FOODSTUFF >>

• BEST APPLE ORCHARD
  Bob Fitch and Molly Beckstrom run a fun orchard. They set up a petting zoo of neighborhood animals out front--two woolly sheep, a pygmy goat, sometimes even their pet African pygmy hedgehog gets thrown into the mix. A local farm kid offers rides on his pony (free with a peck of apples, a dollar... More >>
• BEST ASIAN GROCERY
  Where can you get Japanese cookies that sort of look like animal crackers but are called Marine World and feature ocean critters with names such as Black Porgy and Fur Seal (stamped in English on their sweet, fish-flavored bodies)? Where to look for two dozen varieties of frozen Chinese... More >>
• BEST BAGELS
  Sure, El Niño is wreaking havoc on the world's climate to the extent that you might be tempted to believe that Armageddon is at hand. Then again, four years ago there were no Big City Bagels in town, and now they are clearly in the ascendant, so things can't really be that bad. What's so... More >>
• BEST BAKERY
  There's no more essential activity in Western culture than the transformation of flour into baked goods. And around these parts, there are no more skillful hands than the busy ones at Turtle Bread, where that humble ingredient is turned into a stunning array of comestibles ranging from the... More >>
• BEST BARBECUE
  Forget about the sauce. Anyone can fool the palate with the sauce. Instead, think of the meat: That's where it's at. And for the past six years, no one in the Twin Cities has treated meat better than Scott Woolsey's little shack on the southern city limits. Pork ribs highlight the menu, which... More >>
• BEST BISCUITS AND GRAVY
  The folks who run this no-bigger-than-a-trailer breakfast joint are such biscuits-and-gravy connoisseurs that they serve two different versions--the "original" plateful and the "ultimate." The original ($2.90) consists of two biscuits the size of hamburger buns split four-leaf-clover-style... More >>
• BEST BREAD
  Fine crumb sourdough, giant pillowy striato, bubbly boules, and jaunty brioches that'll transport you to sunny mornings in Paris--the New French has everything a fine bakery should. And then there's the baguettes: the crust as crisp as an autumn afternoon on the Champs Elysées, as golden... More >>
• BEST BURGERS
  For the pure telos of burger, the burger reduced to its essence and apart from all things, just meat, bread, and potato, there's a clear short list: The St. Paul Grill, Morton's, the Convention Grill, the Capital Grille, the Gay 90's. These are places that know that a good burger is made with... More >>
• BEST BURRITOS/WRAPS
  Step up to the cafeteria-style counter off to one side in this Mexican grocery and order a burrito with any of about a dozen fillings that vary from day to day. If they're offering the guisado of beef in colorado sauce (a rich red mole), grab it. It's a revelation: smoky, spicy, silky, deep. Or... More >>
• BEST BUTCHER
  Ever wish you could cook up a steak like those luscious ones they serve at the Local? You can! Just follow the complicated directions through the mock-Tudor residential developments of Plymouth until you arrive at Forster's Meats, where they've been serving up aged steaks (including scrumptious... More >>
• BEST CAESAR SALAD
  Of all the 50 states, none beats Minnesota when it comes to a predilection for putting mayonnaise on Caesar salads. But rest assured, at 128 Cafe every single thing that comes out of the kitchen is personally supervised by one of the chefs, so everything--including the Caesars--is done right.... More >>
• BEST CHEAP EATS
  Pin a $20 bill to your sock, arrive early, stay late, and make this the year you finally eat all the things you vowed you'd sample someday. Don't miss the New French Bakery booth, for hot scones packed with fresh fruit and dripping with cream-cheese dressing. Absolutely don't miss the... More >>
• BEST CHEESE SELECTION
  Honestly? St. Martin's is a toddler compared to Surdyk's, the granddaddy superstore of cheese. But what St. Martin's lacks in breadth of selection, the staff makes up for in attentive service, depth of knowledge, and personal flair. Meet Mary Bess Michaletz, store manager. While helping us... More >>
• BEST CHILI
  The news rockets through the skyways: "It's Devil's Tongue day! Brenda, I'll meet you at the Doughnut at 12!" "Dolores, did you hear? Devil's Tongue!" What are they talking about? They're talking about the intense vegetarian black bean and chipotle chili dished up every week or so at the Lone... More >>
• BEST CHOCOLATE SHOP
  Next time you're dashing over to housewares in Dayton's basement, don't take this quiet candy corner for granted--a closer look will reveal the finest selection of chocolates in the Twin Cities. Pay special attention to the Josef Schmidt truffles from San Francisco, neuhaus chocolates from... More >>
• BEST CO-OP
  Yeah, we know that those who consider food co-ops to be a political statement as much as a culinary upgrade regard the Wedge as a den of iniquity run by capitalist pigs--hell, the place even has automatic doors, not to mention an expanded parking lot that displaced a few apartment dwellers. But... More >>
• BEST CROISSANTS
  Video may have killed the radio star in other parts of town, but the folks at Napoleon's took a look around at their increasingly automated bakery last winter and said to hell with it: They threw out the machines and instituted a hand-formed-only, traditional baking process that has resulted in... More >>
• BEST DELICATESSEN
  You're greeted by a glittering deli case filled with all the right treats: knishes both square and round, immense slabs of corned beef and pastrami, dangling salamis, kasha varnishkas, and beguiling pyramids of rugalach with various fillings. Slide into one of the enormous booths and peruse the... More >>
• BEST DOUGHNUTS
  Did you hear the one about the ultraglamorous costume designer who was born around here, now lives in New York, and times all her flights home so she can throw her Vuitton into the rental car and swing past Mel-O-Glaze to pick up a dozen before they close? That's it, no punch line, just sweet,... More >>
• BEST FISH MARKET
  Next time someone tells you that you can't get fresh seafood in the landlocked Midwest, grab him by the ear, haul him over to Coastal, and point out the daily shipments of salmon, tuna, snapper, grouper, catfish, trout, mussels, clams, oysters, and shrimp--not to mention more unusual (around... More >>
• BEST FRESH PRODUCE
  A lot of longtime members were creeped out when the Wedge expanded to megamarket size. But it's hard to complain when your mouth is full, and Wedge shoppers' yaps are happily stuffed with the freshest, most widely varied produce around. Here you'll find vegetables you've never heard of (this... More >>
• BEST FRIED CHICKEN
  When Wingmaster--the West Broadway hot spot for fried chicken--closed its doors, the fried-chicken community wept. When Wingmaster wingmaster Henry Sullivan joined forces with his sister Lucille Williams to serve his signature golden-crisp fried chicken alongside Lucille's incredible okra,... More >>
• BEST FRIES
  We really didn't want to do this--give two awards to one establishment. But if you're the sort that's willing to go out of your way for great fries, a trip to the Wienery, home of the Twin Cities' Best Hot Dog, is a must. Made from aged Idaho russets and sliced and cooked to order, proprietor... More >>
• BEST GOURMET GROCERY
  What's most impressive about Broviak's is that you could so easily decide to throw a dinner party, or even a wedding, at 3 o'clock one afternoon, and go and buy everything you'd need for the event in one stop: Perrier-Jouët and champagne flutes, Absolut and Bloody Mary mix, New French... More >>
• BEST GYROS
  Falafel King has really thought through every aspect of the gyro. Not content to merely carve the meat off the rotating cone and serve it on a room-temperature pita, the King's minions grill the slices to seal in the flavor and add a crispness component. They swipe the pita with olive oil and... More >>
• BEST HOMEMADE PASTA
  Broders' is the place to go when spaghetti and linguini just won't cut it. Paglia, maltagliati, trenette, pappardelle, quadrucci--every strand of pasta at Broders' is handmade--and the dishes the kitchen creates with those noodles showcase the endlessly versatile nature of Italy's favorite... More >>
• BEST HOT DOGS
  The average American eats 80 hot dogs a year, and if you're not eating yours at the Wienery you're doing yourself a disservice. Pony up to owner Jerry Petermeier's counter for a real Chicago red hot--a Vienna beef dog served in a poppy-seed bun and topped with yellow mustard, hot green relish,... More >>
• BEST ICE CREAM PARLOR
  Wander into Crema on a sunny day, ask for a cone of their signature flavor, the espresso-tinged crema (imagine the creamiest possible latte, imagine it creamier--no, creamier! Creamier still! Creamier! OK, that's good), drift out to the patio, sit at a dainty table, and admire the milk-colored... More >>
• BEST INDIAN GROCERY
  Every year we revisit Asia Imports thinking that this is the year the competition will have finally outpaced them. And every year we're wrong. The store continually expands its selection and capacity--if present trends continue, we might just have to rename it Asia Imports Greatland. They've... More >>
• BEST ITALIAN GROCERY
  Say you wanted to put together a 10-course Italian feast of a dinner party in one stop: get your bread, antipasto makings, oil-packed tuna, imported provolone and Fontina Val d'Aosta, imported pastas, frozen ravioli, sauce fixings, fresh meats and sausages, a few dozen selections of Italian... More >>
• BEST JUICE BAR
  Will juice bars be the new coffee shops? We'll soon find out. But while the big corporate juice bars are still staking out their territories, let's take the opportunity to appreciate local pioneers like Fresh Squeezed, the folks who operate the front counter at Tao. They were selling bee pollen... More >>
• BEST LATINO GROCERY
  When you find yourself this summer with all the salsa makings from the farmer's market but not a chip to dip into it, head to El Burrito Mercado. You'll find the fresh masa to make tamales, corn husks to wrap them in, whole achiote seeds to season them with, every chile you ever wanted (dried... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BREWERY
  A few years back, when Michael Jackson (the international beer guru, not the international pop icon) called Sherlock's Piper's Pride the best Scottish ale outside of Scotland, you should have sat up and taken notice. And if you haven't yet worked your way over to Sherlock's to listen to the... More >>
• BEST LUTEFISK
  Lutefisk is, of course, dried cod rehydrated with lye and water served at Christmas to remind us all of how lucky we are to be living in present-day Minnesota and not starving in turn-of-the-century Scandinavia. Don't ask us why, but every year around Christmastime, Pearson's (an otherwise very... More >>
• BEST MIDDLE EASTERN GROCERY
  A half-dozen varieties of dates, cheeses such as kashkaval, akawi, and tabriz, along with French and Egyptian double-cream feta. Dozens of olives, hot pickles, tzatziki, tabbouleh, baba ghannouj, pomegranate juice, six different kinds of Turkish Delight. Lamb in every imaginable permutation... More >>
• BEST MUSSELS
  Tucked away on the ground floor of a medical office building in Edina, Rossini's would seem an unlikely place to find great mussels. The entrance is through the parking ramp, and the rest of the menu is fairly old-school Italian--stuff in red sauce, stuff in white sauce, grilled and sauced... More >>
• BEST NOODLE SHOP
  Start with the cilantro-laced spring rolls or bahn bao, steamed buns packed with pork, Vietnamese sausage, and egg. Cleanse the palate with a cup of cold and creamy Vietnamese coffee, then ask the guy next to you what he's slurping as a main course--there are always plenty of connoisseurs... More >>
• BEST PIEROGI
  You might happen upon a lighter pierogi in your travels, but you'll never find a friendlier one than what's offered at the Ukrainian Center's $6.50 all-you-can-eat Sunday and Friday brunches. Here, in the large but charming gymlike dining hall, you can get your fill of all the potato-filled... More >>
• BEST PIZZA
  Pizza Lucé's merits are legion: a homemade red sauce that's spicy, piquant, flecked with fresh bits of basil and oregano, and free of any lesser canned sauce's citric-acid bite; a homemade crust that's crisp outside and airy and tender within; and 35 toppings--including three sorts of... More >>
• BEST PREPARED FOODS
  That last-minute meeting went ridiculously long (as usual), and now you've got 20 minutes to calm down, trade in your corporate cap for your home-life hat, and put a healthy dinner on the table. Impossible? Not if you allow the good folks at the Linden Hills deli counter to lend assistance.... More >>
• BEST SAUSAGE SHOP
  Overwork the meat and it's tough. Underseason it and it's mere ground meat. Overspice it and it's utterly ruined. In prewar Eastern Europe, butchers had perfected their skills of combining cuts and varieties of meat to get distinctive, unique flavors, finely finessing the sausage arts. But who... More >>
• BEST SODA FOUNTAIN
  You can poke a fair amount of indiscriminate fun at Twin Citizens' culinary tastes, but never let it be said that we don't take our soda seriously: How many other towns can boast a veritable soda microbrewery? True, it's only open from May 15 to October 31, but those precious five and a half... More >>
• BEST SPICE SHOP
  The Penzey family began its mail-order business in 1957 out of the back of Bill Penzey's Milwaukee store. Since then their list has grown to 140,000 customers around the globe. We suppose it's to our credit that the Twin Cities ordered enough spices to warrant our own store, which opened in... More >>
• BEST SUSHI
  Owner Kiminobu "Ichi" Ichikawa says the images on the neon sign outside his warehouse-district establishment--a sake bottle and a martini glass--symbolize the intersection of Japanese and American cultures, and, by extension, his intent as a restaurateur. Ichi's a shrewd man. Because for all... More >>
• BEST WAFFLE
  They call it Andrew's Killer Waffle, and it goes like this: Take some bananas, caramelize them in a cinnamon-tinged syrup, pour the syrup on a hot waffle, add fresh whipped cream, and prepare your last will and testament--because your tablemates will fall upon you with a bitter fury if you... More >>
• BEST WALLEYE
  Where else on earth can you walk past a big stained-glass window featuring frolicking dwarves, grab a net, capture your own rainbow trout from an indoor flowing stream, and have your prey delivered to your garden table in a crisp cornmeal crust beside a heap of fresh cucumber dill relish?... More >>
• BEST WINE AND LIQUOR STORE
  During any given week, somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 different wines are in stock here--the veritable tip of the iceberg of an inventory that boggles the mind--including many bottles that are nearly impossible to find elsewhere. But wait! There's more! As in more than 300 specialty beers.... More >>