Best free snack - Gigante beans at Bar La Grassa - 2014 Best of MN

There are two memorable greetings at the ever-popular Bar La Grassa. The first is the warm welcome at the door, courtesy of the restaurant's well-trained service staff. The second is a small plate of toothy gigante beans, tossed with tiny pickled vegetables, tons of herbs and a fruity olive oil. It arrives at the table — or at the long pasta bar, the no-reservations-necessary refuge for last-minute diners — and you snap them up with toothpicks while perusing the menu, whetting your appetite for the lobster- and scrambled eggs-topped bruschetta, the gnocchi with cauliflower and orange, the red wine spaghetti with pine nuts and countless other they-can't-take-them-off-the-menu dishes. 800 Washington Av. N., Mpls.; 612-333-3837; barlagrassa.com