The business trip - business and pleasure please . . .

I love to travel and I love to learn . . . so when the chance came to head out of California to Minneapolis for a couple days for an e-discovery conference, I literally jumped at the chance.  The conference was very interesting and informative, but I doubt many of you are interested in the nuances of e-discovery so I won't waste time talking about what I learned.

Other than knowledge I gained from the classes, the thing I appreciated most about the trip, was the chance to meet other lawyers from across the country and discuss food, wine, drinks, theater, and travel.  This trip was also a good reminder that diversity in America is not just based on race or a persons economic status, but a lot of diversity comes from just living in a different state.  I really appreciate that.

On Thursday night, we had a "networking" dinner which was held at a relatively "new" spot in town, a restaurant called The Bank, located in the Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.  A lovely little restaurant in - you guessed it - the former lobby of a bank that was built in the 1840s.  The lobby of "the bank," which was also the lobby of the hotel was renovated but still vibrated the class of the 1960s: the architect kept the large ceilings, the bank floors, the wood paneling to the ceiling, the huge bank clock, and old fashioned light fixtures. The old teller station at the center of the renovated lobby there was a bar with cocktail tables surrounding it.  Instead of a wine cellar, the wine was stored in the wine vault. The offices of this huge former bank were renovated into beautiful hotel rooms  (which is where I stayed).  It was just enough old and new to be luxurious.

 It is so nice to meet up with different people form different regions, such good conversation ensues. Many of the participants in the conference were from the Midwest (Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin), but a lot of them were from out East  (Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Richmond, and Washington D.C.)  As much as I love Angelenos (and I really do), it is true what they say - birds of a feather flock together.  And no matter how diversified California is (which I love), you can't get away from the fact that you start to become like the people you are around after awhile - no matter your race, sex or creed.  I mean we even start to talk like each other (which is very obvious in Minnesota).  During dinner, it was so refreshing to get a different perspective on travel, fine food, the challenges of raising a family and being a competitive lawyer, new shows on Broadway, news sources and outlets, and California wine favorites.  

I usually really suck at networking, I just don't think I am cut out for it.  But for some reason at the "networking" dinner, I felt I was right on cue - it could have been the two cocktails, but honestly I think it was because everyone was interested in the same things I was - food, drinks, and art.  At one point, a woman from Washington D.C., said . . . "you are really way too nice to be from Los Angeles."

So I guess you probably wondering, what did we have to eat and drink?

Cocktail Hour:

Drink:  "the dark and stormy"- which had ginger beer, lime juice and rum (very yummy). The taste of this drink was subtle at first but even after it went down - I still could taste different flavors, first the rum, then the lime, then the ginger.  It was really something.

Appetizers - included rock shrimp served with candied bacon and topped with a lemon and basil cream sauce; crusty bread with steak, arugula, and blue cheese; crusty bread with a pear compote; and, of course, hamburger sliders.

Dinner:

Salad - Mixed greens with fennel and olive tapenade, served with blue cheese made from goat's milk and a vinaigrette.

Main Course - Salmon with a hashbrown crust nested in asparagus and drizzled with a truffle butter cream sauce.

Dessert - New York Cheesecake with lime zest and a key lime cream sauce and a flowerless chocolate tort with espresso ice cream.

So the next time you are in Minneapolis, check out The Bank.