It’s been a bit chilly in Minnesota since the end of last week. We left the house anyway on Saturday. The plan had been to lay down a protective layer of paya at a Pakistani restaurant in South St. Paul; but we arrived there with friends to find they’re on hiatus till early February. Fine, we said, since we’re in South St. Paul let’s go to Las Islas; and then we discovered that they are unfortunately permanently closed (not sure when that happened). We batted a few ideas around and then decided to head to Mañana, the Salvadoran restaurant on 7th St. in St. Paul. I’d said at the end of my report on our very nice lunch there in the late summer of 2021 that we’d likely be back within the year. Well, it ended up being 3.5 years till our next visit but I’m very glad we did finally go back as it was again a very good meal. Here’s how it went. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Salvadoran Food
Eating At Mercado Central (Minneapolis)
Something that a lot of people in other parts of the US don’t know about Minnesota is that we have a large Hispanic population here—and following that, a pretty good Hispanic food scene. Mexican food dominates this scene, predictably, but there’s also good food to be had from elsewhere in Latin America. Hell, I’m not sure that a lot of people who live in Minnesota are as aware of this as they should be. Sadly, the local professional food press barely highlights any of this, just as they barely highlight any restaurants serving the food of recent immigrant communities. Their attention seems to be almost entirely taken up by p.r-driven restaurants of the kind that get nominated for James Beard awards. Now, I like eating at some of those restaurants too but they’re only a small part of the larger food scene in the Twin Cities metro. Those who have anxieties about the Twin Cities not being seen as cosmopolitan enough by coastal observers might consider that cosmopolitanism is not experienced only at the high end. Continue reading
Mañana (St. Paul, MN)
As I’ve noted before, the Twin Cities metro has a much larger Hispanic population—and by extension, a much larger Hispanic food scene—than a lot of people outside Minnesota realize—and, for that matter, probably a much larger population than a lot of people inside Minnesota realize. Certainly, the Twin Cities food media only fitfully remembers that there are Mexican restaurants outside the few relatively recent high-end places that are part of the pr-driven ecosystem. And if the established Mexican places outside that ecosystem don’t get very much attention non-Mexican Hispanic places seem to get even less attention. Well, to be honest, I’ve not done such a great job myself either of seeking out and covering these places over the years (though to also be fair to myself I’m a one-man operation here). But I hope to be doing more of that in the next year or two, especially in the major Hispanic neighbourhoods of St. Paul. This week’s review comes from one of those neighbourhood, on 7th St., and from what is probably the standard bearer of Salvadoran food in the Twin Cities; Mañana. We ate a very good lunch indeed there this Sunday. Continue reading