Will it take 80 days to taste all the food at the Midtown Global Market?Who knows? Better start today.
August 16, 2006
Jeremy Iggers, Star Tribune
There’s a world of good food — and some just-OK food — at the new Midtown Global Market: sambusi (deep-fried triangular pastries) from Somalia and Swedish smorgas (open-faced sandwiches). Shawirma and shish kebabs from the Middle East, and malts and milkshakes from the Middle West. Mexican menus that go beyond fajitas and burritos, to include such delicacies as huaraches, gorditas and tortas. Momos (steamed dumplings) from Nepal and meat pies from Jamaica.
You can find most of this fare elsewhere in the Twin Cities, if you know where to look. But what’s magical about the new marketplace at Lake St. and Chicago Av. in south Minneapolis is what happens when you bring all these flavors and cultures together under one roof, with a clientele that is as diverse as the market’s foodstuffs.
Year-round indoor markets like this are one of the hallmarks of a great city. Like Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market (a reference for Midtown) and Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Midtown Global Market (MGM) includes food stalls and ethnic groceries, jewelry shops and handicrafts. And like those great markets, the Midtown is a public space, bringing together all the strands that make up an urban community. The crowd comes in all colors, from the neighborhood and from corporate offices, not just to eat and shop, but to listen to music, play chess and sometimes to watch a soccer game on the big screen.
At Cafe Finspang, the smorgas sandwiches are little works of culinary art, topped with gravlax, pickled herring, roast beef or fish roe, created by owners Maj-Britt Syse and Sibban Johnson. The cafe, which also sells Swedish pastries, candies and crafts, is named after their hometown in central Sweden. Syse and Johnson came to the United States in the early ’80s to study clowning, and stayed to raise families and work in the local theater community.
A few stalls away at the Starlight Cafe, Faduma Hashi also creates artfully decorated desserts, from a three-layer caramel cake to a classic pineapple upside-down cake. Hashi, a native of Somalia and mother of seven, proudly displays an award from the African Development Center, recognizing her business achievement. Tradition and modernity meet at the Starlight Cafe: Hashi wears a head- scarf, and the meats on the menu are halal (produced according to Islamic dietary laws), but the food offerings range from sambusi to hot dogs and pizza. The Starlight also offers Indian chai, but for the best selection of specialty coffees, try nearby Mapps Coffee & Tea, which also offers a big selection of pastries and sandwiches, or the Golden Thyme Coffee and Cafe, where the coffee drinks are named after Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and other jazz legends.
Lots of Mexican food
The market sits in the heart of Minneapolis’ Latino community, so it is no surprise that Mexican food is well represented, with one full-service restaurant, four food stands – each with a different specialty – plus a meat market and a bakery. The fast and casual alternatives include Manny’s Tortas, specializing in meal-in-a-bun sandwiches, stuffed with avocados, refried beans, lettuce, tomato and your choice of meat, and Taqueria Ocampo, which serves tacos, of course, and several of the taco’s lesser known cousins, including the gordita and the huarache (a big flattened corn cake the size and shape of a sandal, hence the name), topped with refried beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and your choice of meat.
For formal dining, A La Salsa offers table service and a full bar. The menu is similar to sister restaurant Salsa a la Salsa, on Nicollet Mall, but if you look closely, you will find some dishes seldom available locally, such as the mixiotes de pollo (a savory dish of boneless chicken and cactus in a savory chile sauce, wrapped in a banana leaf). Noteworthy appetizers include the tostones con camarones (big shrimp served atop crisp fried plantain slices with a lively papaya chutney) and the pupusas (a Salvadoran corn cake stuffed with fresh cheese), served with the traditional accompaniment of cabbage slaw.
American and Mexican breakfasts are served all day at Tamales La Loma, with choices that range from breakfast burritos and huevos rancheros (fried eggs over corn tortillas with salsa and your choice of beans or potatoes) to traditional pancakes and French toast. Tamales, the signature dish of the original La Loma in the Mercado Central, are offered here in five varieties, including a Oaxacan specialty of spicy chicken wrapped in a banana leaf.
La Sirena Gordita (The Fat Mermaid) reveals a world of Mexican seafood specialties beyond fish tacos and shrimp cocktails. Vuelve a la Vida (return to life) is the mother of all seafood cocktails — and hangover cures: a jumbo portion of shrimp, octopus, marinated fish and calamari in a tangy red lime and tomato sauce. Other specialties range from ceviches (marinated raw fish, shrimp or octopus) to tacos and tostadas with seafood toppings, but be sure to try the mariscocillas (quesadillas filled with choice of shrimp, trout or octopus, topped with a lively chipotle aioli).
Most of the Mexican eateries offer a dessert or two, but for a bigger selection, head over to the Panaderia Pasteleria El Mexicano, a traditional Mexican bakery offering colorful pasteles empanadas and tres leches cake.
From the Middle East
The longest lines are at the Holy Land Grocery & Deli, where the lunch buffet typically includes sliced gyros, Greek chicken, sautéed vegetables, stuffed grape leaves and a variety of Middle Eastern salads. The Holy Land also offers a big selection of Middle Eastern foods to take home, including imported olives, cheeses and groceries, and whole spit-roasted halal chickens.
The West Indies and East Indies may be half a world apart, but at the Midtown Global Market, they are practically around the corner from each other. West Indies Soul specializes in jerk chicken, rib tips and other spicy Caribbean fare, while the Everest Cafe offers a mostly vegetarian Nepalese menu that includes momos, curry soups, coffee and teas.
If you are in a hurry, the combo plates at Pham’s Deli offer typical Chinese and Vietnamese dishes such as lemon grass chicken and beef with broccoli, dished up from a steam table, plus choice of egg roll, cheese wontons or chicken wings. A bigger selection of entrees cooked to order is available after 2:30 p.m.
Half-pound burgers, tuna melts and fresh-cut French fries are featured at Andy’s Garage, along with other classic American fare. The burgers and other sandwiches are served in a basket, just like at its St. Paul location, and the decor offers a heaping helping of ’50s nostalgia. Jakeeno’s Trattoria, the offshoot of the popular south Minneapolis pizzeria, Jakeeno’s, offers pizzas whole or by the slice, as well as pastas, hoagies and a deli counter with high-quality Italian meats and cheeses.
A really big grocery market
Midtown Global Market also offers an impressive and growing assortment of ethnic markets: Holy Land’s well-stocked Middle Eastern grocery shop, La Cosecha for Mexican foods, United Noodle‘s big selection of Asian foodstuffs, the Produce Exchange, with a good selection of locally grown and organic produce, the Republic of Fish (opening soon), and Farm in the Market, which features sustainably produced meat, eggs and dairy products from local farms. More good food is on the way, as is a West African spice market and specialty grocery store, plus a new Somali restaurant, the Safari Express.
Thursdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m., a farmers market is held on the west side of the Midtown Global Market, at the corner of Lake St. and Elliot Av. S.
Jeremy Iggers • 612-673-4524
Source: Star Tribune, Aug 16, 2006
