The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week

My childhood Saturdays in June were marked by strawberry-stained fingertips. My mom and I would hunt for wild strawberries near my grandma’s cabin. We gathered them into buckets, lightened by my eager munching, and carried them home to tuck into summer desserts.

We no longer have the cabin or our favorite berry patches, but I’m striving to share those kinds of memories with my daughter. We joined some friends for a summer sleepover last week and stayed up so late that even the fireflies tucked themselves into bed before us. In the morning, we feasted on strawberry cream cheese Danishes ($7.50) I’d picked up from Atuvava, a gluten-free bakery in Minneapolis that folds dough into buttery layers, and it mesmerized everyone. Those bright berry bursts of flavor and the abundance of butter brought me right back to those warm days — and the treasure found in the first of the season’s delights. (Joy Summers)

3800 28th Av. S., Mpls., atuvava.com

This might just be a new no-cook dinner obsession. Lemongrass salad ($12.95) with hunks of cool shrimp mixed with crunchy chopped green beans, cashews and a whole garden’s worth of fresh herbs dressed in lime juice and fish sauce is exactly what I crave when the real summer weather arrives.

The lemongrass is sliced thin and tender, adding a bright and zingy citrus flavor to a lively salad that just happens to be gluten-free.

Thai Street Market opened in 2018 and quickly built a reputation for its straight-from-Chang-Mai flavors. Thai food fans trade favorite dish recommendations from this menu like baseball cards all year long, and now I have my own selection to add to the mix. (J.S.)

1665 Rice St., St. Paul, thaistreetmarket.com

Natasha Obulhov wanted to have frozen pierogies ready to cook whenever she craved one of her childhood Eastern European staples. But she couldn’t find any in freezer sections at supermarkets, so she decided to start making her own based on her grandmother’s recipe. She eventually started offering several varieties at local farmers markets (including New Brighton, Golden Valley, Edina, Maple Grove and St. Paul) for people to cook at home.

On Saturdays at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market, Obulhov also has a mobile kitchen alongside her frozen pierogi and dumpling stand. This past week, deep-fried potato-onion pierogies and chicken dumplings were featured.

In the past, we’ve tried the frozen take-home version of the potato-onion, boiling it for a pillowy finish or pan-frying for crispness. However, it would be challenging to replicate the even, ultra-golden crisp and steamy middle that results when cooking it out of the mobile kitchen’s large fryers. Plus, the deep-fried goodies ($12, six pieces) are a great way to taste-test before stocking up your freezer. (Nancy Ngo)

Frozen pierogies available at area farmers markets including New Brighton, Golden Valley, Edina, Maple Grove and St. Paul on select days; mobile kitchen featured Saturdays at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market, 290 5th St. E., St. Paul, stpaulfarmersmarket.com. For the latest updates, visit natashaspierogi.com

Now that farmers market season is in full swing, it also means one more place to get Tammy Wong’s legendary egg rolls.

Wong had been serving the giant rolls at the Minneapolis Farmers Market every Saturday and Sunday for the past 12 years, and even longer at her iconic Rainbow Chinese restaurant on Eat Street. During Rainbow’s birthday bash block party this week (Happy 38th!), Wong served greatest hits such as chicken wings, cream cheese wontons, red curry noodles and she even resurrected her chicken lemongrass meatballs (remember those from her U.S. Bank Stadium stand and past happy hour menus?) for the occasion. And, of course, her famous gigantic egg rolls represented and sold like hotcakes.

Wong has been making the same egg roll recipe, using ground chicken instead of pork alongside cabbage, carrots, onions and cellophane noodles, for the past 30 years, rendering light, fluffy, golden, crispy results. “I started making it this way because we had customers who did not eat pork” and they’ve been serving it that way ever since, Wong said.

With egg rolls being available at the restaurant ($13 for two) and now seasonally at the farmers market ($8 each) there are plenty more reasons to celebrate. And if you find yourself at Wong’s farmers market stand, refreshing, scratch-made fruity drinks, such as hibiscus ginger lemonade or, our favorite, strawberry rhubarb lemonade, using a rhubarb syrup Wong makes from local produce, are also worth your while. (N.N.)

Rainbow Chinese Restaurant, 2739 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., rainbowrestaurant.com; weekends at the Minneapolis Farmers Market, 312 E. Lyndale Av. N., Mpls., mplsfarmersmarket.com

It hasn’t been the easiest ride for the “pop and pop” team behind the Clapping Monkey. The coffee shop and its sister businesses, Wild Things Antiques and Wild Vintage Collective, opened in 2023 and then closed way too soon when their Fridley antiques mall was flooded by a water main break. But 18 inches of standing water couldn’t drown out the quirky and colorful spirit Joshua Larson, his husband David, his sister Lindsey and mother Lisa have brought to this corner of Fridley.

Since the businesses’ return, they’ve been broken into, and they’ve even caught on camera what looks like a ghost prowling around at night. But they’ve also managed to create a welcoming place brimming with nostalgic doodads, Palm Springs-vibing decor, drag trivia and DJ nights, and locally sourced food and drink.

“Our coffeehouse has become a gathering place, embraced as a queer safe haven and sober space where everyone is welcome to enjoy a cup of coffee, browse vintage treasures and connect with the community,” Larson said.

I chose a spot under a fringed umbrella from the ‘60s and enjoyed a layered iced latte ($6 for 16 ounces) with oat milk and vanilla ($1 each extra) while my kid played Super Mario Bros. in a more ‘80s-themed wing of the cafe. (The signature drink here is called “Go Bananas,” and adds a blend of banana, vanilla and hazelnut to any drink.)

Their food menu is mostly sourced from queer- and woman-owned businesses. They’ve got a lineup of grilled cheeses and other panini-pressed sandwiches on State Fair-winning honey wheat bread and warm cinnamon rolls from Behind the Bread Box, a farmers market regular; cookies by Sergeant Shortbread; pastries from the Dessert Diaries; and coffee from Minneapolis roaster Silverbird. (Sharyn Jackson)

7274 Commerce Circle E., Fridley, theclappingmonkey.com