Readers: Win Heavy Table pint glasses
The Tap loves restaurant tips from readers, so we’re awarding a Heavy Table pint glass to the best tipster each month. The Tap is the metro area’s comprehensive restaurant buzz roundup, so if you see a new or newly shuttered restaurant, or anything that’s “coming soon,” email Tap editor Jason Walker at jason@heavytable.com.
December’s winner: Todd Wiese of Chaska
Turkey to Go (now open)
101 7th St S, (Roanoke Building skyway), Minneapolis | 612.655.1795 | turkeytogo.com
After more than 50 years at the State Fair (below), Turkey to Go is expanding in a big way. First came downtown Minneapolis and Target Field food trucks, then late last year a location opened in downtown St. Paul. Now, owners Drew Levin and Danny Perkins have added a permanent Minneapolis location in the Roanoke Building skyway, serving their flagship turkey sandwiches but also pitas and salads.
The menu at the Minneapolis location doesn’t stray from those three items, but the key, Levin said, was the vast array of ways to prepare each.
“As opposed to just having it on a bun at the fair or Twins game, now you’ll be able to have it on a salad or a warm pita,” Levin said. “And we’ll also have a whole line of toppings … ones that we had in the past that we’re bringing back are brie and cranberries, others are diced salami, mozzarella cheese, jalapenos. We have those little potato-skin chips, they go really well and add a crunch.
“And there’s a whole list of 15 different sauces from standard stuff to cranberry sauce, a whole line of dressings for the salads, and a homemade cucumber sauce which is phenomenal. It’s just basically adding new ways of enjoying our turkey.”
Levin said it was fun developing the fast-casual stores because, with general manager Tim Malloy, the Turkey to Go guys were able to experiment with all sorts of foods and flavors. Levin is especially proud of the salads, which he said are delicious even without turkey. That’s one of the almost funny things about the new Turkey to Go: You don’t have to get turkey, because there are plenty of vegetarian sandwich and salad options.
“I will bet you our salads are going to be better than any fast-casual place like Potbelly,” Levin said. “Tim’s really taken it to heart that we’re going to get the best ingredients.”
Levin is hoping that all these factors, combined with the year-round availability of the new store, will make Turkey to Go a downtown lunchtime hotspot. But despite all these new options and quirks, fans of the simple state fair sandwich can still get one.
“That was one of our biggest concerns: Do we even want to break out of that?” he said. “We tell people at the fair, ‘Don’t put anything on it, it doesn’t need anything!’ But there’s only so many times you can eat a plain sandwich every week.”
Lucid Brewing (on tap now at various locations)
6020 Culligan Way, Minnetonka | lucidbrewing.wordpress.com
Good news: Lucid Brewing’s beers, Air and Camo, are available at around 30 metro locations (including the Pig & Fiddle, which is becoming a haven for Minneapolis beer) and growing daily. Also good news: Much to The Tap’s delight, Lucid’s Jon Messier (above) and Eric Biermann were pouring ferociously at the recent North Coast Nosh, and they attended last weekend’s Beer Dabbler in St. Paul.
Bad news: Growler sales won’t begin until this spring because of various delays, according to Messier. That’s too bad, but soon they and Boom Island (next month) will join Harriet and Fulton on the new-brewery-growler scene.
Nadia Cakes (opens this spring)
11650 Fountains Dr, Suite 207, Maple Grove | nadiacakes.com
Upon learning of Nadia Cakes’ impending arrival to the Twin Cities, The Tap did a little research on the Google and had a startling reaction: There are multiple TV shows about cakes?
Yes, and apparently Abby Jimenez of Nadia Cakes has appeared on both “Fabulous Cakes” and “Cupcake Wars,” with Jimenez winning the latter’s competition. She should really try for a spot on “Ace of Cakes” just to make the circuit.
Anyway, Nadia Cakes’ original location is in Palmdale, CA, and features cupcakes in flavors like Banana Nutella, Candied Yams, and Candy Corn as well as some pretty creative-looking cakes for special occasions.
As for why they’re expanding to Minnesota, according to a story in Maple Grove Patch, owner Abby Jimenez said: “Our family has actually moved to Minnesota to open the new shop and we plan on staying here to live and opening several more locations over the next couple of years.”
NOW OPEN
- Saigon, 704 University Ave W, St. Paul. Open again after remodeling. | 651.225.8751 | Find it on Facebook
- Which Wich, 2073 Ford Pkwy, St. Paul | 651.328.8044 | whichwich.com
- Turkey to Go, 101 7th St S, (Roanoke Building skyway), Minneapolis | 612.655.1795 | turkeytogo.com
- Cintia’s of Mexico, 6042 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
- Free Style Yogurt, 500 Lexington Pkwy S, St. Paul | 651.699.1992 | Our take
- The Hole Sports Lounge, 2501 University Ave SE, Minneapolis | 612.331.7474 | theholesportslounge.com
- Eli’s East Food and Cocktails, 815 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis | 612.331.0031 | Find it on Facebook
- The Oceanaire, 50 S 6th St, Minneapolis | 612.333.2277 | theoceanaire.com
- Yogurt Lab, 3104 Excelsior Blvd, Minneapolis | 612.926.8212 | Find it on Facebook
- Boom Island Brewing Company, 2207 N 2nd St, Minneapolis. Now on tap at Pig & Fiddle; growler sales coming in February. | 612.227.9635 | Our take
- Zest Bar and Grill, 525 Diffley Rd, Eagan | 651.468.9053 | zesteagan.com
- Colossal Cafe, 2315 Como Ave, St. Paul | colossalcafe.com
- El Loro, 2535 W Highway 10, Mounds View
- Valley Tap House, 14889 Florence Tr, Apple Valley | 952.431.2337 | Find it on Facebook
- West Bank Diner, 324 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.333.2211 | Find it on Facebook
- Five Guys, 8360 3rd St N, Oakdale; 4105 Vinewood Ln N, Plymouth; 12555 Castlemoor Dr, Eden Prairie | fiveguys.com
- Lucid Brewing, 6020 Culligan Way, Minnetonka. On tap now at various locations; growler sales begin this spring. | lucidbrewing.wordpress.com
- Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee, 1830 Glenwood Ave N, Minneapolis | 612.377.4476 | venturenorthbwc.org
- Eat Street Pizza, 1931 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis (inside The Nicollet) | 612.874.9125 | eatstreetpizza.com
- Famous Dave’s, 590 Prairie Center Dr, Eden Prairie. New fast-casual prototype. | famousdaves.com
- Zamboni Pizza, 184 7th St W, St. Paul | 651.225.2999
- Kopplins Coffee, 2038 Marshall Ave, St. Paul (new location) | 651.698.0457 | kopplinscoffee.com
- Social House, 2919 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis | 612.824.6300 | Our take
CLOSED / CLOSING:
- Amici, 2851 Johnson St NE, Minneapolis
- Q Kindness Cafe, 350 St Peter St, St. Paul
- Prairie Ale House, 16396 Wagner Way, Eden Prairie
- Rubylicious, 4100 W Broadway, Robbinsdale
- Kenwood Cafe, 2115 W 21st St, Minneapolis
- Chula Vista, 1741 S Robert St, West St. Paul
- Black Bamboo, 333 S 7th St, Minneapolis
- Leaning Tower of Pizza, 2505 University Ave SE, Minneapolis
COMING UP:
- :D-Spot, 1993 Burns Ave, St. Paul | Our take on the original
- Eat Street Social, 14 W 26th St, Minneapolis. Opens early February. | 612.767.6850 | Find it on Facebook
- Tonkotsu Ramen and Curry House, Central Ave and 26th Ave NE, Minneapolis
- Blood and Chocolates, 495 Selby Ave, St. Paul | 651.492.4799 | Find it on Facebook
- Butcher and the Boar, 1121 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. Opens in February. | Find it on Facebook
- Sweet Ducky Cupcakery, 117 W Churchill St #2, Stillwater. Opens in February. | Find it on Facebook
- Devil’s Advocate, 89 S 10th St, Minneapolis. Opens in Feburary.
- Maruso Street Food and Cocktails, 715 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. Opens in February.
- George and the Dragon, 813 W 50th St, Minneapolis. Opens in April. | 612.355.9114 | ganddpub.com
- Masu Sushi & Robata, Mall of America. Opens this spring. | Our take on the original
- Bar Louie, 1320 Lagoon Ave, Minneapolis. Opens spring 2012. | barlouieamerica.com
- Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis. Opens April 2012.
- Ike’s, 17805 Hwy 7, Minnetonka. Opens in April. | ilikeikes.com
- Rocky and Shem’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 56th St and Chicago Ave, Minneapolis. Opens April 1.
- Smokehouse Brewpub, 38th St and 28th Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens May 2012. | smokehousebrewpub.com
- Nadia Cakes, 11650 Fountains Dr, Suite 207, Maple Grove. Opens this spring. | nadiacakes.com
- Blue Door Pub, 3448 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens this spring. | thebdp.com
- Mona, 333 S 7th St, Minneapolis. Opens this spring. | Find it on Facebook
- Rincon 38, 3801 Grand Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens this spring.
- Selma’s Ice Cream, 3419 Saint Croix Tr S, Afton. Opens in May.
- Cossetta’s, 211 7th St W, St. Paul. Existing market opening new rooftop restaurant; opens this summer. | 651.222.3476 | cossettaeventi.com
- Rodizio Grill, 12197 Elm Creek Blvd N, Maple Grove. Opens in 2012. | rodiziogrill.com
- Dr. Chocolate’s Chocolate Chateau, 579 Selby Ave, St. Paul | 651.379.3676 | chocolatechateau.wordpress.com
- Well Seasoned, 920 E Lake St, Minneapolis (Midtown Global Market)
- Super Moon Buffet, 6445 Wayzata Blvd, St. Louis Park
- American Joe, 344 Wabasha St N, St. Paul
- Sparks, 230 Cedar Lake Rd S, Minneapolis
- Dangerous Man Brewing, 1300 2nd St NE, Minneapolis | 612.377.4164 | dangerousmanbrewing.wordpress.com
- The Original Just Turkey Restaurant, 3758 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | originaljustturkey.com
- Tibet Kitchen, 1833 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis
- Cupcake, 949 Grand Ave, St. Paul | cup-cake.com
- Hell’s Kitchen Bakery, 80 S 9th St, Minneapolis | hellskitcheninc.com
- Alda Mediterranean, 2208 W 66th St, Richfield
- Burger Night, Minneapolis. Still looking for location. | 612.217.0102 | burgernight.me
- Pistol Pete’s BBQ, 222 N Chestnut St, Chaska
- Patron Mexican Restaurant, 207 N Chestnut St, Chaska
- Pizza Luce, 800 W 66th St, Richfield
- Humble Pie, 822 W 36th St, Minneapolis. Kim Bartmann’s revamp of Gigi’s. | 612.825.0818
- Cranky’s Bicycle Bar, E Lake St, Minneapolis | Find it on Facebook
The Tap is The Heavy Table’s guide to area restaurant openings, closings, and other major events. The Tap is compiled by Heavy Table writer Jason Walker, and will be published biweekly. If you already subscribe to our newsletter, look for an emailed version of The Tap every other week — otherwise, you can find it on the website on alternating Tuesdays.
If you’ve got tips for The Tap, please email Jason Walker at jason@heavytable.com. The Tap’s Twitter feed has moved to @heavytable.