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   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 08:43:35 JST Paul Cantrell

   Cheng Heng restaurant in St. Paul. Great food, full of heart, truly a neighborhood place where you see all kinds of people eating side by side — and the owners are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. So good.

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 08:46:19 JST Paul Cantrell

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     •Still• so good after all these years: I lived in the neighborhood in 2001 or thereabouts, ate there all the time. They’ve done a thing or two since then — expanded the seating, added a few items, no more banana leaf wrapping on the ho mok — but basically it’s the same place, just as lovely as ever. The owners still remember me when I come in! The whole place is a small miracle.

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 08:50:37 JST Paul Cantrell

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     Our investment-driven economy rewards growth so heavily it’s just completely skewed our idea of what “success” looks like. I’m talking about the enshittification cycle (middle player capturing both sides of a market and then squeezing them dry), yes, but not only that. I’m talking nothing counting as success except •growth• and •extraction•.

     Sustainability? Just being a lovely restaurant for 20+ years? Bah! What about taking it to the next level? Where’s the ROI??

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 08:54:11 JST Paul Cantrell

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     Since the election of Trump and the Covid pandemic — and maybe also just because I’m getting older — I’ve become keenly aware of how temporary everything is. I mean, I’ve always been a Sensitive Artistic Soul Attuned to the Transience of All Things, sure, but the fragility of every single part of our society is keen and immediate for me now in a way it never was before.

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 08:59:29 JST Paul Cantrell

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     In that context, sustainability and longevity are vital, wherever we can find them, however long we can hold on to them. A lovely restaurant surviving through the decades isn’t just a happy neighborhood story. It’s a danged triumph.

     The restaurant business is brutal. That sweet couple who owns Cheng Heng? I’m far more impressed with them than any of these Forbes-magazine-cover wheeler-dealer con artists. They made something matter, and they made it •last•. That is my definition of success.

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 09:01:33 JST Paul Cantrell

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     Not because I want to drive growth and help them expand to new markets, but just because I want them to keep thriving and you deserve a delicious meal:

     https://chengheng448.com

     If you’re in MSP, stop by.

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     Jesse Morris (aubilenon@escaperooms.social)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 09:11:04 JST Jesse Morris

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     @inthehands Just keeping the lights on so long takes so much adaptability, as staff changes, as the economy changes, as the clientele changes, as neighborhoods change. Yelp didn't even exist when they started!

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 09:15:52 JST Paul Cantrell

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     • Jesse Morris

     @aubilenon I tried and failed to find an opening date for them. Memory says they’re approximately as old as Google. A staggering thought!

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     Ted Mielczarek (tedmielczarek@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 09:30:35 JST Ted Mielczarek

     in reply to

     @inthehands I listened to the first season of the Startup podcast from Gimlet, which is Alex Blumberg narrating his attempts to get funding to start Gimlet Media itself, and he mentions this exact thing—VCs disdainfully calling the idea of a small, sustainable business a "lifestyle business". It's really fucked, and I think venture capital has done way more harm to our society than good.

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 13:00:59 JST Paul Cantrell

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     • Dave Polaschek (he/him)

     @davepolaschek Trieu Chau is great — and I don’t think the banh mi are secret anymore. Many gems in that stretch!

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     Dave Polaschek (he/him) (davepolaschek@writing.exchange)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 13:01:00 JST Dave Polaschek (he/him)

     in reply to

     @inthehands Trieu Chau, which is a phở joint in what used to be a Little Caesar’s on University was another fave. Um… Western, perhaps? About 4-6 blocks west of Cheng Heng. They also had great banh mi, which weren’t on the menu, but if you knew to ask…

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     Dave Polaschek (he/him) (davepolaschek@writing.exchange)'s status on Sunday, 25-Feb-2024 13:01:02 JST Dave Polaschek (he/him)

     in reply to

     @inthehands One of my faves when I still lived there. Cambodian food that fully doesn’t suck.

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     John Wilson (crazybutable@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Feb-2024 03:41:43 JST John Wilson

     in reply to

     @inthehands 🤔 that’s a 7 minute drive from the new office

     Got any menu recommendations?

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     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 26-Feb-2024 03:41:43 JST Paul Cantrell

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     • John Wilson

     @crazybutable
     Hmm, a few favorites off the top of my head are the banh cheo, chha green bean with lemon grass, chha ginger, chha kroeng. I don’t like papayas or mangos, but people who do swear by the plear salad and the mango bubble tea. The chive cakes are something special.