Restaurants

1029 Bar- Smack Shack Lobster Rolls

I am very hesitant about this post. You know when you find something so good you want to tell everybody about it, but if you do, then it might not be so good? It starts when your favorite restaurant gets a good review, and initially you're really happy for them. And then you can never get in again. The food quality decreases because demand is so high, they can cut corners and keep the masses. You simply lose the pleasure because it's no longer rare. Well, I'm going to go for it anyway, I don't have that many readers.

Northeast Minneapolis is famous for it's corner, hole-in-the-wall, bars. The 1029 Bar is an excellent example. It's an old cop hangout. There are bras and car doors hung up around the bar. They still have the typical boring beer selection, you know you can count on getting a Summit EPA. The crowd is jovial, playing pulltabs in the front, karaoke in the back. You get the picture. Typical blue collar, Nordeast hangout. So what's the big deal? It's all a front for the best lobster rolls I have ever had. Parked out back, from Tuesday through Sunday, is the Smack Shack. A made in Minneapolis food truck, The Smack Shack makes lobster rolls, lobster and arugula, lobster mac and cheese, shrimp po' boys and burgers. For those of you familiar with lobster rolls you may be picturing a hot dog bun filled with freshly cooked lobster, maybe a little mayo or melted butter and that's about it. Those who are lobster roll traditionalists would say the simplicity of the roll subtly supports the fresh, sweet lobster, letting it shine. Nothing wrong with this. Personally, I have always wanted to like lobster more than I do. Boiled lobster is too much work for too little reward. For me, the lobster roll is too simple, just doesn't live up to it's reputation. So for those willing to open your mind a bit, you'll want to check this out.    

This MN version of the lobster roll makes me proud to be from this town. Each portion is whopping. Huge pieces of lobster with always a number of claws, just to prove it's fresh and they aren't being cheap. It's tarragon, lobster, cucumbers and a refreshing vinaigrette. The lobster mix is sandwiched between two slices of a rich, buttery, toasted brioche. It's quite possibly one of the most perfect things I have ever eaten. For $14. No exaggeration. The other lobster items stand on their own. The lobster and arugula is for the dieters- put me on this diet any day- the mac and cheese is the opposite of diet food. It's good, but so very rich. For non-lobster items, the shrimp po' boy is fabulous, stands up well against any of the po' boys I had in New Orleans, and the rumor is the burger rocks.  

This may be one of the best kept secrets in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Smack Shack will be opening their own restaurant in the near future, and it will be successful, and busy. I highly recommend you get in on the action now.

The 1029 Bar, 1029 Marshall St NE Mpls MN 55413.


The Best Korean in Minnesota

Notice the title. It says the best. This is not a title I would give easily. Psssst...I am about to reveal a secret we've been guarding for the last 11 years. There is good Korean in this town. And it's in Columbia Heights. Sandwiched between a discount hardware store (think of the dollar store, but insert hardware) and a trailer park. Right there, in the middle, is the best Korean you will find in our humble state. Head to 45th and Central Ave NE, at the intersection, turn west, follow the vast strip mall on the right, at the end, in the way back, you'll see Dong Yang.

Just take a look at it's humble exterior, which is very deceiving. If you go, take minute to watch the mix of people in the parking lot, go ahead, you'll be entertained for some time.




You walk in and it's an Asian grocery store. Look around, see the fun candies, interesting canned and jarred items, marvel at how much cheaper you can buy a steamer or fresh basil, than at, say, Byerly's. But keep going. Head to your left and you'll see a small, brightly lit, cafeteria counter and people who are smiling. They're smiling because they have discovered the secret.

To the left is a picture of the counter. It's pretty simple, you look at the picture and order by the number on the left corner. It all goes very quickly, so just go with your gut.

You will pay, grab some chop sticks, maybe a drink, napkins and sit yourself down.


A few minutes later, you'll hear a voice call a number. No, you didn't get a number when you ordered, you just go. If they hand you your food, you know it's yours, if not, you just go and wait at your table again.

When you get your food, you will swoon. You'll also marvel at all the dishes you ordered. To me, the best part about Korean food is the variety. You order your main dish and it comes with a vast array of sides.For main dishes you can get beef, pork, eggs, seafood and fabulous noodles. Usually the sides are vegetable, generally fermented, spicy vegetables. Every day is different. Every one is delicious, or at least worth trying once.

Seafood pancake at Dong Yang

At this point, I have to warn you, eating at Dong Yang requires some sense of adventure and a willingness to try new things. If you don't possess these traits, that's okay, just stop reading now.

For me, this is exactly why I'm into food, so this is my heaven. A couple tips, 1) order and eat family style- it's the best way to get variety and it's the way the menu is designed. 2) If you don't order a drink, you can still get a free cup of tea, it's in the pot to the left of the counter, just fill up a couple styrofoam cups- it's really good tea. 3) Much of the food comes spicy. It's not Thai spicy, but it comes the way it comes. That's all about the sense of adventure I was talking about. 4) Finally, a good lesson for anyone interested in exploring the hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurant world- look around, see what others are doing, how they behave, and imitate. Don't make assumptions.  

Every time we've been to Dong Yang, it's surpassed our expectations. Pictured are the Dumplings, the Seafood Pancake, Spicy Stir Fried Pork and the Cellophane Noodles. See below for a little inspiration, then pack your car and head over to the Heights to check this out.

Let me know what you think.

Dumplings and sides, notice the eyes? It's smelt.

Spicy Stir Fried Pork- not too spicy, but delicious.

Cellophane noodles, infinitely better than they look in this picture.

Another visit- example of the fantastic sides. 

Now go!!



Be'wiched Sandwiches and Deli

If you haven't discovered Be'wiched yet, this post is for you. If you have, this is a reminder to go again. Now.

Be'wiched is a deli in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, in the same building as one of our other favorites, Bar la Grassa. The North Loop is an up and coming, primarily warehouse area that has been revitalized by a number of factors, multiple innovative restaurants, a ton of lofts and condos and, oh yeah, Target Field. That little thing.

Minneapolis really doesn't have much of a deli scene, in fact, for the most part, you might as well ship in lox and bagels from New York, they'd be better a few days old than anything we have here. I don't want to confuse you, Be'wiched is not a Jewish deli, we're still waiting for that. That said, it is a really great place to get a sandwich, brunch or happy hour. Everything is made from scratch, all their meats are smoked on-site and all bread is fresh. They use a mustard that actually has horseradish heat and make their own soups that are always well spiced. They have daytime hours and an early happy hour. They have a few tap beers and a nice wine list.

We started going on the weekend for lunch, in between running errands and going to the gym. The first time we went, we were very impressed. AC generally gets soup and half sandwich, while I usually get a sandwich. The combo- half sandwich and soup, or three salads with a soda is $9. Very affordable, and truly worth every cent. Whole sandwiches and brunch items are from $7-$14 depending on what you get. Also very affordable. So now you want to go, but what should you order? You're lucky you have me.

Sandwiches: For traditionalists, the pastrami, hands down. Even though I made the "this is not a Jewish deli" disclaimer, the pastrami begs to differ. Made in-house, it's a really good example of why Be'wiched is doing so well. Served on perfectly chewy, flavorful, soft rye bread with sour kraut and house-made pickles, it's really good.

Egg salad: It's traditional enough to flood your brain with happy childhood memories, but with that extra special something that clearly reminds you that you're eating it in a fabulous restaurant. Highly recommended for the day that you just want really tasty comfortable food.

Smoked ham: Sounds boring, but it's anything but. Served on a toasted, soft baguette (very easy to bite into) with brie (yum!), hot mustard and (the best part!) apple compote. The ham is far from your average deli ham, it's actually smoky and cut very thin. The brie is soft and melty, the mustard gives a kick of hot horseradish balanced by cinnamon-y, sweet apples.

Turkey: A safe choice, but at Be'wiched, there will always be a twist. In this case it's not unexpected, add bacon and a savory, tangy cranberry chutney.

Soups: The soups are fresh and always good, I promise, just last weekend we enjoyed a pork with yams and cinnamon soup, which was amazing and inspired both of us to dream up new ways to make French onion soup. What's better than food that inspires? Every time we've been in there's a new, innovative, inspiring soup, usually a cream based and broth based option, to make everyone happy. To the left you'll note the turkey sandwich and cup of chicken wild rice soup. You can get a bowl or a cup, the half sandwich, cup of soup combo, referenced above, is a great choice for those of us who like to have a little of this and a little of that. In general the portions are generous, but reasonable for a healthy person ie: they pack a lot of flavor into a reasonable size, so you can actually eat it all without being stuffed, just completely and totally satisfied. Another note, the sandwiches come with a couple tablespoons of their salads, just a taste for your amusement, its a nice bonus. Above is a beautiful chickpea salad. They also have an Israeli couscous salad with Moroccan spices that is fabulous. 

Specials: Every day there are brunch specials, written on a blackboard below the standard menu. The specials are always a bit unusual and hit-or-miss. They are for the adventurous, which we are, and will either end with a monsterous pay-out or disappointment. They always look beautiful though. AC is a fan of the pastrami hash, you have the pastrami again, the can-do-no-wrong pastrami, with a wealth of vegetables, potatoes and eggs. Very hearty, very solid. Then you have the beautiful pork hash, to your left. The first bite was unbelievable. Truly. Very, very flavorful. Then a bomb goes off, it's the rosemary. Way, way too much rosemary. Damn. Very disappointing. It's possible someone just dumped a little too much, but part of me thinks they just thought very highly of the rosemary/pork combo and got carried way. I can see how it can happen, it's all about the editing.

The other special I tried was a crab cake eggs benedict, to the left. Also amazingly beautiful. Maybe I don't eat enough poached eggs, or benedicts for that matter, but the perfect whipped eggs and beautiful yolk had me smitten. I am also a huge fan of crab cakes, so I thought this was a no-brainer. It was good, but again, not as perfect as it looked. The crab cakes were a little dry, I was really expecting a light, moist crab barely held together with a batter. No matter, the eggs were perfect, the house-made English muffin was well done and the spicy, tangy hollandaise was rich and so flavorful (I had it on the side, so it's not pictured).

Finally, I have a little bit of a preoccupation with the women's bathroom, rather the picture on the wall in the women's bathroom. I may be strange, but every time I see it I am transported to Mexico or Europe, you choose. It's just a picture of a store front from a place that is definitely not here. The kind of place you might not notice if you were walking by, but brings memories back when you see it later- long after you've returned home. So yes, I brought my camera into the bathroom and took this picture.











Filfillah Restaurant 4301 Central Ave Columbia Heights  Filfillah had a rocky start. As a long-time Northeaster my attention was piqued a couple (if not more) years ago when I saw a brand new restaurant on Central that appeared to be going all out. They had two very professional looking signs, were completely gutting the building and had their logo on two cars, one a van the other, a sports car. Just as quickly as they appeared to be getting everything together, they promptly stopped, with an official shut-down notice from the city on the door. Oops.

Filfillah finally opened again about a year ago. We heard positive reviews from friends but didn't get around to checking it out until we came across one very important detail in a Heavy Table blog review. The detail is this: Filfillah makes their own Shawarma. What is that? Simply, it's gyro meat. There's only one other place in town that does this, Java, an Egyptian restaurant off Nicollet. Everyone else uses the same pre-made meat from a supplier in Chicago. I'm not ripping on it, but there has to be more to gyro meat than the compressed, thin fried-like stuff everyone else uses, and this is it. 

We visited for lunch last Saturday. The place was empty, but understandably as it is October and 85* outside. The owner immediately greeted us and once realizing we'd never been there and had seen the Heavy Table article, he went all out to give us the whole experience. He was charming and very earnest, explaining his specialties and the ways he tried to make his restaurant stand out. We order the shawarma wrap, of course, and the falafel plate (in the appetizer section). Both are highly recommended.

Exhibit A

Exhibit A- the shawarma. OMG, do you see that? It is clearly freshly made, not overly garlicky, like most, and the meat was perfectly cooked. The bonus- fresh baked bread. It came out warm with a perfectly crunchy outside and soft, chewy inside, it held the meat, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley perfectly.

Exhibit B

To the left is Exhibit B- the falafel plate. It came with eight falafel, fresh tabbouleh, the same fresh bread (piping hot), hummus and fresh made tzatziki. It was a large portion, of which I brought a ton home, and very good. The falafel aren't the best I've had, but it was made up for by the dipping sauces and fresh salad.

Finally, dessert. If you know us, you know the odds of us ordering a dessert for a weekend lunch are pretty much, I don't know, the odds of having more than a week of more than 80* days in Minnesota in October (I know just can't get over it). But the earnest, charming owner would not leave without giving us complementary baklava. Um, wow. It was delicious. It was very nutty, light and crispy and not overly sweet. The perfect end to the meal. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself to Filfillah, you can thank us later .

Chimborazo, 29th and Central Ave NE
You'll know this restaurant when you see it, it's very yellow and very square on Central Ave and 29th St NE. There used to be a small white and yellow restaurant called Charlies in this location. One of my good friends told me they served guinea pig and that the place was awful, so we never went. Then it was painted and turned into Chimborazo. My hairdresser tipped me off, she said the breakfasts were amazing, especially the huge pancake with plantain. So we went.

Since I'm more of a protein person, I ordered something with eggs and sausage and wasn't really impressed. The AC ordered the Llapingachos and was very happy. So, he was impressed, I wasn't, which means we didn't go again for some time. Then AC started going there for lunch. He's been working from home since April, and really needs to get out mid-day. Each time he raved about the soup and sandwich combos. We went again and I was blown away. I would trust this chef to make me anything. Every single homemade soup is amazing. I mean- AMAZING.

If you go there, start with a soup and sandwich combo. Get the Sopa de bolas de verde. It consists of a fabulously hearty and flavorful dumpling in the center, surrounded by an addicting peanut broth and vegetables. Get it with the roasted pork sandwich. Trust me. You'll be really happy. The last time we went was a Wednesday night, when they have a special "cheap date night". Two entrees and a bottle of wine for $35. At first we were a little hesitant as they decide which entrees and which wine (choice between a white or red). We were served the pan fried talapia and the house Ecuadorian answer to fried rice. The talapia was served whole and came with a small green salad, lime, their special hot salsa and beans and rice. It was good. If you're not comfortable with a whole fish you may not be a fan, but it was perfectly cooked and the combination of the salty, crispy outside with the sweet, tender meat inside was very nice. The fried rice, again, blew me away. I really don't order fried rice in Chinese restaurants because compared to everything else, it's pretty boring. This Ecuadorian fried rice brought the concept to a whole new level. The dish had three types of meat, chicken, pork and shrimp. It was spicy and very flavorful. It's comes as a huge portion that you think you'll never be able to eat, until you're staring at the bottom of the plate. The best part are the three perfectly fried, soft but lightly crispy pieces of plantain. Dipped in the green salsa, you'll think you died and went to heaven. The wine options were limited, but the Sauvignon Blanc we chose was very drinkable and with just enough acid to balance the food nicely. I highly recommend you check this place out. 

Mandarin Kitchen, 8766 Lyndale, Bloomington, MN
Here you will find the best dim sum in the Twin Cities hands down. If you don't believe me, here's proof. 10 am, Sunday morning, the line just to get in. So why would you want to get up on a Sunday morning to wait in line? It's really just a formality. As long as you are there at ten and in the line you will get sat immediately, after ten, forget about it. The food is amazing: a plethora of shrimp, pork and scallop dumplings, jellyfish, squid, congee, bao with bbq pork, sesame buns, abalone, sticky rice, tripe, squab, fried tofu skins with shrimp and yummy custard, need I go on? The more people you can gather, the better and the cheaper it will be. We usually bring about ten people and pay about $15 each, well worth it, I assure you, you won't need to eat the rest of the day (unless you're me and stopping at Bruegger's on the way home so AlphaChef can make PBJ and cream cheese for lunch). If you're interested in joining us, let us know, we're always looking for more faithful dim sum companions.