrooms freshly griddled and the bun nice and squishy. Best of all, if you’re OK with chips as a side (I upgraded to some nice, crispy onion rings), this burger will run you less than $10. The beer is nice and cold, too.

I already have plans to go again with some other dive-bar-loving friends. Maybe this time, we’ll hit the pull tabs.

Cloverleaf Bar and Grill: 2146 Hastings Ave., Newport; 651-768-9921; cloverleafbarandgrill.com

DeGidio’s

Tortelloni bolognese at DeGidio’s on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

We had a travel meeting last week — thanks so much to all who showed up — and afterward, we usually get dinner. It was a Monday again, so options were limited, but going to DeGidio’s never feels like settling.

Everything is excellent at this nearly 100-year-old St. Paul institution, including its lights-out burger, but the pastas are usually where it’s at for me.

The lovingly crafted red sauce is so good that I haven’t ventured much beyond it, but I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to try the tortelloni bolognese, and … wow. The tortelloni are house-made, with the tender pasta giving way to a creamy, cheesy inside, and the bolognese is silky, meaty, tomatoey perfection.

My dining partners ordered the mafaldine with bolognese (same sauce, different noodle) and the rigatoni, bathed in a spicy arrabiata sauce and topped with juicy, porky meatballs. Both were superb.

The portions are huge, too, so I got lunch out of it for the next day.

DeGidio’s: 425 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-360-1905; degidios.com

Due Focacceria

The carne sandwich and a cup of tomato soup at Due Focacceria in St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland neighborhood. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

I always forget about this postage-stamp of a place, in a former Mac-Groveland coffee shop, but I was looking for a place for a meeting that had outdoor seating on a beautiful day, and it popped up in my search.

The focaccia here is front and center, with good reason. The flavorful, spongy bread is made fresh daily, and is sliced horizontally and stuffed with all manner of goodness for its sandwiches.

I had the carne, which is piled with mortadella, fennel-crusted salami, hot coppa and artichoke paté, then slathered with a salty pecorino crema and sprinkled with pistachios. It’s a hell of a sandwich. I paired it with some fresh tomato soup for a perfect summer lunch.

I won’t be forgetting about Due again, and neither will my family, who loved the focaccia and thin, crispy chocolate-chip-pistachio cookies I brought home to pair with our dinner salads that night.

Due Focacceria: 475 S. Fairview Ave., St. Paul; 651-493-8858; duefocacceria.com

Related Articles

Quick Fix: Sunny Chicken Pasta Salad

Mississippi Market and River Market co-ops propose merger

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Caprese is a delightful, summery dish

McDonald’s will sell a nostalgic McDonaldland meal beginning Aug. 12

As Nina’s Coffee owner fights cancer, a GoFundMe is raising support

Today is Thursday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2025. There are 139 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, ensuring income for elderly Americans and creating a federal unemployment insurance program.

Also on this date:

In 1936, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States.

Related Articles

NY attorney general sues Zelle’s parent company after Trump administration drops similar case

New York man charged with cyberstalking a family member of killed UnitedHealthcare CEO

6 people dead after a truck crashed into a van carrying members of an Amish group in Michigan

Harvey Weinstein’s next retrial — or sentencing — could happen this fall

Federal agents will be out 24/7 on patrol in Washington, the White House says

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, which detailed the post-war goals of the two nations.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.

In 1947, Pakistan gained independence from British rule.

In 1994, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist known as “Carlos the Jackal,” was captured by French agents in Sudan.

In 1995, Shannon Faulkner officially became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina’s state military college. (However, Faulkner withdrew from the school less than a week later, citing the stress of her court fight, and her isolation among the male cadets.)

In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. (McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.)

In 2009, Charles Manson follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, 60, convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, was released from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars.

In 2016, Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win the 100m dash in three consecutive Olympics, taking gold at the Summer Games in Rio.

In 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, turning thousands of structures into rubble; the quake left more than 2,200 people dead and injured more than 12,000 others.

Today’s Birthdays:

Broadway lyricist Lee Adams (“Bye Bye Birdie”) is 101.
College Football Hall of Famer and NFL quarterback John Brodie is 90.
Singer Dash Crofts is 85.
Country singer Connie Smith is 84.
Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 80.
Film director Wim Wenders is 80.
Singer-musician Larry Graham is 79.
Actor Susan Saint James is 79.
Author Danielle Steel is 78.
“Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson is 75.
Actor Carl Lumbly is 74.
Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyer is 73.
Actor Jackee Harry is 69.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace is 69.
Actor Marcia Gay Harden is 66.
Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is 66.
Singer Sarah Brightman is 65.
Actor Susan Olsen (TV: “The Brady Bunch”) is 64.
Actor Halle Berry is 59.
Golfer Darren Clarke is 57.
Actor Catherine Bell is 57.
Actor Mila Kunis is 42.
Actor Lamorne Morris is 42.
Former NFL player Tim Tebow is 38.
Actor Marsai Martin is 21.

Canadian pop star Tate McRae may not be a household name yet, but to young women, she’s one of the hottest performers on the planet right now.

The 22-year-old Calgary native put on quite the spectacle Wednesday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in front of a totally devoted, sold out crowd of about 15,000. In terms of shock, awe and attention to the finest of details, McRae is approaching Taylor Swift and Beyonce territory. Pity about the songs. (More on that in a bit.)

McRae started out as a dancer and began training at the age of six. By the time she was a teen, McRae was skilled enough to win awards in the North American dance scene. She also placed third on “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2016, setting a record for Canadian contestants on the show.

Soon after, she began posting original songs to her YouTube channel, which eventually led to a record deal. (At one point during Wednesday’s show, she accompanied herself on piano and played snippets of several of those early tracks.) Her career started to take off during the early days of the pandemic and she used the opportunity to perform live remotely to her advantage and landed spots on countless late night talk and award shows.

Once touring started up again, McRae hit the road and hasn’t left it. Her local history includes sets at the Basilica Block Party and KDWB Jingle Ball in 2021, followed by stops at First Avenue and the Fillmore before selling out the Armory last summer.

Given all her hard work, it’s no surprise what a polished performer she’s become. Wednesday night, she had the entire crowd focused on her every bump and grind and, given her dance background, there were plenty of them to see. She also surrounded herself with excellent dancers, including a pack of muscular young men who apparently slathered their bare torsos with baby oil.

Britney Spears is an obvious influence, from McRae’s endless hair flipping to her breathy vocals. It sounded like she was singing to a track, but then again, the crowd sang/shouted along to every song in the set, so it was sort of like she had thousands of backup vocals.

So, her songs. They, for the most part, are fine, just kind of generic. Her peppier stuff rock big beats with small hooks. The most memorable songs of her set Wednesday night included her 2020 breakthrough “You Broke Me First,” and her show-ending numbers “Sports Car” and “Greedy.” But none rise above mid-level album filler for the other performers mentioned in this review.

No matter. Given the confidence, stage presence and focus she showed Wednesday night, McRae’s not going away any time soon.

NEW YORK — A little more than two hours before Wednesday night’s game was scheduled to start, the Twins’ clubhouse emptied out, leaving just a few players remaining. There was a special speaker tapped to talk to the team’s pitchers, and even manager Rocco Baldelli wanted to listen, hustling away from his media session to attend.

But there was at least one straggler in the clubhouse who didn’t deem it necessary to listen. Kody Clemens, after all, had been receiving advice from the speaker for nearly three decades. That’s because the speaker was his father, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

The pitchers, unsurprisingly, were very interested in hearing what he had to say.

“He’s a legend, so any time you can learn from a legend, it’s helpful,” reliever Brooks Kriske said.

Clemens, a two-time Most Valuable Player, 11-time all-star and one of the best to ever take the mound, focused much of his talk on confidence, Kriske and fellow pitcher Thomas Hatch said. The message was to “trust your stuff, and (that) it stacks up with anybody that we play,” Hatch said.

The former pitcher, who won 354 games over the course of his 24-year major league career, has been popping up at Twins games since his son was acquired in a late-April trade for cash considerations from the Philadelphia Phillies, though this was the first time he addressed the pitching staff like that. A former Yankee, Clemens participated in the Yankees’ Old-Timers Game over the weekend and then stayed in New York to watch his son play.

“He was talking about it — everyone in today’s game’s got great stuff,” Kriske said. “It’s just trusting yourself and believing in yourself, and having that confidence that your best stuff could beat any hitter out there.”

Buxton moves in lineup

Byron Buxton was placed atop the team’s lineup in early May, and for much of the season, that’s where he remained.

It wasn’t until Tuesday night in New York that Baldelli finally made a change, moving the star center fielder down one spot in the lineup.

“(I’m) trying to just give him a little bit more of an opportunity to hit with people on base in front of him,” Baldelli said. “He has obviously been very good and very good in the leadoff spot. He was also very good before he went into the leadoff spot.”

All of that is true.

In 58 games hitting leadoff, Buxton has hit .295 with a .982 OPS this season. Those numbers have been strong, though slightly less so, when hitting lower in the order.

Buxton, Baldelli said, volunteered to hit anywhere without the manager asking him, though he said he thinks the center fielder enjoys leading off.

“He is about winning and trying to help do his part,” Baldelli said. “As a team, we also didn’t score a ton of runs when he was in the leadoff spot. He was incredible, and as a group, we didn’t really score very much. It’s just an effort to move some guys around, maybe get some people on base in front of him.”

Briefly

The Twins are scheduled to send Bailey Ober to the mound on Thursday when they return to Target Field to take on the Detroit Tigers. He is slated to face reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. … Former Twin Chris Paddack, who was traded at the deadline, is scheduled to pitch against the Twins later in the series.

Related Articles

Shipley: No sale, no change for stuck-in-time Twins

Pohlads end search for Twins buyer, will add limited partners

Twins continue new pitching plan at major league level

As role expands, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers feeling “best I’ve felt”

Byron Buxton returns from injured list but Twins fall to Yankees