The Heavy Table Reviews 2010: Part 2

We pick up where we left off yesterday as we recap the best, worst, most dramatic, and otherwise most noteworthy in food and drink from 2010.

JULY

Emily Nystrom interviewed Erica Strait of Foxy Falafel, Soleil Ho brought us five tastes from Hmongtown in St. Paul, and we dug two places in Duluth: JJ Astor and Duluth Grill.

Lars Swanson / Heavy Table

We took a first look at Patisserie 46 — and loved it. (Later, we interviewed baker John Kraus in detail.)

Susan Pagani rallied volunteers to save the garlic harvest at Swede Lake Farms.

James Norton sampled two tastes with Sarah Master of Porter and Frye and Katie Cannon went behind the scenes with Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

We also checked out the 128 Cafe Food Cart, the wonders of Tour de Farm, the new menu at The Sample Room, and the majesty of blue cheese from Wisconsin.

In the Churn: L’Ecosse is scotched, Colossal Cafe changes ownership, legislation paves the way for local microbreweries, and Tom Emmer likely dooms his campaign by calling for lower wages for servers.

AUGUST

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

August means State Fair around here: we rounded up dozens of the best eats at great risk to our own digestive systems. And read Ed Kohler’s interview with Katie Miron, the 2010 Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

Soleil Ho and the Heavy Table team rolled out the Minneapolis-St. Paul street food truck directory — see also her review of the Border Taco Truck.

James Norton chats with Mike Phillips about Green Ox, his new meat company and then heads to Columbus, Ohio, for an epic marathon of noshing.

Jill Lewis reviewed the first of a slew of mid-range Italian places to open this year: Parma 8200. (See also: our reviews of Scusi and Mozza Mia.)

Tricia Cornell talked to Rabbi Morris Allen about ethically kosher food, and then heads out to Miesville for a burger at King’s Place.

Maja Ingeman discovers a hidden Korean gem: Sole Cafe in Hamline-Midway, St. Paul, and Emily Schnobrich celebrated the struggling Flamingo.

Soleil Ho paid tribute to the unsung hero of the kitchen: the dishwasher.

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

Elizabeth Millard and Becca Dilley trekked out to visit the emus of Hassu Lintu in Forest Lake.

Jason Walker eats his way around newly hip Robbinsdale, MN.

And Susan Pagani crafts a perfect Pimm’s Cup.

In the Churn: Gluek beer gets axed, Wisconsin cheese cleans up at the American Cheese Society contest, St. Martin’s table announces its closing, Pop! fizzles, Stanley’s prepares to open, Rojo opens, and Mike Phillips leaves the Craftsman to go start Green Ox.

SEPTEMBER

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

We have an epic mushroom picnic with forager Kathy Yerich and Scott Pampuch from the Corner Table and talk about the ABCs of raising urban chickens.

John Garland brings us a level-headed and ambitious survey of the wines of Iowa and Becca Dilley brings us an awesome flowchart to help you eat local cheese.

WACSO and M.C. Cronin bring us sketches from The Local and Jill Lewis goes to the movies at the Showplace ICON Theatre.

Tricia Cornell talks about the explosive topic of what to feed your kids with critic and author Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.

Alyssa Vance treks to New Prague to learn the art of sausage making from a master.

And James Norton raves up Caribe.

In the Churn: Harry’s closes, Five Guys comes to Dinkytown, Bars Bakery opens, Bull Run (now Dogwood) opens in Calhoun Mall, labor unrest rocks Jimmy John’s, and local butter booms in the dairy state.

OCTOBER

Roseanne Pereira brings us portraits of three young local farmers.

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

James Norton and photographer Becca Dilley drive ’round Lake Superior and eat — a lot — as they go.

Jill Lewis leads the charge on a highly controversial bagel taste-off, and Tricia Cornell does the same for challah.

Soleil Ho checks out the newly emerging Donut Cooperative, Maja Ingeman hits the newly opened Flights at the airport, we have some wine with Georg Riedel at Kitchen Window, and Aaron Landry sounds the alarm about a changing Town Talk Diner.

Jason Walker talks to Lanny Hoff, our local beer knight, and James Norton judges auflaufs — which is to say, German hotdish.

And just in time for Halloween, Tricia Cornell visits the state’s biggest candy store.

In the Churn: The Taste of Minnesota implodes, The Creamery B&B and restaurant shuts down, “Twincy” PR guy Chris Kallal takes a fall, Hmong Village opens, Wisconsin launches a Master Meat Crafters program, Palomino closes, Kim Huoy Chor horrifies diners with its sanitation problems, and Hellburgers closes in Duluth.

NOVEMBER

We debut Jason Walker’s Tap, our bi-weekly newsletter of restaurant openings, closings, and previews.

Kate NG Sommers / Heavy Table

Fearlessly, we try 25 tastes at the newly opened Hmong Village in St. Paul.

James Norton gets out to Dave’s Brewfarm in Wilson, WI and Elizabeth Millard heads out to Deutschland Meats.

Judd Spicer checks out the Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul, which may be on the verge of a revival.

Jason Walker visits Coon Creek Family Farm in Mondovi, WI — includes the finest turkey-themed video we’ve yet posted to the site.

Emily Schnobrich pits the cream puffs of Wok in the Park against those at Wondrous Azian Kitchen.

Madison correspondent Sean Weitner writes up the new L’Etoile outpost, Graze.

Lake Wine and Spirits
Lars Swanson / Heavy Table

John Garland checks out the new Lake Wine and Spirits.

In the Churn: Peace Coffee opens in Longfellow, Sun Street Breads plans to open a bakery, Spyhouse ups its coffee game, Cranky’s (a new bicycle bar) is planned, and Blackbird returns.

DECEMBER

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

James Norton faces off against a former New York Times food writer whose book (falsely!) disrespects Wisconsin cheese. As a chaser, he debates Rocky Rococo pizza with Sean Weitner of Madison.

John Garland puts Uptown’s many pad thai purveyors through their paces with an epic taste-off and heads to Loretto for a great meal at Bistro 11.

We document the many terrible things that have happened to us in the kitchen and then master the pasty.

A rave review for the newly opened Pizzeria Lola in Armatage, Minneapolis.

Andy Pucko documents the (local) beers of winter.

Kate NG Sommers / Heavy Table

And James Norton samples oysters with Russell Klein at the newly opened Meritage Oyster Bar.

In the Churn: The Thom Pham family feud comes to some sort of an end, Ringo calls it quits, Yo!Sushi announces that it will open five local locations, a raw milk farmer is raided, and Town Talk is the talk of the town.

2 Comments

  1. Moe

    Wow, what a great year for Heavy Table. Thank you for all your great work over the year, and I look forward to 2011.

    My wish for 2011: Heavy Table organized events. And a podcast/vlog.

  2. James Norton

    Many thanks, to you and all of our readers… it has in fact been a pretty terrific year for the Heavy Table. We’d love to do an event series, but that’s the sort of thing that we need to find the right financial and/or planning partners for, and the existing challenge of getting new content posted daily while staying atop the news is pretty intense. Hopefully we’ll pull it off, though. As for more video: hear hear. On our agenda!

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