If you’re looking for some of the freshest, most delicious Mexican food in the Twin Cities, head to … Apple Valley.

No, I’m not punking you. The new Homshuk Mexican Kitchen and Bar, on an unlikely corner in a very suburban suburb, is serving tender, smoky octopus, juicy Picanha steak, rich mole, house-made tortillas and so much more in a very modern space. And adjacent to the restaurant is a Latin market that makes its own nixtamalized tortillas, sports a vast bakery and deli counter, and even butchers its own meat.

The restaurant is not a secret among southern suburban residents — the parking lot has been packed both times we visited — but the space is big enough to accommodate the crowds and will be especially equipped to do so when the pretty patio is open.

I highly recommend you start your meal with nachos, which consist of house-made chips loaded with refried beans, house-made queso, pico, guacamole, salty cotija cheese and fresh red serrano chiles. You can end things there for a light meal, or dig into the extensive menu.

We couldn’t resist the octopus, or Pulpo a La Parilla, after seeing it being plated while we waited for a table (there’s a giant window into the kitchen near the entrance). We were not disappointed by the tender, smoky meat, grilled over a wood fire. Wrapped in a fresh corn tortilla and drizzed with a little bright, spicy tomatillo salsa, it was even better.

The Picanha steak, also known as the sirloin cap, was a perfectly charred, beefy marvel, served with a solitary mole enchilada and a cactus salad along with the requisite rice and beans. We also loved the chile relleno, a giant poblano pepper, stuffed with gooey cheese and bathed in a mildly zippy tomato sauce.

After following the restaurant on social media, I had to order the wet burrito, which was easily two or three meals worth of rice, beans, cheese and flavorful chile verde pork stuffed into a giant tortilla and bathed in the restaurant’s excellent queso.

We all ordered margaritas — from a spicy pineapple to a tangy hibiscus, they were all fresh and excellent. And at $11 apiece, less expensive than many in the core cities.

I returned a few weeks later to check out the neighboring Bodega 42 Fresh Market, hoping to score some fresh, nixtamalized corn tortillas (they were out) but instead finding some amazing roasted tomato salsa, a beautiful produce section (I bought some verdant, fat asparagus, and was tempted by an array of tropical fruits and fresh garbanzo beans, among other hard-to-find vegetables and herbs) and a bakery section that rivals any of the best Mexican bakeries in the core cities.

It was cool to see the area in the back where the tortillas are made, and I’ll definitely be back earlier in the day to try to score some.

Honestly, it’s worth a little road trip to the south to check out Homshuk — and if you live in the area, what are you waiting for?

Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants.

Homshuk Mexican Kitchen and Bar

Where: 6999 W. 152nd St., Apple Valley

Contact: 651-300-1380; homshukmexicankitchen.com

Prices: Appetizers, $8.50-$15; entrees, $13-$24

Good to know: Neighboring market Bodega 42 has takeout deli options (bodega42freshmarket.com). Ample on-site parking, gluten-free and vegetarian options. Open for lunch and dinner daily, brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

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Potomac Fever is a familiar term for people elected to Congress who fall in love with the trappings, power and prestige of life in Washington, D.C. But we see precious little of that affliction these days as working on Capitol Hill has become so unpleasant.

Instead, the fever that’s taken hold in the nation’s capital over the past decade or so has been an unthinkingly partisan pyrexia.

It was gratifying and encouraging, then, over the weekend to see the House of Representatives, the epicenter of partisan extremism in Washington, vote overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis for tens of billions in military aid to Ukraine. The 311-112 vote was a victory not only for vital U.S. interests in promoting democracy around the world and resisting authoritarians such as Vladimir Putin bent on conquest but also a win for the idea that this country remains governable.

That seems odd to say. After all, this is the United States of America, a cradle of democracy and for well over two centuries the leading beacon for the powerful idea that people can govern themselves.

But an era in which one of our two political parties has allowed itself to be hijacked by a charlatan has raised uncomfortable and (until recently) inconceivable questions about the future of American self-governance. Donald Trump for months did his best to derail aid to Ukraine. Why the former president is so enamored of Putin is a question to which we’ll perhaps get a satisfactory answer in years to come. For now, Trump’s hold over the Republican-led House inexcusably allowed Russia to attack Ukraine with near-impunity for weeks if not months, as the Ukrainians ran low on arms.

It was left to a rock-ribbed conservative from Louisiana — a man few had heard of before his improbable election as speaker last fall — to summon the kind of courage that would have been unnecessary in a more rational political age and rely on Democratic votes in furtherance of these vital American interests. Mike Johnson deserves immense credit for risking his political future in service to his country. Johnson proved himself a true patriot — in the old-fashioned sense of that word.

In addition to the critical aid to Ukraine, passage of the bill helpfully punctured the aura of invincibility Trump held over House Republicans.

The ex-president was confined last week to a criminal courtroom in New York City, where he may or may not have been dozing off several times during jury selection, as the House wrangled over whether and how to bring the foreign-aid measures for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to a vote. Trump was unusually quiet on the issue at a time when people might have been expecting him to play a role.

It was left to Republicans such as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham to attempt over the weekend to make the case that Trump actually had helped win the day for Ukraine. It was Trump’s idea to convert a portion of the aid to loans instead of grants, and that was key to success, Graham contended.

If making $9 billion of $61 billion in the form of loans — loans that can be forgiven, by the way — is a face-saving lifeline for Trump’s political standing, that’s a small price to pay for Ukraine’s future as a sovereign nation. But no one should be fooled.

This is a major political loss for the MAGA forces, far more significant than the failure of fringe figures such as Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene to shut down the government over budget disagreements. Yes, more Republicans still voted against Ukraine than voted for it. But there were 101 GOP House members in the “yes” column. Those kind of numbers are consequential and have the potential to change the poisonous dynamic on Capitol Hill.

Whether the Ukraine vote marks a first tentative step to breaking the partisan fever or ends up a mere exception to what has become the depressing rule remains to be seen. Few prudent bettors would go all-in on the former. But Democrats would be wise nonetheless to keep the crowing to a minimum.

First, the Ukraine bill was a sobering vote — a country’s future hangs in the balance — and not a political football. But, equally important, one way to encourage more bipartisanship on issues of critical importance, such as border security, is to treat such victories as wins for the country, not for a political party.

And if the machinations emanating from Mar-a-Lago are rendered less relevant in the process, all the better. The efforts of Trump and his acolytes to make it seem as if Trump played a role in the Ukraine bill’s success are encouraging in a perverse way. Trump does what’s in his own interests, not the country’s. That’s well-proven. Cornering Trump into beneficial positions could prove to be a winning formula in the future.

— The Chicago Tribune

 

An ill-advised amendment effort to reduce school public notices is a direct assault on the transparency of Minnesota’s public schools. This move not only undermines the spirit of Minnesota’s open government but also threatens to obscure crucial information from the public eye.

If passed, the omnibus education bill (SF3567) in the Minnesota Senate would grant all school districts the authority to remove their public notices from widely circulated newspapers, heavily visited websites and the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s public notice website. This means the majority of school districts’ websites, which are often underutilized, poorly structured and difficult to navigate, would become the primary source of school districts’ public notices.

The Minnesota School Boards Association is leading this proposal to reduce the transparency of local school boards in Minnesota. Yes, this bill would save school boards some public-notice spending, but it would significantly decrease access for school district residents.

Shame on the Minnesota School Boards Association.

If this bill is enacted, Minnesota newspapers will lose some revenue, but the bigger losers would be residents and taxpayers. While newspapers will continue to cover local school board meetings and school athletics and activities, the public notices will be published on school websites with little web traffic and remain solely within the control of school officials and board members.

Who will be watching those school board officials? After significantly increasing school funding last year, does the Legislature really trust all school boards to fiscally and effectively control spending? More importantly, can taxpayers trust their school boards to manage their budgets effectively without transparent public notices?

Those public notices include the school board meeting minutes and financial statements. Taxpayers would lose quick, easy and familiar access to those public notices.

One wonders what exactly is the Minnesota School Boards Association trying to hide?

The School Boards Association claims that some newspapers have closed or reduced their reach in recent years and that publishing public notices on their own websites will save money. However, school websites and social media often have minimal traffic compared to local newspapers.

The Minnesota Newspaper Association supports a House-passed bill that allows for a temporary exception to school districts where local newspapers have closed, such as Scott County, where several newspapers cease operations this week. Newspapers believe that is a reasonable approach to temporary news desert situations.

In addition, the public notices published in Minnesota newspapers are also published on the Public Notice Minnesota website (mna.org/mnpublicnotice) free of charge by your local newspaper and the Minnesota Newspaper Association.

The Minnesota Newspaper Association is fighting this proposal in the Minnesota Legislature. SF3567 goes too far and “is contrary to the spirit of transparency that underpins democracy and Minnesota’s open-government history.” In addition, the newspaper association believes this proposal “has not been thoroughly vetted or discussed by the Legislature.”

This newspaper, the FCC Editorial Advisory Board and Forum Communications Co. management urge local superintendents, their local school boards and the Legislature’s conference committee to reject the idea of reducing public access to public notices by Minnesota school boards.

— This editorial is the view of the FCC Editorial Advisory Board and Forum Communications management.

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Rochester reliever Rico Garcia pitched into and out of trouble in the ninth inning of the Red Wings’ 7-5 win over the St. Paul Saints on Wednesday night at CHS Field.

Garcia gave up a double to Anthony Prato and then walked DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to bring the potential winning run to the plate in Jair Camargo, who was 3 for 4 with a home run and a double. The 30-year-old right-hander struck out Camargo on a 3-2 fastball, then struck out Matt Wallner and Yunior Severino to end the game.

St. Paul starting pitcher Joe Gunkel allowed seven runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

Prato went 3 for 3 with three doubles.