Star Tribune

Mingle, a home design showroom in Plymouth, is offering a cooking and lifestyle class on Jan. 11 with chef Mike Rakun, a partner of Marin in downtown Minneapolis and Mill Valley Kitchen in St. Louis Park, both of which feature fresh and healthy preparations, often with local ingredients. Rakun will demonstrate several dishes under the umbrella of “Cooking Healthy Without Sacrificing Flavor” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. That will be followed by a program about the latest in travel, entertaining and home decor trends presented by experts from Affinescape (“Be Your Own Travel Guide”), Artful Living (“Color: Ready to Break Out of the Winter Blues?”) and Miele (“Kitchens That Cook With Great Appliances”). Mingle is at 12955 Hwy. 55. The $25 fee includes wine and appetizers. To register, visit bit.ly/1sA9MVx.

The Culinary Capers

The atmosphere was cozy, but refined, probably what you’d expect if you’ve dined at Marin before. Mrs. Claus herself was at the door to greet those coming for tea, and to read children’s stories to any little ones who may tire easily at something like an afternoon tea.

The tea itself was very reasonably priced compared to others in the Twin Cities. The quality of the food was excellent, and the service was impeccable.

We arrived to place settings complete with china tea cups, and beautifully folded napkins. The tea service included your choice of English Breakfast, hot apple cider, or hot cocoa. That would be one area I would say could be approved upon, having only one tea option at an afternoon tea seems a bit limited, but the tea they offered was delicious, so no big complaints there.

Hennepin Theatre Trust

Brilliance! Made Here, downtown Minneapolis’ urban walking gallery, will unveil a new fall/winter series of nearly 40 storefront window “Showcases,” featuring Minnesota art inspired by the creative interpretation of light. Led by Hennepin Theatre Trust and Joan Vorderbruggen, the Trust’s Cultural District Arts Coordinator, Made Here is the largest storefront window initiative in the country.Brilliance! lights up the downtown Minneapolis Cultural District during an unveiling and free public launch from 6:00-7:30pm on the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 28. Festivities will begin at Marin Restaurant and Bar, located at 901 Hennepin Avenue, and lead into guided walking tours of the window galleries at 6:00 and 7:00pm. The launch also coincides with the opening of the Holidazzle Village featuring the Minneapolis Christmas Market in Peavey Plaza.

For Brilliance! Made Here, the third major round of Made Here window exhibitions, artists were asked to interpret light in creative ways—to experiment with reflective materials or illumination in photographs, videos or projections, textiles, drawings or fiber art, for example. The theme pays tribute to the light-filled spirit of the holiday season and the art-filled window Showcases aim to bring back the tradition of downtown holiday ‘window shopping’ and family viewing of seasonal displays. The Brilliance! Showcases encompass 15 city blocks and 11 different locations, many along Hennepin Avenue, plus seven sites in and around City Center.

Made Here features work by a wide-ranging group of nearly 50 Minnesota-based individual artists including Sonya Berlovitz, Chris Cloud, Asia Ward, Tina Blondell and Caitlin Karolczak using materials such as stained glass, gold leaf, mirrors and paint. In addition, there will be about 20 teenagers working through the Best Buy Made Here Youth Edition, a project that pairs youth with prestigious artist mentors like Wing Young Huie and Kirk Washington, Jr. Among the project highlights is a pop-up gallery at 319 1st Avenue, called the Made Here Intuitive Artist Showcase: A Celebration of Minnesota Based Self-Taught artists, with artists including Lauren Roche and Dietrich Sieling. Diversity and inclusion among participants is a priority with the multi-faceted, 17-member panel that makes the artist selections. The Made Here Showcases were created by an equal number of men and women, with 46% of the artists coming from communities of color.

Special thanks goes to Made Here presenting sponsor Andersen Windows, the Minnesota-based company that not only supports the initiative, but has also curated a Showcase window about the company’s artisan history, located on 5th Street and Nicollet Mall. Other participating organizations including the Art Institutes International Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Fine Arts and Perkins + Will architecture.

Made Here is an ongoing collaboration as part of the downtown Cultural District celebrating creativity from across Minnesota by temporarily filling empty storefronts or commercial spaces with the work of local artists and Minnesota heritage brands. It activates the Cultural District as a walkable center of arts, culture and economic activity to benefit residents, business and property owners, artists and visitors.

CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – In most large cities, some of the best restaurants are inside hotels. For whatever reason, Minneapolis doesn’t really have that scene.

But Marin is trying to change that.

It’s healthier food, without being like the stereotype of healthy.

Chef Mike Rakun arrives at 10 a.m. in the morning, and often works until 10 p.m. at night. He has a lot of work to do.

“Healthy food immediately makes people think it’s not gonna taste good. Right, which is a big misnomer which we’ve set out to disprove,” Rakun said.

When you look at what he’s cooking in the gorgeous basement kitchen of Marin in downtown Minneapolis, it doesn’t look stereotypically healthy. “I use a lot less butter and a lot less reduced cream,” he said.”We stay away from the deep fryer…It makes us feel better, not weighted down,” he said.

City Pages

The swank basement of Marin is so much more than an extra bar — it’s an oasis for readers. Like a man cave for the highly literate, the room is decorated with plush fabrics, sturdily upholstered furniture, and miles and miles of books. All of them are real, all are ready to be pulled from their shelves for your reading pleasure. To accompany your library visit, the bar is stacked with speciality cocktails. Trust us, there is nothing like cradling a leather-bound book in one hand and an amber-hued Old Fashioned in the other.

vita.mn

In the ladies-who-like-libations category, Marin can’t be beat, with its pretty, California feel, one foot planted in the spa. For instance, a virgin refreshment called “Spa,” with cucumber, agave, lemon and soda. But if it’s a buzz you’re after, try the Marin Martini — an innocuous sounding concoction with gin, Cocchi Bianco & lemon bitters that packs an unexpected wallop.

Pat Evans of KARE

Emily Weiss of City Pages

Adrian Schramm of CBS Minnesota

Heath-conscious cuisine is only part of the draw at this Hennepin Avenue bar and restaurant. Great drinks, excellent happy hour and weekly wine specials, lively events and DJ sets all ensure that this latest drinking and dining installation at the Le Meridien Chambers hotel is the one that will stick around. More than just a hotel bar, Marin is the place to be before or after a show.

Nancy Ngo of Pioneer Press

The two-story restaurant in the swank Le Meridien Chambers Hotel in the heart of downtown Minneapolis is a fancy affair. The more formal restaurant and bar on the main floor, the Marin, offers a menu of steaks, chops and seafood. Scenesters flock to The Library downstairs to enjoy a more casual menu, see-and-be-seen vibe and lounge feel.