The 5 best things our food writers ate this week

Sourcing quality ingredients and making them shine is a key philosophy at Rail Werks Brewing Depot. Smoked meats such as brisket, chicken wings and housemade sausage with house rubs and sauces are testaments to that philosophy of enhancing ingredients while not overshadowing the main attraction.

A shining example is the smash burger, which you can order plain or with cheese ($10-$12). Two locally sourced beef patties are seared and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. They’re served on a soft gourmet bun that’s toasted and topped with no-fuss lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. It’s a quality burger with farm-to-table vibes that’s a classic in the making.

Owner/brewer/pit master William Roberts and his wife, Denise, opened the spot seven months ago in a business plaza that previously housed a charter school and, before that, Marshalls. It’s already hitting a note with crowds for both the menu and as a community gathering spot, with regular events like bingo, trivia, live entertainment and yoga. The Robertses live and raised their kids in the area. “This community means a lot to us, so it made sense that we make this the home of Rail Werks Brewing Depot,” William said. (Nancy Ngo)

4055 Central Av. NE., Columbia Heights, railwerksbrewingdepot.com

Expertly crafted sourdough pizza is just the start of what chef JohnMichael Lynch is doing in his new kitchen at Fair State Brewing in northeast Minneapolis. What was formerly a pizza pop-up is now a brick-and-mortar, where Lynch is roasting vegetables and braising meats and filling out the menu. Soon, he’ll be rolling out pasta and sandwich specials on weekends, too.

Lynch uses mostly Minnesota-grown grain milled at Baker’s Field Flour & Bread for his Neapolitan and Detroit-style crusts. Creatively and generously topped, the pizzas are all about balance, and Lynch considers everything, even the order in which you taste the ingredients. That’s why he created an “upside-down” margherita showcasing the crust first, the hand-pulled mozzarella second, and ends on a saucy note. His birria-topped “Not Another Taco Pizza” on special last weekend (it may join the menu permanently) was a gorgeous medley of flavors, with a rich consommé for dipping that took the leftover crusty edges to another level.

So why am I touting a bowl of carrots ($14)? Because Lynch, a former Travail chef, gives the root vegetable as much attention as he does his signature pizza dough. They are exalted. Lynch roasts wedges of organic carrots in papillote with cumin, coriander and fennel. “The technique accentuates their natural sweetness, creating this carrot ‘gold,‘” Lynch said. Those get nestled with pickled coins and raw shavings and splashed with a ginger-carrot vinaigrette. Cilantro purée and a spiced dukkah of toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds top it off. They’re the most carrot-y carrots I’ve had, an all-out celebration. (Sharyn Jackson)

2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls., farinarossamn.com

When visiting a new-to-me restaurant, I often ask servers what their menu favorites are in hopes they’ll steer me toward a hidden gem. When I asked our server at Fireside Foundry, she didn’t hesitate: “Anything with our homemade Thai sauce.”

I was already a step ahead, having clocked the Asian fries when doing my pre-dinner homework. A pile of crispy French fries are doused with Fireside’s housemade Thai sauce, adding a boatload of flavor and a little heat, before being drizzled with chipotle mayo and topped with equally flavorful boneless short rib and cilantro ($16.99). Despite the sauciness, the fries stayed incredibly crispy. I immediately noted other dishes with Thai sauce to try next time (Asian short rib burger, boneless Asian short rib and bành mí).

Open for about a decade, Fireside Foundry takes over where predecessor Fireside Pizza, which began in 1959, left off. The neighborhood restaurant reinvented itself and now serves an array of burgers and other handhelds as well as pastas, homestyle entrees (meatloaf, Tater Tot hot dish) and pizzas made with the beloved Fireside recipe. The snappy, thin-crust pizzas ($19.99-$24.99) come in several creative flavors, but I wouldn’t be sad to find that short rib and Thai sauce on a pizza crust. (Nicole Hvidsten)

6736 Penn Av. S., Richfield, firesidefoundry.com

Is breakfast the most dangerous meal of the day? If the cook in charge of the meal doesn’t stick the landing, the whole tenor of the day could be thrown off. It’s a gamble of good faith to order the Eggy’s Choice at Dinkytown’s new Egg on a Roll restaurant — and one that pays off.

Egg on a Roll began as a bodega-style sandwich counter in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood from chef/owner Adam Bresina. This new location is a full, stand-alone restaurant on SE. 4th Street next to Mesa Pizza. The interior is decorated with pops of blue and yellow with graffiti art and staffed by cooks who know their way around a griddle. The basic egg sandwich with cheese on brioche starts at $6.99

Eggy’s Choice ($9.99) is a wild card order that’s up to the whims of the chef. When I visited, the cook said this was his favorite combo, a bold beauty of spice and heartiness: pepperjack and cheddar cheese, chorizo, chipotle aioli, Cry Baby Craig’s hot sauce, arugula and a soft and airy scrambled egg. It was a resolute level set for a busy day.

Order online, build your own beauty or buy the ticket and take the ride like I did. Breakfast is safe in the hands of this crew. (Joy Summers)

1325 SE. 4th St., Mpls., eggonaroll.com

Fat Pants Friday, 6Smith’s over-the-top sandwich that’s kind of a challenge, turns 10 this month. And it’s been almost that many years since I ate my last one. Let’s just say a 3,000-minimum-calorie lunch is not an everyday — or even every year — occurence for me. It is, however, for some who line up outside the Wayzata restaurant before it even opens on Fridays at 11 a.m. These longtime fans wouldn’t miss an installment. That’s because this sandwich is always changing.

It started as a way to have a little fun while using up whatever ingredients were in the kitchen. Then chef (now an operating partner and the restaurant’s manager) Angel Luna kicked it off with the towering Bacon Burger Bomb. But over the years, it became much more. Not just a cult menu item that’s only available at the bar during Friday lunch, but a contest of sorts for kitchen staff, who come up with new creations in hopes theirs will be selected in a weekly behind-the-scenes battle.

This past Friday, the winner was a footlong hoagie stuffed with cubes of buffalo-sauced chicken tenders, spirals of macaroni and cheese, hunks of crispy potato wedges, drizzles of hot sauce and more cheese. Oh yeah, and a single asparagus spear, the only thing every single Fat Pants entry has had in common. I got through almost half the inside, no bun, before calling it quits, and, sadly, couldn’t take the leftovers home. That would be a rule-breaker. (The other rule is no sharing.)

Though inflation has brought the price up from the original $8 to a still reasonable $15, next Friday, Jan. 24, the restaurant is bringing back the very first sandwich, that Bacon Burger Bomb, at the original 2015 price. (S.J.)

294 Grove Lane E., Wayzata, 6smithmn.com