Latest Restaurant Reviews
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Giuseppe's (New Brighton, MN)
The world is overrun with bad Italian food. Be it bland, inauthentic, salty, greasy, or just plain horrid, no cuisine can go bad so quickly as Italian. We’re convinced the problem is one of interpretation, and we know the perfect solution. Head to Joe Cecere’s kitchen, a wonderful restaurant called Giuseppe’s.
He and his wife Maria are from southern Italy, the source of the tomato-based dishes commonly thought of as Italian food. And he’s an excellent cook. We’ve loved almost everything we’ve tried here.
The fried mushroom appetizer was juicy, very lightly breaded, and exceptional dipped in the accompanying marinara sauce. Hand-dipped onion rings might not be Italian, but they are the best we’ve had in far too long, sweet with cooked onion and crunchy with a batter coating. They don’t come with marinara sauce, but should…
Punch (Eden Prairie, MN)
If we could ask one thing of you, it would be this: Stop eating bad pizza. Give up on dreadful bready crusts, pale red sauces, and cheap cheese. Treat yourselves. Go with the good stuff.
The real deal must feature a hand-kneaded crust, no more than 14 inches across, and come out of a wood-fired pizza oven. Every detail about it, from the type of flour used to make the crust to the choice of toppings, is important.
Good pizza is so well-prized in Italy that they’ve passed laws describing what a true Neapolitan pizza must be. And rightly so; protecting their brand and image is important…
Canoe Bay (near Chetek, WI)
For us, romantic weekends always seemed to begin with an airplane ride—until we found Canoe Bay. The secluded inn, just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities near Chetek, Wis., offers quiet, gracious service and luxurious rooms—but no telephones or in-room Internet hookup. Who needs the outside world when you’re in a warm, woodsy room next to a quiet lake? Canoe Bay is the Midwest’s only Relais & Chateaux, a collection of only the top 440 luxury hotels and restaurants in the world, so it’s our area’s own gem of a hideaway.
Why go now
Fall colors are peaking and the lakes are still open for canoeing. The property’s 280 acres are filled with miles of hiking trails, and there are two lakes on the property for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and row boating—no noisy motorboats allowed…
Kabobi (Eden Prairie, MN)
It’s lunchtime on Wednesday, and we’re sitting at Kabobi. We’re enjoying wonderful kabobs fresh off the grill, perfectly grilled sweet corn, and a delicious chopped vegetable salad. Our meals arrived less than six minutes after we placed our order. Outside, the national chain restaurants overflow with hungry Eden Prairie officeworkers: Chipotle, Culver’s, Ruby Tuesday. We look around at the half-empty Kabobi dining room and think: “Man, have we got news for you.”
Kabobi’s menu, and set-up, is simple. Go straight to the counter on the right and order. You can have a kabob sandwich with beef, chicken, or lamb. Whichever you choose, the seasoned meat comes with tomatoes, onions, cucumber and a creamy herb sauce, all in a piece of Middle Eastern flatbread. If you like gyros sandwiches, you’re going to love this, and if you’ve never tried any such thing, we invite you to discover how good they are…
Lindey's Prime Steak House (Arden Hills, MN)
Time capsules are fascinating. They’re messages from the past that show us what was important to those who came before us. Places can be time capsules, too: unchanging peeks into a world that now exists only in memory and other out-of-the-way places. If you want to visit a time capsule, eat at Lindey’s.
The menu couldn’t be simpler, and that is part of its timeless appeal. It’s painted on a board brought to your table: Lindey’s Special Prime Sirloin, Prime Sirloin, or Chopped Sirloin. Each entree comes with salad, hash browns, watermelon pickle, and garlic bread. Sautéed mushrooms are available for a surcharge…
Rice Paper (Minneapolis, MN)
There’s something really special about hole-in-the-wall restaurants. When we find a tiny place with a handful of tables and a tempting menu, we think we’ve stolen a march on the food scene. But in the case of Rice Paper, we want everybody to know how great the place is. This month, they’re expanding from just eight tables into the storefront next door; we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed that chef/owner An Nguyen is doing something very right indeed.
The dishes at Rice Paper evoke flavors from all over Southeast Asia. “I was a little tired of Vietnamese food,” Nguyen said, “but I liked the repertoire of the spices. And I always felt Thai cooking to be too aggressive. These dishes are my own fusion creations that have the flavors without the aggressiveness of the spice.”…
Ted's Pizza (Farmington, MN)
Wouldn’t it be great if your neighbors were really good cooks, and invited you over for dinner every single night of the week. And they served a lot of foods you and your family love, along with some unusual and delicious options? That’s pretty much the case in Farmington, where exceptional homemade food awaits you at Ted’s Pizza.
The restaurant is nothing to look at, and we’re sure you’ll have second thoughts about eating there. But put those second thoughts out of your mind and order.
The pizza comes with either thick crust or thin, and we suggest the crispy, pliable perfection of Ted’s thin crust. Pizza is not about the crust, even one with homemade dough. The sauce is as good as can be; so are the various pizza toppings. We don’t believe in canned mushrooms on pizza, and neither does Ted’s. You can either select your own toppings, or order one of their specials. While the specials are a better deal than mixing and matching, we recommend you ask that they not add the extra cheese. There’s nothing wrong with the cheese, but too much of it overwhelms everything else on the pie…
Big Buck Roadhouse (Minnetonka, MN)
Big Buck is a family restaurant with an upscale feel. The service is friendly but unpolished. There’s a reasonably-priced wine list, and some fun cocktail specials. The menu has options for both conservative and adventurous diners, as well as more casual burgers and pizzas.
Chef Eric Scherwinski, late of Lord Fletcher’s and the California Café, offers a number of dishes that will entice even the most widely-traveled diners. We expected to find something other than the usual beef-chicken-fish trifecta here, and we haven’t been disappointed. From leg of lamb to Cornish game hen to venison and buffalo, we’re delighted with the depth of this menu…
Wing Joint (Blaine, MN)
Chicken wings entered the American consciousness, we think, with the wild popularity of buffalo wings. Since the hot-sauce-covered wings were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, chicken wings have become a ubiquitous appetizer, snack, or light meal.
Which is why we were in Blaine, bellied up to the counter at the Wing Joint. It’s a clever name, especially since the wings here are not disjointed drummies, but the full three-part appendage.
The Wing Joint serves two kinds of chicken wings: regular and buffalo. Both are deep-fried in the classic way—no breading, just dropped into the hot oil.. The regular wings are then dusted with a tasty spice mix, while the buffalo wings are covered with a more spicy spice mix…
Buffalo Tap (Savage, MN)
What’s not to like about a biker bar with coloring placemats for kids? At the Buffalo Tap, you’ll see folks on motorcycles as well as families in minivans. And why not? Everyone can enjoy their excellent chicken wings.
The Buffalo Tap’s wings come in orders of 6 or 12, and with your choice of one of ten sauces. The Garlic Parmesan is their house special and it’s got a good vinegar kick to balance the cheese flavor. They have a standard wing sauce in a variety of spice options. We were not the least bit intimidated by the Medium, but then we like hot and spicy food. We can also recommend the Caribbean Jerk, Honey-Mustard, and Thai Barbecue. You can get a bottle of the house special to take home; we’re putting it on everything…
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.