Best Example of a Restaurant Living up to its Name
Delicious Café & Grill (Brazilian)

You can’t always trust a name, but you’re in the clear at Delicious Café & Grill—a suburban hidden gem if we’ve ever seen one. While downtown Minneapolis has it’s skewer- and carving-knife-wielding Brazilian gauchos, Minnetonka has co-owner/Brazilian ex-pat Anna Morgan taking orders in a soccer jersey. The food, as it should be, is the focus. We can’t stop thinking about our latest culinary grand slam: cheese pastéis—a pastry triangle filled with perfectly salty cheese, fried to golden perfection; bife acebolado—sliced beef tenderloin with sautéed onions and jasmine rice (get it with a side of yucca).

P.S. The café’s secret weapon: its one-for-the-record-books tres leches cake.

14725 Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka; 952.933.3323

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Best Reason to Keep PimentoWood.com in business
The Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings at Smalley’s Caribbean Barbecue and Pirate Bar (Caribbean)

When Smalley’s opened two summers ago in Stillwater, much was made of its authentic Jamaican jerk and brisket. And for good reason: It’s amazing. But here’s the secret, Backyard Joe: It’s all about the pimento wood. It grows in Jamaica, and is the source of allspice, which gives Smalley’s wings their complex, herbal flavor.

P.S. Until Minnetonka-based PimentoWood.com started importing pimento two years ago, it wasn’t available anywhere in the U.S.

423 Main St. S. #A; 651.439.5375

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Best African Lunch Buffet
Tam Tam’s African Restaurant (African)

Take a culinary tour of the world’s second largest continent at Tam Tam’s on Cedar-Riverside. Staples of the pan-African café’s lunch special include injera ‘n’ wot (East African flatbread with spiced chicken and veggies), fu fu (West African dumpling soup) and steamed plantains—all lovingly prepared by Chef/Owner Steven Kaggwa. 

P.S. Kaggwa is the Twin Cities’ nicest restaurateur, always quick to share a joke or a story with patrons.

605 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.339.0854

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Stinkiest Salad (in a good way)
Laab Salad at True Thai (Thai)

Heavily seasoned with fermented fish sauce and roasted rice powder, this popular Thai and Lao salad is fragrant in a way that could get you kicked off a city bus for bringing it along for the ride. Served at room temperature with your choice of minced protein, True Thai’s version gets extra fragrance from coriander.

P.S. The food always comes “Minnesota mild” at True Thai, so ask for yours spicy if you want heat.

2627 Franklin Ave. E., Mpls.; 612.375.9942

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Best Mexican Seafood
La Sirena Gorda (Mexican)

For a break from the heavier, meatier dishes that populate many local Mexican menus, try La Sirena Gorda, where every dish prominently features oh-so-fresh seafood. We love the ceviche de pescado tostada, delicate, diced mahi mahi ceviche scattered across a lightly fried tostada, the whole thing sealed with avocado and salsa. 

P.S. Try the legendary flan for dessert. 

920 Lake St. E., Mpls.; 612.870.0037


Best Top-Secret Tamales
The Tamale Angel (Mexican)

Rumor has it that if you’re in the right club (a certain well-known rock room in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood) at the right time, an angel will appear with a cooler filled with piping hot chicken tamales. Give this angel an Abe Lincoln and she’ll hand you a Ziploc whose masa-heavy contents will pair beautifully with whatever swilly beer you’re swilling at the time.

P.S. This entire blurb is a p.s.! What more do you want?

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Best Reason to Give Your Taste Buds Heatstroke
Papaya Salad at Hmong International Marketplace (Hmong)

You’ll have to soldier through warnings and cockeyed looks to get your green papaya salad made properly (i.e., spicy as hell) at Hmong Express Cuisine. This salad is equal parts refreshing and lip-numbing, made with shredded green papaya, tomato, lime, Thai eggplant and enough herbs, spices and mysterious elixirs to season a spice market. 

P.S. Pair it with the purple sticky rice—the two go together like fries and ketchup.

217 Como Ave., St. Paul; 651.487.3700