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.
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 flavors of squash, carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas garnished with fresh parsley was not only colorful, but delicious.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Brenda Johnson]
$10 Bento Box Lunch Special at Gogi Bros. House
The glory of Korean food is the panchan (assorted side dishes, often pickled, and inevitably including kimchi), and for a mere $10 at lunchtime at the newly opened Gogi Bros. House in Eden Prairie, you get a lovely assortment. The bento meal features some terrifically tender sweet potato noodles called japchae, an assortment of other tasty bites, plus a hearty main; our Daeji Bulgogi (spicy barbecued pork) was tender and savory.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Ika Sansai at Fuji Ya
This tangy cold salad is a mixture of Japanese mountain vegetables (sansai) and squid (ika) and is not (officially) on the menu at Fuji Ya. If the sushi chef has some, it’s your lucky day! In addition to the squid there are shiitake and “jelly” mushrooms combined with “Asian sea and land vegetables,” garlic, dehydrated seaweed, ginger, and red chilis for a little heat … and there are several other ingredients to round out the spicy-sweet flavor. The salad is garnished with sesame seeds and radish sprouts.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Brenda Johnson]
Harvest Pumpkin Soup at Meritage
If you’re searching for the platonic ideal of autumn in a bowl, here it is: velvet, creamy soup that isn’t off-puttingly rich, dressed with lightly spiced creme fraiche and tasting of squash in balance with its seasonings. If this were an all-year offering we’d be eating it all year. The tasteful presence of candied pecans is just a bonus.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #4 | Submitted by James Norton]
Grilled Culotte Tri-Tip at Heyday
Grilled culotte tri-tip, also known as culotte steak, is not for those who like meat well done. Heyday’s version (ordered medium rare) was juicy and tender. It was served with roasted carrots and turnip-leaf relish and garnished with a dash of smoky salt. Particularly awesome when paired with a dry martini.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Brenda Johnson]