Cooks’ Night Out

We are planning to meet at a brand new restaurant on the grounds of Allianz Field in Midway. All are welcome to join us at The Midway Diner, located at 445 Simpson St, Saint Paul, on November 19 at 6:00 pm. (Note that GPS is sometimes wrong in directions. The restaurant is south of University, just north of Allianz Field.) Please RSVP to lars@stmatthewsmn.org if you plan to participate. All are welcome.

“Cooks’ Night Out” was started when the Green Light Rail was under construction along University Avenue where many immigrant owned restaurants are located. The construction disrupted the traffic, parking, and entrances to their establishments. Many restaurants struggled to stay open, and some closed their doors due to poor business. We decided to to take a break from cooking and go have dinner together, and began to patronize a restaurant every month. We visited most of the restaurants along University. We also supported restaurants in our St Matthew’s neighborhood and along Snelling Avenue. We not only enjoyed a delicious meal together but were able to connect with the community. One Cambodian restaurant owner broke into tears when a big group of us showed up for dinner one night. It was a heartening display of gratitude.