lawrence black

Sometimes things take you by surprise. When I found out that indeed, a farmers market was coming to my neighborhood, mere steps from my house, I was excited. However, the response to the Linden Hills Farmers Market was anything but unanimous. Call it naivite or what have you, but I could not believe how many folks were arguing about how this market would take from that market, blowing the "it isn't fair" horn, or living in some unrealized or unknown fear. So, I want to simply ask the question, "Can too many farmers markets be a bad thing?"

Part of making this eating adventure work involves a lot of flexibility. I've said it before and I will say it again, I am sure. It comes down to the fact that when you don't really know what you are doing or what you are getting yourself into, you cannot be attached to the outcome. So, like the fool I am, I sent us on another wild goose chase. It started when I was on my way to a sheet metal shop for some home repair work and I swore that I saw something resembling a Latin eatery. All it took was a quickly read sign with a "La" something or other and I was ready to go.

At first glance, Ripe may look like just another cookbook. All you have to do is open it up to see the difference. This book is alive with color and for me is very evocative and strangely alluring. I wanted to dive in, to read, to go shop for food and, well, maybe to cook (actually, I just wanted to eat). So, in short, look at this book and then go out to eat. Ok, perhaps that's a little shallow.

Well, we're back after a brief hiatus. We heard from a number of folks after our 4 month review saying that they would love us to continue checking out local Mexican restaurants. We were easy to convince and so we pulled out our trusty list and then threw it out as the place we wanted to go didn't seem to have a name. At least not one that we knew.

There are just some eateries that leave a warm fuzzy feeling when you remember them. Homi actually left a burning hot and fuzzy feeling, and I still feel good just thinking about the tiny establishment, hidden behind a pile of University avenue construction. From the charming owners and workers, to the absolutely amazing hand made food, Homi was just what we were looking for.

We've come to a point in our eating of Latin foods, that I thought it only proper to post a status update and let you know how we see things in this process. As you may know from our intro article, we set out to try and answer a few questions. First, we wanted to see if we could shed any light on our American obsession with Latin eateries, specifically Mexican food. Second, we were curious about why we so seldom stop at any of the small and somewhat anonymous Latin eateries. When we finally did start settling our curiosity, what would we find. Third, we were really wondering about quality and diversity. With more than 50 small restaurants on our list, how many would actually be good and worth going back to?...and how long would we last? Fourth, does anyone really even care?

If you know me, you know that I love to cook and don't mind a challenge. I certainly don't accept the status quo and have issues in following a recipe. It is for these exact reasons that I took on the challenge to prepare food for my kids, with gusto. To this day, I refuse to believe in the idea of "kids" menus, purchasing baby food, or the whole idea of picky eaters.

When we started this adventure to eat Latin foods, you might remember that we wanted to find out why we drive by all of these interesting places without stopping. We wanted to finally go in and see what we were missing. (Read our intro article for more) This could not be more true for my family than with the restaurant called Cocina Latina on 38th and Nicollet. We pass by this establishment probably three or four times a week and know nothing about what is inside. This almost criminal neglect had to end and it is only fitting that on this occasion, I was to go with my family.

Usually, we are armed with nothing but an address and the hope that the next Latin eatery is in fact, real. It is easy for your imagination to get the best of you when you are constantly entering new and strange places, as if you might enter into a doorway never to return...new dimensions, new worlds, a salsa bar? 

Driving down 34th Avenue south in Minneapolis, there are absolutely no signs that there will be anything but more and more houses. There is certainly no "business district" around and as we neared 62 and saw the telltale signs of the airport, we thought this would be our first wild goose chase. But then, a gas station appeared like a beacon of hope and as our bellies rumbled in anticipation, we saw a modest sign, wedged between the laundromat and gas station: Las Teresitas. We had arrived. 

I wanted to avoid rankings and ratings in this challenge to eat and talk about Latin foods. It seems grossly unfair to give our taste buds credence over anyone else's. It also seemed a bit pretentious to claim that we were in any way experts. We are certainly not. The people from Mexico, Ecuador and Honduras who serve us their heart's labors...these are the experts. With that said, I have a hard time not gushing over our latest find, wanting to give it some sort of top-of-the-list, upper class status. Catalina's was just that good to us.