RESTAURANTS >>

• BEST BREAKFAST
  The lunch and dinner cuisine here is what foodies describe at Italian/pan-Asian fusion, but the breakfast is unapologetically, eclectically, eggily American. You can't go wrong with the hearty, meal-in-themselves pancakes--take your choice of honey buttermilk or blue cornmeal ($5.25, or $6.25... More >>
• BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT
  For the past several years, Rainbow has been the rising tide that lifts all (Chinese-food) boats, setting standards in service, food, atmosphere, and amenities. Other local Chinese restaurants have dishes to rival Rainbow's--seafood at Dinkytown's Shuang Cheng, noodles at Edina's Big Bowl,... More >>
• BEST DIM SUM
  Hong Kong chefs and wide alleys between tables are the secrets to My Le Hoa's success. The thick rice fun noodles are fresh and tender, the har gow shrimp dumplings bouncy and ethereal, the five-spice quail smoky and sweet. Meanwhile, the aisles make the passage of the carts swift and efficient... More >>
• BEST DINER
  From the stool closest to the door at the Band Box, you can see the towers of downtown Minneapolis, but this venerable Elliot Park grill seems far away from the harried heart of the business district. A local institution since 1939, the red-and-white oasis comfortably seats 15, and the red... More >>
• BEST DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT
  The pig, decked out in a black top hat and bow tie, calls out to you as you glide down University, beckoning you to this chocolate-pudding-colored building, one of the finer regional examples of neo-rib-shack architecture. The neon sign says "Dine in Your Car," but there are no carhops here... More >>
• BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT
  Mais oui, mais oui! Chef Vincent Françoul was last at New York seafood hotspot Le Bernardin and that is why the fish is so spectacular! Not that the French bistro specials have changed at all since Françoul's arrival--the steak frites, the soupe à l'oignon, the tarte tatin,... More >>
• BEST GERMAN RESTAURANT
  Every year it's a question that bites to the center of our souls: Do we prefer fun and comfort--or sophistication and long car rides? That's the basic Black Forest versus Schumacher's debate: One has piquant sauerbraten and architectural Austrian desserts but is separated from city life by a... More >>
• BEST GREEK RESTAURANT
  These cities' Greek restaurants are so different, they almost defy being lumped together as a category: Christos is masculine and elegant, Myconos festive, It's Greek to Me airy and familial. But Gardens of Salonica consistently charms us with a grace composed of equal parts generosity (a Greek... More >>
• BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT
  This was the year when you could practically hear restaurateurs on the Indian circuit running up phone bills to circulate the message: Come quick! There is a large city with not enough restaurants! So we joyously welcomed India Palace's buttery glory and Passage to India's late-night... More >>
• BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT (CHEAP)
  The mood is friendly and casual, the food familiar and comforting at the self-proclaimed oldest family-owned Italian restaurant in St. Paul. At this East Side establishment, the focus is on the Southern Italian-style basics--like your mom used to make, regardless of her ancestry. Diversity in... More >>
• BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT (NOT CHEAP)
  D'Amico Cucina: the greatest dream, the blackest nightmare. Dream of the crisp, rich, ethereal piadina topped with Gorgonzola, carpegna prosciutto, and warm rosemary honey. Fantasize about cloud-buoyant gnocchi and tongue-sizzling, perfect Meyer lemon souffléd pudding. But fear a... More >>
• BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT
  They've got aces under the table, these folks: The Oz-like view of downtown Minneapolis, the rock-solid menu that encompasses both very good sushi and excellent versions of comfort foods like sukiyaki and tempura, plus discreet, slightly formal service to match the elegant dining room. True,... More >>
• BEST KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT
  Like it or not--and blame it on marketing, or the security of the familiar--kids love chains. Fortunately, one of the higher-class burger chains is also kid-friendly. At Fuddruckers, children eat for 99 cents every day. They get their choice of a hamburger, hot dog, grilled cheese sandwich, or... More >>
• BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT
  Don't look for Korean barbecue, and skip past the menu pages of Chinese selections. Jang Won specializes in bang-up North Korean comfort food, noodle dishes and rice casseroles laced with tangy sauces and studded with tender meats and vegetables. Here resides possibly the best bowl of soup in... More >>
• BEST LOCAL CHEF
  How does Tim McKee get that coppa salami to stick to that tube of rabbit loin? How quickly does he have to work to carve a carpaccio of veal and then top it with a foie-gras mousseline sauce? And what sort of margin of error is there when he's making a sauce with such costly, easily damaged... More >>
• BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT
  A well-prepared Mexican meal is a lesson in proportion and balance. Too much cheese turns even the best-intentioned dish into a gooey mess, and nothing ruins a good plate of rice and beans more than an overabundance of salt. Luckily the good folks of Tacos Morelos set the standard for balance... More >>
• BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT
  In a metropolitan area where diners seem to think that Greece is in the Middle East or vice versa, finding great food in this category can be tough. This ten-year-old, family-owned bistro does offer a Greek salad, but much of the fare is far less standard and more interesting: Consider the... More >>
• BEST NEW RESTAURANT
  It's been a good year for new restaurants: the fresh margaritas and fantastic burgers at Bar Abilene, the latish-night Uptown dining at Chiang Mai Thai and Passage to India, the buzz of big-money investments like Big Bowl, Pazzaluna, and Oceanaire--not to mention the national prestige of only... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT (MINNEAPOLIS)
  It's been a strange year for Minneapolis restaurants: All the former powerhouses have succumbed to their own success. D'Amico Cucina coasts along serving pedestrian food, Goodfellow's is so taken with itself that embarrassingly pretentious servers now trot out neglected plates, and... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT (ST. PAUL)
  As it went in Minneapolis this year, so it did in St. Paul: The heavy hitters were uneven. The St. Paul Grill lost control of its menu, Pazzaluna never seemed spectacular, Table of Contents doesn't seem to be as good as it was--or is it just that other restaurants have gotten better? Either... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT CIRCA 1950
  The building draws you in from across the street: Loud Technicolor green façade, Vegas-red neon signs, the drawing of the Silver Butter Knife Steak that looks like it's been ripped from a yellowing copy of Esquire. It could be some kind of crazy relic from midtown Manhattan, but the... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR A POWER LUNCH
  St. Paul is a government town, and this is a favorite spot for pols to talk turkey over some of the best steak and seafood in town. But you'll also find execs from the St. Paul Companies, Ecolab, and Minnesota Mutual huddled here, pondering cash flow and merger options. The grill offers lots of... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR APPETIZERS
  Until someone opens a proper Spanish tapas bar in the Twin Cities, we'll have to settle for the appetizer menu at Giorgio's on Lake. Not that you'll feel like you're settling when you stop by on a warm spring afternoon to enjoy a glass of Gave and a selection of some 20 delectable starters... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR CUBS FANS
  Five years ago Tommy Dennis and his brother Bobby decided that their fellow transplants from Chicago needed a place to hang. Born and bred on the West Side, a blue-collar stronghold where red hots and Italian hoagies are staples, they noticed that there wasn't one authentic beef stand in all of... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR DESSERT
  Architectural, sculptural wonders that soar off the plate like something out of the Brancusi or Calder oeuvre, yet they taste great! Oh, that passion-fruit mousse. Oh, those caramel bananas that leap into the milk-chocolate soup. And oh, the miracles the Aquavit chefs can work with a mere apple... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR GLUTTONS
  Like a landlocked cruise ship, Old Country Buffet wants to stuff you into submission. A mere $6.62 (tax included) buys you lunch. A ridiculous $8.76 (tax included) buys dinner. After that bit of business, it's pretty much between you and the 140 buffet items. Seafood Fridays and Wednesday's... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR LATE-NIGHT DINING
  In the interest of not pissing off out-of-state visitors, Minnesota officials should post signs throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: WARNING! PAST 10:00 P.M., EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK. Locating a midnight nosh that isn't delivered by a surly teenager through a drive-thru... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR OUTDOOR DINING
  Does eating outdoors make you think mosquitoes and traffic exhaust? Not here: No Wake's boulevard is the Mississippi, whose rushing current foils the bugs and whose traffic consists of the occasional barge. As you sup on good, inexpensive American bistro food, contemplate the possibilities:... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR ROMANCE
  You meet him at a table on the starboard side of this floating restaurant on the banks of the Mississippi. The floor lists a bit, which is good, because love is a crooked thing, and you might as well face up to that fact at the beginning of the journey. The city sits downstream, and from the... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT TREND
  Not five years ago restaurants were scattered around the greater metropolis like bubbles in a pizza crust, with no particular pattern. Now, suddenly, we've got restaurant districts--or, as the city planners like to call them, "Eat Streets." The first surprise was the eastern stretch of St.... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT WAY THE HECK OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
  John Schumacher's story of conquering dyslexia to become an accomplished chef has oft been told, and his talent for wild game and Bavarian cuisine are also legendary. But it's a mistake to concentrate only on the Teutonic kitsch and the cloven-hoofed entrées of Schumacher's New Prague... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS PAYING
  Is Aquavit the most eagerly anticipated restaurant in the whole gosh-darn history of the Twin Cities? Seems so, but to really get a handle on the complex, extensive menu you're going to need to visit a bunch of times--and, Bunky, on what you earn, things don't look good. That's why you've got... More >>
• BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
  Oh, that oyster bar! Mountains of ice set with scads of gorgeous mollusks gathered from the world's bays--and there at the top, the hollow husks of some of the world's most magnificent lobsters. Yes, the world's. This new (and rich) kid on the block relies on an amazing infrastructure which... More >>
• BEST STEAK HOUSE
  The secret's in the enzymes, those biochemical wonders that dry-age steaks from mere meat to vessels of warm thunder. Those perky enzymes are most perfectly showcased at Manny's, where the ravenous crowds munch through a full-fledged herd of cattle every week. Along with the steers, Manny's... More >>
• BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH
  Campiello is proof positive that you can forgo the carving-station-and-warming-tray routine and still enjoy a meal lavish enough that you'll be sleeping it off all afternoon. Once you're seated, unobtrusive servers are quick to arrive with coffee or tea and platters of coffeecake and fruit.... More >>
• BEST THAI RESTAURANT
  Sawatdee remains the queen of all local Thai restaurants with its three-pronged crown. Prong one: an expansive menu made up of nicely done dishes that run the gamut from simple to sophisticated. Prong two: that elegant, brightly saturated decor. Prong three: the ever-friendly service.... More >>
• BEST VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT
  With only a few truly meatless restaurants, and only one that serves beer and wine, the Twin Cities can be a cold, unforgiving place for vegetarians. We routinely hear things like "Well, you can pick the meat out," we're handed menus featuring "vegetarian" items that aren't (note to... More >>
• BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
  None of the Vietnamese restaurants have really pulled their act together to equal a Sawatdee or a Rainbow Chinese. But we wait, we wait, confident that the time will come. When the perfect Vietnamese restaurant arrives, it will have light noodle soups like they do at the Phuong Café,... More >>
• BEST WINE LIST
  Year after year Goodfellow's searches out the best of American wines, and year after year we love them for it. Lately we've noticed how accommodating the list is--cheap, accessible bottles for the young at wine, rare, fine selections for sophisticates. This balanced, capacious collection is a... More >>