Jeremy Iggers When we entertain at home, we take for granted that we all partake in the same dishes, prepared in portions large enough to share. So isn’t it a bit odd, in this age of dining out as entertainment, for friends to gather at a restaurant and each order a different meal? It’s a very American … Read more
Got plans this morning? Come over to the Mill City Farmers Market, at 2nd and Chicago in downtown Minneapolis (next to the new Guthrie Theater). It’s the peak of the growing season, there will be lots of fresh produce and locally made products on hand, and besides, I will be judging a pie contest. The … Read more
You can add the Grand Cafe to the list of restaurants participating in the Wedge Natural Foods Co-op’s Eat Local Challenge. (See Ann’s post below.) The popular south Minneapolis bistro has a new chef: Jon Radle, but don’t expect any big changes at the popular south Minneapolis bistro. Owner Mary Hunter says that the cafe … Read more
At 8:45 on a Friday night, the more popular Eat Street restaurants are still abuzz, but the dining room at 1833 Nicollet Ave. S. is empty. The former Soul City Supper Club has been reborn as the Gangchen Bar & Restaurant, with a logo that includes a martini glass tipped at a rakish angle. A … Read more
Peruvian-American chef Rachel Rubin, whose culinary credits include creative work at the Loring Cafe, Chino Latino, Tiburon and Bobino, will present a five-course Peruvian diner this Sunday, August 19 at the LeDuc Historic Estate in Hastings. Courses include anticuchos (grilled skewers of beef), papas a la Huanciana (a Peruvian potato salad), seviche of corvina marinated … Read more
I get a little grumpy every time I set foot inside the Town Talk Diner at 27th and E. Lake in Minneapolis. The decibel level is overwhelming, especially in the bar, which not only makes it hard to have a conversation, but pushes me towards morbid thoughts of how I am becoming one of those … Read more
The new sign hasn’t gone up yet outside the little cafe at 15th and E. Hennepin, but the former East River Market has been renamed the Chindian Cafe. The grocery shelves are gone, and the seating has expanded, from 12 seats to 20+. Chef-owner Nina Wong, who is ethnically Chinese, but born in Vietnam and … Read more
Obento-ya may be small — tiny, in fact — but the little Japanese storefront at 15th and Como Ave. S.E. offers the biggest selection of bento box meals I’ve seen locally. The 18 different varieties range from tempura shrimp to grilled mackerel, served in a lacquered box with accompaniments of white rice, green salad, Japanese … Read more
If the $150 a plate gastronomic Taste of the Nation Minneapolis-Saint Paul extravaganza scheduled for September 16 at Graves 601 Hotel is a little too rich for your blood, the organizers of this year’s Share our Strength fundraiser to fight childhood hunger have a more affordable option: a $35 grazing dinner next Wednesday, August 8, … Read more
Café Maude is just the kind of restaurant a lot of neighborhoods need: prices low enough that the folks within walking distance can afford to be regulars, and food interesting enough to draw diners from a wider area. Proprietor Kevin Sheehy, who also owns a couple of Dunn Brothers coffeehouses nearby, worked closely with the … Read more