Yael Grauer

Jessie's Favorite Matzo Ball Soup, served at Mort's Deli, is full of flavor.

​Matzah ball soup may be most popular in the spring (around Passover time), but there's something about chicken soup with knaydelach (yes, that's Yiddish for dumplings) in the winter.

I grew up with matzah ball soup, and like most comfort foods, it is nearly impossible to re-create the magic of the past. My childhood matzah ball soup was a delectable bowl of chicken broth with carrots, celery, and multiple small, dense matzah balls. Although restaurants typically serve soup with only one large matzah ball, not all bowls are alike. Here's how Crossroads Deli and Mort's Deli stacked up.

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Yael Grauer

Whose wild rice soup is the most slurpable? We put two to the test.

​Wild rice is not only Minnesota's official state grain, it has also been important to Native American culture long before European immigrants ever set foot in the region. Once found throughout the state, the grain is now primarily located in central and northern Minnesota. The nutty seed matures in the late summer and is harvested on canoes with a wooden pole. Although November has been mild, shorter days and longer nights bring with them a hankering for wild rice soup. We went to two locations to try to find the best.

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Domino's Pizza is involved in a lawsuit with delivery drivers.

​A federal judge certified Minnesota Domino's Pizza delivery drivers as a class in a lawsuit over delivery tips yesterday.

The lawsuit, filed by two Domino's delivery drivers, alleges that Domino's violated federal and state law with its pizza delivery policies.

Domino's policies for reimbursing delivery drivers for work expenses violated federal minimum wage laws, the lawsuit alleges, while its policy of keeping "delivery charges" billed to customers violated Minnesota law.

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Yael Grauer

Borscht is hearty and filling--but where to go?

​If it's good enough for Russian and Ukrainian winters, it's probably good enough for Minnesota winters. A simmering bowl of borscht is hearty, filling, and loaded with nutrients. This week, we look at variations of the beet soup in two locations: Kramarczuk's and Moscow on the Hill.

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Yael Grauer

Who chili is best: the Bulldog's (above) or the Loon's?

​Waning temperatures bring on a craving for chili like no other, but where to go? In this Food Fight, we look at the Loon Cafe, known citywide for its award-winning chili, and the new-school spin on the classic dish by the challenger, Bulldog NE.

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Guy Fieri on the cover of City Pages

​Guy Fieri's PR team is frantically trying to shove the genie back in the bottle after this week's City Pages cover story, which exposed the behind-the-scenes squabbles that nearly brought down the hit Food Network show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

The leader of the Fieri salvation job is an amiable chap named Jesse Derris, who describes himself as a "spokesman for Guy." Although no one from Team Fieri would talk to us prior to publication, Derris has seen the error of their ways and has been burning up our phone lines ever since the story exploded nationally on Eater.

"We've been very polite about this," said Derris. "There's stuff that's factually incorrect."

So we decided it was time to turn over all the cards and let the chips fall where they may.
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Mike Kooiman

Guy Fieri responds to this City Pages cover story

​Guy Fieri is firing back at this week's City Pages cover story, which chronicled the rise of the Food Network's hit show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the collapse of Fieri's relationship with its producer, David Page.

In a formal statement released by Team Fieri, the Food Network star denies being homophobic or anti-Semitic. The statement claimed the feature was riddled with "omissions, basic errors, and complete fabrications."

But when we reached out to Food Network executives, Fieri's manager, Fieri's public relations firm, and a number of ex-employees to get his side of the story, they either didn't return phone calls and emails or declined to comment for the record.

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Pubcorn & Peanuts vs. Land of 10K Licks

​Kemps ice cream flavor creator Logan Julstrom says she can't choose a favorite between the two Hometown Favorites finalists being subjected to a public lick-off at the Minnesota State Fair, every day at 1 p.m.

Two Kemps fans, Jennifer Folkens and Kelly Moritz, came up with the concepts for their respective ice cream flavors, Land of 10,000 Licks and Pubcorn and Peanuts, and Julstrom created the State Fair samples.

The Hot Dish hit the Kemp's booth to try out the two and ended up casting our vote for Land of 10,000 Licks. Pubcorn and Peanuts was a fun idea, but its popcorn-flavored ice cream base had an off-putting synthetic taste that overwhelmed the peanuts and chocolate. Its competitor blended a can't-miss mix of caramel, toffee, and sea salt with sweet cream ice cream that left us longing for, well, 9,999 more licks.

Sara Rice

Two versions of this classic fair food, battling head to head

​To the uninitiated, a corn dog is a corn dog; but the nuances are worth appreciating--whether it's the kind of dog used or the blend of flours in the batter.

In this Food Fight, we put to the test the original food-on-a-stick from two favorite State Fair institutions: Poncho Dog and Pronto Pup.

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Guy Fieri's show will move on without Page Productions.

​The Food Network has resolved its lawsuit with a Plymouth, Minnesota, producer days after claiming he wished death on a staff member.

Page Productions filed a lawsuit against the Food Network last May alleging that the television station hadn't made host Guy Fieri available to them and had blocked Page from producing seasons 13 and 14 of the popular program.

The Food Network filed a response last week claiming Page was a boss from hell, alleging he called a staffer "one fucked-up dumbass loser," dubbed another "asshole," and wished death on one more "so I can dance on your fucking grave."

We called Page and the Food Network's lawyer this afternoon and learned that the lawsuit has been resolved.

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