Cultural Comfort Food Fusion

A recent Facebook conversation with my favorite former Minnesotan, Bryan Thao Worra, centered around cultural comfort foods and culinary fusion.  As more and more Southeast Asians (and other immigrants) locate in Minnesota, they will bring their comfort foods with them--laab meat, papaya salad, sticky rice, etc.  Here in the midwest, we've already got plenty of our own comfort foods, such as shepherd's pie, the infamous hot dish, and various jello and fruit conglomerations.

So we began to ask ourselves, what would happen if some of these Scandinavian and Southeast Asian foods were to be combined in some unholy culinary syncretism?  What would some of our choices even be?

I ruled out chicken noodle pho right off the bat.  But laab meat had some potential...

Walking the River in Detroit

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

So I'm in Detroit for a policy conference.  And seeing as how it's work-related, I am hoping to put up a few posts on the Hawthorne Voices blog.  But I was walking back to the hotel after a Red Wings game, and saw this sign that needed to be pointed out.  The city of Detroit obviously has bigger problems than Minneapolis does, but yet they still make a point to advertise walking the riverfront as a desirable amenity.

Saving "Fat City" - Comparing Preservation in San Diego and Minneapolis

Post and above photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.  Other photos/images from www.dsoderblog.com, used with permission.


Part 4 of 4 housing policy/wonkish posts.  Click on the links for part 1, part 2, part 3.

I spent a week this summer helping Bryan Thao Worra become a former Hawthornite.  He moved out to the LA area, and we drove across country in a moving van, sampling ghost peppers along the way.  Once we hit the ocean, we bombed around Los Angeles, San Diego, and whatever other cities there are along the sprawling coastal metropolis area.  In San Diego, I came across this sign and snapped a photo to remind me to go back and research what they were doing to save a potential historic site from demolition.  What could Minneapolis learn from other areas?

It almost seemed I was destined to look into this more.  "Fat City" is a nightclub located along the historic Pacific Highway, with Hawthorn Street as the nearest intersection.  Like Fuji-Ya here in Minneapolis, Fat City was the beneficiary of a pioneering Asian-American businessperson, Tom Fat.

The nightclub was originally called Top's Nightclub, and was owned by a Russian immigrant, Yale Khan.  Top's became a central point for the San Diego nightlife, drawing star performers such as Nat King Cole, Shelley Winters, Nelson Eddy, Van Johnson, Don Ameche, Susan Hayward, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.  In 1977, Tom Fat took over the property, restoring and improving the site.  The crown jewel of his addition was...

5 Scene Challenge: Star Wars IV-VI

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, image from Bryan Thao Worra, videos from varying sites.

I try to keep topics on this blog specific to north Minneapolis, but this is one exception.  My good friend and former Hawthornite Bryan Thao Worra was back in town recently, and we as die-hard Star Wars fans lamented the nonstop tweaks that George Lucas makes each time he releases the Star Wars classics in a new format.  (Today is a dark day for us as it marks the release of all six movies on Blu-Ray.)  This round of changes includes Darth Vader yelling "Nooooo!" as he kills The Emperor in Return of the Jedi, reminding viewers of Vader's cringe-worthy close to Revenge of the Sith.  Oh, and R2-D2 hides behind even more rocks.  Really?  That's what kept George Lucas up at night, thinking "You know what Tatooine needs?  I've got it!  More rocks."

So BTW and I agreed to do our own dueling blog posts about what five things we would add to improve the original trilogy.  The prequels weren't worth mentioning, as fans have pretty much edited those movies already.  The Other Side of the Eye has its top five here.

And now for Star Wars:  The Hawkman Edit...

Historic Housing in Yankton Spurs Ideas for NoMi

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

While vacationing with my family in Yankton, South Dakota this Easter, I was left with a few hours to kill on a lazy Saturday afternoon.  My sister-in-law and newborn nephew would be my tour guides, but let's be honest here, Yankton is not a bustling metropolis with a host of activities at the ready.  So although many people would struggle to find things to do, I knew immediately what I wanted.  I turned to her and decisively said, "Take me to the crappy part of town with nice houses."

And what I love most about saying that was that she knew exactly what I meant.  "Oh, that area would be...