Eat Street Social opens tonight

Categories: Now Open

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Eat Street Social
The hotly anticipated restaurant opens tonight
​After weeks of pushing back the official date, Eat Street Social, the sister establishment to the popular Northeast Social, announced on its Facebook page that it will open tonight at 5 p.m for its first public dinner service.

Located near Eat Street favorites like the Bad WaitressPancho Villa and the recently reviewed Krungthep Thai, Eat Street Social's menu will feature "American contemporary food, with a farm-to-fork agenda." 

Want to know what's on the menu?


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The Oceanaire grand opening at 6th and Nicollet

Categories: Now Open
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David McCrindle
Oceanaire's new home at the corner of 6th and Nicollet
​"I like to think of it as retro-meets-futuristic," General Manager Jake Uttich says of the decor at the gorgeous new location of The Oceanaire Seafood Room. "Like where the Jetsons would want to come to have dinner." The space, on the corner of 6th and Nicollet, does feel very much like the dining room of a cruise ship from a more glamorous bygone era. Even though their official dress code is business casual, elbow gloves and bow ties would not be entirely out of place either. 
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Eli's Food & Cocktails opens a new Northeast location

Categories: Now Open

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Eli's expands but doesn't stray from Hennepin Avenue
​Eli's Food and Cocktails at the edge of downtown Minneapolis and Loring Park has long been a well-kept secret of downtown denizens. With its good food, well-chosen beer and wine list, and killer cocktails, it's been a safe-bet dining destination where food snobs and less unadventurous eaters could all walk away full and satisfied. Last Monday Eli's officially branched out, bringing its special kind of neighborhood bar magic to a former sports bar. We stopped in to get an early look.

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Colossal Cafe St. Paul: A first look

Categories: Now Open

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Can Minneapolis' smallest cafe make its mark in Saint Paul?
​The tiny cafe with the ironic name has opened another location.  Elizabeth Tinucci selected a spot in St. Paul, the town where she grew up, for her extension. 

 After the restaurant was featured on the Food Network's Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives ,Tinucci took over the original operation from Bess Giannakakis. She maintained the mammoth yeasty flappers that regulars had grown to love. As word got out thanks to the TV show, the diminutive cafe became nearly impossible to get a table in.  Fans rejoiced when Colossal announced it would be expanding.

The restaurant quietly opened up around the holidays in a space markedly different from the original location.

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My Burger: A first look

Categories: Now Open

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Yael Grauer
These burgers are delicious.
​Any promising new burger joint in Uptown would pique my interest, and My Burger was no exception. Located just next to the Yogurt Lab on 3100 Excelsior Blvd., My Burger boasts a brightly colored interior with a lot of green and orange and a smattering of modern minimalist decor.

The menu allows for quite a bit of variation. American, Swiss, cheddar, pepper jack, or blue cheese can be added to your burger for just 50 cents. Bacon, mushrooms, or even a fried egg can be added for a dollar, and various spices or sauces (including Cajun seasoning, jerk spices, teriyaki sauce, or BBQ sauce) can also be added for 50 cents to make your own burger.

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Kopplins reopens in new location

Categories: Coffee, Now Open

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New location brings ice cream, cupcakes, and coffee together on one street
​St. Paul's premier gourmet coffee house has moved. After six years at its Hamline location, it has packed up the carafes and set up shop along Marshall Avenue in Merriam Park on what's fast becoming a super-sweet block, also housing Izzy's ice cream and Sweets Bakeshop.

We stopped by to peek inside and see what's changed and what remains the same.

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Ocean Buffet in Brooklyn Center: A first look

Categories: Now Open


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Ocean Buffet in Brooklyn Center
The Twin Cities has no shortage of Asian buffet restaurants. But who would have guessed that the award for highest per capita concentration of Asian buffets would go to Brooklyn Center? With the recent opening of Ocean Buffet on Shingle Creek Parkway, there are now three such restaurants inside of one square mile that also contains a grand total of  zero homes or hotels of any kind.  With a veritable saturation of buffets, can the area-- whose most notable neighbor is the long-defunct Brookdale Mall--support yet another all-you-can-eat hibachi/sushi/steamtray spot?

The Hot Dish stopped by to check out the new contender and assess its chances.

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Rye Delicatessen: A first look

Categories: Now Open

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Rye is ready to take your order
​The neighborhood must have been watching closely: It seems the moment the doors opened to the new Rye Delicatessen, the crowds moved in. On the morning we visited, the poor girl working behind the counter had a glazed-over, slightly panicked look in her eyes. It seems the night before, the counter had been swarmed and they'd basically run out of everything.

Lucky for us, they have staff working 24 hours a day brining and baking to keep those deli cases full. Though the cash register was being a bit buggy, our tasting crew was able to order a wide array of dishes and dug in.

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Technique: A first look at the student-run restaurant's new location

Categories: Now Open

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Le Cordon Bleu
Veal shank with risotto is one entree option at Technique.
​Technique, the student-run restaurant serving three-course meals for only $10, recently moved to its new location out of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Mendota Heights. It is one of 14 Technique locations found around the country, from Portland to Pittsburgh, and allows students to showcase the French cooking technique they have learned in school. But how does the restaurant stack up?

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Turkey To Go opens storefront location in St. Paul; Minneapolis next

Categories: Now Open
Turkey To Go sells slow-roasted pulled turkey sandwiches.
You no longer have to go to the State Fair or the ball game--or even a Turkey To Go food truck--to get your fill of pulled turkey sandwiches. Owners Drew Levin and Dan Perkins have opened a storefront location in St. Paul, with plans for another one in Minneapolis come January.More >>
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