The Twin Cities food scene runs the gamut of genres: Italian, Mexican, Asian—all the “standards.” But one giant tip of the hat goes to Pimento Jamaican Kitchen for broadening our horizons and dishing up all sorts of plates reminiscent of our favorite island. After winning Food Network’s Food Court Wars a few years back, the team is branching out from Burnsville and opening up a second location on Eat Street (Minneapolis, get excited).
While that won’t happen for a few months, foodies everywhere can help Pimento settle in to their newest home by joining their Kickstarter campaign—they’re about 20 percent short right now.
Why donate to a restaurant that clearly has a fanbase and a bright future ahead? Because they have a goal to reach that’s much bigger than themselves.
Pimento and its mishmash founding crew of Yoni Reinharz, Tomme Beevas and Serge Kogan have teamed up with Refill MN, a nonprofit whose mission is to distribute 1 million meals to hungry Minnesotans by 2017. In an effort to help Refill MN reach their goal, Pimento has committed to donating 100,000, so every meal served at their Burnsville and Eat Street locations will be matched. Within the first two weeks of their partnership, more than 2,500 meals reached food insecure individuals—which describes a staggering 1 in 9 people in the state. Hence, more locations means more meals.
Help support Pimento’s Kickstarter campaign here, and don’t forget to visit them at this weekend’s Basilica Block Party. They and Refill MN will be there, serving up key Jamaican dishes like Kingston-Style Jerk Chicken, Slow-Roasted Jerk Pork, Sweet Fried Plantains and more. If you haven’t treated yourself to this healthy, flavor-infused Caribbean cuisine, do yourself a favor—as well as your hungry neighbors.
Catch the two teams on Fox 9 at 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. Friday, July 10.
