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Twin Cities Pride takes over Loring Park, the Dodgers visit Target Field, and Sameh Wadi revives Saffron in the old Young Joni space. Plus Mill City Farmers Market, Kim Gordon and Wolfmother at First Avenue, Killen's Irish Pub, Šhotá Indigenous BBQ, and OCM rec cannabis news.
George and Laura kick off patio season with the can't-miss MSP weekend of June 27–28, 2026: Pride at Loring Park, Dodgers in town, a major Northeast restaurant comeback, and a fresh wave of adult-use cannabis dispensaries across Minnesota.
In this episode:
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George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked over the Stone Arch Bridge this morning and it just HIT me.
Laura: What hit you, George? A scooter? Because that's usually what hits people on the Stone Arch.
George: No, no. The summer. Like, the actual summer. That warm-river-smell, sunscreen-on-the-back-of-your-neck kinda morning.
Laura: Ope, okay, you're already doing the poet thing and it's not even nine.
George: I can't help it. We waited eight months for this.
Laura: Nine, if you count April. April doesn't count.
George: April never counts.
Laura: April is a rumor.
George: April is a rumor. That's going on a t-shirt.
Laura: Print it. Sell it at the Mill City market on Saturday.
George: Oh that's a good segue, actually—
Laura: I know it was. I set it up for you.
George: You did. You absolutely did. So Mill City Farmers Market, Saturday the twenty-seventh, eight to one, right next to the museum. A hundred and fifteen-plus vendors.
Laura: That's a LOT of vendors, George.
George: It's a lot of vendors. And honestly that's where I'm starting my weekend. Coffee, a loaf of something, watch people's dogs lose their minds.
Laura: See, and I love Mill City, but I'm gonna push back a little.
George: Push.
Laura: There are other markets. Midtown, Kingfield, Linden Hills, St. Paul Farmers' Market — Mpls St. Paul Magazine literally keeps a running list with hours and everything. You don't have to drag yourself downtown every Saturday.
George: Fair. Very fair.
Laura: Like, Kingfield's right there. Walkable. Spendy parking? Not a problem.
George: "Spendy parking, not a problem." You sound like a brochure.
Laura: I AM a brochure, George. That's the job.
George: Okay, okay.
Laura: But seriously, cross-check the magazine's list because hours shift in summer and I don't want somebody driving out to St. Paul on a bad guess.
George: Yeah, that's a good call. Don't trust me, trust the list.
Laura: Don't trust George, folks. Trust the list.
George: My own co-host.
Laura: My OWN co-host.
George: Alright, while we're on food — and we have to talk about this — Sameh Wadi.
Laura: Ohhh.
George: Saffron is coming back.
Laura: In the old Young Joni space, NE Mpls.
George: In the Young Joni space. Which is, like — culturally that's a big room.
Laura: It is. And from what I've read he's leaning deeper into Palestinian cuisine this time.
George: Yeah. Which feels right. Feels personal.
Laura: I'm excited. I'm genuinely excited. That's a chef who could've gone anywhere and he's planting a flag in Northeast again.
George: Do you remember the original Saffron downtown?
Laura: I do, I went for my cousin's birthday years and years ago. The lamb thing. I still think about the lamb thing.
George: See I never made it. I'll admit that. That was a gap for me.
Laura: George, you missed the lamb thing?
George: I missed the lamb thing. I'm not proud.
Laura: He's not proud, he says.
George: I'm not. Anyway — also opening, mid-June, Killen's Irish Pub. In the old First Draft Tap Haus near Target Field.
Laura: That's a smart location for a pub. Twins crowd spills right in.
George: Yeah. And speaking of the Twins—
Laura: Don't.
George: Dodgers in town. Tonight. Six-forty.
Laura: I knew you were gonna do it.
George: It's a marquee interleague series, Laura.
Laura: It's a "we're gonna get our hearts broken on national TV" series.
George: Ope.
Laura: But yeah, Target Field on a warm June night against the Dodgers? That's a TICKET.
George: That's a ticket.
Laura: Even if we lose, the patio out there's a good time.
George: It IS a good patio. And honestly — patio season is what I really wanted to get into today.
Laura: Okay, do it.
George: Because this is THE week, right? We're sliding into the heart of June, the weather's holding, everybody's outside—
Laura: Everybody.
George: —and the question is where do you go.
Laura: Well, what're you in the mood for? Because patio means something different in Uptown than it does on West 7th.
George: That's true.
Laura: West 7th feels like neighbors. Uptown feels like — you're being SEEN.
George: You're being seen.
Laura: People come to Uptown to BE somewhere.
George: That's accurate.
Laura: And I love both, by the way. I'm not knocking either.
George: Right. Okay so for the plant-based folks listening — because, shoutout mplsvegan.com, our sponsor and our friends — there is no shortage this time of year.
Laura: There is genuinely an embarrassment of riches.
George: J. Selby's in St. Paul. That's my go-to.
Laura: The dirty Selby's.
George: The dirty Selby's. Iconic.
Laura: Iconic.
George: Herbivorous Butcher up in Northeast — grab something for the grill and walk it home.
Laura: Reverie. Hard Times.
George: Hard Times at like one in the morning is a Minneapolis rite of passage.
Laura: It is. It's a CHURCH.
George: It IS a church.
Laura: And Trio Plant-Based — solid sit-down. Hello Pizza, the Herbalist — depending what corner of the Cities you're parked in, there's a spot.
George: There's a spot. There's always a spot.
Laura: I will say — and I'll push back on you here too, George—
George: Push.
Laura: You always default to Selby's.
George: I do.
Laura: Branch out. Hello Pizza on a Friday with a slice and a walk? That's the move.
George: You're right.
Laura: I know.
George: I'm in a rut.
Laura: You're in a rut, but it's a delicious rut.
George: Delicious rut. Also a t-shirt.
Laura: Two t-shirts in one episode.
George: We're cooking. So — patios. If you've got people in town for Pride, which a lot of folks do this weekend—
Laura: Loring Park. Saturday and Sunday.
George: Twin Cities Pride Festival. Largest free Pride festival in the country.
Laura: That's not a small thing.
George: It's not a small thing. Six hundred and fifty plus vendors across four stages.
Laura: Six fifty.
George: Six fifty.
Laura: Wear good shoes, drink water, and just — be in it.
George: Be in it.
Laura: And it's free, which, you know, in 2026 — appreciate that.
George: Free is, uh, increasingly spendy elsewhere.
Laura: Increasingly spendy elsewhere.
George: And then First Ave is rolling right into it. Flip Phone is doing "The Klituation" on Friday night—
Laura: The KLITuation.
George: Nine pm Friday. And then XXL Pride on Saturday. Also nine.
Laura: First Ave does Pride RIGHT.
George: They do Pride right. They always have.
Laura: They always have. That room knows what it is.
George: And — separate from Pride entirely — tonight, Wednesday, at the Mainroom, Kim Gordon.
Laura: Get OUT.
George: Solo show. Eight pm.
Laura: Kim Gordon. At First Ave. On a Wednesday in June.
George: That's the kind of show where you'll see somebody in a Sonic Youth shirt who's older than the shirt.
Laura: Older than the shirt.
George: And on Sunday — Wolfmother.
Laura: Wolfmother! Okay see this is what I love about First Ave. The range.
George: The range is wild.
Laura: From Kim Gordon to Wolfmother in five days.
George: That's the city, though. That's what we do.
Laura: That IS what we do.
George: Now if you're not a First Ave person—
Laura: There are dozens of us.
George: There are dozens of us. Hmong International Freedom Festival.
Laura: McMurray Fields, St. Paul, Saturday and Sunday.
George: Largest Hmong sports event in the country.
Laura: That's a fact I love. That happens HERE.
George: Right here.
Laura: Soccer, takraw, food, families, all of it.
George: All of it.
Laura: And then if you want a little out-of-town, Afton's doing their Strawberry Festival and Marketplace, same weekend.
George: Drive out, get strawberries, come home with a sunburn.
Laura: That's the loop.
George: That's the loop.
Laura: I'd also throw the Saints in there — they're on a homestand at CHS Field this week.
George: CHS in summer is — that's a perfect ballpark.
Laura: It's perfect. I will say I'd double-check the nightly opponent because the schedule shuffles.
George: Yeah, check the schedule before you go. Don't show up Tuesday for a Wednesday game.
Laura: Don't be that guy.
George: Don't be that guy. We've all been that guy.
Laura: I have never been that guy.
George: Okay.
Laura: I'M not that guy.
George: Sure, sure.
Laura: One thing I want to flag, because we get asked — Lynx and MNUFC.
George: Yeah.
Laura: Best I can tell from the public schedules, there's no confirmed Lynx home game in this June 24 to 28 window — they had the 20th and the 21st.
George: Right. And MNUFC — there's no confirmed Allianz home match on the 27th or 28th in the schedules I can see.
Laura: So check before you head down. We don't want anyone showing up to a dark stadium.
George: Always check the schedule. Always check the schedule.
Laura: Minnesota Nice doesn't extend to closed gates.
George: It does not.
Laura: Alright. Cannabis corner.
George: Cannabis corner.
Laura: Shoutout mncannabishub.com, our other half of this whole operation.
George: Love those folks.
Laura: Big news — and this is real news, not vibes—
George: Real news.
Laura: OCM issued medical-cannabis combination licenses to Green Goods and RISE.
George: Which means—
Laura: All eight Green Goods dispensaries — Mpls, Blaine, Bloomington, Burnsville, Duluth, Moorhead, Rochester, Woodbury — are now selling adult-use.
George: Adult-use. Rec product.
Laura: And RISE locations in Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Mankato, New Hope, and Willmar — same deal.
George: So that's thirteen of sixteen medical dispensaries that now have rec on the shelf.
Laura: Thirteen of sixteen.
George: Plus twenty-three microbusiness retail licenses out of thirty-seven total issued.
Laura: Which is — that's the build, right? That's the slow build of an actual market.
George: It's been a slow build. It's been a SLOW build.
Laura: George, do you remember when we thought the rec shops would all be open by, like, late twenty-four?
George: Sweet summer children, the both of us.
Laura: Sweet summer children.
George: I'll be honest, I don't fully understand the microbusiness license tier versus the combination license tier.
Laura: Yeah, that's a fair admit.
George: I know the broad strokes but the OCM rule structure has layers.
Laura: It does have layers. I would point folks to the OCM news page directly because it changes.
George: Don't take my word for it. Take OCM's word for it.
Laura: Take OCM's word for it.
George: But on the ground — for our listeners — what it means is, you've got more legit choices, closer to home.
Laura: More legit choices, closer to home. That's the headline.
George: Now, the cannabis spots we always talk about — Wildflower in the North Loop is still a great Friday afternoon stop.
Laura: Stigma THC Beverages, if you want a drink instead of a flower thing.
George: Which is huge for patio season, honestly.
Laura: HUGE for patio season.
George: A THC seltzer on a patio at five thirty in June—
Laura: That's a Minnesota summer.
George: That's a Minnesota summer right there.
Laura: Simply Crafted up in Northeast.
George: Green Goods in Bloomington — and now you can grab rec there.
Laura: Edina Canna.
George: Edina Canna. Which still makes me laugh because — Edina.
Laura: You betcha.
George: You betcha. I won't say anything else.
Laura: He won't. He's being diplomatic.
George: I'm being diplomatic.
Laura: Alright, before we wrap—
George: One more thing.
Laura: One more thing — Sean Sherman.
George: Yes. NATIFS is expanding.
Laura: Šhotá Indigenous BBQ. In the old Seward Co-op Creamery Café on East Franklin.
George: Smoked meats, fish, vegetables, Indigenous sides.
Laura: This is — I want people to hear this. This is a chef who is building an Indigenous food economy in this city. On purpose. With intention.
George: With intention.
Laura: That matters. That's not just a restaurant opening.
George: No, it's a — it's a project.
Laura: It's a project. And East Franklin getting another anchor like that is good for the whole corridor.
George: Good for the corridor.
Laura: So when it opens — go.
George: Go.
Laura: Spend your money where it builds something.
George: That's well put.
Laura: Thank you.
George: Okay — one concrete takeaway for the week, because we promised one.
Laura: Lay it on me.
George: Saturday morning. Mill City Farmers Market, eight to one. Walk the Stone Arch after. Then over to Loring for some part of Pride. Doesn't have to be all day — just be present.
Laura: That's a clean Saturday.
George: That's a clean Saturday.
Laura: And if you want a Sunday plan — drive out to Afton for strawberries, come back, Wolfmother at First Ave, end your weekend loud.
George: End your weekend LOUD.
Laura: End it loud.
George: Alright, that's our show.
Laura: Thanks for hanging with us.
George: Big thanks to our sponsors — mplsvegan.com for keeping the plant-based scene mapped out so you don't have to guess—
Laura: —and mncannabishub.com for cutting through all the cannabis-rule confusion we just barely waded into.
George: Barely waded.
Laura: Barely.
George: Get outside this weekend. Drink water. Be nice to the patio staff.
Laura: Be NICE to the patio staff. They're working in eighty-five degrees.
George: Tip in cash if you can.
Laura: Tip in cash if you can. Minnesota nice, in action.
George: Minnesota nice in action. We'll catch you next time.
Laura: Catch you next time. Skol, and stay outside.
George: Stay outside.
Three times a week, the Twin Cities in 12 minutes. Real restaurants you should try, real local business news, real events worth your weekend. Sponsored by mplsveganhub.com and mncannabishub.com — for serious Minneapolis business owners, also brought to you by Quiet Coyote (quietcoyotemn.com).