Jeremy Iggers Wanna be a restaurant critic? Wanna be a citizen journalist? Let’s try an experiment. The Citizen Café is opening tomorrow, at 24th Ave.and 38th St. in south Minneapolis. Instead of just me writing a review (which I will do eventually), how about all of you readers out there visiting the restaurant and sending me your … Read more
Nibbles and tidbits: This one sounds too good to miss: Monday night, (June 16), French Meadow Bakery and Café is hosting a five course Brazilian dinner, with live Brazilian jazz and Brazilian-inspired fashions. Cost is $50, including organic/ sustainable wine pairings. It’s a benefit for KBEM, Jazz 88 FM, so at least part of the … Read more
We had a delightful dinner at Jasmine 26 last night — a dramatic improvement over my visits last summer, shortly after the Vietnamese bistro at 26th and Nicollet opened its doors. Most of the Vietnamese staples are offered, like the spring rolls and egg rolls, and pho, for a dollar or two more than you … Read more
The 2008 James Beard Awards for best restaurant, best chef, best cookbook, etc. were announced yesterday, and Minnesota got skunked. We had three chefs in the running for Best Chef Midwest – Isaac Becker of the 112 Eatery, Tim McKee of La Belle Vie and Solera, and Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma and Brasa, which … Read more
A little taste of the Midtown Global Market will be making an appearance on the Nicollet Mall this Saturday night, as the Minneapolis Mosaic kicks off a summer of multi-cultural arts and entertainment. Manny’s Tortas, La Loma Tamales, Pham’s Deli and Holy Land Grocery and Deli will all have stands on the Nicollet Mall, selling … Read more
Café Agri opened last Saturday in the former My-T-Fine Bakery space at 43rd and Bryant Ave. S. in south Minneapolis. That’s Agri as in agritourismo, the new Italian (and Spanish) vogue of rustic farm-stay vacations where you get to crush the grapes with your feet and milk the sheep and eat hearty meals with crusty … Read more
Finding good Thai food in the Twin Cities isn’t easy — the best I have found recently has been at True Thai on Franklin Ave. E. in Minneapolis. I have been very disappointed with what I have tasted at the Thai restaurants in Uptown, and though I have only sampled a few dishes at Otho … Read more
I seem to have gotten on an Indian cuisine kick lately – not just Indian restaurants, but also grocery stores, where I can buy those colorful Indian sweets, made with condensed milk or lentil flour or sesame seeds, and flavored with pistachio, coconut and mango and all sorts of spices. Patel Brothers Groceries and Video, … Read more
I stopped in at Shiraz Fireroasted Cuisine for dinner the other night, to check out the new menu and the belly dancing, and at 8:30 on a Saturday night, the place was nearly empty. That’s really a shame, because it is a charming little restaurant, with good food and an ambience of Persian arts and … Read more
The menu at the new Red Pepper in Saint Paul combines Vietnamese, Thai and Hmong dishes, but since the first two cuisines are pretty widely available elsewhere, I decided to try one of the Hmong dishes. Number 27, sweet pork belly with eggs, turned out to be a savory stew with big chunks of roast … Read more