Where to Eat at the Minnesota State Fair I love the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try to go all 12 days. Every year there’s a list of new food booths, serving all types of novelty deep-fried on-a-stick creations, but I’m a traditionalist when it comes to state fair chow. What’s the key… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week (And the Week Before That) By Andrew Zimmern Of all the great regional Chinese cuisines, Sichuan food has 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… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week The best thing I ate last week was a simple taco plate at Pineda’s on East Lake Street in Minneapolis. I was shooting a pilot for a new series we’re developing for Travel Channel and I had a 10 minute break. Realizing I was a block away, I… Read More →
Two Locations of Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen at the New Vikings Stadium I’m really excited to bring amazing food to Vikings fans, guests of U.S. Bank Stadium and anyone visiting what I think is the best sports facility in the world. The brand new stadium will have two outposts of Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen, alongside local favorites Revival… Read More →
Help Support Snowbate Snowbate is a vital incentive program for the production industry in Minnesota. These rebates keep film and commercial production in the state, creating jobs and exposure for tourism. We are in the final weeks of this year’s legislative session. Right now, there’s a bill in the Senate that includes additional funds for Snowbate. Meanwhile,… Read More →
The Twin Cities’ Best Vietnamese Restaurants Home to a vibrant Vietnamese community, the Twin Cities are a pho-lover’s paradise. And in a town chock-full of great Vietnamese restaurants, it’s difficult to name the best. From fantastic noodle soups to Banh mi sandwiches, bao to broken rice platters here are our favorite Vietnamese spots. Quang If… Read More →
“syn•er•gy: two forces working together to create something greater than itself.” Spoon and Stable just announced its upcoming Synergy Series for 2016. In this really exciting, chef driven dinner series, Gavin and his team will host four New York, Michelin-starred chefs: Michael White, Michael Anthony, April Bloomfield, and of course, his mentor Daniel Boulud. To have… Read More →
The Good Acre Food Hub Open House Friday, October 30th The mission of The Good Acre is to enhance how food is grown and shared in the Twin Cities region, to improve marketplace opportunities for diverse independent farmers, and to increase access for all consumers to healthy, locally-grown fresh produce. The acre of land next… Read More →
New Foods at the Minnesota State Fair The Great Minnesota Get-Together always makes room for a host of new foods to try. This year is no exception, with over 50 fresh eats to sample. Fans of Sriracha, ice cream, and everything deep-fried will have plenty to celebrate, so here’s the line up for 2015: [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”15″ gal_title=”New Minnesota State Fair… Read More →
Minnesota summers may be short, but we never take a sunny day for granted. We jam-pack June-September with events celebrating the food, drink, art and music that make Minnesota an amazing place to live. You probably already know that my favorite food festival on earth is the Minnesota State Fair. But there are several other… Read More →
Minnesota Restaurants Supporting Local Farms I love all four seasons, but there are few greater things in life than the first days of a Minnesota spring. We love celebrating another winter survived, and if you’re anything like me, food plays a huge role. I can’t wait until restaurants unveil their spring menus, teeming with fresh… Read More →
Minneapolis’ Young Chef in the Spotlight Mike DeCamp, the incredibly talented and creative chef de cuisine at Minneapolis’ award winning La Belle Vie, just announced he’s leaving his longtime mentor Tim McKee to open a new restaurant with Jester Concepts (the team behind Borough and Coup d’etat). They’ll be taking over Hotel Ivy’s first floor restaurant, formerly Porter &… Read More →
Embrace the Cold A lot of people think I’m nuts when I tell them I live in Minnesota. Yeah, it’s cold here. However, the difference between Minnesotans and most other folks is that we embrace the cold. We ski, ice fish, skate and sled. We even still cook outdoors. We pack our weekends with loads… Read More →
A Few Important Issues Support Local Food The 70/30 law is a twenty-year-old sales ratio that’s no longer compatible with today’s dining culture. It’s antiquated legislation that needs to be removed for small businesses to be able to thrive and grow. Here’s the gist: In 1983, Minneapolis passed a law that required restaurants and bars… Read More →
The largest celebration of local foods in the region. Next Sunday, November 2, check out the best of local food by producers and makers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin at Feast! in Rochester, Minnesota. With more than 100 exhibitor booths, you’ll find a variety of specialty foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, artisan cheese, African simmer sauces,… Read More →
50 Things to Look for at the MN State Fair Looking for a fun way to explore the Minnesota State Fair? Try completing this State Fair scavenger hunt. Mullets, crazy tattoos, award-winning baked goods, celebrities, unintentional innuendos… if you can think of it, you can find it at the fair. So to liven things up,… Read More →
Where to Eat at the Great Minnesota Get-Together I love the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try to go all 12 days. Every year there’s a list of new food booths, serving every type of novelty deep-fried and on-a-stick creations, but when it comes down to it, half of the food sales comes… Read More →
New State Fair Foods for 2014 Every year there’s a host of new foods at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and while the imaginative deep-fried-on-a-stick creations can be hit or miss, sometimes the shear novelty is worth shelling out a few bucks to try. Without further ado, here’s the line up for 2014: Photographs courtesy… Read More →
Where to Eat & Drink on the North Shore By Molly Mogren Perched next to the great Gitche Gumee (that would be Lake Superior), Duluth, Minnesota and the North Shore offer up some of the most beautiful vistas in the northern United States. It’s also home to some pretty amazing food. That combo made this… Read More →
Redefining Scandinavian Cooking A former Navy Officer who opted for a chef’s life, Paul Berglund has made a name for himself as the executive chef of Minneapolis’ Bachelor Farmer, where he’s cooking trend-setting modernist Nordic cuisine. We talk with Berglund about the resurgence of Scandinavian food, taking risks and note-worthy chefs in the Twin Cities.… Read More →
Minnesota Food Truck Fair It’s that time of year again, so get out of the house, soak up some rays and head to the Minnesota Food Truck Fair in Uptown for great food and live music. Now in its third year, they’ve really expanded the festival with dozens of trucks offering cuisines from all over… Read More →
#OnlyinMN I’m constantly traveling around the world, but there is no place I would rather be than my home state, Minnesota. What makes the land of 10,000 lakes so great? Check out just some of my favorites things to do only in Minnesota. MINNESOTA STATE FAIR I love the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try… Read More →
Artisan Chinese Tea A recent addition to Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood, Verdant Tea Tasting Room & Tea Bar offers a curated selection of artisan, seasonal Chinese teas from small family farms. Owners Lily and David Duckler are obsessed with tea and the hospitality culture that revolves around it. They spend a lot of time in China each year… Read More →
Democratizing Entrepreneurship By Andrew Zimmern The long awaited Travail Kickstarter campaign is live. Check it out #prevailtravail. The campaign closes on October 10th, and represents a sea change in terms of how local restaurants get funded. To me, these types of projects have democratized entrepreneurship (obvi!), allowing customers to help push dollars to restaurants they believe in.… Read More →
Biking in My Adopted Hometown So you want to spend a day in Minneapolis and you’re looking for something to do? My new hometown has got it all. Here in the Twin Cities, everyone bikes everywhere, and cycling around one of the city lakes is something that should not be missed. Don’t have a bike? You gotta… Read More →
The Gold Standard for Fine Dining After 15 years, executive chef/owner Tim McKee (the 2009 James Beard Award-winner for Best Chef Midwest) and chef de cuisine Mike DeCamp continue to impress with outstanding food and service at La Belle Vie. As the pinnacle of local fine dining, there isn’t a better spot in the Twin Cities… Read More →
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Owners John Soranno and John Puckett have created an incredible pizzeria in my home town. The individually-sized, handmade, hand-tossed pizzas are topped with artisanal ingredients (think San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala) and put into a 800 degree wood-burning oven for only 90 seconds – the perfect amount of time to… Read More →
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Owners John Soranno and John Puckett have created an incredible pizzeria in my home town. The individually-sized, handmade, hand-tossed pizzas are topped with artisanal ingredients (think San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala) and put into a 800 degree wood-burning oven for only 90 seconds – the perfect amount of time to… Read More →
Calling All Bourbon & Pork Lovers Jack Riebel’s stunning gastropub is a welcome addition to downtown Minneapolis. The industrial, masculine decor creates a rustic-meets-chic vibe that echoes the meat-centric menu and the scent of smoked pork wafting through the dining room. The best way to approach the menu is family style, ordering sausages and meat a la… Read More →
Calling All Bourbon & Pork Lovers Jack Riebel’s stunning gastropub is a welcome addition to downtown Minneapolis. The industrial, masculine decor creates a rustic-meets-chic vibe that echoes the meat-centric menu and the scent of smoked pork wafting through the dining room. The best way to approach the menu is family style, ordering sausages and meat a la… Read More →
