The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

As I get older and balder, I have come to appreciate the t-shirt legend that proclaims, "Only a few heads are perfect - the rest are covered with hair." Something similar is true of barbecued ribs - the best way to serve mediocre ribs is smothered in sauce - but to serve ribs naked, they have to be done just about perfectly.

"Don't wait for the critics to jump on this dude before you start giving it up," says everybody's favorite Albino rhymer, Brother Ali. He's speaking about Muja Messiah, the latest local rapper to make a big splash in the national underground hip-hop scene. "Muja is the shit. The man is right with his."

It's in Minneapolis, it's the best restaurant for miles around, and odds are you have never even heard of it.

The idea of a footrace in North Minneapolis seems to inspire two reactions from residents of other neighborhoods: incredulity and concern. “Do you want to get mugged?” “Are you wearing a flak jacket?” And, of course, the simplest question: “Why?”