Pip's Plate

Heaven, I’m in heaven! My first thought as I walked into the market: “Why don’t I live in Seattle?”

After lunch at Etta’s Seafood, my friend m and I walked through the Pike’s Place Market in downtown Seattle, a nice little recommendation from our stellar server Debbie. What a treat! I’ve never seen such a variety of fresh produce and fish all at one time in one place.

The selection of fresh mushrooms at one stand was breathtaking. Chanterelles, Porcini, Maitake, Lobster, Shitake, Crimini, Portabella, and some other I didn’t recognize. I think I stared at them for a good 2 minutes. It is a dream to think of that selection in Minneapolis.

I also saw persimmons for the first time. Amazingly enough, m was thinking, “Maybe we’ll see persimmons and I can show Pip what they look like.” What do you know? The next stall had fresh persimmons, but m said they weren’t ripe.

The fish markets were fun. I’ve never seen so much fresh fish in one place. Again – HEAVEN. The prices were ridiculous: $8.99 for a pound of giant fresh scallops. They were easily 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches tall. Mussels were only $3.99 a pound. Saw the usual fish: salmon, halibut, shrimp, etc. but they had to go and throw in the random Monkfish hanging over the side of bin. If you’ve never seen one, look at this.

Again, all I could think was, “Why don’t I live here?”

Midtown Global Market is possibly the best thing to happen to Minneapolis since I moved here. Located on Lake Street in the old Sears building, it occupies the first level which will eventually be the first floor of yet another condo project that seems to be taking over Minneapolis.

I visited Midtown Global Market a few weeks ago while planning a vacation. My friends and I were grocery shopping for the week when we realized the only ingredients we still needed were yogurt, pita bread, fresh mint and limes. Instead of trekking all over the city to visit both Holy Land and United Noodles, I remembered both of these shops opened sister shops in the new Midtown Global Market.

First impressions: free parking! Woo Hoo! [It's nice to see that someone in city planning for Minneapolis is thinking about these luxuries.] The instant we stepped foot into Midtown Global Market we were overhelmed with an energy one usually finds while traveling abroad. Every sense was stimulated in the first 5 minutes. I wasn’t expecting a warehouse, but it was appropriate for an indoor market. Wide open booths make browsing from one shop to the next a breeze. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so one can only assume that most people were taking advantage of the many lakes Minneapolis has to offer. However, there was a lot of bustling around coupled with the sounds of crackling radios, deep fryers and sizzling heat lamps. These are the sounds of the Midtown Global Market.

From authentic global foods and merchandise to local produce, and dairy products, Midtown Global Market has it all. The Produce Exchange was a lovely surprise. Fresh, seasonal, organic produce from a wholesale produce company cuts out the middle man, bringing affordable healthy choices to the city. Two couples operate farms and their shop Farm in the Market bringing locally raised (hormone and antibiotic-free) lamb, bison, beef and poultry. They also sell local, organic dairy products. Being able to take advantage of all these local resources makes you feel proud to live in Minneapolis.

We weren’t very hungry, but we purchased some tamales from La Loma for later that night. Wow. They were un-be-lievable. I heard someone serves octopus tacos, so I know I’ll be going back for that.

Midtown Global Market is the kind of place you want to take any out of town visitor.Thank you, Midtown Global Market for opening in Minneapolis!