I can’t go to Japan right now, but Japan can come to me. Lunch today was Japanese fast food: gyoza, Spam musubi, and chicken yakitori. You can find Spam musubi in just about any konbini (convenience store), a popular snack originating in Hawaii.
Category: Place
Joe’s Auto Parts
A friend and I made up a route as we went on a cycle ride through Nordeast Minneapolis. At Casket Arts, a former factory that once mass-produced caskets and other funeralia (a word I made up), we stopped to check out current sculptures by the artists who work there. In one piece, “Joe’s Auto Parts,” salvaged car doors arranged in a grid, capped by three vintage roof ventilators, become a sculpture.
Counterculture cuppa
On my walk to Seward Co-op to pick up veggies for a lamb braise, I stepped back in time to the counterculture 1970s for a cuppa in this worker-owned vegan cafe. The double-shot Americano with a full crema was near-perfect: $3, cash-only. Angry rock filled the air, though a surprisingly sedate rendering of the British national anthem added an unexpected layer of incongruity.
All about the gram
It had been raining, so I went for a walk downtown expecting to see hundreds of red T-shirts worn by Target Corporation employees flown in for their annual jamboree. Instead, I found workers setting up photo backdrops and staging visual elements across several blocks of Nicollet Mall for a photography conference this weekend. Instagram is going to be buzzing!
Walking in the rain
Plenty of empty bike racks today as I walked in the rain past Goldie Gopher on my way to yet another scan at the U. I had decided I didn’t want a wet stripe up my back.
Stronger together
At Boom Island on our Sunday walk, teamsters were holding a picnic. Amy Klobuchar, our US Senator and hopefully soon-to-be governor, had just given a speech.
Railroad Island
Cycled with a friend around Railroad Island, a St. Paul neighborhood hemmed in by train tracks. An Italian restaurant, an Italian market, and a supermercado highlighted its strong immigrant ties. Riding along mostly quiet residential streets, we passed the oldest brick house in St. Paul and stopped by an urban farm holding an open house.
Hallowed ground
Walked over to the farmers market. In the shade of the Guthrie, a painting class focused on a red food truck, its faint reflection visible in the windows behind them. This space is special to us. During COVID, we held our spontaneous wedding reception here, complete with lawn chairs, alongside the two friends who witnessed our vows in the judge’s chambers.
Asian market run
Picked up this haul from an Asian supermarket: Japanese snack mix, Japanese mayo, Asian broccoli, Japanese curry cubes, and Japanese KitKats. Japanese egg salad sandwiches are the best, thanks to that mayo. The slightly bitter Asian broccoli nicely offsets a sweeter dish. I’ve read that over 90% of Japanese homes use curry cubes to make a curry base: just add leftover veggies, spoon some rice on the side from the rice cooker, and you have a satisfying, quick meal.
An early sign of fall
It wasn’t a protest as I cycled past people outside the U’s ice arena holding signs. It’s Welcome Week for new students, and the signs were meant to group everyone by department. Looking at them, I find it hard to believe I was ever that young when I was a fresher back in the UK.