Just in time for sugar season, there’s a new chocolatier in town: Cocoa Flake is now open at 4180 W. Broadway, Suite 400, in Robbinsdale. Owner Denny Rain has already been tempting the Twin Cities with her edible art at pop-ups and shops like St. Paul’s Golden Fig, but now she has a full-time home base.
Cocoa Flake’s chocolates are beauties to behold. Rain coaxes incredible sheen and texture from the chocolate and imparts dazzling designs and colors to each one. Inside, flavors follow her whimsy with options like banoffee, marshmallow crunch, s’mores, lemon curd, passion fruit and more. Her designs also flow with the seasons, with smiling snowmen faces in winter, or eyeballs for Halloween. Each takes at least three days to make, from painting to the exterior to getting the shell and filling just right to be able to pop each out of its mold.
Rain arrived in Minnesota from Italy more than 10 years ago and attended culinary school in Brooklyn. From there she found her way into the pastry world before going all in on chocolate.
The new shop is located at the back of the W. Broadway complex, facing the parking lot. Shop hours for now are mostly afternoons through early evenings Wednesdays through Sundays. Check the Cocoa Flake website for more details.
Another Los Ocampo opening in November
The beloved taqueria and Mexican restaurant Los Ocampo is finally opening its newest location at 2186 Marshall Av. in St. Paul, near the intersection of Cretin Avenue, nearly a year after announcing plans for the space. In an update posted to the restaurant’s Instagram account, they detailed the delays in opening and invited followers to guess the exact date they’ll open the doors.
In the video, the restaurant that was formerly Bark and the Bite and Heirloom Kitchen & Bar before that has been given a bright makeover, and bistro lights have been strung through the dining room.
Armando Ocampo and Lilia Zagal opened the first Los Ocampo taqueria in 2003. The business has continued to expand with taco stands, sit-down restaurants, a food truck and more in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Woodbury.
![Dave Maguson served up a Chicago style hot dog at his Walkin' Dog stand. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com Dave Magnuson, proprietor of downtown's stalwart hot-dog stand, Walkin' Dog, served up lunch for customers Tuesday, April 23, 2019 in Minneapolis. Maguson has brought cheap eats and a small-town style to the skyway system for 28 years - eating 3.5 miles of franks and missing a mere four days of work in the process.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/V62KJAHANESROGITBYCODASPEI.jpg?&w=712)
Walkin’ Dog making a comeback in Northstar Center
Near the end, that first floor of Northstar Center was a desolate spot for a midday walk-through. The hot dog stand limped along, and the empty Arby’s shell looked out at the sparsely populated street. Now, after years of construction and millions of dollars invested, the area is about to come back on line and there will be food options.