Top 5: Food on Snelling now that the fair is over

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One of our favorite places -- fair-excluded -- to eat on Snelling Ave.

Snelling Ave.: It's not just for the fair anymore. Dry your eyes, fair mourners. Even though the fair's over, there's still lots to love about Snelling, foodwise. Sure, you can't get glazed pig cheeks or hot dish on a stick now until next year, but there's some pretty dang good eats on this unofficial St. Paul Eat Street. Here's our Top 5:

1) Fasika. Huddle with some friends over some practically table-sized injera in this cozy space near Snelling and University. New to Ethiopian? Try the "ultimate combination" with beef, lamb, chicken, and veggie dishes.

2) Black Sea. This tiny, homey little place, which claims to be Minnesota's first Turkish restaurant, features familiar dishes like falafel and gyros and, mmm, baklava and Turkish coffee, all for under $10. Give Falafel King a break.

3) Mirror of Korea. Korean food is hard to come by in the Twin Cities, and unofficial tallying suggests Mirror of Korea's got it going on. One local reviewer calls the menu "extensive," the prices "affordable," and the food "authentic."

4) Grumpy's - Roseville. Branch out from Grumpy's NE and Washington Ave. locations and check out the bigger, airier Roseville incarnation, which includes a mini-stage perfect for weekly karaoke events!

5) SmashBurger. Twin Cities foodies can't stop talking about SmashBurger, one of the latest burger chains to arrive on the fast food scene. And well? As luck would have it, one of them recently opened on Snelling Ave.

Shout out to contender O'Gara's, though for our purposes we're not sure anything south of I-94 should count. Nelson's Cheese & Deli is also right up there, but disqualified as it is technically on Como Ave. And don't get us started on all the stuff on University. Another post for another time. Still though, who'd we miss?