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.
Roasted Acorn Squash at Saint Genevieve
Courge Poivrée Rôtie is not the most striking dish to behold, which makes the burst of flavor when fork meets taste buds all the more wonderful. It’s half an acorn squash (courge poivrée) — and a delicious one, at that — seasoned, roasted, scooped out, and topped with curly squash chips and popped sorghum. On the side are chunks of toasted bread that have been sprinkled with herbes de Provence and tossed in a sharp vinaigrette featuring sorghum syrup, red wine vinegar and brown butter. The croutons cuts the sweet richness of the squash, while the toppings contribute a tasty crunch.
[Debuting on the Hot Five| Submitted by Jane Rosemarin]
Bun Bo Hue at Tay Ho
Tay Ho’s Bun Bo Hue spicy noodle soup is like a brash upgrade from pho. Its noodles are fat and tender, its chunks of fatty stewed beef rich and flavorful, and its broth profoundly deep with heat and savory spice. This is soup with a fiery soul.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton from the debut of the Green Line Checklist]
Dunn Brothers Burundi Microlot Coffee and B.T. McElrath Changemaker Chocolate Bar
Coffee and chocolate are, generally speaking, two lovely tastes that complement one another, but let’s get specific: this particular coffee and this particular chocolate are a dynamite duo. The Burundi Microlot Coffee is about as big and bold and robust as coffee gets, a blast of both acidity and an earthy chocolate note. The B.T. McElrath Changemaker Chocolate Bar clocks in at that wonderful, serious-but-reasonable 70 percent cacao range, where the chocolate flavor is rich and legitimate without crossing over into excessively fruity brightness. The addition of roasted espresso bean pieces contributes a welcome crunch and a lovely coffee note to the bar. As an added bonus, both products help support a $10,000 contribution by Dunn Brothers to the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #1 | Submitted by James Norton]
Crab and Cauliflower Bisque with Chili Oil and Tobiko at The Strip Club Meat and Fish
Creaminess. Depth of flavor. A blast of heat. Soulful funk. All these things, in combination, only begin to explain the appeal of the terrific crab bisque we ate at a Strip Club dinner this past weekend. Soup is often viewed as a soft-spoken or workaday thing, but made properly it can steal the whole show.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Hot Diego (Ordered Sloppy, with Cheese) at Mama’s Pizza
A typical St. Paul Hot Dago goes a little something like this: a slab of inch-thick toasted bread, a half-inch sausage patty, and another inch-thick slab of bread, covered in sauce and cheese. The Mama’s Pizza Hot Diego, by contrast is a quarter-inch of bread, a two inch-thick sausage patty, and another thin slice of bread to finish, drenched in sauce and cheese. The thing resembles a massive muddy brick, but it tastes delicious – the sausage is mellow but has a bit of spicy bite. Share it with a friend – or three.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton in advance of an upcoming review]
FWIW, use of the word “dago” is deeply offensive and unacceptable
“Amerigo,” I wrote a book about Minnesota folk food that contains a detailed exploration of the history and evolution of the word “Dago.” If you’d like to delve into its origins and evolution (and how it became the name of a popular sandwich in St. Paul), please have a look – the book is called called “Minnesota Lunch.”