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 →
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 →
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 →
Hola Arepa One of the most popular Latin American restaurants in the Twin Cities, Hola Arepa started out as a food truck, slinging their take on the satisfying Venezuelan sandwiches on the streets of Minneapolis. For those unfamiliar with their eponymous arepas, think hefty griddled cornmeal cakes stuffed with all sorts of ingredients, from Argentinian-style… Read More →
10 Quick Ways to Cook Clams at Home I’ve always loved clams. During my childhood summers, my dad and I would spend the day clamming in the bay of Long Island’s South Fork. I can eat the briny, succulent shellfish by the dozens. Whether you poach them in wine, stuff them with bacon and breadcrumbs or add… Read More →
Modern Scandinavian-Influenced Fare Located in a historic 19th-century brick-and-timber warehouse in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood, The Bachelor Farmer celebrates Nordic-inspired cuisine made with ingredients sourced from local farmers or grown on the rooftop garden. They created small masterpieces on top of a humble piece of toast before it became a culinary craze, so order a few toasts as an… Read More →
Festive Finger Foods Start the party off right this holiday season with one of these delicious appetizers, from simple and elegant seafood dishes like spicy mussels fra diavolo to throwback recipes from my childhood—salmon aspic is making a comeback, you heard it here first. Whether you’re headed to an office potluck or inviting friends over for a festive… Read More →
Roasted, fried, grilled, stuffed, smoked or braised—which turkey cooking technique will you choose? There are many options when it comes to preparing your Thanksgiving centerpiece. For the traditionalist, check out my tips for brining and roasting a whole turkey in the oven. Those with only a few mouths to feed should try a stuffed turkey breast.… Read More →
10 Desserts for Thanksgiving From classic pumpkin pie and gooey pecan tart to a ridiculously easy cranberry cake, here are 10 delicious desserts to round out your holiday feast. Easy Cranberry Cake This simple cranberry cake is a perfect addition to your holiday dessert spread. Not too sweet and packed with fresh cranberries, it’s as beautiful… Read More →
A Foolproof Braised Turkey Smothered in Creamy Gravy By Andrew Zimmern There are many different solutions to the age-old conundrum of how to cook a turkey evenly and successfully. To me, breaking it down into its pieces is the most foolproof and flexible approach. Braising the turkey pieces in wine and aromatics results in a flavorful… Read More →
Grilled Spatchcocked Turkey By Andrew Zimmern Oven space is always at a premium on Thanksgiving, so why not put the turkey on the grill? Spatchcock and brine the bird before laying it flat on the grill with the dark meat closest to the fire. This method will take less time and leave you with an evenly… Read More →
Where to Eat Doner Kebabs & Burgers in Kreuzberg No neighborhood exemplifies a city transformed quite like Kreuzberg. Located in the heart of Berlin and formerly surrounded on three sides by the Berlin Wall, this area was once one of city’s poorest and known to attract artists, punks, squatters and immigrants. Today, it’s one of… Read More →
Central Asian Comfort Food in Chicago You’ve probably heard me say that you can understand the history of a country and its people by looking at its food. No where is this more true than the countries of Central Asia, where the Silk Road impacted all parts of culture. Dive into the meat-centric culinary traditions of… Read More →
Morning, Noon & Night at Tejas Express Located at the corner of Underwood Street and Dan Patch Avenue in The Garden, Tejas Express is an institution at the Minnesota State Fair. They’re serving restaurant quality food reminiscent of the Southwest-inspired menu at the original location, which closed in 2009 after whopping 22 successful years in… Read More →
52 Things to Look for at the MN State Fair Looking for a fun way to explore the Minnesota State Fair this year? Try completing this State Fair scavenger hunt. Mullets, crazy tattoos, award-winning baked goods, celebrities, fair hair… if you can think of it, you can find it at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. So… Read More →
Celebrating North Carolina’s Culinary History Chef Vivian Howard worked in New York City at Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market before packing up and heading home to Kinston with her husband to open Chef & the Farmer. Like many residents of Eastern North Carolina, chef Howard has an ingrained pride for her rural… Read More →
Chez Amy takes Dakar’s multi-cultural influence to an inspiring level. The French colonization of Vietnam, Lebanon and Senegal left a definitive stamp on Senegalese cuisine. At Chez Amy, you can experience a confluence of the country’s colonial influences in one amazing bite. The hole-in-the-wall food stand near Dakar’s Castor Market sells a few of Senegal’s favorite… Read More →
Rustic Perfection Chef Jonathan Waxman’s 13-year-old West Village restaurant is as casual and gorgeous as he is… no joke. My pal of many decades is in his prime, swarthy, and greyed out like a sexy Gandalf. In fact, Waxman just won a Beard Award for Best Chef NYC thanks to his culinary wizardry—you see what… Read More →
Eating at California’s Five Michelin 3 Stars By Bob & Sue With the elevation of Manresa to three stars for 2016, Northern California now has five of the 13 Michelin 3-star restaurants in the United States. We ate at all five in nine days during our recent anniversary celebration in January. These five great chefs… Read More →
Black Bean Clams with Green Onions By Andrew Zimmern As with most wok dishes, mise en place is everything. Once you prep all of your ingredients for this recipe, it comes together very quickly. The black bean sauce here is one of my favorites, it works well with most vegetables and proteins. You can find the… Read More →
Appetizers for a New Year’s Eve Bash Skip the pricey pre-fixe menus and over-crowded bars, and host your own New Year’s Eve soiree. There’s no better way to ring in the new year than a spread of finger foods and a house full of friends and family. Here are a few of my favorite hor d’oeuvres, from… Read More →
Devour Buenos Aires A Latin American city heavy with European influences, Buenos Aires is the best of both worlds. Equally confident and classy, there’s no question why it’s the most visited South American city. A unique cultural life thrives here, from the old-timey cafes, European architecture and bustling streets to the devoted soccer fans and… Read More →
I’ve eaten a lot of strange vegetables, insects, fermented foods, sea creatures and animal odd bits in the past decade, but these 10 items from all over the globe made it to the top of the list. Article original published on travelchannel.com. Enset in Ethiopia Enset is one of the two species of vinifera in… Read More →
Devour Rome One of the cradles of Western civilization, Rome is a city full of globally influential art, culture and architecture. Over 4 million tourists flock to the Italian capital every year, visiting ancient Roman ruins, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope in Vatican City, and, often times, binging on Italian gelato, pizza… Read More →
Justin Yu on Where to Eat & Drink in Houston With an astounding blend of cultures and cuisine, Houston has long been one of America’s great food cities. But it’s only been until recently—with chefs like Chris Shepherd, Hugo Ortega and Justin Yu leading the pack—that anyone’s paid attention to the robust dining scene. Well… Read More →
Five Great Meals in Milan By Devan Grimsrud Host of the 2015 World’s Fair, Milan is expected to draw a staggering 20 million visitors this summer. The 1 million square meter exhibition area features architecturally stunning pavilions built by participating countries, all exploring the overarching theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. Learn about the… Read More →
Taipei’s Best Xiao Long Bao The Shanghai-style soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, at Din Tai Fung have a cult following like no other. A refugee of China’s civil war, Yang Bing-yi opened the original location on Taipei’s east side in the 70s. A couple decades later, the New York Times named the dumpling house as… Read More →
Almaty’s Immense Food Emporium Almaty is Kazakhstan’s biggest city, and while there are signs of Western influence and consumer culture, this bustling metropolis gets its strongest sense of identity from its nomadic ancestors and their traditions. One of the best places to witness this heritage and to try the authentic flavors of Central Asia is Almaty’s… Read More →
The Perfect Deviled Eggs By Teri Lyn Fisher & Jenny Park Deviled eggs were a staple on special occasions of my youth. My mom made them simply and always the same way. I didn’t realize until later that deviled eggs can be quite nuanced when made with a little extra thought. Although I still love… Read More →
Pig in the Stable The Cochon 555 weekend takeover kicked off with a Chef’s Course Dinner at Spoon and Stable last Friday—a seated five-course meal prepared by host chef Gavin Kaysen, Steven Brown, Erik Anderson, Doug Flicker, Diane Yang and yours truly. An amazing group of local chefs that have made this city’s food scene what… Read More →
