Best of 2011: Food

METRO food writer Mecca Bos runs down some of her best bites of the year

The award for best Bloody Mary goes to Muddy Waters, which sets itself apart by using basil-infused vodka.

Image credit: Photo by Kelly Loverud

Recommended by the Editor

Best of 2011: Music

By: Mecca Bos

As 2011 comes to a close, METRO is taking a moment to reflect on the year that was. All this week, we’ll be featuring our favorite finds of the years – the shows that made us laugh (or cry), the music that made us swoon and the dishes that made up salivate. We think it’s safe to say it was a good year, and that 2012 promises to bring even more good tidings.

Today, we’re looking at the best food 2011 had to offer. For more, see our best bites, and restaurants of the year features.

Best condiment: Chimichurri, Muddy Waters. Sometimes, an accompaniment becomes the star of the show, prompting you to want to push aside the main event, and ask your server for a spoon to finish off the sauce. Such is the case with the chimichurri, the green condiment that accompanies Muddy Water’s signature yucca fries (fried, golden brown wonders in their own right). The cilantro, citrus, garlic and something else magical concoction makes the dish. A word to the wise: ask for a double serving.

Best way to carb-load: Sourdough Loaf, Sunstreet Bakery. If you were getting ready to run a marathon, you might think to down a half box of pasta, but for my carbohydrate calories, I’d rather have a whole loaf of Solveig Tofte’s sourdough boule, all blistered crackling crust and an inner crumb so spongy and yeasty, you’ll want to climb right in. Instead, dip it in a bit of local butter and watch the whole thing disappear.

Best breakfast-for-dinner: Shirred Eggs, The Lowry.  For a ten spot, the shirred eggs at the Lowry are one of the best meals to be had in town, for breakfast, dinner, or any reason in between. Sauteed mushrooms and ham get topped with soft poached eggs and the napped in truffle cream, and your vehicle for all this goodness is a couple of nicely grilled baguette batons. Pretty, classic, sophisticated, cheap.

Best Bloody: Muddy Waters. In a town with plenty of good bartenders who take pride in their scratch bloodies, the Muddy Waters version is still a revelation with the addition of basil-infused vodka. This classic combination evokes happy memories of summertime, which you’ll desperately need for the next, you know, six months.

Best brunch: Tilia. You’ll have to jostle with crowds to get a coveted seat at Tilia, star chef Steven Brown’s very own new neighborhood bistro, and that’s because he works the kind of wizardry with eggs and flapjacks that will have you thinking he’s channeled your nana, your grandma and your mother, all rolled into one—it’s made with that much love. The most buoyant poachers I’ve ever seen stand up like soldiers on the plate, and paired with locally sourced pork of all stripes, the inventive yet classic dishes are eye-poppingly delicious. Don’t miss the kid’s menu even if you don’t have any—sheer delights are hidden there. 

Best dinner for brunch: Lobster Papardelle, Heidi’s. It will be difficult to pass up Stewart Woodman’s whimsical takes on classic breakfast like the myopically detailed egg Sammie or the molecular gastronomic omelette, but when your server describes the handmade papardelle with soft scrambled eggs, lobster, and shaved Italian truffle, will you be able to resist? I salivate just to write about it.

Best cocktail: Marvel Bar, The Coralina. Not only the tastiest but the girliest, most beautiful drink in town is the Coralina, a champagne flute swaddled in spun pink sugar. Inside, carbonated orchard apricot liquer, dolin blanc vermouth, and Arakai sochu (a cousin to sake) combine to make liquid magic. Send this to the prettiest girl at the bar. Send two, and she’s sure to be yours by the end of the evening.

Prettiest presentation: Toast, Bachelor Farmer. Leave it to the design-minded powers that be at the Bachelor Farmer to elevate the humble slice of toast to the realm of fine dining. The silver toast caddies arrive groaning with heavily buttered toasts of all kinds—pumpernickel, rye, and their hearty cousins, along with dreamy accompaniments like beef tartare, duck pate, and creamy baked camembert.

Best pho: Destiny Café. The Twin Cities’ myriad Vietnamese joints tend to get all the (much deserved) love for pho, that comfort food that’s becoming about as Minnesotan as lefse wishes it was. But have you ever tried Hmong pho? It’s the same soup you’ve come to know and love, but one-upped with a couple hunks of unctuous pork belly. Yep, sexy, sexy bacon to flavor up the already heady broth. It’s your new go-to when you’re feeling a little under the weather. It’s got everything that’s good for what ails ya.

Best market: East St. Paul Hmong Village. Como Avenue’s Hmong Market has been a St. Paul gem for a few years now, with its head-spinningly huge number of dishes, groceries, trinkets, and mysteries hidden under one (actually two) roofs. But now St. Paul can boast a second market of its kind, where you can spend an afternoon whiling away shopping hours as well as calorie counts, discovering something new in each of the zillion-and-one booths. Whole tilapia, bubble tea, handmade quilts, fresh thai eggplants, hoochie gear, cell phones, curries, medicinal herbs, coin purses and chili paste are just a wee fraction of what you’ll find here. Do not miss the fresh papaya salads, made to order, one of our state’s most precious gems.