Wrapping up a year of eating is always a treat. Remembering all the good meals, the glasses clinked, the warmth of hospitality that we’ve found in the Twin Cities this year roots us in gratitude for the food scene we have. Thanks to you, the eaters and readers, who help keep it chugging along. Take your final weeks of 2023 and steep yourself in gustatory cheer, we’ll see you in 2024!
NEWS
\ Congrats to chef Justin Sutherland who earned an Emmy last week for his Taste the Culture program!
OPENS
+ Gerard and Brittney Klass, the duo behind Soul Bowl and part of The Camden Social, are taking over the former Smith & Porter space in the Mill District. Officially launching on the day after Christmas, C.R.E.A.M Cafe (Coffee Rules Everything Around Me) will be a social beverage hub with artisanal coffee and teas, plus a cafe menu offering breakfast all day. The second concept, Klassics Kitchen & Cocktails will launch in the new year.
CLOSES
— GUYS: What if we get no snow this year, like at all??? Am just a touch concerned that my new Sorels will not get a proper run through, because the Minnesota Ice Festival (the maze, the hot cocoa, the fun) is being canceled this year.
— Wineside, the ambitious wine bar and cheese shop re-do of the Chammmppps space near Ridgedale, has officially closed. In July the store posted about undertaking a concept refresh, but it ends the year with a white flag. Gift cards will be converted to Top Ten Liquor cards and honored at any of those locations.
COMING SOON
>> Not sure if this has anything to do with the Wineside news or not, but Kowalski’s is opening in the Sears space at Ridgedale in 2025.
>> Southwest Voices tells us that The Brother’s Eatery will be taking over the Vo’s Vietnamese space on Lyndale sometime in the near future.
AGENDA
// YOU STILL HAVE TIME!
// Grab some very good goodies from the The First Holiday Market at Diane’s Place this Saturday. The Food Building will be bustling with treats from Saturday Dumpling Co., Cornelius Pasta Co., JoJo & Co., along with plenty of other Co.
// Don’t forget it’s Festivus (For the Rest of Us) at Fair State Brewing on Saturday. The Airing of the Grievances is particularly juicy after one beer.
// If you really want to kick the holiday weekend off right, there’s the Champagner Brunch with Santa at Baldamar on Saturday. That’s a $90-all-you-can-eat-and-drink-with-the-Jolly-Man kind of day.
// Just when you’re getting super sick of hanging out with family, it will be time for a Meat & Greet. Join some of the coolest makers (Sweetland Orchard x Botany Brew Farm, Lowry Hill Provisions, Alemar Cheese, and of course, the Mpls Meat Collective) at the MidCity Kitchen who are gathering to celebrate the year and raise some cash for Greener Pastures. See you there!
// Hey for NYE, should you maybe think about:
- Enchantment Under the Sea at Saint Dinette? Four course dinner (cheeseburger add-on avails) for $75+?
- Head down to Chef Shack Bay City for a gorgeous multi-course feast collaboration with Chef Nettie Colon on NYE for $125. You’ll have to make the tough choices: Venison loin or French seafood bouillabaisse.
- Spoon and Stable still has a few options for a curated tasting menu New Year’s Eve.
- Bungalow Club is doing four days of New Year’s Eve dinners! A three course meal with swag lands at $75, or just let the kitchen cook for you for $100. On the 28, 29, 30, & 31, because calendars: phfft.
- Oro by Nixta is offering up a four course fixed menu for $85!
- Brunch is calling you at Meritage on New Year’s Eve Day, to set the tone for the night ahead perhaps? You’ll find the brunch classics, but also a bit of caviar ballyhoo going on. Then from 2-4pm there’s an oyster happy hour before the house launches into full fancy dinner mode.
- Kitchen & Rail in Eagan is offering a special five-course menu for $95. A reason to stay in the subs.
- You can find a ton more options on Tock!
// Please look forward in January at this very special dinner. My friend and colleague Nicole Crowder is hosting a Wintering Dinner Party at the Four Seasons on Jan. 19. By Nicole’s hand, you will be invited to “explore how we individually and collectively center our wholeness during a season that can be especially harsh but deeply transformative.” Think about reframing, think about recalibrating and recasting what it means to move through the next few months.
// You know what would be a very excellent gift to give the foodist in your life? A ticket to the outdoor Seven Stories dinner that’s happening on Jan. 26 as part of the Great Northern Festival. Sean Sherman, Karyn Tomlinson, Steven Brown, Sameh Wadi, Zoë François, Andrew Zimmern, and Erik Anderson will all be cooking and it’s sure to be singular experience in the North.
December 22, 2023
12:45 AM