Fresh Rambutan Fruit Turn Up At Bangkok Market...

Photos, blog post by John Hoff

Rambutan fruit is one of many exotic things I've eaten in my life but yummy enough to be something I'll eat regularly, not just once or twice for bragging rights. But until this week, I'd only eaten rambutan from a can...

"Securing The Block" For Old Times Sake, May 2012

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

To me, it doesn't SEEM that long ago, but it's been FOUR YEARS since I bought a dumpy little house smack dab in the middle of a four square block area the City of Minneapolis and neighborhood based organizations had dubbed "The EcoVillage." The area was, statistically, the roughest four blocks in Minneapolis. I was surrounded by crackheads, prostitutes, wrecked and devastated houses, and a small number of decent people who were doing their best to stay inside behind locked doors while drug dealers literally fought over who "owned" which street corner and the madness of "The Apartment Complex of Anarchy" spilled into the streets.

Not everybody was staying indoors...

Solar Panels Installed At Bangkok Market, Near Lowry And Lyndale...

Contributed photos, blog post by John Hoff

The Hawthorne Hawkman blog probably broke the news first when Jeff Skrenes tweeted about the solar panels being installed, but these are apparently the first photos shared in the blogosphere. Unknown if the long-awaited, much-anticipated panels are hooked up and working, yet, but HERE THEY ARE.

Also, are those raised gardening beds in the second photo? I tell you, life in the Hawthorne EcoVillage just gets better and better.

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New Shake Menu At Bangkok Market, And "Thanks For Your Service" From The Owner...

My girlfriend Megan Goodmundson videotaped this "thanks for your service" message from the owner of Bangkok Market in the Hawthorne Neighborhood. In the video, the owner refers to Megan as my wife, no doubt because we've spent so much time there, together, enjoying his good food. We are not, in fact, married.

When Johnny comes marching home again, I am looking forward to enjoying all the many treats at Bangkok Market, especially the "pig organ stew."

Let me tell you, it's pretty much impossible to get pig organ stew in Afghanistan.

On the other side of the world, I'm excited to learn from Megan that Bangkok Market has a whole new shake menu.

WHEN I GET BACK TO THE WORLD, (so many soldier thoughts begin with those words) I can picture myself going to Bangkok Market one day, and ordering the first three shakes on the menu. The next day, three more. The final day, the final three shakes.

Little things like that keep you going in Afghanistan: knowing there is a world full of comfort and yummy treats just a day's jet travel beyond the cloud of dust that hangs over the jagged mountains.

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3107 Lyndale Ave. N. Goes Down, Nobody Noticed...

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

There is no "before" pictured above, only the here and now.

The building at 3107 Lyndale Ave. N. was a small, undistinguished, one-story gray structure which at one time housed an insurance agency called "K United Insurance." The building was relatively recent construction and did not appear historic. Hennepin County owns the property and, according to a witness across the street at Bangkok Market, demolished the building approximately August.

Its passing was not remarked on the internet until just now. But I feel we must document the face of our neighborhood, as a massive transformation sweeps North Minneapolis through demolition--arguably too much--and renovation; of which we need a whole lot more.

The corner where this building once stood (near) is getting better all the time. This blog recently featured a story about the law office of Ian Alexander, click here, which is now located at 626 Lowry Ave. N., and Bangkok Market remains a favorite which never fails to please.

Delightful Pork Skewers At Bangkok Market In The Hawthorne EcoVillage

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

Bangkok Market--a grocery and deli located in the EcoVillage, near Lyndale and 31st--has delightful hot and ready-to-eat Hmong dishes, including a tilapia which is out of this world.

Recently, I dropped by and found the pork skewers so tempting I just had to have one. After eating it, I told my friend Megan Goodmundson how good it was, and we made a special side trip that very minute to go try one. Megan attempted to get the recipe from Tony, the owner of Bangkok Market, but he just laughed and said, "We throw a bunch of stuff together." Not only was the recipe a secret, but it was not written down...a practice I've read is typical of Hmong recipes, which are passed down verbally within families.

But I'm fairly sure the pork skewers in question use saffron, which turns the pork fat a delicious yellow, and for some reason the fat in particular seems to soak up the saffron flavor. Beyond that, I have no clue.

Well, garlic. A little garlic, not a lot.

Undeterred by the secrecy of the recipe, Megan purchased some pork shoulder meat, and decided to create her own Hmong-like pork skewers. In preparation for Memorial Day Weekend, we also made a trip to So-Low to buy (among other things) African snail meat, but that's a different post to follow. For now, the only place to get these fantastic, savory pork skewers is the Bangkok Market.


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Bangkok Market Value Meal!

Guest post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Much has been written about the delicious food that can be found at the Bangkok Market, but I am still in awe of this gem we have in Hawthorne. Like a lot of places, there is a $5 minimum if you want to use your credit/debit card. Since I rarely carry cash on me, I often have to wander the store just to find food expensive enough to get to that minimum.

Lately I've been eating various Laab dishes. Laab meat is prepared...

...by grinding up beef, chicken, fish, duck, or other meats, and seasoned with lime, peppers, cilantro, and other Thai or Laotian ingredients. (A word to the wise: those serrano peppers are NOT for the faint of heart. You better have a high tolerance for spiciness if you mix those in with your dish.) I'm not sure what parts of the cow or bird get used in the "grinding up" process, but hey, it can't be much worse than lunch meat, right?

I've been trying different Laab dishes, and I think I like the duck the best. I'm reminded of a story I've told before, but I've searched the blog and can't find it anywhere. Back when we had to deal with rampant (but now non-existent) crime in the EcoVillage, John and I would stop at the Bangkok Market, grab a bite, and eat while watching the Sentry, the Devil, and other characters at 3020 6th St N.

Well, we were telling the owner about this blog, and how we like to promote neighborhood businesses. We weren't trying to scam any free food, but some businesses do offer freebies when we pitch this line. The owner didn't seem overly impressed. But then I explained what we were going to do while eating, and finished with the line, "Your food sustains us while we go out and make the neighborhood safer."

THAT got his attention. He immediately went and got us a batch of sticky rice, and explained how to use it to scoop up the laab meat. The technique looked rather similar to how tortillas are used in Central America, although I still haven't perfected using the rice that way. But the behavior of the owner was notable: promoting his own business was secondary to making his neighborhood safe. I remember that every time I get a meal from here.

And the best part is the price, which I intentionally left visible in the photos above. This meal cost $7.00 and there's enough to keep you full for both lunch and supper. That's roughly what you'd pay to fill up on fast food "value meals" in our neighborhood, only this is MUCH better for you.

Delicious, healthy, and cheap food can be found at Hawthorne's Bangkok Market!

Contemplating More Culinary Adventures At Bangkok Market...

Photo By John Hoff

So regular readers already know of my rather expansive and open-minded attitudes toward the food of various cultures, and North Minneapolis is pretty much an endless buffet of exotic opportunities...if you know where to look, because heaven knows we need more upscale restaurants around here, and the ethnic food stores don't always jump out at you.

But I often manage to find something interesting at Bangkok Market, near the corner of Lyndale Ave. N. and Lowry, in the heart of planned commercial development as part of the Hawthorne neighborhood's Eco Village cluster. A few days ago...

I was checking out their great assortment of frozen fish--including some really exotic stuff--and I came upon this item: apple snails, each of them as big as a golf ball. Oh my word. It's like escargot, one of my favorite foods, only BIGGER and, actually, a whole lot cheaper.

Only problem: based on my internet research, the preparation of apple snails is rather complex and involved. And I really don't feel a lot of confidence tackling it. Really, what attracts me to these apple snails more than my desire to EAT THEM UP YUM is their lovely dark green shells. I just want to grasp those shells in my hands, sopping with melted herbal butter, slipping and sliding from my fingers, but ultimately cornered with a fork.

Also, I happen to be the only person in the world I know who "recycles" sea shells. So I think how much fun it would be to take those apple snail shells to my usual private shell recycling spot, and cast them upon the water, chasing that "buzzy feeling of oneness with the earth" which makes recycling not a burden, but a pleasure.

Sigh. Exotic apple tree snails. Maybe some day, when there's less 311 calls to make to turn my neighborhood around, and more time to cook things, drink wine, sample the exotic.