Dickey's BBQ Pit - Shakopee, MN

Finding the best BBQ in our stomping grounds is a bit of a quest. There are a few chains, a few restaurants who offer some sorry excuse for pulled pork alongside their typical midwest fare and a couple of locally-owned BBQ joints but after seeing the Mr. Pig Stuff in Shakopee hadn't yet changed to their summertime hours, we ended up in strip mall hell deciding between Panera and Dickey's BBQ Pit. We debated as we waited at the nearby stoplight. On one hand we know exactly what Panera will be like. However, I can make myself a damn sandwich with cold cuts any time I want. But we had never been to Dickey's BBQ Pit and we both love and were craving BBQ on that day. Once parked we decided on BBQ.

I immediately liked the fact that there were people basking in the sun on the restaurant's "patio" and loved the array of side dishes offered as they build your BBQ sandwich using your choice of meat before your eyes.

That, however, was the end of the fascination for us.

I kept trying to find high points. There were two coolers of freshly brewed iced tea but it wasn't as cold as it should have been and even the sweetened iced tea could have used just a bit more sweetening added. The waffle-cut fries were nicely seasoned using a mix of salt and pepper but the quantity for the two dollar price (this is, after all, a quick service restaurant) was lacking.

But we were here for the BBQ. Having both ordered pulled pork sandwiches, we could at least compare notes about our experience. The beverage island was home to three warm vats of BBQ sauce -- original, sweet and spicy. I ladeled some of the original on my sandwich and grabbed a sauce cup full of spicy for my fries.

The pulled pork, upon first bite, was obviously fresh but was short in the flavor department. At home I typically apply a dry rub spice mix on top of a slathering of yellow mustard for adhesion after soaking the pork shoulder in a reduced apple juice bath overnight and then let the smoke do its thing while the meat slowly cooks. While the pork at Dickey's BBQ Pit was tender and had an acceptable thickness of bark, it wasn't the typical explosion of flavor or juiciness that I've grown to expect from a BBQ restaurant.

I'm aware that taste is subjective but a bit of flavor isn't going to scare off your customers and expecting your choice of three proprietary sauces to do the heavy lifting is a cop out. Your meat shouldn't require sauce to provide the flavor.

Kudos, though, to Dickey's BBQ Pit for providing customers with a complimentary bucket of mighty tasty pickle spears to accompany their sandwich.

Overall, Dickey's BBQ Pit is a serviceable choice for barbecue. It's obvious that they have made compromises to attract a wide audience and that's smart business decision for a franchise but never shoud taste be compromised in an attempt to appeal to the masses. Again, a bit of flavor in your meat isn't going to send people running for the hills.

The free vanilla ice cream is a nice touch as well but it tastes like a generic store bought square reconstituted for use of a soft serve dispenser. It's a nice perk if you don't have high expectations.

Mr. Pig Stuff - the best BBQ

I've been a semi-regular customer of Mr. Pig Stuff in Shakopee, MN for about a year. It's an amazing little hole-in-the-wall joint on the former U.S. Highway 169 across form Rahr Malting in a former walk-up Dairy Queen building. To say that this area of Shakopee is overlooked would be an understatement but it shouldn't be overlooked any longer as Mr. Pig Stuff consistently churns out some of the best BBQ not just in the Twin Cities but in all of Minnesota.

Having lived here nearly ten years now, I've had many quests to find restaurants that measured up to those I became accustomed to frequenting in my teens and twenties. With pizza and Mexican food crossed off the list, it was on to BBQ and having heard of Mr. Pig Stuff through my wife who works a couple towns down the road, I made a run to the hidden gem of the BBQ world on my lunch one day and was instantly hooked. While I took my lunch back to my office there are also a scattering of picnic tables and a BBQ bar on the building's east side to belly up to and pig out.

The pulled pork sandwiches should be considered a drug because they are addictive. Warm, juicy, flavorful and just smoky enough to remind you that it's legitimate BBQ heaped up on a toasted bun and served with a mound of which ever side you choose.

I might stop by to grab a couple sandwiches to take home for supper tonight because it's been months since having their amazing BBQ and months without Mr. Pig Stuff is longer than a lifetime. Check out the family-run operation on Scott County 69 just a few blocks west of the Highway 101 bridge. It's practically in downtown Shakopee and it's heads and tails above the likes of Famous Dave's and Dickey's BBQ Pit which are chains and do little more than occupy cookie-cutter spaces in strip malls and send their profits out of state.

Vikings football stadium in Shakopee - sounds good to me!

Go-getter Mayor Brad Tabke of Shakopee -- after just a week or so on the job -- today heads to the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul to make a pitch to legislators for a Minnesota Vikings football stadium in the southwest Twin Cities suburb of Shakopee. To me it fits well with Tabke's assertion in a newspaper column last week that Shakopee should embrace and expand upon its title of an entertainment capitol of sorts. For many years the city has hung its hat on seasonal venues such as Valleyfair, Canterbury Park and the Renaissance Festival as well as nearby Mystic Lake Casino but, as I hear a morning radio personality say today, a Vikings stadium in Shakopee makes the southwest suburb a weekend-long entertainment destination.

I like the idea of it but for plenty it's going to be a hard to pill to swallow. The area would need little in the way of infrastructure improvements and it might even serve to hasten improvements such as an elevated Minnesota River crossing at Highway 101. It could also serve to speed up the construction of a new Highway 41 in/around nearby Chaska. Extending the third southbound lane on U.S. Highway 169 for a few miles has to be a cheaper traffic solution than fixing the mess in and around Arden Hills. The best part of a Shakopee VIkings stadium is that it supposedly requires no taxpayer funding. All of the necessary funding (outside of the Wilfs contributions) would come from gaming revenue which is a logical fit with Canterbury Park virtually next door.

To this guy, 4 PM today can't come soon enough because Shakopee's Mayor Tabke is definitely a visionary and securing a Vikings stadium and building out the infrastructure improvements properly would keep Shakopee as a destination on a year-round basis. The city is well-situated from a location standpoint as a majority of Viking season ticketholders reside in the southwest metro making the drive to games far shorter than even to a downtown Minneapolis stadium. Throw in the city's rather progressive stance (for an outer ring suburb) on transit with the BlueXpress line and two sizeable transit stations and the pieces start to come together. Let's face it, a statium overlooking the Minnesota River along Highway 101 in Shakopee would be much nicer than the lack of scenery on the barren Army munitions plant grounds in Arden Hills.

So yeah, I'm all for a Vikings stadium in Shakopee.

Let's get rid of the casino monopoly

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and when it comes to the topic of gambling and whether casinos in Minnesota should be a tribal-only affair or if private or state ownership should be allowed it seems that everyone does have an opinion on the matter.

When I saw that a "Staff Council" (spokesperson) from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community had written a response to a story appearing in some southwest metro newspapers, I kind of knew what to expect. I figured that the stance would be "Where's the SMSC side of the argument?" "That story was very anti-tribal." "We don't have a monopoly in the casino business." Blah, blah, blah.

Of course the SMSC spokesperson is going to be against any additional casinos in the state. They are, by a long shot, the richest tribe in the country. Chalk it up to proximity to the 16th largest metro area in the country and you can see why. With a population base of nearly 3 million within a hour's drive, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has built a damn empire on Scott County Highway 83. With their original convenience store, another purchased from Kwik Trip, their organic foods market (Mazopiya) a health clinic for their tribal residents, a fire department that serves their community as well as surrounding areas their high-rise hotel and two casinos (Mystic Lake & Little Six); their reservation -- to me at least -- qualifies as an empire, at least when compared to the businesses and wealth held by other Native American tribes around the country. But it seems that the SMSC is still not happy with the Native American monopoly on casino gambling in Minnesota and remains staunchly opposed to any expansions by other businesses.

The story is full of the same misleading messages used for many years now by the Canterbury shill machine. First, the addition of slot machines at Canterbury is a qualitative expansion of gambling. It would dramatically alter the make-up of who provides what types of games. Simply ask the question: how would Canterbury feel if the SMSC commenced operations of numerous poker rooms and pari-mutuel horse racing at Mystic Lake Casino?

I'm guessing that Canterbury Park would find a way to co-exist. They have managed to carve out their own niche even just two miles away from the state's largest casino. Yes, they added their card room to become a true year-around destination and while I'm sure they wouldn't be overly joyous if Mystic Lake Casino opened a card room of their own, they probably wouldn't cry foul like SMSC spokespersons who feel that their gambling monopoly is justified.

Second, the tribal governments do not have a “monopoly” on gaming in Minnesota. The gaming market is already divided in a way that brings revenue to the various operators. Canterbury has horse racing and a multitude of card games. The state government operates a diverse array of lottery games. The charities and bars sell pull tabs and can offer poker. Bingo halls are easy to locate throughout the state. And the tribal governments operate video slots and blackjack pursuant to the tribal-state compacts. There are plenty of gambling options in Minnesota today. No one has a monopoly on gaming.

Correct. To a point. Nobody has a monopoly on "gaming" in Minnesota. Gaming is a rather broad term. However, Native American tribes do have a monopoly on Casino-style gambling in Minnesota. None of the state's dozen or so casinos are owned by any other group than Native American tribes. While casino ownership lifted many tribes out of deep poverty and they have repaid their neighbors by funding infrastructure improvements, donated funds to worthy causes and improved their own fortunes (no pun intended) they have also done so due to their monopoly on Casino-style gambling. Nowhere else, outside of tribal-owned casinos will you find slot machines, keno, roulette or high stakes bingo. WHen something isn't available elsewhere, that comes off as a monopoly to me.

The tribal spokesperson also goes on to tout job loss at the casino that keeps him employed.

For every job created at a racino, there will be at least four or five jobs killed at a tribal facility.

That tells me that, unlike privately run businesses, tribal casinos are vastly overstaffed. I understand why, too. Mystic Lake Casino is practically overflowing with cash. To not be overstaffed would put the profits they make front and center. It all boils down to competition. Would Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake close its doors if Canterbury Park in Shakopee installed a few dozen slot machines? No. Would they have to try harder to pull potential customers a couple miles further down the road? Maybe. But Mystic Lake Casino has them beat hands down with the fact that they have a plush concert hall, bingo halls, huge prizes and giveaways, an attached hotel, three or four restaurants of different styles and a world-class golf course as well. If SMSC is so overly concerned about their future, why don't they do a show of good will and get in on the stadium game because even though William J. Hardacker mentions how little gambling revenues will do to balance the state's vast budget deficit, the big push for additional casinos in the state boils down to getting a Vikings stadium built.

Just think what kind of good will that the SMSC could display if they partially funded a Vikings stadium? Think how well they'd make out if they built, owned and operated a stadium? If they want to protect their slot machine (really, that's what their argument boils down to) monopoly then they need to play ball with the needs of the Twin Cities and Minnesota in general.

Project Runway sends the Minnesotan home

I won't say that I've watched the entire season of "Project Runway" on Lifetime because I haven't. I have, however, watched the final fifteen minutes or so of each episode because it always amazes me who gets "aufed" by Heidi Klum and her band of fashionistas.

Chris Straub, or Shakopee as I call him (because he's from Shakopee, MN - represent!) did amazingly well early in the competition. He actually won the first competition and I was excited to see that someone from Minnesota - especially the suburbs - was recognized for their creative skills. Then, as the series went on, Straub seemed to be strung along. His work wasn't terrible but the judges consistently billed it as such but kept him in the competition. It seemed almost mean for Heidi Klum and her band of fashion divas to keep Shakopee's Chris Straub on the show as they kept berating his designs. He was a near-permanent fixture in the show's bottom two or three designers.

I hoped that Straub was being strung along for a good reason. Hopefully they realized that he had immense potential. I rarely saw huge negatives in Straub's designs but maybe I'm just a homer who hates seeing the home team lose.

Then last night, on the final episode before "Project Runway's" big Bryant Park Fashion Week finale, Chris Straub was eliminated. The judges sent two designers packing leaving three young women to duke it out in New York City on next week's episode. So for many months now Shakopee's home town deisgner has been working away in the basement of his townhome - which us graphic designers in my office have determined the general location of - creating new fashion trends on his own. The difference is that he now has a significant amount of national television exposure to help his career. Something tells me that he'll be alright.

If you are fond of Minnesotans and all things Minnesota, check out MinnPics to tour Minnesota via photographs.

Cougars in the suburbs?

By now we all know that the suburban cougar is alive and well. The suburban cougar is pursued by young males everywhere. If I weren't married, I'd probably be pursuing a cougar for myself because she'd probably have a few tricks up her sleeve. But today I'm not talking about that suburban cougar that hangs out at bars and wears seductive clothing. Today I'm talking about real cougars in the giant feline form.

A local thoroughbred who was supposed to be a spokeshorse of sorts for other retired ponies was attacked by what many think to be a cougar on a farm in Prior Lake near a Shakopee elementary school. I've always had my doubts about the tales I've heard since moving here about cougars and coyotes roaming the valleys along the Minnesota River. My wife is particularly adamant about the existence of coyotes. She recounts memories of hearing them on the farm she grew up on just above the Minnesota River. Her brothers had seen coyotes in the woods near the farm and her dad had shot at them to scare them away on numerous occasions.

Again, I had my doubts. I never believe something until I've seen it with my own eyes. Then one night while driving in the Belle Plaine area along Highway 169 I actually saw a small dog-like animal standing on the shoulder of the road. I knew it wasn't a fox - I have seen plenty of those while growing up in far southern Minnesota. My wife immediately told me that it was a coyote.

And that is exactly what the Minnesota DNR thinks attacked My Friend Deke, the horse that was stabling in Prior Lake. If I lived in that immediate area or had kids who attended that particular elementary school, I'd be alreat but not concerned. After all, we are the ones who encroached on the area which these wild animals call home. Six years ago when I moved here, that particular area was still corn fields and woods. Now it is leveled and full of half-million dollar homes and strip malls. When humans and animals try to co-exist, it's usually the animals who end up losing the battle in the end but a cougar or a coyote attacking a farm animal should serve as a wake-up call that we are all pissing nature off.

If you like nature and want to embrace it, check out MinnPics which often times showcases fabulous photos of Minnesota's natural beauty.

Things learned about the PGA Championship

Monday afternoon, on the first day of the PGA Chanpionship in Chaska, MN, I made the mistake of driving from my south of the river office to Excelsior on the south side of Lake Minnetonka. I remembered the fact that the PGA Championship was in Chaska as I sat among a line of yellow FIrst Student school busses navigating my way through the Hwy. 101/Old 212 snarl along the Minnesota River. I quickly decided to avoid Chaska entirely and chose the travesty known as Hwy. 101.


Coming back home to the south was another story. After my photographic journey to Lake Minnetonka and my large cup of soda in hand, I headed down Hwy. 41 through Chaska. I looked ahead at one of the stoplights and saw little to no traffic. I was pleasantly surprised and still reminded that the PGA Championship was almost across the highway from where I currently was. A hotel/conference center even had a courtesy lemonade stand set up at their entrance for golf fans using their parking lot.


I saw the almost desserted Kohl's store (which seems entirely unnecessary in its location - I give it two years before it's closed) and as I approached the stoplight near the Target store that's when my worst fears were realized.


I despise stopped traffic and when cars turning couldn't even get in to the line of stopped cars, I got a bit mad. The Minnesota Highway Patrol cars parked on the side of the highway may have been in a primo spot to manage traffic earlier in the day but now they were about a mile too far north. Using my laser eyes, I tried to communicate with them (via intense staring) that they needed to take their maroon and golds on down the road a mile and direct traffic there - closer to Highway 212). The few folks crossing the highway at this particular intersection could manage just fine and the mostly respectable Minnesota drivers would rarely, if ever, run down a pedestrian (although bikers are apparently a different story).


However, I dialed back my anger and realized that these people were spending buckets of coin in Chaska - the 20th most livable community in America. Or were they?


So tens of thousands of golf fans park 15 miles away at the paved oasis known as Canterbury Park only to ride a school bus to a golf course where they can't even leave the labels on their water bottles. I'm all for tourism but maybe the host town of a huge event like this could become a little more involved than just hanging some banners on their street lights.


Will there be PGA photos on MinnPics? You'll have to check it out to know...