FOOD Shopping at Hmongtown Marketplace FRENCH If people are in town and looking for pastries, you gotta visit Black Walnut and Patisserie 46 . Black Walnut has this egg souffl e that’s so rich. I can’t tell if it’s the sauce or the egg, but it’s great if you’re sharing. The quiche at Patisserie 46 is amazing, as are all of [owner John Kraus’] pastries. His Cannelés de Bordeaux are so freaking good. I’ve never seen anybody make them as good as he can. They’re usually available on the weekend. a farmer’s market with the cheapest produce from these grannies and uncles. Eggplants are huge, and the mustard greens they grow here are amazing. So I love Hmongtown for that in the summertime. Especially during pepper season, and young squash season. I go there, and I’m like, “ yes .” There’s a [sports] bar in St. Paul called Cups & Cheers . They have this dish I crave all the time called ta mee. It’s basically a papaya salad made with rice noodles. They blanch the rice noodles and toss them in this papaya sauce with shrimp, meatballs and long beans. It’s so freaking good. And they have beef brisket with sticky rice and hot sauce that’s really good. Unison is great too. It’s maybe two blocks away from Cups & Cheers. They have deep-fried pork intestines... it is so c rispy , almost like a potato chip. And they have deep-fried chili peppers on there. It’s my jam. LAOTIAN I love what [chef Ann Ahmed] is doing at Lat14 . Her food is very traditional and authentic; she doesn’t take shortcuts to appeal to a certain palate. I love it. If you go to [her other restaurant] Gai Noi , you can order the papaya salad, and if you want heat, you can have it. The sticky rice isn’t a compromise, either. I really enjoy ordering small bites at the Lat14 bar, though. Things like the chicken wings. Her curries are really good too, and her drinks are really beautiful. Lychee cocktails are too sweet sometimes, but hers has just the right balance. HMONG Hmong Village has lots of restaurants and it’s inside, so if it’s hot outside or it’s raining, you’re safe. I have a stand that I go to for papaya salad there. It’s good every time, and there’s always a line, so I try to go on a weekday. I also get khaub poob, which is red curry with rice noodles. Hmongtown Marketplace is best in the summertime because they have MEXICAN El Taco Riendo is in Northeast Minneapolis, right on Central Avenue. If I want tacos, that’s where I’m going. It’s freaking great. I get the tongue and the tripe. It’s not really tripe, actually. It’s the small intestines, and they cook them on the fl attop so they get really CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 20 | EXPLORE MINNESOTA .COM
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