UPDATED 12/12/2013 | Some exciting new restaurants have just opened or are opening up in the next few days, and Midtown Global Market is the incubator for two of them.The Left Handed Cook has closed its counter in the Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis, and has reopened in the same building as a sit-down restaurant, The Rabbit Hole. The new restaurant offers an … [Read more...]
Food finds: Cajun food truck, Dongpo pork and Taiwan noodles
My latest food finds include a Cajun food truck in downtown Minneapolis, Dongpo pork on University Ave., and mock pork in a basement locale in Eat Street. "Look for the crawfish flag," Tim Glover told me. He doesn't serve crawfish etoufee every day, but when he has it on the menu at his Cajun2Geaux food truck, you can spot the big crawfish flag flying from the radio … [Read more...]
Soon dubu chigae at the Kimchi Tofu House in Minneapolis
What could be better on a cool rainy day than a hot steaming bowl of soon dubu chigae, spicy tofu stew? The tiny Kimchi Tofu House, 307 S.E. Oak St., Minneapolis, offers about 10 different variations with beef, pork, shrimp, mussels, oysters and kim chi, all priced at $8.99. Served with steamed rice, several panchan side dishes, and a raw egg that you can crack open and stir … [Read more...]
Keefer Court Bakery & Cafe in Minneapolis: What the mahjong ladies order
I try to be discreet about it, but I have this really bad habit of wandering around in Chinese restaurants to see what the other diners are eating—especially if the other diners are Chinese. I always have this suspicion that I am missing out, and that the Chinese customers know about dishes on the menu that I don't know about—or dishes that aren't even on the … [Read more...]
Smack Shack restaurant: Same great lobster rolls, minus some of the funky charm
I love the original Smack Shack—the food truck that parks downtown on Marquette Avenue during the warmer months and sells lobster rolls and shrimp po boys. The lobster rolls are delicious, and there is definitely a huge cool factor to a gourmet food truck. A food truck isn't literally a shack, but it's kind of the same idea—great food, no frills.I also loved discovering that I … [Read more...]
The Butcher and the Boar: More than just meat
There is something blunt, almost brutal, about the name of Jack Riebel's new restaurant The Butcher and the Boar. While most meat emporiums take names that distance themselves a bit from the living animal (The Capitol Grille; Morton's Steak House), the Butcher and the Boar conjures a confrontation that is going to end badly for one of the parties. There will be blood. And … [Read more...]
Mussels, beer and pot brownies – Dutch cuisine at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Well, cuisine isn't exactly the right word, but the new Amsterdam Bar & Hall in downtown St. Paul does have a nice selection of Dutch broodjes (sandwiches) and appetizers, as well as Dutch and Belgian beers. It also offers its own version of one culinary specialty that the coffeehouses of Amsterdam are famous for: pot brownies.Indonesian restaurants are immensely popular in … [Read more...]
Flavors of Korea
I have been on a bit of a Korean eating binge lately. When Carol goes out of town, as she did recently, I tend to head for the cuisines that I like and she doesn't - and Korean definitely falls into that category. So my first stop was at the Korea Cafe, 211 Oak St., Minneapolis, a little no-frills storefront in Stadium Village with a big selection of traditional Korean fare. I … [Read more...]