28 December 2023
It’s that time of year when we scroll through our photos and recall just how lucky we are to have tasted so many delicious dishes by so many of the Twin Cities’ fabulous chefs.
It’s never easy to choose our favorite bites of the year, but here are 12 that really stood out in 2023.
Here’s to another tasty year, and if you haven’t been to any of these places, what are you waiting for? Maybe this list can serve as a to-do list of sorts for 2024.
RELATED: 6 great drinks from Twin Cities restaurants in 2023
Crispy Green Beans from Soul Lao
Everything at Soul Lao, the new Sibley Plaza restaurant from the folks behind the food truck of the same name, is great. But the crispy green beans stood out in their simplicity: Green beans and snow peas, wok-fried with fermented soy sauce and garlic and tomatoes. The slightly sour earthiness of the sauce brings out a sweetness in the vegetables that’s just delightful. This, I think, is green beans and snow peas at their best.
Green beans are shown with several other dishes at Soul Lao, a new restaurant in Highland Park, on Dec. 10, 2023. The vegetables are wok-fried with fermented soy sauce, which gives them a sweet and funky richness. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Soul Lao: 2465 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-363-3469; soullao.com
— J.K.
House Cucumbers at Potsticker
It’s possibly a little odd that from a menu full of delicious dumplings, I have chosen these simple, addictive cucumbers for this list, but here we are.
Little logs of cucumber are marinated in this cute new restaurant’s “old godmother” sauce, which is basically a chile crisp with garlic and peanuts added.
The House Cucumbers at Potsticker in St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Do I recommend the potstickers? Yes. They are all excellent, especially when dipped in the very same sauce. But those cucumbers are the thing I’ve been craving since I walked out the door, so they are the thing that makes the list. Get the cucumbers, but also get the potstickers. And get that sauce.
Potsticker: 1214 Randolph Ave., St. Paul; 651-699-4590; mypotsticker.com
— J.F.
Coconut Curry Sea Bass at Bar Cart
Bar Cart Lounge was already one of my favorite new restaurants of the year — and then I tried the coconut curry sea bass. It’s incredibly tasty, obviously, but the real triumph of the dish is how well-executed it is in texture. For starters, the fish is cooked beautifully, with both a crispy, deeply seared exterior and a plump, juicy interior. It’s served over rice with a silky auburn sauce that coats your mouth in the best way. I would eat this every day.
Coconut curry sea bass is served over rice at Bar Cart Lounge in St. Paul on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Bar+Cart Lounge: 1571 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 952-600-7920; barcartlounge.com
— J.K.
Panang Spaghetti at Gai Noi
What happens when you coat spaghetti a thick, nutty, salty, spicy curry? Absolute deliciousness.
And this dish is nothing but that and needs nothing further, except the scant sprinkle of fresh Thai basil that adorns it.
Panang Spaghetti at Gai Noi in Minneapolis. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
All the Laotian dishes at Ann Ahmed’s new Loring Park restaurant sing, but this one is a perfect example of letting the best ingredients shine.
Gai Noi: 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis; gainoimpls.com
— J.F.
Memorias de Tabay at Crasqui
Chef Soleil Ramirez is channeling all of her memories of Venezuela into her gorgeous new restaurant, Crasqui, on St. Paul’s West Side.
Memorias de Tabay, a pork chop at St. Paul’s Crasqui. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
So many of the dishes I’ve tried have been memorable, but this juicy pork chop perfectly seasoned and resting upon melt-in-your-mouth, butter-poached fondant potatoes and a deeply flavorful, savory blackberry sauce, beats them all. On our first visit, my teenage son inhaled this plate so fast that I barely got a taste. I think it was even better on my second stop.
Crasqui: 84 S. Wabasha St. No. 3, St. Paul; 952-600-5578; crasquirestaurant.com
— J.F.
Mushrooms and Peas at Herbst
An early summer offering that’s no longer on the very seasonal menu at true farm-to-table newbie Herbst, this dish instantly brought me to childhood memories of my grandmother serving me peas, milk and butter in a worn, pink melamine bowl. Herbst’s was fancier, of course: Freshly shucked green peas, sauteed wild mushrooms and luscious goat milk, topped with mint. It was the dish our entire table loved best that meal, so I know Grandma was on to something.
Peas and mushrooms in goat milk at Herbst Eatery & Farm Stand in St. Paul’s St. Anthony neighborhood. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Herbst: 779 Raymond Ave., St. Paul; 651-340-0254; herbstsaintpaul.com
— J.F.
Dill Pickle Cheese Curd Taco at the Minnesota State Fair
Is it a cop-out to include a State Fair food in our year-end roundup? Maybe. But the dill pickle cheese curd taco from Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos is worth waiting for. The pickle taco, new for 2023, brought together fried curds, sandwich pickles, cream cheese, lettuce and ranch in a fried tortilla. I was admittedly skeptical at first — and still wish they would’ve used dill curds — but if you’re gonna mess with classic fair fare like cheese curds and pickles, this is the way to do it.
Dill pickle cheese curd tacos were a new food at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair, and were served topped with lettuce and ranch dressing on Aug. 27, 2023. The tacos contain deep-fried cheese curds and sandwich-style pickles in a fried flour tortilla. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos: Across from the Sheep & Poultry Barn; cheesecurdtacos.com
— J.K.
Five Cute Wings at Juche
I went round and round with myself about which was my favorite dish from this standout new Korean lounge in the former Cook St. Paul space on Payne Avenue. I finally landed on these ultra-crunchy, uber-flavorful wings, which are best when coated with the amazing, tingly, sweet-ginger sauce. I am a wing connoisseur and usually prefer a dry rub, so it says a whole lot for a sauce that not only am I recommending a wing coated in it, but I think these are my favorite wings in the Cities at the moment.
Sweet ginger wings at Juche on St. Paul’s Payne Avenue. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Juche: 1124 Payne Ave., St. Paul; 612-490-3380; juchestpaul.com
— J.F.
Ann’s Ham ‘N’ Cheese at Kim’s
There are so many new restaurants from chefs and owners that really speak to their own hearts and backgrounds this year, perhaps none more clearly than this new Korean spot from James Beard Award winner Ann Kim.
Ann’s Ham ‘N’ Cheese at Kim’s in Minneapolis. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)
Kim’s version of a processed ham sandwich (she makes her own; Hormel Foods hilariously asked whether she was using its trademark Spam, so don’t call it that) is much more complex than it appears. Served on a hotteok, or Korean pancake, a salty, juicy slab of that house-made ham is draped with melty American cheese and topped with crisp pickles, mayo and simple yellow mustard. If nutrition wasn’t a consideration, I’d eat this beauty of a sandwich every day.
Kim’s: 1432 W. 31st St., Minneapolis; 612-540-2554; kimsmpls.com
— J.F.
Smashburger at Private Sector Provisions
There’s a very real chance the smashburger from Private Sector Provisions, a pop-up currently in Hudson, is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. (Regrettably, for the first several decades of my life, I did not track my burger consumption in the pages of Minnesota’s First Daily Newspaper.) It’s a simple burger: a double smashie cooked with onions, topped with cheese, housemade pickles and Big Mac-style sauce. But in stripping a burger down to its basics, these guys have nailed every savory, juicy, messy detail.
Private Sector Provisions’ double smash burger at their pop-up at Nova Bar in Hudson, Wisc., on Oct. 18, 2023. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Private Sector Provisions: Currently a pop-up at Nova Bar in Hudson, Wis. (236 Coulee Road), but follow them on Instagram @privatesectorprovisions for times/availability.
— J.K.
Lemon Scones from Milly’s Kitchen Madness
Lemon scones from Milly’s Kitchen Madness & Bakes, a cottage bakery in Stillwater, sit on a tray with other desserts in baker Sarah Millfelt’s backyard on July 11, 2023. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
You can’t find Sarah Millfelt’s lemon scones in stores. Her business, Milly’s Kitchen Madness and Bakes, operates under a cottage baking license, so you have to join her Stillwater-based “community-supported bake” program to get a weekly box of delightful desserts. Millfelt herself is delightful to spend time with, and so are her lemon scones. They’re softer and more cake-like than lesser, crumblier scones. Lemon lovers, rejoice.
Milly’s Kitchen Madness and Bakes: Join online at millyskitchenmadness.com; box pickup is Fridays at Millfelt’s house in Stillwater
— J.K.
Pipirrana at Rincon 38
When the pipirrana arrives to your table at Rincon 38, a quintessential Spanish restaurant in the Twin Cities, you need to make peace with destruction. The dish is a towering stack of tomatoes, roasted peppers and red-wine-cooked onions, topped with a fried goat cheese croquette and surrounded by swirls of smoked paprika oil and good balsamic. It looks beautiful. Knock it over. The joy of this dish is in adventure; exploring flavorful combinations among different components. Not unlike wandering the streets of Spain itself, this dish is a delicious journey of discovery.
Pipirrana is served with tomato, red wine onion, roasted pepper, fried goat cheese and balsamic drizzle on March 24, 2023, at Rincon 38 in Minneapolis.(Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Rincon 38: 3801 Grand Ave S, Minneapolis; 612-824-4052; rincon38.net
— J.K.
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