Playing with Food

Top 10 Arrested Development eats: A Twin Cities food tour

By Tatiana Craine Fri., May 24 2013 at 4:00 PM
Categories: Playing with Food

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It's time for the final countdown. In celebration of Arrested Development's return on May 26, we decided a food tour was in order. From variations on cornballs to juice, we rounded up some of the Twin Cities' answers to the Bluths' most-iconic sips and nibbles for the perfect trip around the metro. Plus, it's Memorial Day weekend -- there's a whole extra day of the weekend to wander around the cities checking these Bluth favorites off your list. Don't make a huge mistake. Try all of these.

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Weekly Wrap-up

Best of Hot Dish: May 20-24, 2013

By Michelle Leon Fri., May 24 2013 at 3:30 PM
Categories: Weekly Wrap-up


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Alma Guzman
A scrumptious dish from the new Uptown Spill the Wine.


It's been yet another amazing week of food and drink news at Hot Dish. Here are a few of the week's top stories.

 ~Our "50 favorite dishes" countdown reaches the top 5 with picks from Harriet Brasserie and  La Belle Vie.

~It's time to enjoy one of the most lovely patios in the Cities with a "Drink of the week" from W.A. Frost.

~We take a first look at the highly anticipated Pig Ate My Pizza, the latest from the minds behind Travail. 

~Check out Spill the Wine's new Uptown location--take the tour and read our review.

~"Signature Dish" brings you a fine offering from Victory 44's chef Erick Harcey.

Have a wonderful weekend! See you back here next week. 


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Haute Gossip

Ideal Diner remodeling and (hopefully) re-opening

By Emily Weiss Fri., May 24 2013 at 1:14 PM
Categories: Haute Gossip
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The Rubadu
Ideal Diner returns after a former employee buys the building

When news broke in April that Ideal Diner, a Northeast Minneapolis landmark and breakfast institution, had closed, the most common response from local diners was a regretful, "I always meant to stop in there." Well folks, in a few months time you may just have your chance to intend to go there once again.

Just a few days after Mpls./St. Paul Magazine's Stephanie March mentioned seeing "Cooks wanted" and "We're remodeling" signs in the diner's window, the Downtown Journal has confirmed that Kim Robinson, a former Ideal Diner employee, purchased the restaurant from owner Kevin Kelzenberg and is intending to re-open it, though an exact date has not yet been set. 

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Road Trip

Bike to dinner: A course for your courses

By Dawn Brodey Fri., May 24 2013 at 11:09 AM
Categories: 'Tis the Season, Foodie News, Make it a date, Neighborhood Dining, Playing with food , Road Trip, Savor the Season

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Dawn Brodey
The chariot of the dining bicyclist.

The Twin Cities are regularly voted among the most bike-friendly in the country. Bicycling.com currently has us in the #1 spot although we regularly swap the prestigious ranking for second place with Portland, Oregon.

Similarly, publications such as Travel and Leisure also have the Twin Cities and Portland sharing top spots for best cities for foodies.

The situation has us asking two big questions: One, how do we get rid of Portland; and two how do we best pair our Cities' tremendous and unique opportunities to bike and eat out?

Biking to dinner can be a trick. Does the establishment have a bike rack? Will my helmet hair and wrinkled right cuff solicit snubs from the other diners? Do they serve Surly?

Well Hot Dish cooked up a sample course for your courses: A scenic, bike-friendly, 10-mile loop with recommended stops for beer, apps, dinner and, since you've earned it, dessert. On your next date night, why not ditch a couple of wheels and take this road less traveled.


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Now Open

Mason's Restaurant & Barre now open in the Cowles Center

By Emily Weiss Thu., May 23 2013 at 12:00 PM
Categories: Now Open
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Courtesy Mason's Facebook page, photo by Tamara Obscura
What's old is new again at Mason's, now open in the Cowles Center

In the old Masonic Building at Sixth and Hennepin, now part of the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts, a new restaurant serving sophisticated American bar food and takeaway deli sandwiches (from their M To-Go area) quietly opened earlier this month. They're doing everything from morning coffee and breakfast sandwiches to box lunches to happy hour (including excellent-sounding booze-n-beer/cider cocktails like one made with rum, Strongbow, maple syrup, and cherry bitters) and hearty dinner specials like Osso Buco and breadcrumb-topped mac 'n' cheese. 

The space includes a dining room, outdoor seating, and a central bar, or "barre" as Mason's is referring to it, a nod to the many ballet studios that make their home in the Cowles Center. For those who frequented a certain now-shuttered live music venue on the West Bank, Mason's bar might look a little familiar. 

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50 Favorite Dishes

La Belle Vie's sweet pea tortelli: 50 Favorite Dishes, no. 3

By Joy Summers Thu., May 23 2013 at 11:21 AM
Categories: 50 Favorite Dishes
Joy Summers
Surrounded by elegance and exquisite food

No matter if you're rolling in a hooptie. Step inside La Belle Vie and be transported to an opulent world where every aspect of the restaurant functions at the pinnacle of fine dining.

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Drink of the Week

Caribbean Cooper at W. A. Frost: A patio-perfect drink of the week

By Kelly Moritz Thu., May 23 2013 at 10:25 AM
Categories: Drink of the Week

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Kelly Moritz
House-aged rum and Cointreau skip the blender in this throwback daiquiri variation

Caribbean Cooper
W. A. Frost
$11

Oh, sweet, simple daiquiri, how have things come so far? From a near-perfect combination of white rum and lime to a lip-puckering, bright pink, fake (insert berry here) blended monstrosity in a two-foot-high glass? If these are the types of cocktail bastardizations that keep you awake at night, find your bliss at W.A. Frost and Company, one of a smattering of top-notch bars around town reaching back to the roots of rum drinks, with its Caribbean Cooper.

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Now Open

Pig Ate My Pizza: A first look

By Joy Summers Wed., May 22 2013 at 12:27 PM
Categories: Now Open
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Joy Summers
Springy pizza topped with asparagus, ramps, peas, and smoky pork belly

There are a few things you'll want to know before heading out to Pig Ate My Pizza, the new restaurant in the former Travail space (also owned by the same guys). First, parking is easy on main street, but the entrance is actually in the back, past the dumpsters and through a short, pig art-adorned hallway. 

Like Travail, this is a chef-run joint, so there is no greeter at the door, just find a spot at one of the communal tables, make some friends and prepare for pizza unlike anything else you'll find in town.

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Beer

Figlio to host summer beer series

By Emily Weiss Wed., May 22 2013 at 11:10 AM
Categories: Beer, Events
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Eat, drink, and be merry at Figlio's Summer Beer Series starting May 30

Figlio, in its new incarnation at the Shops at the West End in St. Louis Park, is partnering with some favorite local breweries to host a summer beer series, featuring monthly tastings and food pairings from Figlio's executive chef J.P. Samuelson. The events will take place on Thursdays each month throughout the summer and run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All the festivities lead up to Figlio's Fall Beer Fest in October.

Here are more details on the breweries that will be featured and information on how to get tickets.

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Food

Signature Dish: Victory 44's Chef Erick Harcey

By Keane Amdahl Wed., May 22 2013 at 9:25 AM
Categories: Food, Foodography, Neighborhood Dining
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Victory 44's Chef Eric Harcey presents his sous vide beet salad

In the search for the Twin Cities' best culinary creations, we often come across dishes that stop us mid-bite and force us to reflect on the level of thought and artistry chefs put into their work. The efforts of the chefs are often laborious, and the end results are regularly consumed before the full concept can be appreciated. We've been tracking down some of these dishes to get the chef's side of the story; their thoughts, motivations, and processes. It's our hope that we can give you a deeper insight into the talents of Twin Cities chefs and to have a better understanding of what you're getting when you sit down to dinner.

North Minneapolis' Victory 44 is easily one of the Twin Cities premier dining spots and its undeniable position as a forerunner in the Twin Cities small, chef-driven, highly creative restaurant scene speaks volumes about chef/owner Erick Harcey. Having a firm command on both technique and the understanding of flavors, Chef Harcey whimsically puts together plates of food that are both visually stunning and immensely balanced.

Chef Harcey is the driving force behind not only Victory 44, but his recent partnership with Rustica Bakery and Dogwood Coffee on the Southside of the city has also been met with critical acclaim. Parka continues on in a different vein than that of Victory 44, but the principles remain the same. Creative food elevated by an understanding of traditional technique and quality ingredients ensure that both restaurants are unmissable stops for dining in the Twin Cities.

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