BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Tiny Diner 1024 E. 38th St. Minneapolis This is my relationship with the restaurant “empire” of Kim Bartmann—it started way before I had ever heard of her. In 1992, my teenage daughter came back to live with me for her last year of high school. That…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, Ga., and then at age 17 set up as an independent young woman in a neighborhood as close to downtown Atlanta as possible. (Atlanta famously had and still has almost no residential downtown.) I have always loved food—cooking…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Gatherings Cafe 1530 E. Franklin Ave. Mon.– Fri. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 612-879-1753 The Dish has had virtual lunches from Japan to Sweden, Ethiopia to Mexico, and from Korea to the British Isles. To finish out the series, we are coming home to Minnesota, to…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Sonora Grill 3300 E. Lake St., Mpls. 55406 Open 7 days from 10:30 a.m. (9 a.m. on Sunday) sonoragrillmpls.com Sonora Grill started out in the Midtown Global Market incubator as a from-scratch and innovative Mexican/South American food place with no booze and run by real Mexicans—two…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Himalayan Restaurant 2910 E. Lake St., Mpls. 55406 612-332-0880 www.himalayanmomo.com Himalayan Restaurant—Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian cuisine—has been in South Minneapolis for about 10 years. It started out in the Seward neighborhood and after about six years, at the end of 2014, moved to its present location…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE K-Bop Korean Bistro 425 13th Ave. SE, Mpls. 55414 612-331-4993 k-bop.com K Bop is a casual “Korean bistro” in Dinkytown, in the ground floor anchor spot of the Chateau apartment building on 13th Avenue. It’s more designed for foot and bicycle traffic, and not surprisingly, given…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Dilla’s Restaurant 1813 Riverside Ave. Minneapolis 55454 612-332-2898 dillasethiopianrestaurant.com The Dish continues our pursuit of international lunch options with a visit to Dilla’s Ethiopian on Riverside Avenue. Dilla’s decor is very down to earth, while its reputation for food is high, and they have a vegetarian…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Zen Box 612-332-3936 602 Washington Ave. S. Minneapolis MN 55415 zenbox.com Before there was Zen Box Izakaya, there was a much smaller lunch place in the Minneapolis skyway called simply Zen Box. They sold Japanese-style lunch to go—bento— which is the Japanese name for a lunchbox—not…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Merlins Rest 3601 E. Lake St. 612-216-2419 merlinsrest.com www.facebook.com/pages/Merlins-Rest/43488676171 Merlins Rest is a Longfellow mainstay and one of four area “pubs” that offer an interpretation of British and/or Irish food along with the beers and booze. Merlins Rest’s main claim to fame is its impossibly huge…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Merlins Rest 3601 E Lake St 612-216-2419 merlinsrest.com www.facebook.com/pages/Merlins-Rest/43488676171 Merlins Rest is a Longfellow mainstay and one of four area “pubs” that offer an interpretation of British and/or Irish food along with the beers and booze. Merlins Rest’s main claim to fame is its impossibly huge…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Fika Cafe American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. 612-871-4907 fikacafe.net Fika (the name means coffee break in Sweden) is the hypermodern, innovative and esthetic cafe, bakery and cocktail bar of the American Swedish Institute, which has won accolades under all three of its chefs since its…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The George and Dragon 813 W. 50th St., Mpls. 55419 612-208-1047 http://www.ganddpub.com/ This isn’t really eating for England. This is eating in a vain attempt to assuage my mounting “homesickness” for British food, which is the presenting symptom of my general homesickness for England. Now don’t…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Saturday and Sunday Brunch. For some people they are a special occasion, for others they’re just a way of life. Especially if you’re in the second category, you probably won’t want to spend a lot of time waiting, or spend more money than you need to.…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Am I the only person who has this dilemma? You wake up one morning to realize that you just don’t have enough food in the house for a proper breakfast, but you have a super-busy killer day ahead of you. You jump in your car and…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The Dish visited two casual but popular Mexican restaurants for Part One (la Primera Parte) of our Mexican food exploration and rating report. The first, Dominguez Family Restaurant, is in South Minneapolis and is a full-service restaurant with beer and wine. The second, Andale Taqueria y…
