I send a weekly email newsletter and publish on the Substack platform. It has restaurant news, weekend activities and events, ideas for hotel stays and travel, as well as fashion and whatever else I’m interested in. The weekly newsletter is free:
Nashville has changed. A lot of it is great! A lot of it is… well, if you’re in the hard-partying, woo-girl, Bachelorette party rolling down Broadway crowd you know what to do. If not: there are great parts of town for you to explore. A few recommendations based on our last visit.
EAST NASHVILLE FOOD
MUSIC / FUN
COFFEE
SHOPPING
HOTEL
So many of us have become our fathers. All we want for Father’s Day is “a happy, healthy family,” or “a phone call from the kids to say they love me,” or “I have everything I need.” So I’m here to help. A combination of Minnesota favorites in here as well as some national brand items. Everything in this list I personally recommend!
I may get a commission on an affiliate link and/or have received gifted items in exchange for promotion.
WATCHES: TC Time & Luxury: David Brenke has spent his career working in luxury watches, but his local, one-man, pre-owned watch business runs the gamut from gorgeous Rolex, Tudor and IWC to more entry-level Seiko. I have bought so many watches from TC Time & Luxury – you can buy this Tudor I’m wearing right now! Tell David I sent you, he’ll give you an even better deal than normal! VIEW SELECTION: https://fluence-media.co/3ViIGJw (I partner with Twin Cities Time & Luxury)
A UNIQUE PEN: I have bought more than a dozen pens from my friend Barry Rubin, who used to have a retail store called “Ink.” All 4 of those in this picture are ours. He still curates an amazing selection – and can find a pen for your dad based on his favorite color or his favorite hobby or musician. Contact penstore@gmail.com. (I partner with Ink)
KITCHEN KNIVES: I love Eversharp in Northeast Minneapolis, family-owned, 17-years in business, super-popular with chefs and restaurants. Buy a gift card for sharpening, or go get a new kitchen knife, or set of steak knives. They’ve got tons of deals this month because they brought in a couple pallets of knives from Wusthof in Germany. SHOP ONLINE: https://fluence-media.co/3KwVkhC (I do fun IG videos in a partnership with Eversharp)
FRESH BY HOUSTON WHITE AT TARGET: Houston White is a Minneapolis entrepreneur (The Get Down Coffee Co) and his brand FRESH is an outstanding local gift! https://fluence-media.co/4aBe6PG
MEN’S FASHION: Two great shops right across the street from each other in the North Loop of Minneapolis: MartinPatrick3 and Jaxen Grey. I’m a sucker for the apothecary section at MartinPatrick3. They’ve got a display right now of vintage colognes, so find that old school Drakkar! They’ve got Aesop skin care and soaps (I love). Amazing clothing and shoe selection here as well as barware too. I’m a frequent shopper. Same deal at Jaxen Grey – incredible selection of clothing at affordable prices. I wear a lot of Les Deux and 7 Diamonds. Some of my other favorites: Billy Reid has a great store at 50th & France in Edina, I can’t leave there without buying a ton of things (the jacket above is from there.) And I LOVE Todd Snyder!
COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION: I’ve been a subscriber to Trade Coffee for 8 years or so now. They send you a bag of beans based on your flavor profile every month, or six weeks, or whatever you want. You get 30% off your first month if you use my link (I get $20 credit). https://fluence-media.co/3w16Iyl
COFFEE GEAR FROM FELLOW: I love Fellow (founded by a couple of Minnesota natives, now in SF). Sexiest coffee gear that looks amazing on my counter, but also performs at such an elite level. I own their Stagg Electric Kettle that heats my water to a precise temperature, and the ODE grinder. Cool drinkware collection as well!
GQ SUBSCRIPTION BOX: I’ve subscribed to this box for several years – I get skin/hair care items, sunglasses, t-shirts, other things too. Use code SUMMER24 to save 40%. Works out to be about $45-$50/box for $90 worth of stuff. https://fluence-media.co/3OU40BF
BALLER CHARCOAL GRILL: The team at Kamado Joe sent me their Konnected Joe charcoal grill to test and oh my goodness, it is a game changer. Charcoal grill with the ease of gas. The flavor is incredible, the ability to get high heat and sear is unmatched, and then the ability to hold heat and slow smoke or BBQ is awesome. This is for the tech-lover who loves to grill – as it’s connected to a digital app. Find it at Home Depot!
THE ATHLETIC SUBSCRIPTION: Sports-loving dad? I get The Athletic through my NY Times subscription, you can give the gift for just $20/year. GIFT SUB: https://fluence-media.co/4c5pR1S
In your in-box every Friday: the latest restaurant news, interviews from WCCO-AM’s DriveTime with DeRusha, food podcasts from DeRusha Eats, plus anything else on my mind! We’re calling it the “DeRusha Download!”
Must be nice to eat for free everywhere!
Being a food writer or food critic sure sounds like a great gig, and I’m not going to lie, it’s awesome. I wouldn’t keep doing it for so many years if I didn’t enjoy it. But there are many misconceptions about how this works. So here we go:
That would be great! I think many might have this misconception
— Cody Benedict (@CodyBenedict1) April 21, 2023
Food critics don’t eat everywhere for free
Any restaurant I review (like x, y, and z) I pay for it, and Minnesota Monthly reimburses me. I have a budget, most critics do, but if I’m reviewing I pay. Sometimes I do eat a free meal. Different publications have different standards and ethics on this. If there’s a media preview of a menu, I’ll at times attend. If a restaurant invites me to try something new or come to a special event, I will at times attend for free. If I write about it or post it on my Instagram, I always will note that I was “invited” and/or the meal was free or comped. If you see “Thanks for having me” – that means I was invited. Not everyone does that, but I want to be transparent about it.
I spend a lot of my own money eating out
I’m not complaining! I love visiting new restaurants, just like you do. I don’t call places and say, “hey I’ll write about you or post about you if you give me a free meal.” There are influencers who do that, and I have no problem with it. I also have no problem with restaurants saying no! They’re publicizing restaurants in some cases, and there’s a benefit to that, so it’s all good by me. As I only review about 12 restaurants a year, a lot of dining out is building a catalog of places I can recommend in my print articles which now focus on lists of options.
Critics are no longer anonymous
With the internet, it’s so difficult to be anonymous. For me, as I’ve been on TV so long and now on the radio, it would be comical. I used to make reservations under my wife’s maiden name so people wouldn’t know I was coming, but it didn’t take long for most places that would be potential review subjects to figure out I was there. That said, I’m not as famous as you think I am, and I can also tell when I’m being treated differently than the tables around me. I watch for that, and I don’t like it when it happens! I’m writing to tell you what you might experience when you eat out.
There aren’t many full-time critics around anymore
I’m a freelancer for Minnesota Monthly, the Star Tribune critic is part-time too. Dara reviews monthly at MSP Mag, Jess occasionally writes a review for the Pioneer Press, but most of food writing is food writing. Reporting on new stuff, maybe a little bit of experiential commentary – but not the old school review. It’s expensive to have a budget for this! Paying someone a full-time salary plus consider what it would cost to review weekly or bi-weekly. I’d guess back when Rick Nelson was the full-time Strib critic, he spent upwards of $30,000/year on food. And he never took a freebie.
I don’t go 3 times to write a review
I wish! As a freelancer I don’t have that kind of time, nor do I have the budget for that. Typically if I go to a place to review it and I straight up don’t like it – I won’t write about it. It’s unfair to rip a place big time if I don’t go a couple times. This has happened (once recently). I will critique things I don’t like, however.
Getting The Tone Right Is the Hardest Part of a Review
I write for you: I don’t want you to drive to St. Paul from Lakeville for a place that is just fine. There are many restaurants that would be amazing if you lived near them, but disappointing if you drove there as a destination. It’s difficult to get that tone right – to not be necessarily harsh about a place that serves its purpose well. I’ve toyed with the idea of a rating scale that would say how many miles I would drive to go to a place. It’s hard – I live in Maple Grove and drive everywhere. If you live in South Minneapolis, is there a new restaurant that’s worth driving past Broder’s, Lola, Red Wagon, Terzo, Mr. Paul’s, Martina, Colita, etc. to get to? Maybe not.
What Questions do you Have!?
Post them in the comments!
Long-term deep partnerships are my favorite! Want to see my latest media kit: reach out if I can help your event or help your business grow!
Jason DeRusha 
