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diearzte2's Profile

Personal Chef

Might be worthwhile to reach out to Chris Olson. I went to this last year and I know he does a lot of one-of kind of dinners:

http://heavytable.com/the-evolution-of-cooking-a-dinner-at-the-bell-museum/

http://heavytable.com/from-open-flames-to-sous-vide-a-dinner/

http://heavytable.com/tag/chris-olson/

http://heavytable.com/paired-two-artists-23-guests-and-33-bottles-of-wine/

His blog: http://chriseats.tumblr.com/

I would consider him a local "celebrity" chef and in general just a really cool guy.

where is the best potato in the world?

This has to be close

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/01/boise-french-fry-company-burger-review-boise-idaho-id.html#continued

Fondue or a FUN place to go for an Anti-Valentine's Day Singles Event

The Churchill apartments on First and Marquette in Downtown Minneapolis has a community room that might work. You could call and see if they'll rent it to a non-resident, when I lived there all it took was a deposit as far as I remember. It would be a short cab-ride to worthwhile bars, though.

Food lover and chef back HOME for a week, WHAT DOO I EAT?

Thank you KT!

I miss the Minneapolis-St. Paul forum, the Manhattan one seems less like a community. I wish I had gone to some Chowhound meetups so I could put some faces to names, but oh well.

To keep this post on topic, the things I really miss in no particular order:

Burrito Loco - the wings actually, more of a college nostalgia thing
Brasa
Be'wiched
Local D'Lish - People really need to shop here more, Ann is awesome!
Stellas - the rooftop, plus now the drinks don't seem so expensive
Jimmy Johns - lunch at the office

Food lover and chef back HOME for a week, WHAT DOO I EAT?

Me too! From Minneapolis and moved to Manhattan in the last year. I'm really missing the prices!

Top Chef-ism.. and the restaurants they visited

Went with a coworker after work last Thursday, no reservations, got there at around 6:15 and had zero wait at the bar where the full menu is served. All night there were seats open, definitely a viable option if you can't get a reservation. Wasn't blown away by the food, though.

Delicious, crunchy, spicy, sweet, savory, tangy- where art thou, my dear, beloved General Tso?

LOL

Al's Breakfast Hours?

I agree with the timing. I used to love Al's when I lived in Dinkytown and was a student. I would wake up early and go by myself and it would be perfect. Recently, a friend of mine flew in and had never been to Minnesota, we were going to get breakfast and I thought of Al's, but after thinking about the logistics of trying to get a small group in there after 9am I just gave up and decided on Hell's Kitchen.

I love the food, and the shack in an alley is cute, but I think they could go ahead and move somewhere with some tables and still reliably pack the customers in all day long.

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Hell's Kitchen
80 South 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402

Chow Pup heading for University of Minnesota

Since no one has really addressed the cheap aspect....

Mesa Pizza sells by the slice for 2 or 3 dollars a slice and has some really good selections (especially late late night).

Burrito Loco is open late and is similar to Chipotle, but owned by UofM grads and doubles as the most popular bar on campus.

Uncle Franky's sells hot dogs and other grill food and one can get away for less than 5 dollars for lunch.

All three are located in Dinkytown withing a block of eachother.

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Uncle Franky's
728 Broadway St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413

If you want a great Gyros and a killer deal- Crowd Cuts has a 12.00 gift certificate for 5.00

From the link, this is the place, since it isn't mentioned otherwise.

Gyros Grill
1710 E Old Shakopee Rd
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425
(952) 888-2121

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Gyros Grill
1710 E Old Shakopee Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55425

Where to watch the World Cup?

Brit's is going to be open for every game...including the 6:30am games. They will also be replaying the games in the afternoon. They have a large projector in the back lawn as well as TVs everywhere. It will, however, be high energy.

(MSP) Best buffalo wings?

I think the best wings are actually at Burrito Loco in Dinkytown. They are nice and crispy, don't get their hot sauce though, it's their loco sauce which is basically just habaneros and a hot sauce in a blender, their medium is perfect. It seems like a random place to go for wings, but they are actually really good. On Wednesdays they are like 29 cents each and on Saturdays you can order a pitcher of beer and get a pitcher of wings with it.

Was my Gewurztraminer off?

Traditionally in Alsace, wines are fermented completely, but in the past decade or so a lot of the major winemakers there have begun leaving residual sugar and some has gone as far as chaptalizing their wines (within the legal limits). This is mostly due to the US market's preference for a "dry" wine when they really want a sweet one.

Was my Gewurztraminer off?

In Alsace the regional government mandates when harvest can begin, if grapes in that region are picked earlier than that date, they are legally prohibited from labeling it "Alsatian".

Current Korean in MSP?

I'm the son of a Korean mother, she shops at Dong Yang and whenever we want Korean food and she isn't cooking, that is the place we go.

Onion rings - MSP

They've both been mentioned already, but Pyscho Suzi's in Northeast hand batters onion rings to order, as featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Town Talk Diner also sells some pretty excellent onion rings.

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Town Talk Diner
2707 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406

Street food in downtown Minneapolis

I'm all for it!

MSP - Busters review - best burger

All this ambiguity in language is the problem with the whole system. We should order steaks and burgers by temperature. It would be great if I could just order it cooked to an internal temperature of 125, then there is no question whether or not it is cooked to order, my definition of medium may be different than yours, but an empirical scale doesn't allow for error.

Restaurants everyone loves--except you

I have to go with Shuang Cheng in Dinkytown. Lived in the area for 4 years, and never really understood why it was so popular.

I'd also like to add any place that is a chain restaurant in Dinkytown/Stadium Village. It's criminal to watch Chipotle/Qdoba get swamped for lunch when Burrito Loco is just steps away and much better in my opinion. Same goes for any of the chain pizza places when Duffy's and Mesa are right there.

This one is probably only because I'm still in my 20's, but Chino-Latino's popularity blows my mind. A good portion of people in their early 20's do their birthdays there for some reason. It is over-priced, both food and drinks, and I've never had anything there that really impressed me. Evidently if you serve a drink in a pineapple, it doesn't really matter what else you do.

Are there any good Mom & Pop restaurants in the western suburbs?

Funny, I grew up right next door to that place and almost never ate there. I did, unfortunately, work at the McDonald's right next door to it.

Anyways, from what I do remember, the food was good, but they aren't open for dinner, from their website:

Monday - Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Despite having spent a lot of time in Plymouth, I honestly can't really contribute, that area LOVES their chain restaurants.

Bulldog Msp - odd item

Just got back from Bulldog in NE, roommate ordered a ceasar and a burger. The ceasar was like vicks described, whole leaves of romaine lettuce, didn't really catch me off guard.

I'm bumping this thread because I have an issue with their burgers, but it doesn't deserve its own thread. Has anyone ever consistently received burgers cooked to their temp request there? I am a huge burger fan, and when the Bulldog delivers, they are definitely in the running for best burger in Minneapolis. But frequently, I would say 50% of the time, the burgers are cooked beyond the medium-rare that we request. Even throughout a table of 4 all ordering burgers medium-rare, some will come medium-rare, others I would honestly call well-done or beyond.

Is there really GOOD pizza in MSP???

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but Mesa makes a slice that I would call foldable. The guy who owns the place is from the Chicagoland area though I think, and I'm from the Twin Cities, so I am by no means trying to imply I'm an expert on NY pizza.

Is there really GOOD pizza in MSP???

I'd also like to point out that there is a Joey Novas in Plymouth now too, and it is much easier to get to. I grew up in that area and a good friend of mine worked for Joey Novas in Minnetonka Bay. While on a map it might be closer, the roads to get out there are usually 30mph roads whereas the Plymouth location is on Highway 55 and is a clear shot from Minneapolis.

Where to buy the smallest chickens in Mpls?

The ones at D'Lish tend to be smaller, around the range you specified. They usually have fresh and frozen ones also. They are free range, organic IIRC.

Where can i buy the best prosciutto in the Mpls-St. Paul---cities or 'burbs?

La Quercia is also sold at the Local D'Lish in the North Loop on 1st Street North

Restaurants around the St. Paul UofMN campus [MSP]

Hello,

I'm starting a class on the St. Paul campus this week (wine tasting!) and it is in the evening. I'll be done with "class" at 8 on Mondays and 6 on Wednesdays. I am wondering if there is anything noteworthy within a reasonable walking distance from campus. I'm open to anything, delis, ethnic restaurants, white tablecloth restaurants ect.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

MSP- The Anchor Fish & Chips

I went with a group of friends last week. Arrived at about 4:45 and managed to get the last available booth, there was a crowd waiting the entire time after we arrived.

To clarify, since I didn't see it above, they put tartar sauce on the menu, it costs 50 cents and you need to ask for it since it doesn't come with the fish. I had the fish, was good as people have said above so I won't expand.

A friend of mine ordered the helicopter burger, which arrived perfectly medium-rare as ordered. I tried some of it, and it was definitely among the best burgers I've had in Minneapolis. The ham and egg kind of overpowered the sandwich, but I am kind of a burger purist. I would definitely order the regular burger though!

Also, they serve something with a curry ketchup, which we asked about before the meal and the server happily brought us out a sample. Was good with fries, served warm.

Is there really GOOD pizza in MSP???

I lived in Dinkytown for a few years, before Mesa opened and for a year and a half while they were open. I enjoy Mesa, but I wish they weren't putting the place around the corner out of business, Duffy's. They make more traditional topping pizzas, and I honestly prefer them over Mesa a lot of the time I want pizza. It's probably a nostalgia thing though. Mesa is a cool establishment though, I'm glad that they are expanding to Iowa.

Döner Kebob anywhere, esp. in South Bend area?

After spending half of last year in Germany, I know the feeling. I've not found anything identical in Minneapolis, but some things similar. Seems like no one uses shredded cabbage around here.

Local D'lish and the Winter Market in the North Loop (MSP)

I'm sure a lot of you are already aware of this, but I thought I would give it a plug since I've had such good experiences with this store. The Local D'lish located at 208 N 1st Street in Minneapolis is a local/boutique grocery store that is local minded. The owner, Anne, has visited a lot of the places that she sources her products from. The store is really an amazing place for foodies. While the selection is not spectacular, it does offer a good variety of products at reasonable prices. All the dairy products from Castle Rock are delivered on Wednesday, the other fresh products are on a similar schedules, weekly deliveries in small quantities.

Since the Mill City Market closed a few weeks ago for Winter, D'lish has started their Winter Market. The first was yesterday, Saturday, November 7th. A handful of vendors set up in the store from 10-2, about a dozen were there yesterday. The store is small, so I would imagine this is about the number one should anticipate throughout the Winter. I forget the names of all the vendors, but from what I remember:
-Mr. Matt Oxford of Wild Run Salmon was there selling Sockeye Salmon with his son (I presume)
-Salsa Lady was selling 4 or 5 types of salsas
-a bakery selling fresh bread
-another table was set up with smoked Trout and I think smoked Salmon also
-some nice looking people with a table full of honey
-Sweets Bakeshop (I think...the very cute girl at the table made me way too shy to investigate lol) was selling cupcakes and other cupcake-like things

There were a few more, but my memory is failing me. In any case, the twenty or so minutes I spent there were pretty lively, lots of people coming in and out and some live music (blocking my return of the reusable milk bottles that Castle Rock uses).

All of D'lish's regular selection was available as well. Some highlights include local ice cream, pastas, various frozen meats, local produce, milk, eggs, fresh chicken (whole birds, thighs, wings, and breasts, all skin-on/bone-in), jams and jellys, soup things, salsas, various oils and other pantry type items (with interesting varieties).

I'd like to note that I am in no way affiliated with this store, simply an occasional customer that appreciates how I'm treated while I am there and would like to see the store stick around through this brutal economy. As a 23 year old guy, going into a store like D'lish alone can be incredibly awkward, so it is very relieving when Anne makes a point of saying hello to me in the first couple minutes I am there, even though I've only met her once before.

Her website is http://localdlish.com/ but it still needs a lot of work. I think she updates Facebook and Twitter on a more regular basis. The dates for the upcoming Winter Markets are:
November 21st
December 5th and 19th
January 17th
February 21st
March 21st
April 18th

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Local D'lish
208 N 1st St, Minneapolis, MN 55401