100 Delightful Things In Worcester Project 1 – Binh An Market

Admission: I have lived in Worcester since 1995, and I’m still getting used to the place. For example, I hate the traffic, I’m not always 100% sure where I’m going, and I still sometimes am startled by how I ended up where I got to. I’m not always sure that I’m speaking the same language as the person I’m talking to, even if (especially if) we’re both speaking english. I haven’t, even now, after Man Cub has been in public school here for nine and half years, ever not been caught unawares two days before February Vacation. This practical little town is constantly surprising me with something (hello, construction) – and it’s not always something that I know how to interpret, right? But I deal – I live here.

I’m not always in love with Worcester, but it doesn’t look like we’re going to be living anywhere else anytime soon. Our Man Cub goes into high school next year, and he’ll either be staying in the arts magnet (which has been osm thus far, btw) or heading to Worcester Tech, and as a family we love those choices. Will Dearest is starting to poke his nose into the idea of owning property here, too. By the time Man Cub is out of high school, I will have lived in Worcester for two decades – I figure now is kind of a great time for me to, if not fall in love with Worcester, to at least find a way to love it.

So I’m beginning a project: I’m going to find 100 Delightful Things in Worcester, MA. I’ve started a list,* and I’m going to work through it in the order that my natural self goes about the business of being me. I’ll blog about the places I visit, and once a week or so, present them to you, dear reader, in just the order that I happen to visit them. You might notice a leaning toward small businesses, because I’m on a bit of a mission to spend my meager dollars as locally as I can, and so I’ve been poking around in places of commerce lately.

As just yesterday I came home from vacation** to a house with pretty bare cupboards, restocking is on my mind. While making up the grocery list for the week, I came upon this great looking recipe for a roast chicken,***  which totally calls for lemongrass, and there’s only one place I know of in town to get it at a good price.

Which means that today’s trip brought Man Cub and myself across Kelly Square,† down Green Street to Binh An Market (64 Green Street, open M-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 9am-7pm).