Sassy Spoon - December 5, 2015
(I didn’t realize it in the last post, but I’m finally in the same month again. This post goes into some stuff that I will likely post a lot more about in the coming year as it transitions from food to general catch all.)
I know I post a fair bit about volunteering. I hope it doesn’t come off as some sort of vanity, that is not and would never be the intention. I think it comes up so frequently because the things that are important to you become a vital part of you and seem to always bubble up to the surface. Maybe that’s why newlyweds post a lot about their new love, parents post more than a fair bit about their new children, vegans about veganism, etc. It might also be seen as a self reinforcing narrative and feedback loop, if you identify with something and want it to be more prevalent, you’re thinking of it more, so you do it more, which means you identify with it more, rinse, repeat. (These are my thoughts, I’ve no cited studies, just thoughts rattling around.)
Just like other things, doing the same thing at a certain time can lead to habit formation. If you’re used to going to a specific restaurant after attending church every Sunday, if that restaurant is closed on a given Sunday, something will feel a bit off the rest of the day. If you miss church? The day is probably going to be off entirely. At least that’s what I imagine it feels like, because that’s what happens when I forget to schedule a volunteer shift on a Saturday.
I usually schedule my Saturday volunteer efforts on Tuesday of the same week because the remaining delivery routes are the ones others may not have wanted for whatever reason, or at least they weren’t the first choices. I like the seemingly unwanted routes, they’re the underdogs, and I like to root for underdogs. My mind was preoccupied with getting some projects done at work and some other things, so by the time I remembered to try scheduling a route later in the week, all of them were gone. But I did learn an important thing the next week when all the routes were gone when I did try signing up on Tuesday again, the kitchen got extra large gloves that fit my paws, so now I can pick up shifts doing food prep too. I’m still going to do deliveries, but I’m going to add some kitchen shifts on Sunday and potentially during the week if I drive in instead of bus commuting.
Prior to getting Thai with her, one of the companies Rachel considered using to repair a section of her fence let her know that they’d need to do a rebuild and that they wouldn’t be able to get to that until spring. After hearing this and seeing it myself I offered to help. I have tools, some mechanical aptitude, and enjoy helping my friends. This year I helped 3 friends move, assembled 2 staircases, drilled a fair number of wall anchors, and repaired numerous wooden objects. The plan was to come over after I volunteered, since I’d already be in Minneapolis anyway. This is when it dawned on me that I didn’t sign up to volunteer, so I wrote when I would have volunteered.
With unseasonably warm weather, a semi-formed plan, and a great team, we were able to take an ostensibly disassembled fence section and make it a respectable facsimile of its still factory condition siblings. After completion of the project we decided to hit up Sassy Spoon for a late lunch/early dinner.
Sassy Spoon used to be a food truck, a popular one that did only gluten free options. After a couple seasons as a food truck they retired the truck and went full brick and mortar. Their brick and mortar is located in the Nokomis neighborhood.
I’d never dined at the truck, during their operation as a truck I’d mainly eaten at World Street Kitchen or some trucks that have since gone out of business (I still miss Baldy’s Roast Beef); given that, I asked Rachel for a recommendation and she suggested the Miso-Braised Pork Tacos. I’m glad she did.
Miso-Braised Pork Tacos: A smaller portion of their signature dish with a side salad, this was great. The pork was tender, with just enough crispy bits from the sear. Lots of umami from the miso bath. The slaw and pickled onions added a nice crunch, with the pickled onions having a nice sour and sweetness that added a great contrast to the meat. The salad of mixed greens was dressed lightly and let the slight bitterness come through, very good.
(This post didn’t end up going where I wanted it to, but the destination will come up in another post, I’m sure of it, I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.)