Minneapolis Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[winodj]

Got any ideas? Work has been very nice to me lately, giving me a shot at going to parts of the country I've not known before. Problem is, I don't know where to go to do the pleasantly weird/cheap things to make me happy. So... where do I go?

[Orik]

Errr...the Mall of America area is not that much of a cheap eats neighborhood. If you're reasonably mobile, I would suggest the following:

Quang - an astonishingly good vietnamese noodle shop. Depending on what you define as 'weird', you might want to try their weekend special rice porridge with pig entrails.

http://twincities.citysearch.com/profile/5583990/

A couple of blocks away from Quang is Jasmine Deli. Their soups are not quite as good, but the bbq pork and anything else off their grill is very good.

http://twincities.citysearch.com/profile/11624931/

Hoban is an ok Korean restaurant

http://twincities.citysearch.com/profile/5537766/

You may also want to check the review archive of citypages - http://www.citypages.com - Dara Moskowitz, their reviewer, is a James Beard winner (2001) and the one and only trustworthy food critic there.

[Wilfrid]

Avoid the pecan-crusted walleye pike at all costs.

[mynamejoe]

Moskowitz got a James Beard Award. What was the category, food critic least likely to pull their head out of their ass and write knowledgeably about food?

No offense, Orik, but she has an agenda when she writes, and it's not always about the food. One can expect her personal likes and dis-likes of a chef to color her reviews, as well as her love of self-aggrandizement.

Back to topic, the M.O.A. is, as Orik states, pretty catch-as-catch-can food-wise. Are you looking for lunch spots, dinner spots, or both? How far can you travel?

Also, what Wilfrid said. Avoid walleye crusted with anything. Broiled, deep-fried and pan-fried are acceptable, as long as it's more or less just the fish.

[snowangel]

If you want ethnic, there's Eat Street -- Nicollet Mall between 20th and 30th. These would be in the south central part of Minneapolis.

The other area with great, cheap ethnic is Central Ave. NE -- Holy Land Deli and Bakery, Chiapas (these are both at about Central and 20th), and a fab vegetarian Indian restaurant -- Udapi -- at about 50th and Central.

Stuff in the Mall of America area tends to be pretty spendy for the quality -- lots of chains with mediocre food. Uptown area is trendy and spendy, outside of Sri Lanka curry house.

You can eat well here.

[pathompson31]

There is a fabulous pizza place just across the Mississippi River in the Highland Park neighborhood in St. Paul called Punch. The pizza is just like what you would find in Italy--woodfired, fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes. Not open on Mondays. I moved from the Twin Cities and that is what I miss the most about the place.

[Orik]

No offense, Orik, but she has an agenda when she writes, and it's not always about the food. One can expect her personal likes and dis-likes of a chef to color her reviews, as well as her love of self-aggrandizement.

That is absolutely true, but:

1. Someone with an agenda in minneapolis can sometimes be a blessing.

2. Her list of favorites greatly coincided with ours when we lived there.(with a few exceptions, such as auriga and the bayport cookery).

3. She was the only food critic there who would write the truth about certain high end downtown restaurants.

4. Her most prominent peer wouldn't know good food from spam, or at least that is what his reviews reflect.

[SuthrnFoodie]

Hi guys,

Any suggestions on how to kill 3 hours at the airport or nearby? I've never been there, and although I'm stocked for food magazines, I have this layover to and from my destination of San Antonio. Any lunch suggestions would be great! Otherwise if you know of any foodie-fiction???

Thanks!!

[elfin]

I am assuming that you will be in OHare. Three hours is not a lot of time to exit the airport, go to a restaurant, dine and return in time for the long security lines. Four hours is more do-able. I do not recommend the Marriott hotel restaurant. In my humble opinion, the best selection for food is in Terminal 1-the United terminal. You can reach it by the 'people mover'. In terminal one there are two sections-B and C. There is a gross Chilis in B. Proceed to C. I recommend the Bergoff restaurant for a tasty fresh cut roast beef, ham, pork or corned beef sandwich on delicious rye bread. Or you can have a brat. The Berghoff beer on tap (lager or dark) is always fresh. Or you can proceed into the food court and go to Billy Goats. The place is famous (Cheezeborger-pepsi- chips). The hamburgers are flavorless, thin and undersized compared to the kaiser bun. Do not buy these. So I opt for the ribeye steak sandwich. For the price ($5.00) it is better than the Panda, California Pizza Kitchen, Spago salads/pizza and Mc. Donalds that are also available. Terminal 2 has a cafeteria type place if you want to eat institutional food. The international terminal 2nd floor before security has a Gold Coast Dogs that serves char burgers, hot dogs, italian sausage/beef sandwiches.

[rich]

I've been to Minneapolis a few times and there's really nothing worth the trip into town. If I had three hours I would visit Department 56 in Eden Prairie and walk around their showroom. It's not food, but it's fun.

[NewYorkTexan]

While certainly not a foodie designation, the Mall of America could be a good way to kill a few hours. They used to have a free shuttle to and from the airport and the mall is only about 20 minutes away.

What I used to do at that airport is go to the “rent a dvd” store. For about $10, you can rent a portable dvd player and a movie. The have a decent but not great selection of movies, including many current ones. The store used to be in the main concourse, near the food court.

[Aurora]

Have you read La Cucina by Lily Prior? It's not Hemmingway, but it is a decent foodie read that will make the time pass more quickly.

Here's a picture of the cover from Amazon.com

[Beachfan]

I've always wanted to go here:

museum of questionable medical devices

[SuthrnFoodie]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions! I'm back from San Antonio, and engaged!! Yay me!! Thanks again for your responses, I'll look into La Cucina!!

Tracey

[Schneier]

Or am I just talking to myself?

Bruce

[snowangel]

Seems to be you and me...

[canoodle]

Not from Minneapple... but live next door. So Minn/ St. Paul is the closest place for me to get a good meal. DH lived in your city for years. We plan on visiting early November. Any hints as to where to get a great meal. We love Origami etc. Anything new in the last year that's worth visiting?

[ronnie_suburban]

I have some family there and I do visit from time to time but I'm in the Chicago area.

=R=

[Schneier]

Not from Minneapple... but live next door.  So Minn/ St. Paul is the closest place for me to get a good meal.    DH lived in your city for years. We plan on visiting early November. Any hints as to where to get a great meal. We love Origami etc.  Anything new in the last year  that's worth visiting?

Where is next door? Wisconsin?

And I have hundreds of suggestions--okay, dozens--about where you can get a great meal. Give me a definition of "great meal" and I will provide some. And there have been some goodies that have opened up in the last year, as well as one (Aquavit) that closed.

Bruce

[canoodle]

Sorry I didn't say which neighbor I am. I live in ND. ACK!!!

I missed Aquavit. Dang. Why did they close?

Actually we love almost any food (lutefisk being the exception). We have no prejudices. The only thing I have backed away from was whole baby eels. I couldn't get past the looks of them. We're always on the lookout for good Vietnamese, Thai or Korean food. We usually go to a little place in St. Paul for Thai. I forget the name..but I think it's on St. Peters??? st. Near downtown. We have friends who take us there...and I can never remember it's name. LOL DH was living in St. Paul when the large influx of Vietnamese came to the cities. He was hooked on the food immediately.

As far as upscale dining goes, we love to dress up and have a great meal. It seems we dine more upscale in New Orleans and Chicago than Minneapolis. I seems that I can never get excited about dining downtown. Hmmmm. Anything going on besides the D'Amica conglomerate?

[snowangel]

How well you eat in Minneapolis is a matter of getting out of downtown. We've heard about the plethora of chain restaurants downtown (and at the Sprawl of America), and the recent closing of two favorites -- Aquavit and Cafe Un Deux Trois. There are still a couple of really good independents downtown (without the corporate feel of D'Amico or Goodfellows), but the real story is in Northeast Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, the Mac-Groveland and Grand Avenue areas of St. Paul, among others.

[Schneier]

Vincent, downtown, is probably the best foodie restaurant in Minneapolis right now, although you could make a claim for Alma. Levian is the new hot restaurant, but I think it is WAY overrated.

There's good Korean food in St. Paul--either Mirror of Korea or the place across the street. There's LOTS of good Vietnamese food in South Minneapolis. There's okay Thai food here, but not great. Same with Indian. Big E's Soul Food is the best thing that happened to cheap ethnic eats in Minneapolis this year.

The coolest things about the Minneapolis food scene in the past few years is what I've dubbed the New American Bistros: good neighborhood restaurants. In South Minneapolis we have JP American Bistro, Three Muses, First Course, and N E Thyme Cafe.

There's lots more; it's a good foodie town, really.

Bruce

[Schneier]

Seems to be you and me...

Then we should go eat somewhere sometime. Or cook, but we should probably make sure neither of us is an axe murderer before inviting the other into our homes.

Bruce

Edited September 22, 2003 by Schneier (log)

[canoodle]

Un Deux, Trois is closed also? Geez...I gotta get out more.

[Schneier]

Un Deux, Trois is closed also? Geez...I gotta get out more.

Closed. Gone. Caput.

I think it went downhill before it closed, though.

Bruce