What to Eat While You’re Occupying Government Plaza

At 9am this coming Friday, the occupation of Minneapolis’s Government Plaza (6th St between 3rd & 4th Aves) will begin. Conducted in political solidarity with the occupation of New York’s Wall St., the Minneapolis branch of the movement plans to maintain a presence in the Plaza — rebranded as “the People’s Plaza” — 24/7.

According to announcements by the Minneapolis-based activists, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department has given them to go-ahead to inhabit the space without a permit; unfortunately, the occupants can’t legally cook there. As of this writing, the occupation’s committee on food logistics is still in the process of figuring out how to deal with the problem of feeding a potential crowd of hundreds.

So what’s a hungry occupant to do? We scoped out a few nearby locations and possibilities for those planning a long-term stay.

LouAnn’s Restaurant (625 4th Ave S)

Like a friendly face in a lynch mob, LouAnn’s is the beating heart at the center of Minneapolis’s business district. In addition to serving up the hallowed all-day breakfast, the achingly friendly staff will resuscitate your faith in the goodness of humanity. Their half stack of three buttermilk pancakes ($3.75) will fill you up with the necessary carbs to outrun the cops — even the T-1000.

La Loma Tamales (608 2nd Ave S, Suite 164)

Another great (and cheap, cheap, cheap!) local option is La Loma, the city’s premier purveyor of handmade tamales. Their fist-and-a-half-sized tamales run $2.15 a pop, with the exception of the Oaxaca, which is $1 more. Every weekday, they run a lunch special; usually a $6+ platter goes for $5.50 instead.

Pizza Lucé (119 N 4th St)

The downtown branch of the metro area’s coolest pizza chain is open until 2:30am every weekday and until 3:30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Most importantly, they deliver! (Online and via 612.333.7359.) It’s not certain yet if they’ll be willing to deliver directly to the occupation, a la Ian’s Pizza during the Madison protests or Liberatos Pizza in NYC, which has delivered orders placed from as far as Chicago, Illinois, and Oakland, CA. Regardless, Pizza Lucé is notable mostly for their inclusion of the all-important vegan options on their menu.

The Myriad Food Trucks of Minneapolis

Here’s a helpful hint to the mobile food operators of our fair city: You might want to inch your trucks a little closer to Government Plaza, and let the world know that you’re taking donations for food for the occupiers. As far as the existing locations go, a couple of trucks do frequently hang out on Marquette Ave, which is just two blocks west of the Plaza: Chef Shack, The Twisted Sister House of Hunger, She Royal, and Hola Arepa, to start.

Sisters’ Camelot

Occupiers who want to practice the social justice they preach could do worse than volunteering with the Sisters’ Camelot collective, which distributes loads of organic food in low-income neighborhoods throughout the metro area via their Food Share bus, and serves up nutritious meals from their Kitchen bus. Volunteering will net you a box of your own that you can take back to the Plaza. The contents will vary depending on the daily donations, but will often include fresh produce.

Fair and Balanced Comedy Option: Jimmy John’s

If you’re watching on the sidelines, harrumphing at the wild proceedings and naivete of the bleeding heart hippie jerkoffs at the occupation, send them a nice, big order of Jimmy John’s sandwiches. (Probably include a few Gourmet Veggies, just to be inclusive.) Then, get a hearty laugh in as they unknowingly taint themselves with the food of an alleged union buster! Mwahaha!