Young Joni Young Joni’s presence on my list of must-try restaurants should come as no surprise. What chef Ann Kim and her team have accomplished is exceptional and worthy of all the national attention—which includes recognition from GQ and Eater as one of 2017’s best new restaurants in the country. And while this may be… Read More →
The Travail Collective When you hear 3-hour 20-course tasting menu, my guess is you are not envisioning a restaurant with giant stuffed animals in the rafters of the dining room, or one with a raucous atmosphere where the chefs are also the waiters and food runners, and often microphone-wielding MCs who encourage group participation in… Read More →
United Noodles & Unideli If you follow my social media or watch my shows, you know I’m obsessed with Asian cuisines—Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean… I love it all. And while there are plenty of great spots in the Twin Cities to indulge, I’m cooking it at home more often than not. Mastering the… Read More →
Bellecour My friend Gavin Kaysen’s latest project, Bellecour, is an absolute stunner. The award-winning chef’s return to the Twin Cities in 2014 to open Spoon and Stable came with unprecedented buzz—a few years later and it’s still near impossible to score prime time reservations—but the announcement of Bellecour sent diners into a frenzy, with more… Read More →
Pizzeria Lola Since it opened in 2010, Pizzeria Lola has always made it onto my top-ten list of favorite pizza joints, not only in the Twin Cities, but in the entire country. Chef Ann Kim is a perfectionist when it comes to her crust and an artist when it comes to toppings. The menu offers… Read More →
Bar La Grassa This ode to Italy isn’t your grandparent’s eye-talian eatery. With moody date-night lighting beaming from chandeliers, a steel pasta bar that provides the best seats in the house, and a broad range of shareable plates, Bar La Grassa is one of the great Italian restaurants in the Twin Cities with consistently good… Read More →
Aki’s BreadHaus In the midst of Oktoberfest season—now a worldwide trend no longer reserved for Munich—it’s only appropriate I share my favorite German bakery. In the Twin Cities, most steins of beer this month seem to be accompanied by one of Aki’s famed pretzels, and for good reason. Located in Minneapolis’ Northeast neighborhood, Aki’s BreadHaus… Read More →
Black Sheep Pizza One of my favorite pizzerias in the Twin Cities, Black Sheep Pizza brings something different to the table. While I love traditional Neapolitan-style, blistery thin crust pies, Black Sheep’s coal-fired pizza—with its chewy, crisp, sturdy and slightly charred crust—has a nostalgic East Coast vibe that always hits the spot. The menu is… Read More →
112 Eatery Located a few short blocks from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, James Beard award-winning chef Isaac Becker’s first restaurant is a favorite amongst chefs and service industry folks. That has as much to do with their steak tartare, famous 112 cheeseburger and foie gras meatballs, as it does with their night owl hours… Read More →
Esker Grove The Walker Art Center, a contemporary art mecca with a newly refinished sculpture garden, is one of the Twin Cities’ most beloved cultural assets. Add a beautifully designed restaurant with a menu from one of the country’s best chefs, and you have a winning combination, whether it’s date night, happy hour or brunch… Read More →
Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company Kramarczuk’s is an iconic Twin Cities restaurant and deli, serving Eastern European sausages and comfort classics for more than 50 years. Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk moved to the United States from Ukraine in 1949. In the 50s, they bought an established butcher shop in Northeast Minneapolis, started making sausages and quickly became… Read More →
My Top 3 Favorite New Foods As you probably already know, I’m an evangelist for the classics. Despite my inherent bias, I still think it was one of the weakest years ever for new State Fair foods. There’s just too much gimmick—think deep fried red liquorice— too many unworthy things on a stick, too much… Read More →
Gizmo Sandwiches I would rather be at the Minnesota State Fair than anywhere else in the world. Why? The people, the food, the sense of community and tradition. Carla Wood and her Gizmo sandwich embody everything I love about the fair. The Gizmo is a ground beef and Italian sausage sandwich covered in their secret… Read More →
Shuang Cheng Everyone knows a Chinese restaurant like this one, armed with an enormous 400-item menu that mostly caters to a Westerner’s palate. And while Shuang Cheng offers a dizzying variety of dishes, it defies the stereotype that quantity does not equal quality. I usually skip straight to the seafood page of the menu. If… Read More →
Birchwood Cafe Few Minnesotans have done more for local farmers and purveyors than Tracy Singleton. You can bet everything served at her iconic Seward restaurant was grown organically, sourced ethically, and hails from some cool Midwestern farm. She’s long been an industry leader in sustainable, eco-friendly practices, and has used her restaurant as a vehicle… Read More →
St. Paul’s Hmongtown Marketplace A pillar of the Twin Cities’ Hmong community—which is the largest in the country—the sprawling Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul is the next best thing to hopping a flight to Southeast Asia. This market and those making the food represent centuries of Hmong traditions. In warmer months, you’ll find people selling plants,… Read More →
Blue Door Pub If burgers stuffed with cheese aren’t on your list when you visit Minnesota, then you’re not doing it right. We Minnesotans love to debate who does the best juicy Lucy. There are plenty of spots serving up classic beef burgers with a molten hot cheddar cheese filling, such as perennial favorites Matt’s… Read More →
Wise Acre Eatery It seems just about every restaurant claims to be farm to table. In the case of Wise Acre, it’s part of the business plan. Depending on the time of year, 75 to 95 percent of ingredients originate on sister business Tangletown Gardens’ 100-acre farm in rural Plato, Minnesota, including Scottish highland cattle,… Read More →
Rise Bagel Co. The Twin Cities are my second home, and I love living here, but over the years there’s been one gaping hole in the food scene and it was bagel shaped. As a Jewish kid from New York, I’m admittedly picky when it comes to bagels, and there wasn’t a worthy one in… Read More →
Revival St. Paul This town was a barbecue waste land, until my friends Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone opened their second location of Revival in St. Paul and decided to add classic smoked meats to the menu, celebrating Boemer’s southern roots. The fried chicken and burger were reason enough to battle the crowds getting their southern comfort… Read More →
St. Genevieve I’ve often said that one of Minneapolis’ greatest assets in the food scene is chef Steven Brown, and his newest addition, St. Genevieve, is a testament to that. A Parisian-style buvette, it’s one of a slew of new restaurants in Minneapolis celebrating familiar, yet reinvented French fare—proof that the classics never go out… Read More →
Marla’s Caribbean Cuisine Located just south of Powderhorn Park, Marla’s Caribbean Cuisine is justifiably famous for its incredibly fresh, spicy, from scratch, honest and delicious Pan-Caribe style food. Marla is a doyenne of jerk and an expert with the hallmark Caribbean mashup of Indian, Creole and Latin flavors. I can typically take down… Read More →
The Salty Tart Chef Michelle Gayer is a James Beard Award nominee many times over, including being a 2017 semifinalist for “Outstanding Baker.” Open since 2008, Gayer and her team at The Salty Tart make everything from scratch everyday—from pastry cream-filled brioche to flaky layered croissants and buttercream-topped cupcakes to banana cream pies. Her macaroons are… Read More →
Tilia Chef Steven Brown is one of Minneapolis’ greatest assets. At Tilia, he’s taken the concept of a comfortable neighborhood restaurant and perfected it—from the cozy atmosphere and kitchen counter seating, to the affordable, yet insanely delicious menu. It’s a place I can take my kid for breakfast, my wife for lunch and my lawyer… Read More →
Pineda Tacos Minneapolis may not have a dependable taqueria on every corner like Los Angeles, but head to Lake Street and you’ll discover plenty of authentic options. Pineda’s is a hidden gem of a place. What this sparse taco shop lacks in ambiance, it makes up for with flavor. I usually go for an order of four… Read More →
Nico Osteria By Bob & Sue This Paul Kahan restaurant on Rush Street features imaginative Italian fare. Executive Chef Erling Wu-Bower, a James Beard finalist in 2017, brings his own interpretation to traditional dishes. Crudo selections included Suzuki bass with chili flakes, Madai snapper with a kohlrabi salsa verde, bigeye tuna with black olives and… Read More →
The Anchor Fish & Chips Well before the influx of destination breweries and galleries re-energized Minneapolis’ artsy Northeast neighborhood, The Anchor Fish & Chips was battering Alaskan cod and frying hand cut chips for the locals. The narrow restaurant with tin ceilings and deep red walls lined with cozy booths has a real deal fish… Read More →
Szechuan Spice Of all the great regional Chinese cuisines, Sichuan food holds a special place in my heart. While we don’t have as many great Chinese restaurants as I would like in Minnesota, we do have a few that absolutely blow me away and Szechuan Spice in Uptown is one of them. It’s best to… Read More →
Alma: Cafe, Hotel & Restaurant After a major overhaul and grand re-opening, Alma is as gorgeous as ever, filling a hole we didn’t know we had in the Twin Cities dining scene. What was once solely a fantastic restaurant, owned and operated by James Beard award-winning chef Alex Roberts, is now an elegant, design-driven hotel,… Read More →
Lowry Hill Meats When Erik Sather opened Lowry Hill Meats in the fall of 2015, let’s just say I was excited. There are less than a handful of great, old-world butcher shops in the Twin Cities, and LHM’s standard for every product they sell—from meat to eggs, cheese, spices and coffee—is exceptionally high. I always… Read More →
