Travail too busy? Try Nonna Rosa's next door.

If you drove all the way up to Robbinsdale and found the lines too long for a table at the new gastropub, Travail, your next best bet is to head down the block to the cozy Nonna Rosa's.

It's not the kind of restaurant that's necessarily worth the drive, as it doesn't so much distinguish itself from other metro area Italian joints, but the new-this-summer restaurant is good enough to be a boon for those in the the neighborhood.

More »

Treating yourself to chicken tikka.

What would I have to do to get a little tandoor in my kitchen, to supplement the workhorse Caloric? I could cook up skewered meats and puffy disks of hand-patted naan, while warming up the whole house with the oven's 900-degree heat. Or, I suppose, I could just go back to this new Minnetonka eatery for an order of its chicken tikka.

More »

Crowning a new banh mi king!

The best thing to come out of France's colonization of Vietnam is, arguably, the banh mi. The pitch-perfect sandwich marries a pillowy, delicately crusted baguette with meat (often pork) or mock meat, pickled and fresh veggies (carrots, cucumber, and usually cilantro), and a generous swipe of mayonnaise. And, best of all, banh mi are super cheap: nearly always less than $5. While I'm a fan of the ones at Jasmine Deli and Saigon, I'm currently enamored with one from Minneapolis's newest street truck:

More »

Photo: PizzaLuce.com

Here's what's hot at Pizza Luce

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs. Check out more of our Eat This posts here.

NICK AND EDDIE
Most popular: At the Loring Park mainstay, customers spread their favorites pretty evenly, says chef Derik Moran, but one of the most popular orders is the Mississippi Greens salad. "It's a blend of micro herbs and frilled lettuces that I get from a local farmer," he says. It's a mix of 23 varieties, "all in micro form, so it's really dainty, really pretty, lots of color." The salad ($7) is served with a buttermilk vinaigrette, roasted beets, house-made bacon, and local goat cheese. As far as entrees, the mac and cheese is a hot seller. It's baked and rich, with lobster, house-made andouille sausage, cheddar, and Gruyere ($15).

Chef's choice: "I'd have to pick the scallop dish," Moran says. "It's pan-seared dayboat scallops with a pearl barley risotto, with local shell peas, ramps, and avocado [$19]."

More »

The catfish po' boy is No. 1 at Sea Salt

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs. Check out more of our Eat This posts here .
ST. PAUL GRILL
Most popular: The biggest seller at the stately St. Paul Grill last month was the "F.O.D.," says executive chef Doug Tigges--the fish of the day. The Grill usually runs a daily seafood special all year, Tigges says. "Predominately right now we're running Alaska halibut and wild salmon." The dishes are prepared differently every day, but they are usually pan roasted with a light sauce and vegetable medley, the chef says, so as not to interfere with the natural flavor of the fish. The fish special is usually priced in the $27 to $29 range.

Chef's choice: "I love our lamb chops [$38.95], because we get the Colorado-raised lamb," Tigges says. "There's nothing like the domestic Colorado-raised lamb. We do them grilled with garlic butter. And we serve it old school with mint jelly, but we do a twist on it--we do a jalapeno mint jelly."

More »

What to order at D'Amico Kitchen? (Hint: the chef likes the hanger steak.)

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs. Check out more of our Eat This posts here.

D'AMICO KITCHEN
Most popular: "We have a crudo dish here, which is a yellowfin tuna, that just flies out the door," says Justin Frederick, D'Amico's new chef. "We only use the best, No. 1 tuna out there," he says, and he serves the appetizer ($11) atop avocado with melon and a lemon jam. As for entrees, one of D'Amico's top sellers is the house-made ravioli with ricotta, Stickney Hill Dairy goat cheese from Minnesota, a tomato-based sauce, speck (an Italian smoked bacon), and basil ($10 as a small plate; $19 as an entree).

Chef's choice: "I think we have a fantastic beef carpaccio here," Frederick says of his favorite appetizer ($11). He prepares it using a Creekstone all-natural beef tenderloin, with green olive aioli, capers, and sea salt. His favorite entrée? "I personally really like the grilled hanger steak. We actually cut our hanger steaks in-house, which allows me to have more control on the flavor. We use Meyer Ranch beef, which is a really, really good-quality beef." It comes with pancetta-wrapped radicchio for $23.

More »

At La Belle Vie, you can't go wrong with the halibut

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs.

LA BELLE VIE
Most popular: "I'd say it's the halibut right now," says Mike DeCamp, chef de cuisine at the Cities' toniest restaurant. The fish ($29) comes sauteed with artichoke ravioi, a green pasta filled with artichoke cream, artichoke chips, and espelette (a Basque pepper).

Chef's choice: DeCamp is a fan of the foie gras ($18), which comes from Minnesota's Au Bon Canard. At La Belle Vie, it is prepared with one piece seared and one piece as a terrine served cold, with gingerbread, hazelnuts, pears, and watercress. "I also like the duck on this menu," DeCamp says. Also from Au Bon Canard, it's a seared duck breast served with piperade (a Basque pepper mixture) and potato mille-feuille ($36).

More »

When you go out to eat, do you order decisively or do you stare at the menu obsessively, as if it's your last meal? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs at Oceanaire, Blue Door Pub, and more. Come back next week for more restaurants, or check out the series so far here.

More »

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs. Check in next week for more restaurants, or see last week's Eat This here.

CHINO LATINO
Most popular: "Really our most popular item is the mojito, but if we're talking more about food, on the big dishes, the biggest seller last month was our Belafonte's Banana Boat Chicken [$21]," says executive chef and general manager Noah Barton. "It's a chicken breast crusted with crushed plaintain chips and served with a passion-fruit cream sauce. It's kind of sweet and tart."

Chef's choice: "My favorite menu item of the big dishes is the Cuban Pork Roast Crisis [$24]. It's a Cuban-style marinated, slow-cooked pork that we shred and serve with jasmine rice, black beans, fried bananas, and a pickled cabbage that goes on top."

More »

When you go out to eat, do you ever stare at the menu for minutes on end, waffling over what to order? Do you ever wonder if the restaurant's regulars know something you don't? Here's a handy guide to what customers order most at some of the Twin Cities' most popular eateries, plus recommendations from the chefs. Check in next week for more restaurants.

BARBETTE
Most popular: "Anything fish. Fish are definitely our top sales item," says chef Kevin Kathman. Barbette's fish specials change daily, but a regular staple is Alaskan cod. It's served with pea leaves sautéed in brown butter, a salad of raw green beans and radishes, and a cherry tomato compote ($26).

Chef's choice: Kathman's personal favorite is the weekly lamb special. "I get in a whole lamb a week. Then we'll do a tasting of lamb. We'll do anywhere from five to six preparations on a single plate." For example, a plate might include a grilled, marinated chop, a butter-braised T-bone, lamb bacon, a little disk of braised short ribs, or something Kathman describes as a "lamb and black truffle explosion": braised lamb shank and black truffles are mixed and lightly breaded with smoked paprika and a gelatinous sauce that liquefies when heated. The disk is fried "like a tiny hockey puck," and creates a sensual explosion of flavors when it's punctured.

More »