Jack Riebel

Butcher & the Boar's pastry chef opens Black Walnut, a pop-up bakery

Though bourbon, big portions, and beer gardens may be the most talked-about attractions at Jack Riebel's Butcher & the Boar, a recent James Beard Award semi-finalist in the Best New Restaurant category, early on we also recognized there's something special going on in their pastry station. South ... More >>

Signature Dish; The Kenwood's Chef Don Saunders

In the search for the Twin Cities' best culinary creations, we often come across dishes that stop us mid-bite and force us to reflect on the level of thought and artistry chefs put into their work. The efforts of the chefs are often laborious, and the end results are regularly consumed before the fu ... More >>

Month in Review: Open, Closed, Coming Soon May '13

NOW OPEN Burch Steakhouse (City Pages review) Corner of Franklin & Hennepin, Minneapolis Daily Diner Frogtown (City Pages preview) 615 University Ave., St. Paul Glam Doll Donuts (City Pages review) 2605 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis Gigi's Cupcakes (City Pages coverage) 7722 Olson Memorial Highway, Gol ... More >>

La Belle Vie throws fabulous birthday fête

La Belle Vie, widely recognized as the pinnacle of Minnesota fine-dining threw itself a birthday party to celebrate its 15 years, inviting the well-to-do to mix with the well-known chefs both present and past who have contributed to the success of this storied restaurant.  The Hot Dish was luck ... More >>

Joe's Garage closing. Who's moving in?

They had a rooftop patio with a killer summer view long before everyone was slapping a deck up on a building. Joe's Garage was always a popular spot for people (and even their pooches) to bask in the sun and grab a burger. Today, via its Facebook page and Twitter account, Joe's Garage announced ... More >>

La Belle Vie turns 15: An interview with Tim McKee

The most lauded restaurant in Minnesota is turning 15 years old this year. In honor of the event, La Belle Vie's James Beard Award-winning chef Tim McKee is hosting a party on Sunday, March 24. A collection of chefs who have passed through the kitchen in both its current and the original Stillwater ... More >>

James Beard Award semi-finalists announced

Today the James Beard Award semi-finalists were announced. The food world's annual answer to the Oscars recognizes the best in the business. Winners carry the proud title throughout their career. Past local honorees include the likes of Isaac Becker, Alex Roberts, and Tim McKee. This year's list inc ... More >>

Surly launches Pentagram at Butcher & the Boar this weekend

In honor of its latest seasonal beer, Pentagram, a dark and malty beer aged in red-wine barrels to enhance its sour cherry and tobacco notes, Surly Brewing is throwing a release party Sunday hosted by downtown meatery Butcher & the Boar.Here's more on the story behind the beer and some of the fo ... More >>

Share Our Strength's Cakewalk brings out the star chefs

Late on the Valentine's gift? Suddenly realizing that Russell Stover chocolate might be a bit of a raspberry creme let down? Trust us, if your V-Day present involves any item that could be picked up at the local Super America, it's time to double down. The moment is here, and this event is a one-sto ... More >>

Butcher & the Boar, Prairie Kitchen make best new Midwest restaurants list

And the good news just keeps on rolling in for Minneapolis restaurants. In their latest bout of regional attention, Midwest magazine named both Butcher & the Boar and the Prairie Kitchen & Bar to its list of best new Midwest attractions, hotels, and restaurants. The list is a  ... More >>

Jim Christiansen of Union: Chef Chat, part 1

We almost lost him. A local boy, born and raised, chef Jim Christiansen garnered great reviews as a chef and a member of Tim McKee's team. However, when Il Gatto, where he was chef, went under, he followed a former coworker to work for a while in Denmark, at the famed Noma.  Hungry diners need ... More >>

James Beard benefit dinner brings out the star chefs

Last night, on the bluffs in Mendota Heights, the James Beard Foundation, in conjunction with Le Cordon Bleu and Mpls/St.Paul magazine, hosted a benefit dinner in which eight of the Twin Cities most regarded chefs prepared a multiple-course, roaming tasting menu. Guests could nibble their way from k ... More >>

Fish Bites: MN Zoo and top chefs raise awareness for sustainable fish

Last night the Minnesota Zoo hosted its second annual Fish Bites; an event focused on raising awareness around the issue of sustainable seafood. Over 150 people showed up to the event, which featured nine of the Twin Cities' top chefs. Each chef prepared a dish using sustainable seafood, allowing gu ... More >>

Butcher and the Boar hosts first Boarfest on Sunday

This weekend's forecast calls for chilly temps, but that shouldn't deter any die-hard sausage fan from attending a festival that's bold enough to call itself "Boarfest."The inaugural event takes place this Sunday, October 7, in the beer garden outside Butcher and the Boar, providing the perfect oppo ... More >>

Meritage Oysterfest: Long lines & a lot of oysters at second-annual event

They came, they saw, they slurped, and often, they stood in line. Meritage hosted its second-annual Oysterfest with sold-out crowds. The restaurant was all hands on deck, with everyone taking a shucking station, including chef-owner Russell Klein and the celebrity chefs who came to compete in the sh ... More >>

Farm in the Cities chefs create dazzling dinner for Youth Farm and Market Project

The event room was packed at Solera last night as some of the area's top chefs worked together to create a seven-course meal for ticket holders. Solera's chef Jorge Guzman worked with some of his local farm purveyors and chef friends, on what should have been most of their nights off, to put on the ... More >>

Solera's Jorge Guzman talks Farm in the Cities

See also: Solera hosts second annual Farm in the Cities Jorge Guzman; many of you know him as the man behind Solera's comeback. His new menus have been met with critical kindness, and his dedication to locally sourced, sustainable products is quickly turning him into a community pillar. Perhaps les ... More >>

Solera hosts second annual Farm in the Cities

A collection of local, sustainable food producers and the area's top chefs will gather Sunday, September 23, at Solera to share food and help raise money for Youth Farms. Guests are invited to attend an early, free meet-and-greet with the farmers, or attend a full-on foodie bash with a seven-course ... More >>

Saffron's Sameh Wadi wins Country Chef Challenge

This weekend, the Minneapolis Farmers Market hosted the Country Chef Challenge, which featured two local chefs going head to head in a market cook-off. Jack Riebel from Minneapolis's Butcher & the Boar faced off against Saffron's master of Middle Eastern cuisine Sameh Wadi. The two chefs put out ... More >>

Augtoberfest: Tilia celebrates with second-annual block party

On Sunday, the Linden Hills restaurant Tilia hosted it's second-annual Augtoberfest block party. Droves of people came down to celebrate with the restaurant, which catered a variety of food and beverages as well as live music and other goodies. Some of the the sights from the outdoor extravaganza i ... More >>

Country Chef Challenge at the Minneapolis Farmers Market: Wadi vs. Riebel

This weekend, the knives come out at the Minneapolis Farmers Market. Local chefs Sameh Wadi and Jack Riebel will go head to head in a market cook-off using whatever is in season and available at the market. With both chefs well versed in competition, it should make for a food throw-down not to be mi ... More >>

Minnesota Zoo Farmers Market features Fish Smart chefs

One of the newest farmers markets to pop up in the Cities is the one found in the Apple Valley parking lot outside the Minnesota Zoo. We stopped by to have a peek and a taste of the goodies available. We found the usual, beautiful Minnesota bounty, but then we spotted something unexpected.

Brown Bag Blind Tasting Event: Summer Session: Backyard BBQ Beers

Kitchen in the Market, Holly Carson of Sea Change get raw with seafood

One of the best moments from last year's Meritage Oysterfest was when newcomer Holly Carson joined chefs Jack Riebel and Vincent Francoual to show the boys how a lady can get down on the oysters. Carson, the diminutive chef who rules the raw bar at Sea Change, flexed some impressive arm mu ... More >>

Butcher and the Boar patio opens this Saturday

Just in time for julep season, Jack Riebel's critical darling of a restaurant, Butcher and the Boar will finally be setting out chairs in their backyard. The patio has been beckoning since the opening.  Other than a few smokers huddled around the fireplace, there haven't been many bodies out th ... More >>

Butcher & the Boar makes impressive debut

Floor covered in pennies, but food is worth much more

Local Chef Challenge crowns a winner

​If the Food Network's two top-rated competition shows decided to set down in a nice Midwestern town, their spawn would have been the yearly Local Chef Challenge, which played out this weekend at the Mall of America. Some of the most talented toques were selected to go head to head with a box of s ... More >>

Butcher and the Boar: A first look

​Since leaving the Dakota last year, Jack Riebel has been working every moment on his latest project, the first restaurant of his own in his 25-year career, the new Butcher and the Boar, which just opened last week.It's hard to pin down what we were most excited about. The unparalleled bourbon pro ... More >>

Butcher and the Boar opens tonight

​Pull on your most forgiving pants and make your way to the Harmon district tonight. The quick-to-update but slow-to-open Butcher and the Boar is officially ready for public consumption, and the word on the street after its soft opening is that the food is definitely worth the wait. What kind of f ... More >>

Butcher & the Boar previews food at Gastro Non Grata

Wild Boar sausages sizzle​Last night's Gastro Non Grata, held at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, was a sausage-fest perfectly suited for a preview of the upcoming Butcher & the Boar restaurant--a celebration of meat and bourbon.  While the bands rocked the room and Clancy's he ... More >>

Meritage hosts Oysterfest

​An unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon welcomed attendees to the first ever Oysterfest at Meritage restaurant in downtown St. Paul. Saint Peter Street in front of the restaurant was closed in honor of the occasion. Inside they moved out the usual bistro tables and chairs and set up shucking statio ... More >>

Butcher and the Boar hosts block party

​Over the weekend, chef Jack Riebel shared, for the first time, a small taste of what he plans to serve at his new venture, the Butcher and the Boar, with a party that livened up a sleepy block in downtown Minneapolis.On Sunday afternoon the parking lot next to the once-vacant, marble-front buildi ... More >>

Street Eat Awards crowns the best curbside cuisine in the city

​The scent of mini donuts that wafted past the gates at the TCF Bank Stadium last Saturday had nothing to do with football. Instead the scent was emanating from the road warriors at the Chef Shack: their signature dessert of fried dough tossed in an alluring mix of spices that include cinnamon, su ... More >>

U2 tickets, a ramen contest, and wind-brewed beer this week in food

Drink Finnegans, win U2 tickets, feel good about yourself​Will eating Minnesota-made ramen help Japan? What does beer brewed via wind power taste like? Will I be attending the U2 concert for free? All of these pressing questions can be answered by delving into this week in food; after all, tha ... More >>

Eat ramen, help Japan

Who makes the Twin Cities Top Ramen?​It's never too hot to eat ramen, especially if the soup has been made by a chef vs. ripped out of a plastic package and warmed up in the microwave. So get to the Twin Cities first ever ramen-off on Thursday, July 21 at Create Catering Dining Studio. Vario ... More >>

Celebrity Chef Tour Minneapolis: the slideshow

Tim McKee's grilled lamb ribeye ​A legendary feast took place at Solera last Thursday as a multitude of culinary superpowers combined forces at a benefit for the James Beard Foundation--supporters of all things educational and extraordinary about food. Nine chefs. Nine courses. Here is the team: T ... More >>

Toyota Farm to Table Tour

Taste of the Nation HOTList has a hot list of chefs

​The annual Taste of the Nation HOTList takes place at the Guthrie on June 24 and features the cooking/shaking of 15 favorite Twin Cities chefs and mixologists. The lineup reads like a Who's Who of the local dining scene, so if you have yet to dine at, say, Bar La Grassa, Cafe Maude, or the Strip ... More >>

Best Restaurant (Minneapolis)

It's tough to choose just one winner. We wanted to give props to few top contenders...

Barrio treats tequila with wine-style reverence

Terrific new bar adds brighter possibility to everyone's tequila story

Ten Most Wanted

2006 was a tasty, tasty year. Dara goes through her memory book and anoints the stars.

The Importance of Burgers

Can frugal carnivores eat locally, humanely, and well? Dear Dara finds out.

Restaurant Opening of the Century

A Tale of Two Markets