Cows and Chickens and Pigs!

Every day I walk across campus to my job at the U of MN Saint Paul campus (which is near the enormous MN State Fair fairgrounds) and walk past the Andrew Boss Laboratory of Meat Science, which is a pretty weird name for a university campus building if you think about it. I've been working here for six months now and I'd heard they sold both meat and dairy products in the Meat Lab building, meat and dairy produced right here on campus as part of the U's extensive agricultural programs. Lots of ag students on the St. Paul campus (which is one of the reason there's a lot less annoying bros and sorority types wandering around, blabbing into their cell phones, than you find on the U of Mn's East Bank) and you see a lot of sturdy young adults wearing Carhart pants and camouflage jackets, looking like they're ready to haul a sack of something heavy at a moment's notice.

Yesterday I finally got on my (metaphorical) horse and hit up the Meat Lab building during meat and cheese business hours, which I believe are between 3-5 every Wed. During the summer they also have a tiny farmer's market as well, which just started, and this consisted of two student sitting at a folding table covered with salad greens and such. Basically your leafy version of a child's lemonade stand, but in a marble foyer. I sailed past this table, avoiding eye contact with its chipper occupants, and headed straight for the dairy down the hall.

I found what appeared to be a small micro-bodega, consisting of one table, one refrigerated case with cheese wrapped in plastic and simply labeled by name and priced in magic marker, and two glass topped freezers backed with simply labeled sizes of ice cream. I got myself some aged white cheddar for $3, a bag of some ranch flavored corn puffs for $1.50, and a quart of peanut butter chocolate truffle ice cream for $3. A student wrung me up (cash or check only) and I was soon sailing on my way again toward my car, so delighted by my savy local purchases that I forgot to visit the meat department at all (which I hear is the real star of the u of MN ag show).

I haven't tried the cheese yet, but I am happy to report the corn puffs and the ice cream are both quite delicious!

That is all.