Minneapolis / St. Paul Food Blog

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​A Chicago Magazine food writer hilariously recounts in the September issue of the mag what he thinks eating burgers every day for more than two months did to his brain and ability to function properly: cognitive dysfunction.

[T]he onslaught of red meat did what drugs and alcohol and fatherhood could not: It made me stupid. Since my "research" began back in April at Flub A Dub Chubs, a hole in the wall on North Broadway, I've spaced my grandmother's 90th birthday, hit a parked car across the street from Jury's, and spent an entire workday with my fly open. Then there was the little incident in Indiana involving sunscreen and a toothbrush. But let's not get into that.

Maybe this helps start to unravel where the terms "meat coma," "meat sweats," and my personal fave, "meatmare" come from? Stay tuned ...

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Is it just me or are people alarmingly ok with risking their health and dignity for a mere t-shirt or their name on a wall of a lesser-known restaurant? (Remember when Homer gave it a shot? Read on ...)

A new website called Eat This and Die celebrates this pathology with reader-generated submissions of where you can go to attempt eating, say, five pounds of beef, 20 slices of cheese, 20 pieces of bacon, five pounds of fries, one half of a sour pickle and a fountain drink. (This all for your picture on the wall at Eagle's Deli and Restaurant in Brighton, Mass.)

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The so-called "Ziploc Omelet" has been migrating the Interwebs for a couple years now and yesterday rewormed its way into my inbox on the heels of Michelle Leon's Hot Dish post on walking tacos aka "Tacos-in-a-Bag." Oh how apropos.

In order to preserve the entertaining original enthusiasm for this quasi-monstrosity (you really probably shouldn't try this at home, the whole hot plastic = carcinogens = cancer thing is rather well-documented), here's what I was sent, in its entirety. Enjoy (or not):

While I truly appreciate the work of doctors and nurses, in my mind, hospitals are one of the least hospitable places. Why anyone would choose to spend her leisure time in one is beyond me. Plus, why would a restaurateur want to associate himself with a place known explicitly for having *bad* food? That'd be like having an airline-themed restaurant.

In any case, a hospital-themed restaurant, Hospitalis, has sprung up in Latvia, serving food resembling body parts which can be eaten with surgical utensils.

For those seeking up-to-the-minute foodie tidbits, click here to get The Hot Dish via text or twitter.

A clearinghouse for photos of disgusting food surfaced this week.

When I first saw the headline "Worst Foods in America," I thought, alright, this is going to be good -- funny descriptions of grotesque creations involving, say, okra (snotty snotty okra) and candid commentary about revolting regional delicacies. But no.

Are you a musician who also rocks the kitchen? Here's a great idea on how all you can make some extra dough (no pun intended)--just like the guy from the post-punk band Liquid Liquid.

If you already know what durians are, you know that the prospect of paying money for a jar of durian jam is a dubious one.

If you're not familiar with the Asian fruit, they're worth looking up or visiting in person, in one of the numerous Asian grocery stores on Nicollet Ave. These spikey monsters regularly kill unsuspecting passerby, are banned from various subway systems for their odor, and taste something like old leathery feet dipped in garlic, onions and mango puree.

Anchovies on pizza are essentially known only as a punchline — few pizzerias offer them as toppings, and they've got a foul reputation, primarily among the masses of folks who have never tried them. Americans don't typically like eating whole animals, and the idea of having the majority of a fish sitting on top of your pizza — as opposed to, say, a pepperoni — is a non-starter for most folks.

Therefore, you have to applaud the courage of the newly opened Warehouse District pizzeria Black Sheep (at 600 Washington Ave N.) In addition to doing some of the best chewy/crunchy crust in the known universe, they've offering anchovies as a topping choice.

The only way to make Crave's Minnesotan omelet more authentically Minnesotan would be to wrap it in lefse and/or jam it onto a stick. The dish contains dried cranberries, steamed wild rice, duck confit and Amablu blue cheese made by the Faribault Dairy Company.

Covered in a thin later of crunchy white frosting studded with black sesame seeds, the eclair on offer at Obento-Ya is fittingly off-kilter for a Japanese restaurant known for its quirky menu.

Rooibos is pronounced "roy-boss" and means "red bush" in Afrikaans, the South African language descended from Dutch. The "red bush" in this case refers to a wilderness (or "bush") herbal tea that produces a reddish hued beverage.

The tea is a sub-Saharan African mainstay, often served sweetened and with milk in South Africa and without either elsewhere. What it's doing at Sovereign Grounds, a charming little South Minneapolis cafe, is less obvious.

St. Paul's Blue Door Pub is quickly making a name for itself by presenting local pub food with a novel twist. Whether it's the menu's eight different twists on the classic Jucy Lucy concept, the bierock (a pastie- or piroshki-like meat-stuffed pastry) or the $5 Spam bites, The Blue Door is willing to push the envelope when it comes to food that tastes good with beer.

Dining at Quang isn't as daring as local Southeast Asian cuisine gets — the restaurant strikes a deft balance between pleasing Vietnamese natives and keeping the more traditional Minnesotan palate happy, offering choices accessible to (and enjoyable by) both. Tripe and other even more outre offerings aren't as emphasized as they are at some of the other Eat Street outposts of Southeast Asian cuisine.

Dessert, however, remains relatively exotic for the Western diner. One dish that jumps right out is Che Dau Trang, a "sweet black-eyed peas pudding w/ sweet rice and coconut." For $1.95, you get a truly horrendous-looking bowl of food. (Photo after jump).

While researching an upcoming review, I found myself at Bagu, the (relatively) new South Minneapolis Sushi/Thai joint across the street from Turtle Bread Co. and Pumphouse Creamery.

As part of a newly hatched plan to make an effort to order the most novel, weirdest, and/or most initially off-putting item on any given menu I encounter, I ordered the not entirely pleasant sounding Japanese Bagel Balls as an appetizer.