Heartland
Now that everyone is starting to “get it” when it comes to locally sourced food and ingredient integrity, it could become easy to forget that chef Lenny Russo was doing this first, applying his Italian roots to Minnesota food. Says Russo: “I cook with what I find outside my door.” What he finds outside his door can be anything from invasive species of mustard greens to Wisconsin cheeses to Nebraska great northern beans, but he uses these, and only other ingredients sourced from the upper Midwest.  Such is his dedication that he eschews olive oil. And the things this man does with sweet corn? The most fun you can have with your pants on.

Levain
Long lost Levain may always remembered as Minnesota’s greatest restaurant, and whether that is true or not, as with any lost love, recollections are only that much more halcyon. Steven Brown is the closest this town has ever come to a rockstar chef, (his restaurant early in the decade was actually named Rockstar). And while he’s got brooding good looks and you could just as easily picture him toting a guitar case as a knife roll, it’s his cooking that shines. Cuisine that is steeped in an understanding of history and tradition yet dares to boldly go into unchartered directions, the whole finally manifesting onto the plate as some of the most divine art you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. A stroke of luck: Brown is still in town, and is in between jobs. Here’s to hoping he lands somewhere fabulous sometime soon.

La Belle Vie
When truly world class dining—with all the bells and whistles—is the only thing that will do, La Belle Vie is the only place you should go. Chef and owner Tim McKee’s recent James Beard win aside, since it opened over a decade ago, LBV has been Minnesota’s culinary trump card. Here, all of the big guns are employed on the regular: foie gras, king crab, tenderloin, marrow, truffle—and often times they’re employed in combinations so decadent you nearly fall off of your cushy dining chair in pleasure. But don’t worry, service here is so precise, there will probably be someone standing by to catch you.

Auriga
Occasionally, there comes a restaurant that reaches levels of perfection. Not in the makes-no-mistakes sense, or even in the no-one-does-it better definition (although this was true in many ways of Auriga). Instead, I mean a place where you can altogether relax, bliss out on food that meets in a crossroads between art and comforting sustenance, and by the time you fold up your napkin, you’re planning on the next time you can do it again. On any given night, you could find the city’s best chefs and cooks doing just this, after their own shifts were over, in the lounge at Auriga. We all mourn the loss of this dear, sweet place but keep your eyeballs peeled for the opening of Piccolo, chef Flicker’s newest creation. You can expect to see some familiar handiwork in lots of small plates, which is what Auriga always did best.

Alma
When it first opened, with its proximity to the University of Minnesota, it was impossible to understand how this chef-driven bistro fit into student life. Quickly, it was hailed as a “professor’s haven.” In other words, too sophisticated for undergrads. Both elegant and unpretentious, Alma has stood the test of time, known best for its impeccable attention to ingredient integrity, and in my own personal sphere the place that my non-foodie friends are most likely to have a transcendent eating experience. Chef Alex Roberts is also the brainchild behind Brasa Rotisserie, which is the food you’re most likely to feel good about feeding your kids on a Sunday night. Alma for your anniversary, Brasa for every other night.