RESTAURANTS >>

• BEST BARISTA
  As evidenced by the myriad scowling youths slouched behind coffee counters across these fair cities, the service industry is a cold, hard racket. Which is a bummer, because it usually takes a gem of a person to decipher, let alone fulfill, our pre-caffeinated demands. One such gem can be found... More >>
• BEST BREAKFAST
  The waitstaff may be wearing pajamas, but there are a number of visuals at Hell's Kitchen that just don't jibe with your usual morning routine. The bloodred walls are lined with Ralph Steadman's dark and drippy drawings and Gary Larson's devilish Sunday comics. Vultures perched in tree branches... More >>
• BEST BREAKFAST WITH A HANGOVER
  One Sunday in December, we stopped by the Local to catch a soccer match between English titans Arsenal and Chelsea. Despite the pre-noon kickoff, the pub was packed with 150 or so footy fans, most of British descent, judging by their chatter. But what caught our attention was a quartet of... More >>
• BEST CHEAP EATS
  A Middle Eastern/Mediterranean deli, supermarket, and restaurant with humble cafeteria-style tables and fluorescent lighting, Holy Land serves up quality and quantity without damaging the wallet irreparably. On the 45-item-plus menu are greatest hits such as grape leaves, baklava, falafel, baba... More >>
• BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT
  People bitch and bitch about Yummy. "Oh, I went in and ordered cream cheese wontons and the sweet and sour chicken, and it wasn't as good as Shanghai Kitchen, and it cost twice as much!" Look, people: Real Chinese food is made with all kinds of icky things, like live eels, clams in their... More >>
• BEST COFFEEHOUSE
  If you want to curl up on secondhand couches with third-rate artwork perched on the walls of the ersatz alcoves around you, check out one of the seven (soon to be nine, if the new zoning laws go through) cookie-cutter coffee joints located within a hundred yards of your home. But if you want... More >>
• BEST DIM SUM
  What is the secret to ordering at the jam-packed, crazy-busy, carnival-meets-the-Food-Network-meets-a-Tokyo-subway-car-in-morning-rush-hour that is Mandarin Kitchen's weekend dim sum extravaganza? It is simply this: Once you score your hard-won table, no matter how your stomach howls, no matter... More >>
• BEST DINER
  To find good diner-eats, follow the men in Carhart jackets. No demographic, save perhaps the men in blue, are better equipped to sniff out the best all-day breakfasts and grilled lunches than these industrial-coat-wearing gents. They frequent Bonnie's Cafe for fast, hot morning meals that stick... More >>
• BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT
  How French is Vincent Francoual, chef and proprietor of Vincent, a Restaurant? He's so French that he held an event on April 10 called "The Wines of My Hometown," with an eighth-generation winemaker from right near Francoual's hometown of Puy-l'Evêque. How French was le menu? Tourin... More >>
• BEST GREEK RESTAURANT
  We're fortunate to have a trio of destinations for fine Greek dining, including perennial favorite Christos on Eat Street and the jewel-like Gardens of Salonica in northeast Minneapolis, but this year Lyn-Lake landmark It's Greek to Me earns top honors for its dependably delicious menu,... More >>
• BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT
  Why do we go to Indian restaurants? Because they know how to make things that would take us years, and possibly even decades, to figure out on our own. For heaven's sake, have you seen the paper dosa at Udupi? The thing looks like an ear trumpet for Paul Bunyan. How do they get that thin crepe... More >>
• BEST ITALIAN (CHEAP)
  There is a risk, when you note how cheap Broders' Pasta Bar is, that some people will think that cheap is this south Minneapolis restaurant's predominant virtue. Not even close. Excellence, often of the jaw-dropping variety, is the place's virtue; the cheapness is just the thing you can't get... More >>
• BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT (NOT CHEAP)
  In seeking out the answer to who serves the best Italian food in the Twin Cities, we encountered some disasters. There was a salt cod that tasted like a salt lick. A pasta carbonara made with rigatoni that floated in a pool of oil beside bacon cracklings. And don't even ask us why crab cakes... More >>
• BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT
  Japanese dining simply can't be intimidating at a place like Sakura. The airy two-story dining room has a Zen-like calm during the weekday lunch hour and a more up-tempo buzz before events at the Ordway. The waitstaff take an honest interest in your meal and will guide you through the menu. Let... More >>
• BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT
  This unassuming restaurant nestled within a bland row of strip-mall shops in Fridley offers up enough culinary adventure to make you wonder what other delicious surprises you may be missing while searching for more glamorous surroundings. King's has a varied menu, including Chinese and Japanese... More >>
• BEST LOCAL CHEF
  A friend recently confessed that he will only spend money in Minnesota on food of two cuisine categories: Vietnamese soup shops, and Auriga. While we can't understand his sense of adventure, we certainly understand his logic: No other investments pay off so reliably. If you can't understand why... More >>
• BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT
  What a welcome sight is the Meyer lemon-yellow facade of this family-run Nicollet Avenue storefront. Yes, yes, it's a slice of warmer climes on Minnesota winter nights. And it's a pretty jolt of style in the middle of a culinarily distinguished but aesthetically challenged block. But to those... More >>
• BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT
  Befitting a nation that was once the crossroads of Asia, Afghani food is a mix of influences from India, Persia, and the Middle East. At this venerable Grand Avenue eatery, you can sample Afghanistan's polyglot cuisine without fear of busting your budget: An entrée and appetizer should... More >>
• BEST NEIGHBORHOOD CAFÉ--MINNEAPOLIS
  Not so long ago, this sleepy little Kingfield storefront was home to a bakery, the kind where you could purchase a dozen gooey, sticky, sugarcoated doughnuts for a pittance; a fresh-baked apple pie; or lay in a supply of pink-frosted cupcakes. It had a sweet, old-fashioned charm and gave off an... More >>
• BEST NEIGHBORHOOD CAFÉ--ST. PAUL
  Situated next to a well-traveled area of the Macalester College campus, this café serves several functions: It's primarily a caffeine destination for college students and professors, but it's also a pit stop for Grand Avenue shoppers, and a casual meeting place for friendly neighborhood... More >>
• BEST NEW RESTAURANT
  More than a restaurant, brand-new 112 Eatery is the flower of a restaurant community coming of age. Listen up: Appetizers aren't the typical calamari and bruschetta food-cost boosters. Instead, they skip that and go straight for the good stuff: lamb chops seared to a perfection of fire and... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO EAT OUT WITH YOUR KIDS
  Crayons and balloons are all well and good when you're eating out with your kids, but you know what you really need? Wine. A big, hearty, grown-up glass of wine. And grown-up food to go with it. At D'Amico and Sons, while Junior is slurping up his mac-and-cheese, you can enjoy, say, penne with... More >>
• BEST POWER LUNCH
  Even before Mai Village's extraordinary multimillion-dollar makeover last year, the humble University Avenue Vietnamese restaurant was a favorite of political powerbrokers. In fact, we recall seeing Dean Barkley noshing there shortly after he returned from his eight-week stint as a U.S. senator... More >>
• BEST QUEER COFFEE SHOP
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• BEST RESTAURANT FOR A FIRST DATE
  A friend of ours was scheduled to go on a blind first date with someone she met online. He suggested one of those places with the animatronic bears. The date never happened, no matter how we assured her it must have been a joke. Hey--people are skittish. Which is why jP is such a great choice:... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR APPETIZERS
  Years ago we read a magazine restaurant column that advised readers to order another appetizer instead of an entrée, to ensure the greatest experience of the chef's skills and elite ingredients. So, we tried it in the Spago in Las Vegas, and have yet to recover from the withering disdain... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR DESSERT
  Is it possible that pastry chef Adrienne Odom is getting more accomplished, more creative, and just generally more great as the years go by? It defies conventional wisdom, but yes, we say yes, she is. Our proof? We stopped by Solera recently and had a dessert experience that knocked our socks... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR GLUTTONS
  True gluttony is not found in an all-you-can-eat buffet. It is found in stuffing oneself and taking home leftovers. Gluttony becomes a deadly sin when an excessive dose of karaoke is added. But when the whole process is Thai, gluttony becomes fun. Asian Cuisine quells both desires. Authentic... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR LATE-NIGHT DINING
  Someone read our minds. We wanted a fine-dining restaurant where the food lived up to the description, but with environs cozy enough that we could feel comfortable after a show, dressed in First Ave casual. We wanted a spectrum of reasonably priced, well-thought-out menu items. We wanted this... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR OUTDOOR DINING
  Nothing frames the night sky quite like the patio of the Black Forest. With its battered brick walls, winding maples, and pergola thick with Virginia Creeper vines, the beer garden feels like a refuge from change in a neighborhood expanding toward the stars. It was among the first outdoor... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT FOR ROMANCE
  What is love? Is it the ability to look past a surface, and see the true wonder and beauty inside? Is it an appreciation of real thoughtfulness, serenity, and clarity of vision? Is it when you want to focus on your date, and not on the raucous razzmatazz and racket around you? If you have... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT IN SPITE OF ITSELF
  In the hands of Chef Steven Brown, a seared scallop wearing a gossamer cloak of sea urchin--the sparkly fellow standing sturdily upon a cloud of black cuttlefish ink-tinged rice--becomes not so much an experience of food, but an experience of immortality, as the intensity of the sea and the... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT TREND
  All right, so nobody ever went broke complimenting their audience, but still. You've dazzled us over the last few years. You have shown an amazing willingness to support great chefs working in odd environments (when Auriga was dingy, out-of-the-way Singapore!, Saigon, Udupi, etc.). You've... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS PAYING
  Sometimes we sit around and daydream about moving away from Minneapolis and getting some kind of job where people close million-dollar deals all day, exclusively so that some corporation could return us here to do business, and we could expense a week at Le Meridien. Wouldn't that be wonderful?... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT--MINNEAPOLIS
  Sadly, one of the truths about the restaurant business is that the amount of money on hand often directly correlates to the level of fun had by the customers. It's not that you can't have a good time under a stained and dripping ceiling, it just takes a little more strength of character. This... More >>
• BEST RESTAURANT--ST. PAUL
  The only way we can ever make a decision in this category is to hop into our immersion tank, close the overhead doors, float, and go to our safe let's-pretend place: okay. The phone rings. It's someone from out of town; they want to take you to dinner anywhere in St. Paul, tonight. Where do you... More >>
• BEST SEAFOOD
  This year the Oceanaire chain added new restaurants, so now the locally based chain has outposts in San Diego, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and one forthcoming in Miami. Yet the Minneapolis one was the original, so the question constantly arises: How do Minnesotans sell fish to folks in... More >>
• BEST SERVICE AT A RESTAURANT
  Our short list for great service in Minneapolis this year was extremely short: sister restaurants Manny's and the Oceanaire, the Rick Webb family of restaurants including Zelo and Ciao Bella, and the Capital Grille. That the restaurants in question are able to replicate their excellent service... More >>
• BEST STAR-CHEF EXPERIENCE AT A RESTAURANT
  Never, not one time, in all the years of going to Heartland, have we ever had a meal at St. Paul's most earnest and accomplished restaurant without catching sight of Lenny Russo standing at a table, answering questions. Where did the flour for this roll come from? (Waseca.) How do you poach a... More >>
• BEST STEAKHOUSE
  The purpose of the steakhouse is to make you feel like the top carnivore on all of planet Earth, both in terms of scoring the finest red, red meat, and also in terms of scoring social privilege over the other bipeds. No place pulls this off better than Manny's. It's not just the steak, though... More >>
• BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH
  Sure, the ever-buzzing Lake Street-Excelsior Boulevard divide gets in the way, but with its miles of gleaming windows, stone-lined terrace, and north woods resort feel, Saturday or Sunday brunch at Tryg's almost qualifies as brunch on the waterfront. The menu's limited, but it's a toss-up as to... More >>
• BEST TAKEOUT
  We realize that ceremony and presentation are half the magic of a sushi dinner, but the fine folks at Fuji-Ya know that sometimes we just can't make that much magic happen. Accordingly, they have perfected the art of assembling whatever maki, nigiri, or donburi you might have your heart set on,... More >>
• BEST THAI RESTAURANT
  Admittedly, there are several great Thai places in the Twin Cities. One may have the best pad Thai, while the other offers the best curries, and another makes the best spring rolls. But for the overall package time and again, we always wander back to Chiang Mai Thai. It has the looks, the great... More >>
• BEST VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT
  Ecopolitan thinks it's time to eat your veggies the way that nature originally intended: 100 percent organic and raw. The menu is not only vegetarian-friendly, it's vegan, gluten-free, and artificial sweetener-free, and the place is staffed with people who can explain to the minute detail... More >>
• BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
  By now we're all familiar with the fabulous Eat Street triad, Quang Restaurant, Pho Tau Bay, and Jasmine Deli. We've been singing their well-deserved praises for going on 10 years. However, this year the bar has been raised. Literally. With a full bar and high-art decor, Mai Village is the... More >>
• BEST WINE BAR
  As Godzilla is to lizards, as the QE2 is to dinghies, and as the Grand Canyon is to ditches, Cesaré's is to local wine bars. How to enumerate the riches? First, there is Cesaré's (pronounced Chezz-uh-ray's) charming physical space, with the wooden tables, the wrap-around patio... More >>
• BEST WINE LIST
  Are wine lists like gardens? If you really care about them, yes. There's the list at Manny's steakhouse, which is kind of like nothing but prize-winning super dahlias and hybrid roses the size of your head, the one garden you'd want to go to if you were taking pictures to surprise the folks... More >>