Minneapolis, MN
Steeped in Indigenous foodways, community and corn are key ingredients for one Minneapolis chef
At the Indigenous Food Lab in the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, a group of chefs is busy finishing a batch of fresh tortillas.
“You can smell the nixtamal,” said chef Gustavo Romero of the warm, smoky corn scent.
Together with wife Kate, Gustavo Romero owns a tortilleria in northeast Minneapolis where he and his staff make heirloom tortillas using a process called nixtamalization.
To say chef Romero and the chefs at the food lab employ an Indigenous methodology is an understatement.
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
“Sin maíz, no hay país. Without corn, there is no country,” said Romero, repeating a phrase often invoked when talking about the importance of corn to Mexican culture.
For Romero the goal of the work is to revitalize nixtamalization as a cultural practice. In that respect, community itself emerges as the key ingredient for transforming the way people think about corn.
Different varieties of corn are packaged and sold for customers at the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Sophia Marschall | MPR News
As he passes by the large open kitchen, Romero greets fellow chefs, many of whom are friends.
“That’s the part that I love about living in this place. Like, we pretty much do the same thing. We don’t see each other like competition,” said Romero.
At the Indigenous Food Lab, Romero explains that he doesn’t see what he’s doing as niche, just the opposite.
“We want people to eat good tortillas,” said Romero. “We are changing the standard on what we believe a standard of what a tortilla should be like.”
When the Romeros opened their tortilleria a couple of years back they named it Nixta.
Customers can buy different Indigenous foods such as maple syrup, corn, hot sauce and more at the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Sophia Marschall | MPR News
The name comes, in part, from the Nahuatl word “nixtli,” meaning “ashes.” Nixtamal is added to remove the hulls of corn kernels—thus making the corn digestible and more nutritious. The process is a time-honored method almost lost during “the industrialization of corn” over the past several decades, according to Romero.
The shop got its start during the pandemic when Gustavo began making tortillas and meals at home for delivery to friends. This past year, the Romeros opened Oro by Nixta, an extension of the tortilleria. Oro was nominated for the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant in 2024.
Romero says it’s a sense of community he relies on to remain in business. It’s a sense of community that the chef brings when he’s visiting grocers, food trucks, restaurants and local farms.
5 of 5
1 of 5
2 of 5
Romero makes weekly visits to La Única Market, a store just north of Lake Street near 3rd Street.
Inside the store’s produce cooler, Romero points out ripe chilacayote squash, and fresh prickly pear—the food that grows on cactus pads.
“My favorite is this one… it’s called Xoconostle, it kind of has this sourness. It’s hard to find something very similar to it,” said Romero. The small fruits are small, and come in yellow, green and even pink.
The store also sells a large selection of dried chiles, medicinal herbs and other cooking spices.
“You have friendly people, you have music… you have things I would recognize since I was three years old,” said Romero. “Nowadays, I bring my kid here. He knows exactly where the candy is.”
As he leaves the grocer, Romero mentions another regular stop for him along Lake Street. Parked near the intersection on 16th Street, Romero says La Poblanita food truck is a guilty pleasure.
“They make this sandwich that is too big for one person,” said Romero.
Romero also reflects on a snack food he grew up eating in Mexico as kid – crickets.
Crickets seasoned with lime and salt is a food commonly consumed in Mexican culture, and are served at Oro by Nixta on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Minneapolis. Chef Gustavo Romero fondly recalls eating them during his childhood in Mexico, saying they were one of his favorite snacks to eat after school.
Sophia Marschall | MPR News
And now, crickets are on the menu at Oro. In one respect, serving insects has helped build community. Chef Romero says for those unfamiliar with eating crickets trying them can be a little daunting. He says when a daring eater tastes them, they usually cease being exotic and can become a sort of cultural bridge—a crunchy one.
Romero collaborates with The Three Cricketeers, a local urban farm which packages crickets for snacks.
“We have that connection that we like insects, and we look at them a little different than just bugs,” said Romero.
Romero says he began working with the husband-and-wife team who own the farm to develop flavor profiles.
“I think you can understand people better if you understand what they eat and why they eat it,” said Romero. “At one point all this was necessity.”
And the sense of community begins with understanding the Indigenous foods available locally.
“The idea of using Indigenous product is to show people what they have. The utilization of the things we already have in this place, they are so important, and the carbon [foot]print is less, and it’s naturally better for you.”
Image shows Minneapolis police officers searching the area where a fatal shooting happened. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A shooting in Minneapolis left a man dead on Wilson Street, and police have not announced any arrests.
Fatal Minneapolis shooting
What we know:
Minneapolis police say they responded to the 300 block of Wilson Street at about 1 a.m. on Sunday for a report of a person down.
Officers say they then found a man in the street with life-threatening gunshot injuries and rendered aid.
The man was then brought to the hospital, where he died.
Police say they managed a large crowd that was leaving a nearby home where a party was held as they investigated the shooting.
What we don’t know:
No information on the victim or suspect has been shared.
What you can do:
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or email policetips@minneapolismn.gov.
The Source: This story uses information from the Minneapolis Police Department.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A 16-year-old boy was pulled from the water at Minnehaha Falls after going missing while swimming with family.
Fire crews respond to missing swimmer at Minnehaha Falls
What we know:
Minneapolis Fire Department crews arrived at Minnehaha Falls around 5:20 p.m. after reports that a teenager had gone underwater and did not resurface. Firefighters put on swift-water rescue gear, set up rope safety lines and entered the water at the spot where the boy was last seen.
Crews quickly found the teen submerged in the water and brought him to shore. Firefighters started lifesaving efforts, including CPR, before the boy was taken to a local hospital. According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, he was in critical condition.
Minneapolis Park Police say the area the teen was in is not authorized for swimming but had attracted swimmers due to hot weather.
What we don’t know:
There are no updates on the teen’s current condition or further details about how the incident happened.
The Source: Information from the Minneapolis Fire Department and the Minneapolis Park police.
Minneapolis, MN
People facing drug addiction in Minneapolis voice difficulties amid planned crackdown
On Friday afternoon, a Minneapolis police car drove slowly down Blaisdell Avenue towards Lake Street.
In response, a group of several dozen people moved further down the street, congregating at the KFC at the intersection. Minutes later, they returned to a spot that three of them admitted to be a spot to hang out, purchase and use fentanyl.
“The majority of us are addicted to fentanyl. The majority of us don’t want to be,” a man who wanted to go by Alon said. “It’s just really difficult getting off without having someone to hold our hand and guide us in the right direction.”
Alon said that he fell into a pattern of fentanyl use after becoming homeless. It was a similar story for Jeremiah and Mohamed, who told WCCO that they didn’t know where they were going to sleep on Friday night. But Blaisdell Avenue and Lake Street had become a reliable place to spend the day.
“It’s a place to go. A lot of times people don’t have a place to go,” Mohamed said.
Both men said that drugs are abused on the block, but claimed that no one else in the neighborhood was getting hurt.
“[There’s] not a lot of crime going on as far as like harming other people. We’re harming ourselves doing these drugs,” Jeremiah said.
The city would likely designate the area as an open-air drug market. Just this week, Mayor Jacob Frey was joined by local law enforcement and Native American organizations to announce a crackdown on drug users and sellers in these kinds of public spaces.
“You can get services that we will offer and you can get better. We’ll make sure that those services are readily accessible,” Frey said. “But if you don’t accept those services, you can’t continue to hurt our neighborhoods and make our streets less safe.”
The announcement comes as concerns continue to grow over public fentanyl use, discarded needles and criminal activity in areas like Cedar Avenue and Highway 55. City officials emphasized that enforcement will be paired with efforts to connect people to resources. Those with the city say they will continue helping individuals find housing and addiction treatment while expanding access to Brixadi, a medication that helps reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Naomi Wilson, a community organizer who has criticized Frey’s approach towards drug markets and homeless encampments in the past, said that “criminalization” will only create more harm, and that the city should explore designating safe, public areas for drug use while creating more stable housing options.
“All we are asking from the mayor is to partner with advocates to partner with City Council on an interim step that’s not criminalization,” Wilson said. “I think the issue is that with all the fencing around the city, people don’t have anywhere to be. They don’t have anywhere where they can be safe at nighttime.”
On social media, Councilmember Jason Chavez likened Mayor Frey’s announcement to the city starting a “War on Drugs.”
“Our community has told us what it actually needs. A safe location, safe outdoor spaces, tiny home villages, real pathways off the street, and housing first, a compassionate approach, not another arrest that leaves someone with a record, further from housing, further from a job, and further from the stability they need to get well,” Chavez posted online.
He ignored a request for comment from WCCO.
On Blaisdell Avenue, Jeremiah was blunt. He said he knew city services were available, noting that many simply weren’t interested.
“Whether people are a drug addict or just lazy, they don’t tend to go for it. But they’re [services] definitely available,” Jeremiah said.
During Thursday’s announcement, Frey argued that the goal is not criminalization.
“After years of outreach, we cannot stand by while drug use continues to harm our neighbors,” Frey said.
-
Lifestyle2 minutes agoHow young people feel about American identity, on the nation’s 250th birthday
-
Technology12 minutes agoMr. Lif’s Emergency Rations EP is post-9/11 hip hop at its most daring
-
World17 minutes agoAustralian healing with ‘beautiful messages’ after losing arm to shark attack
-
Politics24 minutes agoMichigan Democrat Mallory McMorrow drops out of Senate race weeks before primary
-
Health27 minutes ago‘Tanmaxxing’ trend could come at a dangerous cost, skin cancer experts warn
-
Sports32 minutes agoBelgium ‘considering all possible options’ after FIFA clears Team USA’s Folarin Balogun
-
Technology39 minutes agoHi Mom text scam: How to spot fake emergency texts
-
Business42 minutes ago‘Minions & Monsters’ tops the box office, but with a lower-than-expected haul
