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

If you have $125 left in your 401k, I can think of at least three good reasons why you should splurge on a ticket to the Caux Culinary Challenge, a gastronomic extravaganza next Tuesday evening (November 18) from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Minneapolis Club, 729 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis.

I bellied up to the bar at Vincent A Restaurant yesterday evening, and started to dig into what has to rate as the best happy hour deal in town: tap beers and wines by the glass for $3, appetizers for $3.50-$4, and the Vincent burger, stuffed with braised short rib for $8 (regularly $12.75). The happy hour, or heures joyeuses, runs Monday to Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The French figured out a long time ago that it isn’t just what you eat, it’s how you eat it: Slowly. In small courses. One course at a time. That might sound smart, but in the Minnesota marketplace, it can be a tough sell. The logic of the local restaurant economy is that if you’ve got to raise prices—as restaurants often do—the best way to make diners feel like they’re getting value for money is to dish out big portions. Enormous portions. The result? Diners eat too much, pay too much, and still take half of their meals home in a doggy bag.