Each Friday, this list will track five of the best things Heavy Table’s writers, editors, and photographers have recently bitten or sipped. Have a suggestion for the Hot Five? Email editor@heavytable.com.
The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.
Frozen Pepperoni Pizza by Mucci’s
The move from restaurant to frozen food powerhouse has been a short one for the opened-not-too-long-ago Mucci’s in St. Paul. The restaurant’s famed Montanara (fried crust) pizzas are in the freezer cases of many Kowalski’s (we got ours on Grand Avenue), and they’re bedecked with chewy, gooey, legit mozzarella and bold but tender sliced sausage. A serious upgrade over the rest of the freezer case.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Baked Granola at Cafe Patteen
The baked granola at Cafe Patteen in the Minneapolis skyway is served in little bags while it’s still warm. The hearty oats, nuts, and dried fruit are baked with orange marmalade, giving the mix a sweet, fruity note. If you have the patience to obtain milk, that’s remarkable. I can only attest to snacking on it by hand immediately.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Paige Latham]
Churrasco Plate at El Sabor Chuchi
The first thing you need to know about the $12 Churrasco Plate at El Sabor Chuchi is that it isn’t as big as you expect it’ll be. It’s about 50 percent bigger. I ran out of room in my notebook trying to record everything that arrived on it, but the short list includes a steak (pounded flat), a couple of eggs, rice, beans, thick cut fries, avocado slices, plantain fritters, and salad. If this stuff were mediocre, this would still be a pretty good deal, but the avocado was ripe, the beans surprisingly delicate and beautifully seasoned, the thick-cut fries clearly house-made and top-notch. The steak and eggs and the rest? Not bad. The value prospect of this humble plate of food is towering.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from a recent East Lake Checklist by James Norton]
Caramel Roll at The Bachelor Farmer Cafe
There’s not much to the caramel roll at The Bachelor Farmer Cafe. It’s just a coil of enriched dough and a caramel coating, simple as can be. But the caramel is high-grade, and the simplicity of the roll makes it a lovely thing to pair with a cup of coffee.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Italian Hoagie at Jakeeno’s, Midtown Global Market
Those who try the Italian Hoagie at the Jakeeno’s location in the Midtown Global Market are likely to fall in love at first bite. There’s a certain magic to a well-composed sandwich, and this thing had it — something about the right bread (the baguette it was made with was first-rate), the right meat-to-veg ratio, and the right vinegar-based dressing to tie everything together.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from an upcoming East Lake Checklist by James Norton]