Hey, it’s a Twin Cities restaurant report! We were in Europe for nine weeks this summer, first in Italy on vacation and then in Ireland on work. We ate well in both countries, particularly in Italy and I’m not complaining about our time away. But when you’re gone for nine weeks, there are things you take for granted at home that you are invariably going to miss and hanker for. And for us, when going to most parts of Europe from the US, at the top of that list food-wise are most Asian cuisines and also Mexican cuisine. Now, as it happens, we found surprisingly good Sichuan food in Dublin—and also better dim sum than is available in the Twin Cities. Unsurprising, though, is that Mexican food in Ireland does not have the best reputation. This was drilled into our heads by every American we met who’d eaten at some Mexican restaurant or the other in Dublin, and after a few repetitions we decided not to put that to the test. So when we got back to Minnesota last week the thing we really wanted to go out to eat was Mexican food. And what better place to go than Homi on University Avenue in St. Paul?

As I’ve said before, though people outside Minnesota might be surprised to hear it, we have pretty good Mexican, and more broadly Hispanic food in the Twin Cities metro now. With a growing immigrant population comes more and more restaurants to cater to it. Even as newer places have opened, however, Homi on University Avenue in St. Paul (the Twin Cities’ true Eat Street) has remained our favourite. This both because the food is very tasty and because their large menu features quite a lot more than the standard offerings at most Mexican restaurants here. There are many places to go for tacos and quesadillas and burritos and whatnot; but not very many where you can (also) eat pollo en pipian rojo, nopales con carne de puerco, pollo en estofado, consome de borrego y barbacoa and so on. (And don’t worry, the birria taco craze has not left Homi behind as well; if that’s what you’re interested in, you can find them here as well and I’m sure they’d be very good as Homi’s birria is very good.)

Nonetheless, partly because of the pandemic and partly because we’ve been exploring more of the Twin Cities Mexican food scene, we had not been to Homi in more than two years. And so we were really looking forward to the meal. I am happy to say that it did not disappoint.

We were there for lunch on Saturday (they’re currently closed on Sundays). There was only one other table occupied when we sat down but it began to fill up slowly as we finished our meal (it’s not the largest dining room). We got an order of chips and salsa as we sat down. Their chips are really good as are the salsas—and the salsa verde packs some heat. We perused the menus as we snacked on the chips. What did we get?

It was just the four of us eating and so we did not do very much damage. The younger boy wanted tacos and got them with carne asada. My one complaint against Homi remains that you have to get tacos three to the order and cannot get them with three different toppings of your choice. That said, the carne asada tacos were very good (I finished the last one). The older boy got the quesadillas with al pastor and it was also very good. Both boys got sides of refried beans and rice, which they said is what they had really been missing.

The missus wanted to get their costillitas de puerco (pork ribs) en salsa verde but they did not have any pork that day. And so she got the pollo en salsa verde instead. The portion contains two large, perfectly braised drumsticks but it is the salsa verde with potatoes that is the real star. I got the pollo en pipian rojo. Also served with two large drumsticks, this was excellent as always, even if I forgot to ask for it to be made a little spicier than their norm. Both orders came with very good tortillas.

A couple of Jarritos for the boys and two bottles of water rounded out our order. For a look at the restaurant, the (very shiny) menu and what we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost, and to see what’s coming next.

As with many restaurants in the country, staffing is a bit of an issue these days—this is why they are closed on Sundays. We were served by Hortencia herself (the first half of the Homi name) and we had no issues. There were a lot of takeout orders being picked up. I’m not sure what things are like when they’re much busier inside the restaurant. (By the way, their peak pandemic era outdoor seating in the parking lot is now gone.)

Cost? With tax and tip (and a small charge for paying by credit card), the total came to $125. Taking leftovers into account, it was enough food for five people—so an effective per head cost of $25. That may seem like a lot if you expect Mexican food in a casual setting to be very cheap. But a) this is very good food; and b) this is the reality of restaurants right now with inflation and rising food costs. It certainly is not out of line with their competition in the Twin Cities. I was looking at the menu of the ever-popular Boca Chica recently and the prices are more or less the same. For that matter, they’re in line even with a counter-service place like El Itacate. All in all, I continue to recommend them enthusiastically. If you haven’t been, go. And if, like us, you haven’t been in a while, go soon and tell your friends. It’s a difficult time for small restaurants and we should all support the places that mean something to us.

Alright, next up, my first Dublin report. That’ll be on Thursday. Back to Italy after that.