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• BEST ASIAN GROCERY
  Dragon Star
  This Frogtown market has all the basics: Asian produce, noodles, candy, spices, and soft drinks. You'll find 50-pound bags of rice and durian fruit. Bahn mi sandwiches and deep-fried sesame balls are available for takeout. There's even a jewelry store. But what make this market stand out from... More >>
• BEST BAKERY
  A Baker's Wife
  Few things in this world are incontrovertible. But here's one: A good neighborhood bakery can save lives. How? It's difficult to say, but it feels right to say it. If you stood outside the place peering in through the window, you wouldn't believe me. The view is mostly obstructed by a... More >>
• BEST BARBECUE
  Lee's and Dee's Barbeque Express
  It's gotta be a rule that fanciness and great barbecue are mutually exclusive. We've just never found decent ribs in a place with padded booths and linen tablecloths. Lee and Dee Smith have been churning out the Cities' most consistently excellent barbecue for 15 years, and their little... More >>
• BEST BARISTA
  Andrew Kopplin, Kopplin's Coffee
  Andrew Kopplin thinks most coffee is crud, which is exactly why you should drink his. The veteran barista opened his own shop in 2006, where he sources his beans selectively and brews them by the cup in a fancy new $10,000 machine called the Clover. (It's the coffee geeks' new favorite toy, as... More >>
• BEST BREAD
  Saint Agnes Baking Co.
  Are you bored with the bread you find in the supermarket or your neighborhood bakery? Maybe it's time for something new. How about a honey-pecan-hemp bread, hearty but light and soft, a bread whose creator was so convinced of its bounteous healthfulness that an accompanying sign at Saint Agnes... More >>
• BEST BUBBLE TEA
  The Tea Garden
  Some may say that the bubble tea trend has hit its peak and will soon be forgotten like Pepsi Clear and Orbitz. Is it merely a trend? Hardly. True bubble tea fanatics will always have an insatiable thirst for the beverage they affectionately refer to as boba. Clueless as to what bubble tea is?... More >>
• BEST BURGER
  Casper & Runyon's Nook
  If you can't get in, it must be good, right? Okay, so the masses don't always recognize quality (is American Idol still on?), but in the case of Casper & Runyon's Nook, the crowds are correct. Sometimes it seems that the most coveted seat in town is one in this small, narrow joint near the... More >>
• BEST BURRITO
  Taqueria Los Ocampo
  Choosing the best burrito is a daunting assignment, since there are many worthy competitors, including perennial favorite El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul. But this year belongs to the robust burritos of Taqueria Los Ocampo. First, these bad boys are huge, so you'll likely get two meals out of... More >>
• BEST CANDY STORE
  United Noodles
  American candy just isn't as fun as it used to be. Though M&Ms have expanded in colors and Milky Way now comes in a friendly "lite" version, somehow it all feels like the same-old. For a real candy adventure, try United Noodles. One of the largest Asian supermarkets in the Midwest, United... More >>
• BEST CHEESE SELECTION
  Surdyk's
  After all these years we tend to take Surdyk's for granted, but every visit to the cheese shop reminds us why they are the best. With 300 varieties to choose from, it's hard to know where to start, but the Surdyk's staff is well-trained—they know cheese as well as their counterparts next... More >>
• BEST CHICKEN WINGS
  Runyon's
  "Hot" is a relative concept in Minnesota, both in outdoor temperature and spicy food. Although Runyon's hot wings will leave you with a tingling sensation, it's not quite scalding enough to trigger a cascade of endorphins. What Runyon's gets right—and other wing purveyors so often get... More >>
• BEST CHOCOLATE
  Legacy Chocolates
  Like coffee, beer, and cheese, chocolate is something we can consume so often we forget how truly luxurious it can be. Thankfully, Legacy is a great reminder that chocolate can be infinitely more complex, varied, and satisfying than what you get for 75 cents in a vending machine. Legacy imports... More >>
• BEST COFFEE BY THE POUND
  R. Miguel
  We might as well be upfront: This year's pick isn't for the faint of heart or light of wallet—it costs $300 a pound. But we're not thinking about value (or mortgage payments), just the sheer superlative, and R. Miguel's "Nectar" is simply the best coffee we've ever tasted. The beans come... More >>
• BEST COFFEE HOUSE
  Uncommon Grounds Coffee House
  The location is a little odd: The two-story Victorian house is slightly pushed back on Hennepin Avenue, concealed within the busy, commercial strip that leads to the heart of Uptown. And the hours are a little bit inopportune: The place doesn't open until 5 p.m. on weekdays. But once the doors... More >>
• BEST CORN CAKES
  Maria's Cafe
  Do you know what this is—this thing they call the "corn cake"? Perhaps you know it as cachapas venezolanas? It is round and flat like a pancake. It is moist and savory. It contains corn flour, butter, and cut corn. You sprinkle fabulously dry and sharp Cotija cheese on it. This, at least,... More >>
• BEST DELICATESSEN
  Be'wiched
  Three words: house-cured pastrami. This tasty, salty meat is one of the stars of the menu at Be'wiched, and it's about time it got here. The Twin Cities have never exactly excelled at the deli thing: Until recently, our best delis were the ones flying ingredients in from New York. Here to change... More >>
• BEST DOUGHNUTS
  A Baker's Wife
  The name comes from the 1930s French flick A Baker's Wife, which tells the tale of a baker who loses the ability to work after his beautiful wife flies their sugary coop. But there is nothing tragic about this inconspicuous south Minneapolis bakery, which bears colorful knickknacks, kitschy... More >>
• BEST DRUNK FOOD
  Downtown Pizza
  There's just something about grease—glorious, napkin-dissolving grease—that brings joy to the famished drunkard's heart (in addition to cholesterol). It's as if the soluble fat molecules bond with the ethanol coursing through your veins to create a euphoria-inducing chemical. Or... More >>
• BEST FISH MARKET
  Coastal Seafoods
  Who doesn't want to learn how to prepare their own sushi? Besides offering the finest fresh fish selection in the Twin Cities area, Coastal Seafoods takes seafood lovers a step further, offering courses on selecting and preparing our favorite sea creatures. On any given Saturday a stream of... More >>
• BEST FLAN
  La Sirena Gorda
  "Have you never tried my flan?" Alfonso Menendez asks incredulously. "No? Then you are in for a treat." And he ain't kidding. The owner of both Babalu and La Sirena Gorda obviously takes his flan just as seriously as he does the seafood for which his Midtown Global Market restaurant is more... More >>
• BEST FRIES
  Red Stag Supper Club
  There's something sad about a pale French fry. That little slice of potato was brought close to reaching its potential of crispy goodness, and then denied. Lost to incorrect oil temperature, overcrowding, or some other laziness in preparation, and often over-salted in a sad attempt to compensate... More >>
• BEST GOURMET GROCERY
  Kowalski's
  Gourmet grocery shopping is a bit of a challenge in this tanking economy, but even if our haul is smaller these days, we're still sure to sample the good life while shopping at Kowalski's. Looking for cheese? Many of the stores have an inventory to rival some of the best purveyors in town.... More >>
• BEST GOURMET PIZZA
  Jay's Café
  A great pizza is maybe 30 percent context. This is science. And Jay's Café gets the context just right: a small box of a room; cracked linoleum floors; small, square tables with an aged black-lacquer finish; IBC root beer in the cooler. That they've captured the essence of the great... More >>
• BEST HOT DOGS
  The Wienery
  This West Bank dive might be the messiest restaurant in the city, but that doesn't mean they don't make a great dog. The meat is Vienna Beef brand and so are the buns, which are speckled with purple poppy seeds. The man manning the grill, owner Pat Starr, with his trademark beard and stocking... More >>
• BEST ICE CREAM PARLOR
  Crema Café
  Crema Café is a sweet spot in south Minneapolis. Sitting pretty at the corner of 34th Street and Lyndale Avenue, it looks like a Tuscan oasis, even when the blackened snow is still piled up on the corner. Once inside, fortified with a pasta dish and glass of wine, your attentions will... More >>
• BEST LATTE
  May Day Cafe
  In a post-Starbucks world, flavored coffee drinks are usually just milkshakes in a coffee cup. If you pine for the days when the corner pharmacy made milkshakes in one corner and sold laxatives in the other, then surely you are glad to see this spinning top of a world turn in your favor. If you... More >>
• BEST LIQUOR STORE
  Merwin Liquors
  Liquor stores in economically struggling neighborhoods don't generally have the most sterling reputations. Such geographically challenged purveyors of fine wines and malt beverages are often viewed as cancers on poor neighborhoods, sapping folks who can ill afford it of their initiative and... More >>
• BEST LOCAL DELICACY
  The Juicy Lucy
  Just as Geno's and Pat's stubbornly battle for the title of Best Cheesesteak in Philadelphia, so too are Matt's and the 5-8 Club locked in an eternal struggle over who created the cheeseburger that has been called "the Cheesesteak of south Minneapolis": the Juicy (or Jucy) Lucy. The sandwich... More >>
• BEST MIDDLE EASTERN GROCERY
  Holy Land
  Holy Land has set the bar so high for Middle Eastern groceries that it's hard to imagine who could possibly compete. The first sight upon entering is the deli, where we are easily sidetracked by the well-stocked buffet and plates heaped with hot gyros, kabobs, samosas, and spinach pies. Then... More >>
• BEST NATURAL FOODS GROCERY
  Mississippi Market
  Nearing its 30th anniversary, Mississippi Market has been around since the times when only hippies cared about local or organic food. And with the sad demise last year of North Country Co-op (the Twin Cities' first such store, started in 1971), we're especially glad that Mississippi Market has... More >>
• BEST PANCAKES
  The Bad Waitress
  Pancakes have certain curative powers: to quell hunger, to soothe a broken heart over a gossipy brunch, and to help soak up the toxins from a legendary evening. They hold within their tenderly crusted surfaces a warm, buttery center of comfort that recalls one's childhood security blanket. For... More >>
• BEST PICNIC SPOT
  Hidden Falls Regional Park
  Picnicking is a lost art these days. With people's frenetic schedules and fast food on every corner, the idea of a leisurely lunch in the out-of-doors has fallen out of fashion. But if you'd like to bring a little more romance to your weekends, we know the perfect spot to spread your blanket and... More >>
• BEST PIZZA
  Mesa
  Normally we would recommend that people stay away from novelty pizza flavors. That said, the penne pesto pizza at Mesa is actually pretty good. But if consuming pizza with penne pasta bits worked into the cheese isn't your thing, Mesa has other less adventurous but still mighty tasty pies, such... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO PLAY GAMES OF WORLD DOMINATION WHILE EATING SEASONED FRIES
  Chatterbox Pub
  Anyone familiar with the history of statecraft and international power has heard it again and again: You can't win without seasoned fries—in fact, you might as well not even play. Clearly the fine minds behind the Chatterbox Pub know the calculus of power, for they have created a venue... More >>
• BEST SALAD
  The Craftsman Restaurant
  The sparse and straight-line interior of the Craftsman is a tribute to the Arts and Crafts design movement of the early 20th century. It would be fitting, then, to begin with a word or two from English artist and writer William Morris, the man whose work and writings seeded the movement. The... More >>
• BEST SAMOSA
  Hyderabad House
  We know what you're thinking: Just as seeing one redwood tree is akin to seeing them all, and as surely as one mainstream politician is the same as all the rest, so are all samosas created equal. You are wrong. For proof, report to Hyderabad House, the unrepentantly humble spot on Central Avenue... More >>
• BEST SEASONAL ICE CREAM STAND
  Dave's Popcorn and Carmelcorn
  Nestled a block east of Cedar Avenue on 38th Street, on a cool, tree-shaded corner, is Dave's Popcorn. The small, shed-like building, which looks as if it took a long, happy sigh and settled into its old frame sometime around 1960, is open just a few months of the year to satisfy sweet tooths... More >>
• BEST SOUL FOOD
  West Indies Soul
  West Indies Soul, formerly of St. Paul, now in the Midtown Global Market, serves the best of two worlds: home-style cooking from the Caribbean islands and the American South. That means they've got rib tips, chicken strips, and Cajun fried catfish to pair with all manner of fried okra, hush... More >>
• BEST STEAMED DUMPLINGS
  China Jen
  Xiao long bao, more commonly known in these parts as steamed soup dumplings, are arguably the world's perfect food. Prepared and served in a bamboo steamer, the small and fragile dumplings come with a filling—made of meat, veggies, or seafood—along with a wonton soup-like broth. The... More >>
• BEST TACOS
  Dominguez Family Restaurant
  There are a lot of reasons to stop into Dominguez Family Restaurant, from the bottomless nachos served toasty warm to the always-quick service and friendly atmosphere. But principal on the list are the tacos. Tacos aren't a complicated thing, if done in traditional Mexican style—two corn... More >>
• BEST TAKE-HOME BEER
  Summit Pale Ale
  Yes, we've tried Surly Furious. We think it's a lovely beer, and we drink it frequently. Yes, the four-pack is quite innovative, if not a tad overpriced. That said, we would like to suggest a pale ale that has been doing its hoppy thing since before it was the trend. Though Summit has a variety... More >>
• BEST TEA SHOP
  La Société du Thé
  Sure, in our super-caffeinated coffee world, tea doesn't get a lot of attention. Like people who drink Dr. Pepper instead of Coke, fans of tea will probably never be as numerous as those of coffee, but they're at least as passionate. Any genuine tea freak should appreciate La... More >>
• BEST VEGETARIAN DINER FOOD
  Highland Grill
  When it comes to great diner food, most entrées contain some sort of meat product. Meatloaf, hamburgers, and BLTs are classic diner staples, after all. And although many vegetarians have a sweet tooth, making a dinner of pancakes or side dishes when dining out with carnivorous friends can... More >>
• BEST WINE STORE
  France 44
  At first glance, France 44 looks like a typical wine shop, with thousands of bottles arranged on shelves, grouped by type or region. But as soon as you discover all the programs, classes, clubs, and the Friday and Saturday tastings, you'll agree with Wine Spectator's trade magazine, Market... More >>