Basic Tomato Sauce I am a huge believer in culinary literacy. Everyone should know how to make a simple tomato sauce because there are so many ways to use it in the kitchen. The best part? This recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Once you master the basic recipe, feel free… 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 →
Bizarre Foods: Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Premieres Tuesday, August 1 at 9|8c on Travel Channel On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I’m following in the footsteps of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone, from colonial Virginia to the fertile lands of Kentucky. While visiting the re-constructed frontier fort at Martin’s Station, reeling in flathead catfish on the Kentucky… Read More →
Bizarre Foods Season Premiere Tuesday July 25, 9|8c on Travel Channel On the season premiere of Bizarre Foods, I’m headed to Texas to explore American cowboy life, past and present. The cowboy is the last great American icon, a romantic, rugged symbol of our frontier past. Camping along the Chisholm trail—the storied bovine highway that… 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 →
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 →
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 →
Brasa Rotisserie For years, Brasa Rotisserie has been the go-to for Creole-style rotisserie chicken and Southern-inspired sides. From the mind of James Beard award-winning chef Alex Roberts, Brasa is a casual, convivial spot where meals are best had family style. They’re known for a mash-up of Southern-Caribbean-Mexican-Creole dishes, like slow roasted pork doused with fresh… Read More →
Punch Pizza There are plenty of great pizza places in the Twin Cities, but Punch will always have a special place in my heart. Now with eight locations across the metro, their first location, which opened back in 1996 in St. Paul’s Highland Park, is my favorite. Co-founders John Soranno, who grew up in Milan,… 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 →
9 Ways to Celebrate Pi(e) Pi Day is 3/14, and while this made-up holiday has nothing in common with our favorite dessert, we have no problem dedicating a whole day to baking and eating pie. Here are nine sweet and savory ways to indulge. Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie As far as pie fillings go, this one… Read More →
Spoon and Stable After rising to chef stardom working for Daniel Boulud in NYC, Gavin Kaysen returned home in 2014 to open his first restaurant Spoon and Stable. Located in a beautifully renovated stable in the North Loop, it was the local restaurant opening of the decade. The hometown hero is one of the best… Read More →
Shrimp & Blue Grits with Andouille Sausage By Andrew Zimmern Recipes for this classic Southern dish vary greatly—some have sausage or bacon, some are loaded with mushrooms, some have a tomato-based gravy, while others have no gravy at all. Use this recipe as a good base, and feel free to experiment from there. The recipe… Read More →
Highlights from the Southern Barbecue Trail I’ll line up at Aaron Franklin’s a thousand times to eat his brisket, but traveling through Georgia and the Carolinas along the Southern barbecue trail was truly unforgettable. Barbecue has humble beginnings. It’s essentially American, a meal for gatherings that has a diverse range of styles, techniques and influences.… Read More →
What is the best thing you ate while filming these episodes of Bizarre Foods? The classic fixins’ from the inside of the hog at Gerald Lemoine’s farm in Moreauville, Louisiana. They shoot a hog, clean all the entrails and collect the blood. The hog goes on the spit, split-open to be turned into their version of cochon… Read More →
Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls By Andrew Zimmern Packed with herbs, vegetables and shrimp, nothing beats a fresh Vietnamese-style summer roll. Make them for a healthy snack, fill up on them for dinner, or add the spring rolls to your deep-fried, cheese-laden lineup for a refreshing appetizer on game day. I use a classic combination of… Read More →
Donate Professional Wear to Help LGBTQ Youth Our friends at Big Gay Ice Cream are holding a clothing drive for the Ali Forney Center through January 8th. The Ali Forney Center helps homeless LGBTQ youth and is looking for clothes their clients could wear at work or to a job interview. We want the Ali… Read More →
Rajasthani Bhindi Masala By Shane Mitchell I have never been a fan of okra. But this version, served at the height of the harvest season in Rajasthan by a talented Brahmin cook named GSN Bhargava, changed that. Fresh okra makes all the difference, especially when sautéed quickly, rather than stewed until glutinous, which is the… Read More →
Nachos with Queso Fundido By Andrew Zimmern I serve this dish all the time at house parties, for both adults and kids. These super sophisticated nachos are built with several components, all made from scratch and delicious on their own. When served together, they will blow your mind. I wouldn’t ask you to go through… Read More →
Valencian-Style Chicken Paella By Katie Button This is my take on the classic Valencian-style paella that combines rabbit or chicken with snails and beans. I love the creaminess of giant lima beans, especially the ones from Rancho Gordo, a bean company in Northern California. Their earthy sweetness pairs so well with the savory seared chicken… 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 →
A Nashville Institution Located in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood on the bottom floor of a 150-year-old Victorian house, Monell’s is an old-world charmer serving the Southern comfort food of your dreams. Diners share large communal tables and a seemingly endless parade of family-style food, so be prepared to get to know your neighbors. And never fret, if… 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 →
Eat Andrew Zimmern’s favorite fair foods and share your pics for a chance to win. There’s a reason Andrew finds himself at the Minnesota State Fair for every one of its 12 days: the food. Sure, every year brings new booths to peruse and novelties to try, but nothing beats traditional state fair chow from… Read More →
We tasted new food at the Minnesota State Fair – here’s our take. By AndrewZimmern.com Staff Tasked with sampling a slew of new foods at the State Fair, we skipped breakfast and headed out early Thursday morning with empty stomachs and open minds. There were pleasant surprises (maple bacon shaved ice!), a few safe bets (anything with… Read More →
Mind Blowing Thai Food at Soei Catch Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food: Bangkok, Tuesday August 23 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. Located along the railroad track in the Dusit neighborhood, Soei is my new favorite restaurant in Bangkok. Our meal at this casual, open-air restaurant simply blew me away. Nearly every single thing I ordered… Read More →
