We’re back! Doesn’t 2023 feel like the first year since 2019 that we’ve found some sense of balance? New restaurants are opening—and not just making fried chicken and pizza. Risk taking is on display, the North Loop is flexing its muscle as the place to be, and neighborhoods all over the state are getting their own special place to gather. At the same time, there are challenges. Many owners have given up on their experiments to get rid of tipping. Clumsy execution (charging a fee and providing a tip line), the indifference of many consumers, and server preferences all came together. Meanwhile, lunch is slowly returning to many restaurants, although the persistence of the hybrid work environment has largely destroyed the St. Paul and Minneapolis skyway restaurant scene. Still, there’s a lot to celebrate in 2023, and these are the best of the best.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
Best Scene
Maison Margaux
Restaurateur David Fhima has been up and down more than Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins under siege of a blitzing defense. Maison Margaux is his temple, with over-the-top design, over-the-top flavors, and an over-the-top scene.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
There’s a reason you can count on seeing a local athlete or celebrity at the gorgeous basement bar (I ran into Paul Molitor the last time I was there): Nobody does touch, and feel, and service like the Fhimas. You will feel taken care of, you will feel luxuriated, and you will also taste some really great food.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
Get the moules frites, bacon and brie claflouti, or the bold tomato and onion stew (piperade) with seared tuna. The cocktails are elegant, too. At the basement bar, try the World’s Fair 1889, with rum and espresso-infused Campari, or the Earl Grey-infused sherry in Fit for a Queen. 224 First St. N., Minneapolis maisonmargauxmpls.com
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Best St. Paul Restaurant
Herbst Eatery & Farm Stand
Who would have expected that a local teacher, an ad exec, and a chef who moved here from the East Coast would be the ones to reinvigorate the farm-to-table concept? It makes sense when you hear Angie Pierach (the teacher) and Jörg Pierach (the ad exec) talk about their hobby farm in Wisconsin.
Chef Eric Simpson’s menu changes seasonally, but this summer the green pesto lumache pasta exploded with fresh herby goodness, the textures on display alongside a creamy chicken liver mousse. The crunch of pistachio, zip of pepper, and silky sour cherry remind you of the talent in this kitchen. There’s simply prepared pork and grilled lamb, both paying tribute to our local farms.
Great room design, cool art on the walls, and an amazing beverage program complete an experience that feels very at home in the St. Anthony neighborhood of St. Paul as well as very transportive—connecting the fields, the producers, and the next generation to lead in this space. 779 Raymond Ave., St. Paul herbstsaintpaul.com
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Best Minneapolis Restaurant
Gai Noi
Gai Noi is my favorite Ann Ahmed restaurant, and that’s saying something. Lat14 brought gorgeous plating and fresh, bold Southeast Asian flavors to the suburbs. Khâluna elevated the experience and brought a suburban chef to the city. But Gai Noi is just…fun!
The former Joe’s Garage and 4 Bells in Loring Park still has that killer rooftop and that bustling bar on the main floor, but now flora abounds. Leafy greenery sets you up for the lush dishes about to arrive. And they arrive quickly and randomly, as soon as the dish is ready.
Gai Noi’s price point and vibe are “casual party with friends.” Get the laab seen—sliced beef flank doused in spicy lime fish sauce vinaigrette—and one of the papaya salads. I love the green papaya, with funky lime tamarind dressing. And don’t miss the variations on jeow, a Laotian dip. Order sticky rice, grab a handful, and scoop up the earthy mushroom jeow, or the sweet, spicy, and fascinating jeow paa, made with dry fish.
Gai Noi celebrates Ahmed’s family heritage in the northern Xieng Khouang regions of Laos, but it also celebrates what a laid-back, casual dinner can be in the hands of a brilliant chef. 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis gainoimpls.com
Photo by Kevin Kramer
Best Special Occasion Restaurant
Porzana
If you miss Isaac Becker’s Burch Steak, get over it. Porzana is Burch infused with the personality and sensitivity of prolific restaurateur Daniel del Prado. The location for Burch 2.0 is far superior—the former Bachelor Farmer building in Minneapolis’ North Loop—and the team is maybe superior, too, with experienced managers, servers, and wine team.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
The menu is vast and affordable at first glance, but it’s easy to ring up a big bill. Try the “dressed” oysters, with sea bean, chili vinegar, orange, and basil oil. Then get the beef tartare with a strong mustard seed flavor. Assertive radicchio shavings balance the unctuousness. Nods to Argentina are everywhere, from the addictive empanadas to the chipas, doughy and creamy balls of cheese bread.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
It’s hard to resist adding an order of grilled broccoli, with spicy jalapeño puree and crispy puffed buckwheat. The pastas are fabulous, as well, including a sweet corn agnolotto balanced with an earthy chicken jus. You must have the spicy panzanella salad, which is my favorite thing on the menu. And, yes, just as at Burch, you can get a smaller (6-ounce) or baller (16-ounce) portion of steak. I love the ability to get 6 ounces of grass-fed or corn-finished beef for just a taste to satisfy—and so I can save room for dessert: a drink downstairs at the very sexy Flora Room bar. 200 First St. N., Minneapolis porzanampls.com
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Best New Food Hall
Eat Street Crossing
There’s new energy and excitement on Eat Street thanks to local masters of ramen, burgers, and ice cream. John Ng and Lina Goh make the state’s best ramen at Zen Box Izakaya, and now they’ve brought together their friends Ben Spangler and Gabriella Grant-Spangler from Bebe Zito to invigorate the end of Eat Street close to the Midtown Greenway. Ramen Shoten highlights chicken broths instead of Ng’s traditional pork, and make sure to try a sushi sandwich at Sushi Dori, maybe a Brazilian pizza from Gabriella and Ben at Ouro Pizzaria (I like the fire-braised chicken with onion and tomato), and finish it off with a scoop or two of Bebe Zito’s innovate ice cream flavors. 2819 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis eatstreetcrossing.com
Photo by Esther Susag
Best New Restaurant, East Side
Olio
One of my favorite stories of the year is also one of the best meals I’ve had in 2023. At a pop-up Italian restaurant called Olio, inside Pedro’s del Este in Hudson, Wisconsin, I discovered this gem. Olio is the brainchild of east metro restaurant power couple Luke Sawtell and Riley Jackson.
Jackson has run the front of house for San Pedro Cafe in Hudson for years, while Sawtell helped open Bar La Grassa and ran San Pedro Cafe, Barker’s Bar & Grill, and Pete Foster’s restaurant kitchens. But in 2022, he left restaurants to teach culinary arts at Hudson High School. Foster let him use Pedro’s del Este on Mondays and Tuesdays to keep the creative juices going, and people came from all over to taste the simple and perfectly executed pastas, such as the wild mushroom paccheri, the short rib and gorgonzola cavatelli, and the bruschetta with whipped ricotta. It went so well, Olio now has its own home across the river in Bayport. Sawtell tried, but sometimes you can’t quit the restaurant life. Thank goodness! 338 Fifth Ave. N., Bayport olio-hudson.com
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Best New Bar
Fool Me Once
A true sign of the culinary scene’s return is when things start getting a little weird. And Fool Me Once is weird: a “cosmic cantina”? What’s that? Well, it’s part space-themed—lots of neon—and part cowboy-themed. Why not?
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The cocktails are far superior to what you might expect in Lyn-Lake, and it’s no surprise when you learn the bar is run by Park Jang Soo, an experienced bar manager who has worked at Gori Gori Peku and Fhima’s. A rum curry daiquiri? Citrusy whiskey highball? Quick, lovely, clever cocktails are important at this busy bar that also has an ambitious food menu, with items ranging from drunk food, like a crunchwrap supreme, to locally sourced salads. With an experience this fun, you can Fool Me Once, twice, as often as you’d like. 3006 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis foolmeoncempls.com
Photo by Jake George
Best Counter Service
Baba’s Hummus House
Baba’s makes the creamiest, dreamiest hummus. They’ve been a darling of the Minnesota State Fair for a couple years, and their hummus is also available at retail stores all over the state. When they converted a uniform supply store in Minneapolis into a Hummus House, I couldn’t wait to get a hummus bowl.
Photo by Jake George
I certainly did not expect to fall in love with their Lebanese flatbreads, called mana’eesh. Baked in a brick oven, the flatbread itself is packed with sourdough-type flavor, and then the Arabic cheese gives it a depth that surprised and delighted. Try the simple za’atar and cheese pizza or the spiced ground meat with tahini. The hummus bowls are great, too.
Photo by Hekmat Ansari
Owners Rana Kamal and Khalid Ansari grew up in restaurants, and their dad owns the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville. There’s no doubt they’ve made their Baba proud. 2220 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis lovebabas.com
Photo by Kevin Kramer
Best Restaurant
Oro by Nixta
When people ask me what’s the best new restaurant in town, I never hesitate. It’s Oro, Oro, Oro. Creative, modern, flavorful Mexican food from one of my absolute favorite chefs, Gustavo Romero. For years, Gustavo worked for others. Then, several years ago, he started selling his corn tortillas, which actually taste like corn.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
Nixta tortillas are now in stores and on restaurant menus, and, during COVID-19, his taco meal kits routinely sold out. But Romero wouldn’t have realized his vision without his own restaurant. Oro is filled with Mexican American art on the walls and Mexican American culinary art on the plates.
Photo by Kevin Kramer
I’ve never had anything like the bok choy taco, with huitlacoche black beans. Romero’s salsas are deep and layered and serve as punctuation to his incredibly rich proteins and vegetables. Then there’s the seafood-filled chile relleno, and the chicken with mole. No question: This is the restaurant I crave most in 2023. 1222 Second St. NE, Minneapolis nixtampls.com
