Mpls.St.Paul Magazine - Eat + Drink - Best Restaurants

Best Restaurants 2012: Readers Poll

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:07:58 GMT

Chef of the Year

1. Isaac Becker
2. Steven Brown
3. Russell Klein

Service

1. St. Paul Grill
2. Meritage
3. La Belle Vie

Special Occasion

1. La Belle Vie
2. Manny's
3. Meritage

TC Institution

1. Murray's
2. Manny's
3. St. Paul Grill

Neighborhood Café

1. Tilia
2. Birchwood Cafe
3. Victory 44

Day Trip

1. New Scenic Café
2. Harbor View Café
3. AtoZ Produce & Bakery

Farm To Table

1. Heartland Restaurant
2. Corner Table
3. Wise Acre Eatery

Bar Dining

1. La Belle Vie
2. Bulldog
3. Bar Lurcat
Barrio (tie)

Beer Selection

1. Happy Gnome
2. Muddy Pig
3. Bulldog

British/Irish

1. Brit’s
2. The Local
3. Kieran’s

Best Restaurants 2012

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:19:17 GMT

By
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine EAT + DRINK Editor:
STEPHANIE MARCH

Photography By:
STEVE HENKE, STEPHANIE COLGAN & KATHERINE HARRIS

Our team of critics and expert eaters spent the past year revisiting the venerable standards, sampling the latest hot spots, snacking on the newest dishes, and otherwise digging through the eating scene to find the best of everything. This year our annual dispatch delivers 36 best restaurants plus dozens of nearby notables organized by neighborhood to help you navigate our ever-changing eating landscape. Here’s to never again having to ask, "Where should we eat?"

North Loop

The North Loop's Bachelor Farmer, Haute Dish, Be'Wiched, and Bar La Grasa excited our eaters in the past year.

Mill District

Sea Change and Sponriver topped our list of the best dining in the Mill District.

Warehouse District

The Warehouse District impressed with good eats from Saffron and 112 Eatery.

Nicollet Mall

Masa, Manny's, and Vincent: A Restaurant continued their great runs in Nicollet Mall, while Butcher & The Boar is next to shine.

Loring Park

La Belle Vie remained a stalwart in fine dining, but the Walker's new fixture Gather raised more than a few eyebrows after replacing Wolfgang Puck.

Mac-Groveland/Grand Avenue/Swede Hollow

Blue Door Pub made our mouths water in Mac-Groveland, Brasa delighted in both Twin Cities, and The Strip Club was the chic steakhouse we always wanted.

Downtown St. Paul

Meritage unleashed a boisterous oyster-loving St. Paul, while Heartland and Black Sheep did their part in evolving the other downtown dining landscape.

Uptown/Lynlake

The revamped Heidi's blew us away by pushing the envelope and we couldn't try to hide our crush on Steven Brown's Linden Hills spot Tilia even if we tried.

Linden Hills

The revamped Heidi's blew us away by pushing the envelope and we couldn't try to hide our crush on Steven Brown's Linden Hills spot Tilia even if we tried.

Southwest

It was the entire Broders' Cucina that made us coming back for dinner and deli, while Piccolo's constant innovation made it a must-visit.

Kingfield

The Kingfield neighborhood went all out this year, providing diners with hit after hit, including new skee-ball pub Pat's Tap.

Bloomington

Grand Szechuan's new Bloomington location was firing its hot and spicy guns.

North

Travail and Victory 44 garnered tons of attention for the North side.

Northeast

It's fun to see modern, edgy Tokyo design in a Japanese joint, and Masu lets the vibe carry through to the food.

Video Tour: Best Restaurants 2012

Take the video tour of six outstanding Twin Cities restaurants.

Best Restaurants 2012: Tastemakers

Four bright lights really stood out this year in the local dining scene. See who made thiss short, exclusive list of movers and shakers.

Best Restaurants 2012: Readers Poll

We asked, you answered! See who you thought was the best in every category–from kid-friendly places to happy hour scenes, best chef to best beer.

2012 Best Restaurants: Tastemakers

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:17:37 GMT

Photographs by Stephanie Colgan & Katherine Harris

Nate Beck/The Upstart

natedogs.com

Nate Beck is a hospitalitarian, even without a guaranteed 15 percent gratuity. And he’s not even a famous chef. He’s just a guy with a cart selling hot dogs—great hot dogs, with sassy mustard. He does this because he loves to eat them. Of all the people who populated our sidewalks and parking spots with mobile food this year, Beck is one who stands out.

You could say we chose Natedogs as an icon for the whole mobile food movement, which blossomed this past year. You could say we chose Beck because he is a symbol of the American dream—a man who risked everything to start his own business and who works hard for the future of his five (yes, five) daughters. You could say we chose him because he’s a damn snappy dresser with a wicked condiment belt. You could say all of that, and you’d be right, but you’d be missing the mustard.

In our Minnesota Nice food truck world, there isn’t the scrapping for space and the backhanded marking of territory that we hear rumored in other cities. Supporting his street brethren, Beck’s Twitter feed is alight with retweets of other trucks’ locations, promoting events where he knows his comrades will be. His infectious humor and great personality are not an act to sell more dogs—this is the real guy, whether you’re buying from him or selling next to him.

Where can this attitude possibly lead him? “Whatever I do, I want my children to know that serving others first is always more important than their own success. If I have several carts and a whole line of Natedogs condiments, cool! But if something else comes along, I won’t hesitate to pull up stakes and do something crazy all over again.” That’s the topping on the dog.

Best New Restaurants 2011

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:13:35 GMT

Our eating world has turned this year, as we have seen a bevy of openings and closings, chefs moving from stove to stove, owners with bravado claiming to be the next big thing, and young upstarts flashing new ideas while crowd-surfing for capital. Ah yes, another year in the life of our local food scene. Whether it’s the resurrection of old favorites, new consulting projects from big-name chefs, or the expanding fleet of mobile food vendors, the new kids this year are bringing their game. Our restaurant picks prove there’s a little bit of something tasty for everyone.

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine - Eat + Drink - Best Restaurants

Best Restaurants 2012: Readers Poll

Top 5 Minneapolis

Top 5 St.Paul

New

Chef of the Year

Service

Special Occasion

TC Institution

Neighborhood Café

Day Trip

Farm To Table

Bar Dining

Beer Selection

British/Irish

Best Restaurants 2012

By Mpls.St.Paul Magazine EAT + DRINK Editor: STEPHANIE MARCH

Photography By: STEVE HENKE, STEPHANIE COLGAN & KATHERINE HARRIS

2012 Best Restaurants: Tastemakers

Nate Beck/The Upstart

Best New Restaurants 2011

By
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine EAT + DRINK Editor:
STEPHANIE MARCH

Photography By:
STEVE HENKE, STEPHANIE COLGAN & KATHERINE HARRIS