Dawn Brodey

The chariot of the dining bicyclist.

Dare we say it -- summer has finally arrived -- and as it does, increased numbers of weather-weary Twin Citians are taking to their bicycles and hitting the town. They pedal the Lakes, the Grand Rounds, the Greenway, or any of the many urban bike lanes. It is for good reason that we are regularly voted among the most bike-friendly cities in the country.

But bike-friendly isn't the only feather in our cap -- we are also regularly voted among the best cities for foodies. So why not combine the two?

A few weeks ago Hot Dish brought you a course for your courses -- a bike-friendly route with recommended stops for appetizers, dinner and dessert. Beginning and ending in Minneapolis, the 10-mile course was a big hit.

Now Hot Dish pedals East and presents a course for your courses in St. Paul. This seven-mile route hits some of Saint Paul's classic locations and new favorites -- and burns a lot of calories along the way.

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Photo Courtesy of B FRESH Photography

A plate of soul food prepared by the Hurt family on set of Soul Food Junkies

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It's a common chef's game, late at night after the burners are snuffed and a short glass of something strong is poured. Throbbing feet cool at the edge of a bar rail and the game begins: "What would your last meal be?"  There was even a Top Chef episode where famous chefs like Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pepin revealed what they would choose as their last bite of food before the Big Sleep. (They picked roast chicken and roast squab, respectively.)

Today's supposed Mayan apocalypse is apparently a bit of a dud, but it did get us thinking about a similar question: If you had only one night left to dine at a Twin Cities restaurant, which would you choose and what would you order?

Leave your answers in the comments below.


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Emily Utne

More fro-yo is on its way, but do we really need it?

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Controversial globe shot: Can you spot what's missing?

As contentious debates go, the dispute between Palestine and Israel is right up there near the top. Many lives have been lost and a peace accord has been elusive. It's not a discussion one would expect to be addressed between two chefs, on either side of the divide, aired over social media, but that is exactly what happened yesterday. 
It came to light that chef Sameh Wadi of Saffron and World Street Kitchen had posted a picture of a globe on his Facebook page showing Palestine but not Israel. His accompanying caption read, "We need more world maps that are correct, such as this one!" Wadi is of Palestinian origin. When one "friend" pointed out, "This 'map' is missing Israel..." Wadi responded, "Exactly the way that this should be." Television personality and fellow chef Andrew Zimmern saw the picture and publicly called out Wadi.

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What foods would you like to enjoy lakeside in 2013?

A request for proposals has been issued by Minneapolis Parks and Recreation, calling for concessions vendors to make their bid to be the next food stands serving customers next summer. 

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Find out who our Food & Drink winners were this year

City Pages' mammoth Best of the Twin Cities issue is here! You can read all of this year's winners for Best Restaurant in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Best New Restaurant, Best Chef, Best Restaurant for Romance, Best Street Food, and dozens more in this year's Best of the Twin Cities Food & Drink section here. (You can also browse the entire Best of the Twin Cities issue starting here.)

Then come back and tell us your opinion by leaving a comment below. Which of our choices jibe with your own opinions? Where was our reasoning hopelessly muddled? Feel free to list your own choices for the top food categories.

Don't forget, you can always check out City Pages' winners anytime, on the fly, by downloading our new Best of the Twin Cities app.
Click here to see it in action. You can also see a slideshow of the Food & Drink winners here.

Ed Neaton

Will you be enjoying spring rolls in Little Mekong?

​This weekend, Mai Village Vietnamese restaurant on University Avenue was the site of a ribbon-cutting ceremony that kicked off the citywide campaign to rebrand the eastern end of the Central Corridor light rail line as an East Asian business district called Little Mekong,  reports MPR News . This concerted community effort hopes to follow in the footsteps of popular Minneapolis destination dining district Eat Street and aims not to exclude or eclipse other ethnic groups in the neighborhood, but to highlight the unique restaurants and businesses and encourage more non-Asian people to explore this area.