Occupation: Ice Cream Man, an ice cream vendor/street performer on a tricycle (for locations, follow @leprechaun69 or go to leprechaunsdreamcycle.com) and concierge at the St. Paul Hotel (350 Market St., St. Paul; 651-292-9292; saintpaulhotel.com)

Age: 42

What did you want to be when you grew up? I was going to be a cop. My mom said absolutely not. My dad was a St. Paul police officer; he was known as the Silver Fox.

What was your first job in food? I was a bartender at Dixie's.

How did you wind up selling ice cream on a tricycle? My wife had a brain tumor about three years ago, and we just didn't have any money. I found a tricycle on eBay, and it was delivered from Tennessee when she was having her second brain surgery at Mayo.

What's the best part of being an ice cream vendor? The connection to the community is amazing. I've got a lot of sponsors, and I make vinyl decals of their businesses and they decorate my tricycle.

Any customers that, er, stand out? I've befriended a lot of homeless. And I produced a calendar last year of my sponsors and different friends. It's called "The People in Your Neighborhood." On the back cover is a picture of my friend Jim eating a Dreamsicle.

What's something few people know about you? If you get me out of my seersucker suit ice cream suit or my uniform at the St. Paul Hotel, I'm extremely shy. It's the strangest thing in the world.

What

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culinary trend do you wish would die? The anti-sugar bias. It's all right to have sugar, and you can have ice cream before dinner.

Is there something in your career that you wish you had done differently? No way. Things are kind of jammin', and I'm on a pretty good tumble.

What's your favorite restaurant? Everest on Grand. My friend from Nepal turned me onto it. I love the momo. Now, I make yak momo at home, and it's almost as good as theirs.

If someone were to play you in a movie, who should it be? I go through phases where people think I look like Johnny Depp, although right now, I look a little more like Andy Dick.

What's the weirdest food you've ever eaten? When we were in Hawaii, we had an assortment of fish for breakfast. It was no bueno for me. Maybe it was the time of day.

What's next? I'm just starting to scratch the potential of this business. It would be great to be a public figure who kind of symbolizes what's cool about St. Paul. And I want to get into the Minnesota State Fair.

- Kathie Jenkin