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.
Spicy Tuna On Crispy Rice from PinKU
PinKU is one of our favorite new destinations, boasting beautifully prepared, simple Japanese-inspired dishes served up quickly from a super-focused menu. The Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice is a hallmark of the restaurant’s style — a dish of just a few elements, but deep and subtle in flavor and stunningly lovely in terms of the light, crispy texture of its rice.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from a review by James Norton]
Babka Ring from Brake Bread
Brake Bread is doing some lovely work at its newly opened bricks-and-mortar location (which we reviewed here), and that extends into the realm of sweet baked treats like the babka. Beautifully layered and not overly sweet, and smitten generously with cinnamon, this is a perfect accompaniment to coffee and a newspaper, or whatever your favorite digital equivalent might be.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from an Instagram post by James Norton]
Plantains and Ice Cream at Jefe
A recent dessert at the newly opened Jefe was one of those transcendent moments. This dish ($7) was just salted caramel ice cream (granted, from Sebastian Joe’s), sweetened condensed milk, and roasted plantains, but somehow the combination of caramel (in both the caramelized plantains and the ice cream), salt, and the dairy of the milk and ice cream made it a perfectly harmonious jam session.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #1 | Submitted from a review by James Norton]
Maitrise Imperial Farmhouse Ale from Fulton Brewing
The Imperial Farmhouse style was a new one for us, and we were intrigued by the suggested contradiction — an easygoing, everyday nature crossbred with regal power and bearing. But all is explained after a few sips. The rustic approachability of a farmhouse ale is definitely present, but the volume’s turned up, and this 9.5 percent ABV brew packs a bold, bright mango and pineapple booze-bomb of initial flavor tempered by a sweet, almost mild finish that lingers without fading. It’s an aftertaste with depth that you can pleasantly chew your way through.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Asam Laksa from Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine
A friend returning from Malaysia to New York City tipped us off to this dish. He noticed that he couldn’t get it in NYC, but that Peninsula was serving it in Minneapolis. Populated by fat, short rice noodles, boldly flavored anchovies, a light broth, and a level of spicy and sour flavor that puts it on the extreme end of local soups, Asam Laksa is a pleasant kick in the head, a whole lot of flavor packed into a compact little container.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]