The Ethnographer

Global Gathering Place:
As the name suggests, Midtown Global Market (Lake St. and Chicago Ave., Mpls.) is your one-stop shop for food, gifts, clothes, trinkets, and lots of other things that are hard to imagine or even describe. Authentic crafts from Tibet, Ecuador, and Mexico are available. Japanese and Norwegian groceries, as well as restaurants serving fare from the Middle East to Jamaica, promise that your palate will be satisfied whatever your transcontinental craving. 

Our Ethnic Enclaves:
Scandinavian—The American Swedish Institute (2600 Park Ave. S., Mpls., 612-871-4907) preserves Swedish culture by amazing visitors with its grand entryways and Nordic décor, and sponsoring Swedish-themed educational programs, exhibits, and events. If the institute inspires you to get crafty, head south to Lake Street and find Ingebretsen’s (1601 Lake St., Mpls., 612-729-9333), where you can procure Swedish goodies at the deli, buy Scandinavian clogs and fairisle sweaters—and, for do-it-yourselfers, purchase yarn and sewing patterns to start your own project. For Lutheran/Scandinavian food staples, go to Pearson’s at 50th & France (3808 W. 50th St., Mpls., 612-927-4464). They serve hotdish and Swedish meatballs year-round, plus lutfisk (try it if you dare) for Christmas. We’ve even got our own Ikea (8000 Ikea Way, Bloomington, 952-858-8088). We like the cafeteria, don’t cha know—and the shopping’s good too.

Midwest—Many visitors to our part of the world begin their journey by genuflecting in front of the Fitzgerald Theater (10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-290-1200) in homage to St. Paul’s hometown, homespun hero Garrison Keillor. Either that or they’re dropping to their knees in anguish because tickets to his radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, are so hard to come by. No matter. You can sometimes bump into the man personally at his newly opened bookstore, Common Good Books (165 Western Ave. N., St. Paul, 651-225-8989), where, even if he isn’t there, you can have an above-average conversation with someone. Of course, if a full dose of Midwestern culture is what you’re after, there is no better place for anthropological research than the Minnesota State Fair at the end of August.

Asian
The Twin Cities is home to a burgeoning Asian population, which is most evident on St. Paul’s University Avenue. It may not be Chinatown, but the stretch of University from Fairview Avenue to the Capitol features a variety of Asian–owned businesses and grocery stores, as well as some of the best Asian restaurants in town. We love the Chinese food at Little Szechuan (422 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 651-222-1333) and the Vietnamese specialties at Mai Village (394 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 651-290-2585) and Que Nha (849 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 651-290-8552). If you’re in the mood for a show after dinner, Theater Mu and drumming troupe Mu Daiko (various locations) put on performances all year long.
Photo: Little Szechuan

Latino
Sit on a street corner in District del Sol  for a few minutes and you may start to believe that you’ve crossed the Mexican border. This neighborhood on St. Paul’s West Side features Hispanic and Latino shops, as well as some of the best Mexican food in town at El Burrito Mercado (175 Cesar Chavez St., St. Paul, 651-227-2192) and El Amanecer (194 Concord St., St. Paul, 651-291-0758). Many new Mexican restaurants can also be found on the strip of Lake Street east of the Hiawatha Boulevard light-rail line. If you want to dance to a Latin beat, head to El Nuevo Rodeo (2709 E. Lake St., Mpls, 728-0101), a 20,000-square-foot nightclub that bills itself as the “heartbeat” of the Latino community. 
Photo: El Amanecer