Part two of our 36-bite (and sip) tour of the best that 2015 had to offer in terms of food and drink in the Upper Midwest.
JULY
St. Vincent Pizza from Big River Pizza
Packing a major flavor punch, this concoction stars thick bacon, fresh garlic, provolone, and a bright, slightly sweet red sauce made from organic crushed tomatoes. This pizza could have been overwhelming, given the combination of high-powered ingredients, but the components complemented one another, producing a well-balanced, unique pizza. — Joshua Page
Dilly Beans from Saint Dinette
Sometimes the simplest dishes are the most impressive. While there’s no shortage of things to rave about vis-a-vis the newly opened Saint Dinette, we were truly wowed by the simple pickled dilly beans served as a snack. They had a lovely, tangy, garlicky depth of flavor that made them absurdly addictive. — James Norton
Cannibal Burger from Schmidt’s Meats
Cannibal Burger is beef coarsely ground with onions and spices and meant to be served raw on crackers or rye toasts — kind of a bare-bones steak tartare. At Schmidt’s, the Cannibal Burger is not mystery meat or odds and ends, but top round, ground first thing in the morning, when the grinders are still fresh from the previous night’s scrubbing (have we mentioned how immaculate this shop is?). The meat is so tender it pretty much melts in your mouth and is surprisingly delicate in flavor. One bite, and it’s easy to forget about the raw part (not to mention the cannibal part), and just focus on putting more meat on more crackers. — Amy Rea
AUGUST
Cherry Shortcake from the Barley’s Angels Goose Island Beer Dinner
The cherry shortcake made for the Barley’s Angels and Goose Island Beer dinner at Cooks of Crocus Hill was a revelation. Made with simmered dark cherries and saison, it was the hit of the evening. May no shortcake ever again be made without orange zest. It almost dwarfed its beer pairing, the Juliet Belgian-style ale. — Paige Latham
Ogaawag (Walleye) Taco from the Tatanka Truck
Anyone who doubts that we’re living in a food renaissance should swing by the new Tatanka Truck, which is slinging modern takes on Precolonial native cuisine. We tried and greatly enjoyed the earthy, layered flavor of a sumac-seared Red Lake walleye fillet served on a native corn and bean bread with wojapi (a tart berry sauce). — James Norton
Pizza Night at Chef Shack Bay City
Pizza night at the Bay City location of Chef Shack starts at 5 p.m. every Friday. Each pizza has its own shape; the ingredients are added in a crafty way that makes the pizza look homemade. The restaurant’s backyard is relaxing and cozy, and the joy of watching the pizza being prepared right before your eyes (using produce such as cherry tomatoes grabbed straight from the garden) justifies the drive down. — Isabel Subtil
SEPTEMBER
Oklahoma Cinnamon Rolls at the Minnesota State Fair Food Building
Fair food can often be ersatz, canned, decanted-from-a-bag food, but sometimes it’s pretty real. You can watch bakers make the Oklahoma Cinnamon Rolls from scratch in the Food Building — rolling out the dough, sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar, and baking each tender, sweet, delicious bun in the oven. The show makes the inevitable wait in line downright enjoyable. — James Norton
Tater Tots at Tavern 4&5
The tater tots at Tavern 4&5 in Eden Prairie are not even in the same category as sad tots coming out of a freezer bag. These bite-sized pieces of fluffy mashed potatoes are delicately coated in panko and fried, and are much lighter in texture than regular tots. They melt in the mouth and are the most comforting of comfort food. You can get them as an appetizer to share, but be prepared to fight for the last one. — Amy Rea
Sauteed Beef Over Fried Potatoes at Kim’s Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant
Some of our favorite dishes on the Central Avenue Checklist crawl we’ve been undertaking from 694 to Broadway Street have been the dark horses — items no one knew about or particularly wanted to try, but that we felt compelled to try anyway, due to intriguing ingredients, a sense of machismo, or in this case, a server recommendation. The unassuming brown-meets-brown appearance of the Sauteed Beef Over Fried Potatoes at Kim’s on Central Avenue lowered our already depressed expectations, but then we took a bite — and another — and another. There’s something intriguingly savory and delicious about the classic way potatoes and beef and onions play together on the palate, and we loved the variable texture on the potatoes. Some were soft and yielding … some were basically house-made potato chips. All were delicious in this curveball of an entree. — James Norton
OCTOBER
Chestnut Crab Apples
I discovered these last year, and with the first bite I thought, “Where have you been all my life?” And now I’m seeing chestnut crabs in the co-ops, the farmers market and a bunch of pick-your-own orchards. They’re doll-sized and taste like they have been dipped in honey, with a fantastic snap. — Tricia Cornell
EDITOR’S NOTE: One of the most eye-opening features we ran this year was a massive taste test of heirloom apples from an orchard in Michigan facilitated by Peter Gillitzer of Milk and Honey Cider. Gillitzer saw this Chestnut Crab Apple blurb and was motivated to share a grand heirloom apple sampler with us.
Smoked Salmon with Dill from Northern Waters Smokehaus
There are a lot of things going on at Northern Waters Smokehaus that are worth raving about, but the smoked salmon with dill is a favorite among favorites. Completely covered with dill, the fish is mildly smoky, fatty, and herbal tasting. At $19 a pound, it’s not cheap, but a little goes a long way. Try it on toast with cream cheese, or better yet, with Northern Water’s own green-onion cream cheese. No plan to make it to Duluth? Keep an eye out next summer for their periodic visits to the Fulton and Kingfield farmers markets. — Ted Held
English Bitter Ale from Bad Weather Brewery
An English Bitter ale brewed with earl grey tea, this first taste from Bad Weather Brewing’s newly opened taproom doesn’t disappoint. The smooth nitro pour has a strong malty backbone and is accented by soft caramel notes. The tea addition adds a surprising citrus element present in the finish, resulting in a beer that is overall complex and lightly spicy. — Liz Scholz
NOVEMBER
Root Vegetable Hash at Moscow on the Hill
This seasonal roasted vegetable hash is more like a potato pancake in preparation and texture. Its flavor is generated mainly through good ingredients augmented by minimal seasonings. The combined flavor of squash, carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas garnished with fresh parsley was not only colorful, but delicious. — Brenda Johnson
Nutella Calzone at Red Eye Brewing Company in Wausau, Wis.
We thought the Nutella Calzone at the Red Eye Brewing brewpub was a recipe for disaster: too bready, too sweet, too greasy. Its powdered sugar and chocolate syrup bedecked exterior heightened our concern. But it turned out to be delicious — a light, tender crust that embraced the hazelnutty goodness of the Nutella. — James Norton
Bolognese Pasta Sauce from The Coffee Grounds in Eau Claire, Wis.
It is a crying shame that the rich, chunky, full-flavored, soulful frozen red sauce we’ve been searching for throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul area had to turn up in 90-minutes-away Eau Claire, but them’s the breaks. The house-made Bolognese from The Coffee Grounds contains wagyu-style beef(!), farm-sourced ground pork and bacon, heavy whipping cream, and organic vegetables from Square Roots Farm — this no doubt contributes to the fact that it’s killer delicious. Next time we’re on our way back from Madison, we’re picking up more of this stuff, a lot more. — James Norton
DECEMBER
Kara-age from Ramen Kazama
Ramen Kazama’s Kara-age is a generous portion of Japanese fried chicken with a lemon wedge garnish and a side of seasoned mayo. The shattering, bubbly-crisp fried exterior of the chicken gives way to perfectly moist dark meat. These are McNuggets elevated to art, pairing up perfectly with a mug of cold draft beer. — Peter Sieve
Cacao Porter from Enki Brewing
For all the rich cocoa flavor that this brew packs, it’s also surprisingly clean and light on the palate, with a welcome creamy kick of fine carbonation that keeps what could be a syrupy beer nice and lively. Guaranteed to bring welcome cheer to any gathering that it attends. — James Norton
Spicy Pork Eggrolls at Domo Gastro
Here’s the question that really matters this week: Are the spicy pork eggrolls at Domo Gastro merely the best eggrolls of the moment? Or the best eggrolls of the year? Domo Gastro’s spicy pork eggrolls are thin, brilliantly crisp little affairs, with just the right ratio of crunchy exterior to rich, fatty sausage interior. There’s also a lingering kick of heat that complements the savory flavor of the meat without overwhelming it. Dipped in the nuoc cham, these things are unimpeachably tasty. — James Norton