best of minnesota

Champion of local food: Lenny Russo

Wednesday May 9, 2012

Those menus that list the names of farms supplying the kitchen? You won’t find one at Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, because chronicling chef/co-owner Lenny Russo’s staggering supply chain would fill a smallish encyclopedia. Instead, just take a look around. His vast — and vastly impressive — Lowertown command center (dining room, lounge, deli counter, workrooms, chef’s tables, open kitchen and more) pretty much says what he doesn’t commit to print. This urban-rural nexus was built on Russo’s unwavering and visionary commitment to the goodness, the rightness and, yes, the economic sensibility of locally sourced foods.

• 289 E. 5th St., St. Paul
• 651-699-3536
• heartlandrestaurant.com

Reservation for impressing a foodie: Piccolo

Friday May 11, 2012

Don’t let its unassuming neighborhood location do a number on you, or the small-scale setting (just 36 seats). Big things are happening inside tiny Piccolo. Thrilling things, actually. The menu’s 16 or so choices are designed to encourage and facilitate a build-your-own degustation experience, and chef Doug Flicker ups the ante by giving popular tastes a much-needed boot in the backside. Smoked eel, tripe and other Minnesota-menu rarities blossom under his fertile imagination. He is, after all, the chef who turned scrambled eggs and pigs’ feet into one of the city’s most talked-about dishes.

• 4300 Bryant Av. S., Mpls
• 612-827-8111
• piccolompls.com

Grab-and-go dessert: Chocolate chip cookies at Lucia's To Go

Tuesday May 15, 2012

There are plenty of reasons to get hooked on these thick, palm-sized treats. They’re crispy and deeply golden on the outside, and tender and chewy on the inside, like any self-respecting Toll House-er should be. They’re packed with rich, flavorful chocolate and front-loaded with copious amounts of rich butter. They’re tailor-made for a tall glass of cold milk. Oh, and they’re only a buck.

• 1432 W. 31st St., Mpls.
• 612-825-9800
• lucias.com

Runner-up: Brownies at Wilde Roast Café

Way to greet the day: Bacon waffles at Al's Breakfast

Wednesday May 9, 2012

In a perfect world, every morning would start with a butter-and-maple-syrup-drenched bacon waffle at Al’s Breakfast. Co-owners Jim Brandes and Doug Grina craft them on their hard-working stove, using the same formula developed by the late Al Bergstrom. Tender and golden, with smoky bacon inside, they’re one of the glories of Dinkytown’s Little Diner That Could — vying against the blueberry pancakes and the eggs Benedict.

• 413 14th Av. SE., Mpls
• 612-331-9991

Runner-up: Biscuits and gravy at Sun Street Breads

Splurge: Tasting menu at La Belle Vie

Wednesday May 9, 2012

To say that the eight-course tasting menu at La Belle Vie is a peak Twin Cities dining experience doesn’t really begin to cover it. Here’s why: It’s the ultimate expression of chef Tim McKee’s prodigious culinary gifts. Pastry chef Diane Yang’s nuanced desserts ably reflect her boss’ mind-set, and the service staff could profitably moonlight in community education, headlining a course dubbed “This Is How It’s Done 101.” The price tag is $85 (wine director Bill Summerville’s astute pairings are an additional $65), and it’s worth every penny.

• 510 Groveland Av., Mpls.; 612-874-6440
• labellevie.us

Runner-up: Tasting menu at Sanctuary

Cheap-eats locavore: Common Roots Cafe

Tuesday May 15, 2012

It’s not unusual to associate the words “farm to table” and “expensive.” But not at Common Roots Café, where owner Danny Schwartzman and his friendly crew proudly deliver simple, affordable fare created from an enormous range of Minnesota-grown ingredients, some of them nurtured in the garden just outside the restaurant’s back door. The casual, counter-service spot is also notable for its deep commitment to composting, recycling and other “green” efforts. Oh, and its peerless bagels.

• 2558 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls
• 612-871-2360
• commonrootscafe.com

Cheap dinner: Sunday night four-course meal at Rinata

Friday May 11, 2012

Penny-pinchers, listen up: It is possible to dine well and stuff yourself silly. At least on Sunday evenings at tiny Rinata, when chef/owner Jonathan Hunt throws fiscal caution out the window and puts out a delicious four-course Italian-inspired spread for just $20. Yes, twenty dollars.

• 2451 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
• 612-374-8998
• rinatarestaurant.com

Culinary import: Paul Berglund

Tuesday May 15, 2012

We can all thank the University of Minnesota for luring chef Paul Berglund to the Twin Cities. No, the former naval officer isn't on campus. But his wife is, and so Berglund, who sharpened his chops during six years at the critically acclaimed Oliveto in Oakland, Calif., moved east, too. Along with "supportive spouse" he can add "self-starter" to his résumé; upon arrival, Berglund first landed a baking gig at Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market before taking the helm at the Bachelor Farmer, where he's been delving deep into contemporary Scandinavian cooking.

• 50 N. 2nd Av., Mpls.
• 612-206-3920
• thebachelorfarmer.com

Reason to live in the suburbs: Chez Arnaud

Monday April 30, 2012

Thank you (scratch that -- merci) to Arnaud de Rambures for introducing Chez Arnaud to the hungry residents of Maple Grove. Rambures' confident style of French breads and pastries -- including what are easily the metro's best eclairs -- is proof that great bakeries can be found outside the city limits of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Even more props for sharing the love with the east metro and opening a second location in White Bear Lake.

• 13332 Bass Lake Rd., Maple Grove
• 763-568-7756

• 4735 Hwy. 61, White Bear Lake
• 651-653-5658
• myfrenchbakery.net

Vietnamese restaurant: Ngon Vietnamese Bistro

Friday May 11, 2012

Thanks to the religious institutions that sponsored a wave of immigrants in the 1970s and '80s, the Twin Cities has enjoyed a delicious influx of Southeast Asian restaurants. Tang Truong opened Caravelle at University and Avon Avenues in 1983, and 24 years later, his son Hai re-christened the space as Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, where he inserts a locavore's mentality into his family's cooking heritage. The results, coupled with a stellar craft beer list, are truly exceptional.

• 799 W. University Av., St. Paul
• 651-222-3301
• ngonbistro.com

Pasta: Bar La Grassa

Friday May 11, 2012

Yes, the charcuterie is divine (after all, la grassa is Italian for "the fat"), and it's easy to fall head-over-heels for the bruschettas and the roasted meats. But the real reason Bar La Grassa keeps packing 'em in is the pasta -- 20 or so fresh and dry options, ranging from signature items such as tender gnocchi fortified with roasted cauliflower and bits of orange to calamarata tossed with velvety pieces of raw pink tuna. Can't get a reservation? Drop by and vie for one of the pasta bar's two dozen seats, available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• 800 Washington Av. N., Mpls.
• 612-333-3837
• barlagrassa.com

One-night-a-week meal: Thursday dinner at Gather

Friday May 11, 2012

Thursday night is the time to be at the Walker Art Center, when admission is free and Gather, the museum's dynamic restaurant, turns into the people-watching-est show in the 612. It's especially fun on the first Thursday of the month, when chef Josh Brown opens up his kitchen to a guest chef (past visitors include Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma, Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery and Russell Klein of Meritage) who adds a few small plates to the menu and gives diners a first (and free) taste

• 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
• 612-253-3410
• walkerart.org

Takeout: Brasa

Friday May 11, 2012

It's a setup for failure: Drop in on Brasa, pick up a bevy of slow-roasted pork, beef or chicken and a flurry of side dishes (do not miss the roasted yams with andouille sausage, the collard greens with smoked chicken or the cabbage-apple coleslaw), and try not to snack on the drive home. A recipe for failure, indeed, but an excellent plan for lunch or dinner. (Next time, for safekeeping's sake, store it in the trunk.)

• 600 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., 612-379-3030,
• 777 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-224-1302
• brasa.us

Runner-up: Yum! Kitchen and Bakery

Restaurant design trend: Kitchen counters

Friday May 11, 2012

The hottest seat in the house at Tilia -- aside from the sometimes difficult act of obtaining any seat inside chef Steven Brown's popular Linden Hills hothouse -- is one of the half-dozen seats at the kitchen counter, where diners get a front-row-center view of the cooking crew as they go through their breakneck paces. It's dinner theater at its most riveting, and a free culinary tutorial.

• 2726 W. 43rd St., Mpls.
• 612-354-2806
• tiliampls.com

Butcher shop sandwich: Roast beef with horseradish at Clancey's Meats & Fish

Friday May 11, 2012

Jimmy John's, Potbelly and Subway will forever fall into the also-ran category after one experiences the taste sensation that is the roast beef sandwich at this Linden Hills foodie magnet. The scrupulous made-to-order goodness includes a chewy Rustica-baked baguette, thin shavings of rare roast beef, coarse mustard, pungent fresh-ground horseradish, tangy house-pickled jalapenos, sweet house-roasted red bell peppers, a dash of vinegar, a spritz of olive oil and a few sprinkles of salt and pepper. Talk about a recipe for success.

• 4307 Upton Av. S., Mpls.
• 612-926-0222
• clanceysmeats.com

Chef's table: Heidi's

Monday April 30, 2012

Nosing around for an insider dining experience? Indulge in a dinner served inside the kitchen. A handful of Twin Cities restaurants manage to squeeze a table onto the equivalent of the factory floor, but the pick of the litter is the chef's table at Heidi's, a ringside seat (or seats: minimum four and maximum 10 diners) for chef Stewart Woodman's prodigiously creative tasting menu.

• 2903 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls.
• 612-354-3512
• heidismpls.com

Runner-up: Cosmos