Maki rolled sushi from Hikari Hand Roll Bar
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE
Openings, closings, and changes
The newest tenants at Eat Street Crossing are Hikari Hand Roll Bar (opened January) and El Sazon Tacos & More (opened March.) I have tried Hikari Hand Roll, and it’s good. I have not yet tried FRGMNT coffee and they are now up to five shops, with the newest opening in the Minneapolis skyway. Hippo Pockets is expected to open soon in the tiny space vacated by Herbie Butcher Fried (vegan) Chicken on 48th Street just west of Chicago Avenue.
Hey Y’all Tipsy Taco Bar (2501 Marshall Street NE, the former Betty Danger space) will be open by the time you read this. It promises Tex-Mex food and “playful and irreverent cocktails,” as well as keeping the mini-golf and the Ferris wheel.
Iron Door Pub at Lake and Lyndale closed after nearly ten years. Also at Lyn-Lake (well, 2901 Lyndale) for ten years, Lago Tacos will close at the end of May. Kim Bartmann’s Uptown Italian restaurant Pinoli closed in April.
I am hearing a ton of exciting “coming soon” news, but I am going to stop reporting those, because sometimes they just drag on and on and sometimes never happen. Maybe we’ll have a really huge list of openings around July or so.
Food-related news
I heard about yet another food waste prevention concept, company, and app — this one focused on restaurant food rather than grocery supply chain waste. It’s called Too Good To Go and I don’t really know how widely used it is. The website says “Too Good To Go is growing fast across the USA, with more partners and users joining the community every day. [Big list of cities which includes Minneapolis but not St. Paul?] And while you read this, we may have expanded into more U.S. cities already.” (toogoodtogo.com/en-us/about-us/in-my-area.) It’s also in Europe and Australia. Do any of my readers know more about this? Email me at: [email protected].
A dish from Myriel, ninth best restaurant in the U.S.
MinnPost.com had an April 1 (but quite serious) piece about how USDA funding cuts are harming food banks and causing rising hunger. Bringmethenews.com had an April 5 piece comparing grocery prices between 2024 and 2025.
Also in Bringmethenews.com, an April 15 piece by Dustin Nelson covered the 2025 MN Brewers Cup awards, and some of my local favorites really cleaned up! Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub, right in my backyard, won 2nd place for Wild Brunette, 2nd place for Doppelbock, 1st place for Bridge Hanger, and 1st place for Midnight Elf. Venn Brewing won 3rd place for Choconut, and Arbeiter won 2nd place for HaHa Pils, and an overall award: Most Innovative Brewery.
Myriel, in St. Paul, made number nine in Food and Wine magazine’s Best Restaurants in the U.S. list, according to Biz Journal and other sources. And MSP Biz Journal also announced that Taste of Minnesota will be back this year in downtown Minneapolis on July 5 and 6. Here is a non-paywall link – archive.ph/SThrD.
Food-related opinions
I said last month, I love the author of the local foodie Substack beyondbeurreblanc, and she really delivered after I wrote this March 28 piece about why she’s boycotting certain restaurants and her theory of good restaurant management: beyondbeurreblanc.substack.com/p/twin-cities-chefs-are-sending-a-clear. Headline: “Twin Cities chefs are sending a clear message: unionize and we’ll close the restaurant Or: this is textbook union busting.”
Jay Boller of Racketmn.com is a Jucy Lucy expert and on April 22, in Racket, he taste-tested a new Jucy Lucy product — frozen Lucies available in the Target grocery. And he said they are BAD. Many Minnesotans, who are boycotting Target, breathed a sigh of relief.
Excellent food writing I just have to share
In Taste magazine, Sean Sherman and Mecca Bos explore The Frybread Question. tastecooking.com/the-frybread-question.
Cardamom Mezze Platter and Lamb burger
Mini-review:
On a Friday in late April, I was treated to lunch at Cardamom, the Daniel del Prado spot inside the Walker Art Center, by my beloved publisher, Ed. We were also accompanied by Sam D., who is becoming my most frequent Dish review companion lately.
We shared a bottle of Slovenian Sauvignon Blanc, which was a very good pairing with our dishes. We started with the amazing Mezze platter. We got three pillowy pita breads warm from the oven, and a round wooden serving platter with a bowl of hummus in the center, and eight smaller bowls of dips, olives, relishes, and tabbouleh surrounding it. The dips included a red zhoug, labneh with some kind of purplish powder adorning it, and braised chickpeas.
Ed had the lamb burger, and pronounced it delicious, and took home leftovers. Sam had a flower shaped house-made toasted bagel with smoked salmon and fixings that looked amazing, and I had eggplant schnitzel, which was perfectly executed and came with a coating of an intense red sauce and a gremolata-like topping with lots of Italian parsley. We all loved the food, and talked politics and were the loudest table in the place.
