Heavy Table Hot Five: March 18-24

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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.

shepherd-song-banner-ad-horiz-3The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.

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Paige Latham / Heavy Table
Paige Latham / Heavy Table

1-new - oneGuanciale Pizza at Lyn65
Lyn65’s Guanciale Pizza has the ideal balance of salty, rich pork and a bright maple sweetness that is incredibly restrained. Although the Richfield restaurant has more refined choices, this pizza was perfectly satisfying. Pair it with a cream ale for harmony or a Boulevardier for more contrast.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Paige Latham]

Mike Mommsen / Heavy Table
Mike Mommsen / Heavy Table

2-new - twoThe Kombucha Rum Collins at Norseman Distillery
Designed by bartender Jon Olson, the Kombucha Rum Collins combines Prohibition’s Pink Robot Kombucha with Norseman’s rum and a squeeze of lime to create an overall tropical experience. The drink is fruity without being too sweet or relying on one note. The tart citrus from the guava kombucha plays nicely off the vanilla-accented rum. Ask for the drink by name since it isn’t a regular on the menu; the cocktail can be easily made at home with the same ingredients.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Liz Scholz from a review of Norseman’s new cocktail room]

Ted Held / Heavy Table
Ted Held / Heavy Table

3-new - threeWar Horse Pizza at Dark Horse
Founded on a thin, crispy yet chewy, charred-at-the-edges crust, the War Horse ($16) is topped with garlicky Italian sausage, sweet caramelized onions, and a funky, smoky kraut. Cut in squares, with no red sauce in sight, and showered with caraway seeds, this St. Paul style pizza showcases the Eastern-Europe-meets-Italy roots of our capital city.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #1 | Submitted by Ted Held in advance of an upcoming review.]

James Norton / Heavy Table
James Norton / Heavy Table

4-new fourBBQ Pork Skewers at Pinoy Fusion
Pinoy Fusion is a rarity: It’s a Filipino food truck, the only one in the state, to our knowledge. It parks in front of Phil Oriental foods on University Avenue in St. Paul on Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Along with a variety of dishes we’ve never seen (let alone eaten) before, the truck sells bundles of pork barbecue skewers, 6 for $12. They are downright excellent: The meat has lovely chew and char, they’re tender and free of gristle, and they’re perfectly presented as a bundle of meaty arrows contained within a tinfoil quiver.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton from an upcoming edition of the Green Line Checklist]

Amy Rea / Heavy Table
Amy Rea / Heavy Table

5-new -five“Sweet Thang” Fish Sammich at World Street Kitchen
The fish sandwich at World Street Kitchen may not be the restaurant’s signature dish, but it shows that even the lowlier menu items were created with care. A sizable piece of fish is coated in a zesty beer breading, then perfectly fried until both crispy and greasy (in the best possible way). The dish is served, cheekily, with chips in the sandwich, for a play on fish and chips. It puts other fish sandwiches to shame.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Amy Rea]

One Comment

  1. annmartina

    I had the fish sandwich at WSK a couple of weeks ago and it tasted like the fish sandwiches of my childhood. Growing up I would order a fish sandwich everywhere I could (Wiener Schnitzel was my other go-to dish, which shows you how much times have changed). WSK version brought back memories of my all-time fave from Nelson’s Family Restaurant in Richfield, where I always ordered it with a slice of cheese. Back then that would get a double-take.

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