Although only a few are located right in your desired area, the crew at Travail named their favorite places to eat on days off. I have yet to visit Haute Dish, Cafe Levain, or Dakota but I agree with all of their other recommendations.

"Our favorite places to eat on days off: Piccolo, Haute Dish, Tilia, Cafe Levain, Butcher and The Boar, Sea Change, Burch, 112, Brasa, Dakota, The Blue Door, and Meritage."

To this list I would add World Street Kitchen and The Bachelor Farmer (especially their Sunday Supper). There are so many great options in Minneapolis its difficult to think of them all.

Louis's appetizers are good especially the Asparagus Milanese. I've had 2 main courses upstairs that I could have gotten for a couple bucks cheaper downstairs. I Nonni is my go-to when I have the money, otherwise I tend to wind up at Scusi when I'm craving Italian food.

Technically not MN, but 20 min east of St. Paul in downtown Hudson, WI there is Knoke's Chocolates. It's not just great chocolate. They have great ice cream and a great selection of candies. On Saturdays you can go in and build you own chocolate bar.

http://www.knokeschocolates.com/

When I made my first charcuterie platter I was in the same boat. Then I found this great article on BonAppetit.com which gave me a great starting point. Use their list and modify it to your taste(s). I go to St. Paul Cheese Shop for the meats/cheeses because its a one stop shop. Their article pic also shows a good way to present the spread.

http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandfor...

FYI, they have a cash-only policy for purchases under $10. Enjoy.

Honestly. I've been eating at Trieu Chau for 8 years and I've liked everything that has come out of their kitchen including their (Best in Ciites imo) Pho to Chinese-American dishes like fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. Everything they put out is really, really tasty. They don't have a website so I'll just leave their Yelp page.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/trieu-chau-st...

San Pedro Cafe in Hudson is my go-to breakfast place. Tons of flavor in everything. The island omelette and huevos w/ chorizo are my favorites. Their ciabatta french toast is great and even better w/ fruit. Great bacon too. If you get anything outside of the french toast, get a side of the lemon habanero aioli...its amazing.

http://sanpedrocafe.com/

Not sure if you consider Robbinsdale "west burbs" but Hackenmuellers is good. Not near the selection of Kramarczuks, but good.

http://www.hacksmeats.com/

I really need to get over to Central to try Maya. They've received rave reviews on here and a couple of my NE Mpls friends went there last week and said its probably the best mexican food in the cities.

I've snagged a pizza via take out from Robert St. every couple of weeks since they opened in St. Paul. I've never had an issue (8 min drive home).

Los Ocampo (E. St. Paul location) is my go-to spot for tacos. $2/ea, 15+ Proteins to choose from, and make sure to top your taco(s) with their spicy avocado aioli. Game over.

http://www.losocampo.com/

Origami is normally pretty subdued.

I Nonni has the best Italian food in the city imo. It's close enough to be considered St. Paul.

I'll add BJ's Hotdog Shoppe and Italian Beef. Best italian beef I've ever had.

Considering Chicago recently got the most amazing Del Frisco's, any chain we have here won't cut it. I'm on board with others in recommending Butcher & The Boar. Unique to MPLS and outstanding.

Well deserved. Kramarczuk's is a sausage institution.

Ditto for the location off I-94 & White Bear Ave S. It was painted a couple months ago but now its boarded up and stalled out.

Don't be too worried. Went there today to follow up this thread and to check out getting a pie for my brothers upcoming birthday. They had an entirely separate pie menu but only had 1 flavor (triple berry) on hand and all whole pies they had in back were waiting to be picked up. The girl up front said more pies are coming on Monday.

Go to Black Sheep instead. :-)

Kudos for the Stockholm Pie Company mention. SPC along with the two Norske Nooks (Osseo & Hayward) are the only places I can recommend despite not being in the TC.

+1 Eggs Benedict

My first recommendation to anyone talking east metro dining is always Phil's Tara Hideaway in Stillwater. Their meat is amazing (top notch steaks and pork chops), great specials and just a cool atmosphere. If your friend is claustrophobic it may not be the best option as the seating is tight.

Origami in Minneapolis is probably the most quiet sushi joint I've been to in the TC. The sushi itself is also very good.

I forgot to add that the last time I was at D Spot (3 weeks ago) it was about 1pm and the air was clean as could be. Made the wings that much better.

Next time you go, dip some fries in the tarantula sauce. Epic stuff. I've got to hit up D-Spot soon.

Agreed. SPCS is one of my favorite places to go if I'm ever near the Grand/Snelling intersection. Their specials are always outstanding.

2013 Update -- I like the pork w/ pickled onion and cojita and their chorizo breakfast tacos are awesome. Although Los Ocampo is my go-to mexican joint, Rusty Taco's breakfast keeps me coming back every weekend.

Not a fan of Pinkberry outside of their coconut flavor. Freestyle Yogurt will continue to get all my froyo business. Their flavors (both quality and quantity) and toppings can't be beat imo...plus Freestyle is a MN company.

1 for ENCHILADAS

You mention shes familiar with Midtown, has she eaten at Left Handed Cook yet? If not, that should be your first stop. My second stop would be 2 miles to the West at World Street Kitchen.