The Minnesota State Fair is known for over 60 different varieties of foods on a stick, from pickles to pepperoni pizza to chocolate-covered bananas, but Minnesota also has notable James Beard Award-winning chefs residing at multiple restaurants across the state, featuring different cuisines and cultures.
Wild rice, bison, sweet potato, and corn are a few of the foods native to Minnesota, and some of these foods are staples in American households. Chef Sean Sherman has taken traditional Minnesotan foods to the next level. Sherman, known as “The Sioux Chef,” a play on words of a Native American tribe, Sioux, and sous, a second-in-command in a professional kitchen, owns Owamni and The Indigenous Food Lab. Sherman provides research and advocates for The North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, a non-profit that works to educate on Native American food and encourages the rekindling of Indigenous culinary traditions.
A more fine-dining approach, Travail Collective offers an extravagant chef’s tasting menu, rotating seasonal menus with whimsical themes, and unique dining experiences in the Basement Bar and Sky Lounge. Taking on unconventional techniques throughout multi-course menus, February’s menu of the month for Valentine’s Day was called: Love on the Menu: February Pasta Date Night. After attending an avant-garde 22-course tasting menu called “2024 Signature Chef’s Tasting Menu” last March, the most notable of the 22 courses included: going into a confession booth to receive a fruity drink, eating a creamy chocolate dessert of my hand, and walking around to different stands with delicacies such as fresh-made mozzarella cheese and Cacio e Pepe prepared by Pasta alla Ruota (in the cheese wheel).
Young Joni, a gourmet pizza restaurant owned by Chef Ann Kim, recently closed due to rising rent prices. Minnesotans, including me, will be sad to see this restaurant go. As my 15th birthday choice of dinner, Young Joni takes a different approach to pizza that leaves its customers’ palates stimulated and stomachs heavy. Specifically, the Perfect Pickle Pie, which I first fell in love with at the Minnesota State Fair, was a limited edition and then regular menu item after being featured on Netflix’s featured pizzas in episode 3 of Chef’s Table: Pizza. This incredibly delicious pizza beautifully combined a creamy white sauce base, a mozzarella and fontina cheese blend, salty fermented pickles and smoky onions, chili, ranch dressing, dill, and crunchy Old Dill potato chips. If that isn’t an ideal birthday meal, I don’t know what is.
Another place to visit, Diane’s Place, is a Hmong American restaurant that flaunts chef Diane Moua’s master pastry and culinary skills, combined with her Asian heritage, specifically in her Thai Tea French Toast, Eggroll Stuffed Chicken, and Mango Passionfruit Lychee Croissant. Minnesota’s Twin Cities metro area has the greatest Hmong population outside of China, known as the Hmong Capital of the World.
Another take on Italian food, even after traveling to many states, countries, and continents, Minnesota’s very own Punch Pizza takes the spot for the 2nd best pizza place I have ever been to, right behind a few restaurants in Italy. The Neapolitan-style pizza at Punch presents a stunning charred, thin, and soft crust with minimal cheese and delicious tomato sauce, leaving one feeling satisfied yet thankfully not greasy. Along with my order of the classic margarita with pepperoni, it’s hard to resist indulging in their Nutella panini, a crispy pizza dough pocket filled throughout with a nutty Nutella, big enough to share, although I can surely finish the entire thing.
Lastly, a few honorable mentions: Billy’s Sushi, Martina, Pajarito, Spoon and Stable, Khâluna, and P.S. Steak.