Nobody reports on Minnesota food and drink like The Heavy Table. This story was made possible by our subscribers – join their ranks and get original newsletters every Friday covering d… Read More

It’s been a number of years since the last iteration of Chef Camp, the wild gathering of chefs and campers in the north woods of Minnesota, but we thought it might be nice to share one… Read More

This story originally appeared in the Heavy Table Tulip and Schooner newsletter for beer, wine, and spirits published Friday, June 21, 2024. To receive new Heavy Table culinary newsletters e… Read More

This story originally appeared in the Heavy Table email newsletter for June 14, 2024, and was made possible through the support of our subscribers on Patreon. Back us on Patreon to receive f… Read More

People have been drinking mead nearly as long as they’ve been harvesting honey. While mead has a storied history, it’s not nearly as popular as beer and wine, despite some simila… Read More

Sarah Bonvallet wonders if the brewery she and her husband Rob Miller (pictured above) began 11 years ago during the nascent, rapid-fire opening of Minnesota taprooms, is no longer meant to… Read More

Part five of Heavy Table’s five-part crawl through 79 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota Read More

Part four of Heavy Table’s five-part crawl through 79 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota Read More

Part three of Heavy Table’s five-part crawl through 79 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota Read More

Part two of Heavy Table's five-part crawl through 79 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota Read More

Part one of our five-part crawl through 79 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota Read More

For 10 years, 612Brew was a core tenant of the Broadway Building at the busy intersection of Broadway and Central in Northeast Minneapolis. But last summer, 612 sold their business to new ow… Read More

I accidentally walked past the entrance to TokiDoki Burger twice. It’s located a couple of doors down from one of chef/owner Yuichiro Matthew Kazama’s other restaurants, the Minn… Read More

Many brewery’s mark their birthday with a big, unique barrel-aged beer or two. But Town Hall does barrels differently, dedicating their taps to the specialty style for two weeks each F… Read More

Photographs by Becca Dilley / Heavy Table This story originally appeared in the Feb. 16, 2024 edition of the Tap newsletter supported by Heavy Table’s Patreon backers. Subscribe on Pat… Read More

In most years, Valentine’s Day is a little island of joy surrounded on all sides by a bleak white frozen wasteland; this year, it’s a little island of joy surrounded on all sides… Read More

I forget how I heard about it, but somehow, I found out about an opera concert in Nairobi. This might sound unusual – and it is – but one of the things you learn pretty quickly a… Read More

Since Hanukkah commemorates a small quantity of oil miraculously lasting for eight nights, the holiday is traditionally celebrated by consuming foods fried in lots of oil.  Popular choi… Read More

When I mentioned to James Norton that I was getting a take-and-bake Thanksgiving dinner from Animales BBQ instead of making a meal from scratch, he asked if I’d write up a story about… Read More

This story originally ran in the Heavy Table’s Churn newsletter on Oct. 10, 2023. If you’d like to read a lot more stories about the food and drink of the Upper Midwest, and supp… Read More

We had our doubts about Mi Mexico Querido. This Mexican spot looked set to move into the former Dumpling space on Minnehaha last October when its lovely floral facade went up … and th… Read More

This story originally appeared in the Heavy Table’s Tulip and Schooner newsletter, which tells the stories of beer, wine, and spirits in the Upper Midwest. Get the newsletter (and thre… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BECCA DILLEY / HEAVY TABLE; ILLUSTRATIONS BY WACSO / HEAVY TABLE This story is one of five capsule reviews from the Lyndale Avenue Checklist published in last Friday’s e… Read More

A blind taste test featuring 19 different plain croissants from bakeries around Minneapolis-St. Paul Read More

Photos by James Norton / Heavy Table except Bryce Stevenson portrait (courtesy of Miijim) This story originally appeared in Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter on Sep. 1, 2023. To get the Tap… Read More

This story originally appeared in Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter on Sep. 1, 2023. To get the Tap and three other culinary newsletters from the Heavy Table, back the magazine on Patreon… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH MCGEE / BECCA DILLEY / EMMET KOWLER / HEAVY TABLE State Fair food reviews are the closest we come to combat conditions in our cozy world of Upper Midwestern food journal… Read More

Photographs by Joshua Feist Tom Nechodomu loved his two decade-long career in education. He focused on instructional design and curriculum development, with stints in corporate work, consult… Read More

Heavy Table published a long retrospective interview with restaurateur and “Food Guy” Tobie Nidetz this January in our Tap newsletter. This week, he passed away after a long illn… Read More

The meat-free ALT-Burger restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis takes an unusual culinary approach to plant-based burgers Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MACY TRAN / ILLUSTRATIONS BY WACSO (FILE) / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the May 26, 2023 edition of the Tap newsletter. Back the Heavy Table on Patreon to ge… Read More

The following review is one of five posted as the ninth installment of our Lyndale Avenue Checklist project, along with reviews of Lago Tacos, Volstead’s Emporium, Iconos Gastro Cantin… Read More

DULUTH, MINN. — Tom Hanson of Duluth Grill, OMC Smokehouse, Corktown Deli, and Goat Hill Marketplace is opening a new restaurant this Sunday, May 21: Burger Paradox. Located at 2113 We… Read More

With hundreds of awards and an ambitious plan to expand, Wisconsin cheesemaker Marieke Penterman is on a roll Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BECCA DILLEY / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the Hearth, the Heavy Table’s newsletter about home cooking, cookbooks, farmers, and makers. You can get the… Read More

This seriously good chicken tikka masala recipes combines fire-charred protein or veg plus a punchy marinade Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter. To get the Tap (and the Tulip and Schooner, and Churn newsletters), back… Read More

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CASSANDRA GRAIKOWSKI This story originally appeared in the Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter for Friday, March 31, 2023. To subscribe to the Heavy Table’s three bi… Read More

PHOTOS BY BECCA DILLEY / ILLUSTRATIONS BY WACSO FOR HEAVY TABLE The following review is one of five posted as the seventh installment of our Lyndale Avenue Checklist project, along with revi… Read More

Anthony Jennings currently works at Arbeiter Brewing Company in Minneapolis and has also worked at Inbound, One Fermentary, and Pryes. An industry vet, he’s also making noise as part o… Read More

The food and service at Raag Progressive Indian Cuisine doesn't always match its lofty ambitions Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BECCA DILLEY (FRIENDS CAFE AND TOP) AND MACY-CHAU DIEM TRAN This story originally appeared in the March 3, 2023 edition of our subscribers-only newsletter. From the warm, deep… Read More

It takes real commitment to pull off world-class dim sum, and Mandarin Kitchen is fully committed and crushing it in Bloomington, Minn Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the Churn newsletter, one of three published by the Heavy Table on Fridays via Patreon. Back us on Patreon to ge… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNMARIE GENIUSZ This story was originally published in the Tap newsletter, available to our backers on Patreon. Hundreds of hooves simultaneously pounding the ground.  A… Read More

The pita baking process at Mara in downtown Minneapolis is half ballet, half factory floor Read More

Prima in Minneapolis may feel like a culinary time capsule from 1999, but its Italian food hits a great many warm, delicious notes Read More

A collection of food experiences in Minneapolis-St. Paul including omakase, high tea, omakase dining, and more Read More

This story originally appeared in our subscriber-only newsletter, available by backing the Heavy Table on Patreon. From festive food to servingware to local treats and intoxicating (or sobri… Read More

The following two reviews are from the third installment of our Lyndale Avenue Checklist, an 18-mile trek through more than 70 independent restaurants on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, Bloom… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BECCA DILLEY / ILLUSTRATIONS BY WACSO The following review comes from the November 18, 2022 edition of the Heavy Table newsletter via Patreon. It ran alongside four other revi… Read More

Amy Rea reviews Bernie's, the new East Grand Forks, Minnesota restaurant from author and Food Network host Molly Yeh Read More

"At Home," the debut cookbook by Minnesota chef Gavin Kaysen, is a clearly conceived and elegant manual for the serious home cook Read More

Ask a brewer about hop aroma and you will receive a passionate explanation of the melon, citrus, pine, orange zest, bubble gum, and other smells that hops can exude. Bring up Phantasm Powder… Read More

Heavy Table’s Lyndale Avenue Checklist will include reviews of all 70+ independent restaurants located along Lyndale Avenue’s full 18-mile length. All reviews will be emailed in… Read More

Red Table Meat Company, one of Minnesota’s best-regarded makers of charcuterie and a key tenant of Northeast’s Food Building, will call it quits at the end of 2022. We’ve f… Read More

So, there’s a theory that you’re probably familiar with, that every time you make a decision – whether to order an extra side of bacon with your omelet, or a dish of Hollan… Read More

In the mid-00s, I dined at the restaurant on the 16th floor of Duluth’s Radisson Hotel with my boyfriend at the time.  Back then the restaurant was called the Top of the Harbor, a… Read More

PHOTOS BY BECCA DILLEY AND BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE The following is a sneak peak from last Friday’s newsletter content from the Heavy Table’s Churn newsletter. To subscribe… Read More

PHOTOS BY BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE The following is a sneak peak from this morning’s newsletter content from the Heavy Table’s Churn newsletter. To subscribe, back us on Patr… Read More

PHOTOS BY ZOE PRINDS-FLASH, BERIT JOHNSON, AND COURTESY OF COURT BLOM This story originally appeared in the July 22, 2022 edition of The Tap newsletter. To get the newsletters and support th… Read More

Some people have a grandpa who can teach them how to fold dumplings, or an auntie who can share the secrets of her incredible kimchi.  For the rest of us, there’s Hot Wok Academy… Read More

One of the things we men in late middle age miss – one that we will go on about at some length, given the opportunity – are cassette mix-tapes. Most of you aren’t old enoug… Read More

In a major development for the North Loop dining scene, the former Bachelor Farmer space will come to life once more. Prodigious restaurateurs Daniel del Prado and Ryan Burnet have bought th… Read More

PHOTOS BY AMY REA / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in Heavy Table’s Churn Newsletter on July 15, 2022. Back us on Patreon to receive newsletters packed with original storie… Read More

This story was originally published for Heavy Table subscribers in the Tap newsletter on July 8, 2022. Back the Heavy Table on Patreon to subscribe. “I want people to be happy.”… Read More

An index of all the content published in the Heavy Table's three food newsletters, published every Friday morning Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BECCA DILLEY / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the June 10 edition of Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter. Back the Heavy Table on Patreon to subscribe to exclusi… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARAH MCGEE / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the June 17 edition of Heavy Table’s Churn newsletter. Back the Heavy Table on Patreon to subscribe to exclus… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARIIM CHARLIER / HEAVY TABLE One look at the menu of the two-month-old Jamaican Caribbean Cuisine in Roseville and I was smitten. Cow’s foot soup? Saltfish and liver fo… Read More

PHOTO BY IVY VAINIO I was recently asked to give a talk on “Ojibwe gardening practices” to schoolchildren in the United Kingdom. The request really made me stop and think. My wor… Read More

PHOTO BY BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE This story originally appeared in the May 13, 2022 edition of the Heavy Table’s Tap newsletter. Back the Heavy Table on Patreon and get Minnesota… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENDA JOHNSON / HEAVY TABLE With its bright, airy interior and floral mural, Pau Hana is a tropical oasis in the southern suburbs.  The sleek design and inviting bar mak… Read More

PHOTOS BY KARIIM CHARLIER / HEAVY TABLE A version of this story originally appeared in the Churn newsletter (available by subscription via Patreon) on March 25, 2022. And join us at the Nort… Read More

Two bits of bad news hit our inbox late yesterday and early this morning. The first: the six-year-old Longfellow Asian fusion spot Dumpling is calling it quits this weekend. As per their ema… Read More

At an event in Minnesota’s recent past, Todd Haug was still the brewing wizard at Surly. While discussing beer, someone in attendance asked why Haug made such bitter, hoppy beers. Haug… Read More

The Heavy Table team is thrilled to bring back the Upper Midwestern artisan food sip-and-sample known as The North Coast Nosh. It happens May 1, 2022 at The Food Building in Northeast Minnea… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY VICTORIA CAMPBELL / HEAVY TABLE One of the people at our table at Churchill Street summed up the experience this way: “I didn’t expect a restaurant in Shoreview to… Read More

It seems to go without saying: the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro lacks a late-night dining culture. Even 112 Eatery, a wonderful restaurant that we got to know as the place where chefs ate afte… Read More

Many years ago – in the late Cretaceous Period – when I was a child, there were the official holidays – Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc… But there were also… Read More

The Heavy Table has been publishing stories about the food and drink of the Upper Midwest for nearly 15 years. Our contributors have included prominent chefs, published authors, professional… Read More

ORIGINAL PHOTOS BY BRENDA JOHNSON (D-SPOT) AND ELI RADTKE; FILE PHOTOS BY BECCA DILLEY We’ve all heard the stereotype before: Minnesotans think mayo is spicy. There are plenty of riffs… Read More

I was grocery shopping with my teenager. We were at that store – you know the one – with the extra-friendly staff. You know, the almost too-friendly staff? I was frankly shocked… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF UW-PRESS / CHRIS HYNES EXCEPT AUTOR PORTRAIT BY MAUREEN JANSON HEINZ Whenever I want to know what’s going on with food and restaurants in my hometown of Madison… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY VICTORIA CAMPBELL / HEAVY TABLE When Cafe Racer Kitchen announced last month that they would begin requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for indoor dining, i… Read More

After more than five years of operation, the Northeast Minneapolis Japanese street food restaurant PinKU will be shutting its doors at 20 University Avenue. The restaurant is calling it quit… Read More

CRANBERRY QUEEN AND CRANBERRY HARVEST PHOTOS BY BECCA DILLEY PHOTOGRAPHY During the Siege of Drogheda, Ireland in the summer of 1649, the Royal Governor, Sir Arthur Aston was beaten to death… Read More

The first time in my life I received useful information from a random wrong number was a few days ago, when I got a mysterious text. It contained a dim camera phone photo of an intriguing re… Read More

Unlike other some other major U.S. cities (New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, etc.), Minneapolis and St. Paul have not required proof of vaccination status for citizens to dine indoors. A… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BECCA DILLEY / HEAVY TABLE When you step onto the production floor of Milk and Honey Ciders, the aroma of apples drapes itself across you like a weighted blanket. With the pos… Read More

It’s a concrete paver, about a foot and a half long and maybe eight inches wide. It’s a couple of inches thick. It’s suspended between two piles of cinder blocks. I’m… Read More

ILLUSTRATIONS BY WACSO / HEAVY TABLE Ahead of a high-stakes election, voters at two Minneapolis diners talk about the mayor, the police, and the cost of rent. This story was originally publi… Read More

There’s a party going on at your local Culver’s today (if you get there early enough). The chain engaged in that silly form of digital marketing known as putting jokes on social… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS AND CINNAMON WRITE-UPS BY EMMET KOWLER In keeping with the season, Heavy Table is proud to present a husband-vs.-wife curation battle between two of the best fall spices: Emmet K… Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY VICTORIA CAMPBELL Have you ever sailed right through St. Cloud on your way to Brainerd or Walker or Canada, figuring there’s nothing to eat in this college town other th… Read More

There is an Aadizookaan, one of our ancient sacred stories, that tells about how the Anishinaabeg, the Ojibwe people and those tribes related to them, came to the Great Lakes Region.  T… Read More

This is Elias J. Baldwin. Most people called him “Lucky.” He’s the one we’re going to blame. The truth of the matter is probably nuanced and, as with most social and… Read More

Photos by Becca Dilley (except Charito photos, which are James Norton) / Illustrations by WACSO Our efforts to complete this series had been slightly derailed due to a variety of factors&nda… Read More

I was a freshman in high school, so this must have been sometime in 1978. I don’t remember the circumstances, or even who else was with me, but somehow, I ended up in the back seat of… Read More

Gut-crushingly complete reviews of Minnesota State Fair food are part of Heavy Table’s DNA. When we started writing our culinary rundowns, in 2010, our punishing dedication to Fair foo… Read More