Illustrations by Eric Hanson
Wall of restaurant names
Cossettas
The same family runs the capital-city hero that started as a grocery store but has managed, over the last 100 years, to become an important source for pizza and imported Italian foods.
Al’s Breakfast
One tiny breakfast counter has fed, and thereby linked, thousands of U of M students over the years. Home is an open seat.
D’Amico Cucina
The proving ground for a generation of chefs, Cucina set the bar for Italian fine dining and see-and-be-seen restaurants.
Nankin Cafe
1919–1999
In an opulent dining space with Chinese lanterns and a grand staircase, this restaurant made chicken chow mein and chop suey mainstays for midwestern eaters.
Matt’s Bar
Take the i from Jucy Lucy and just stick it where it belongs—at the front of icon. It’s all parts: the dive bar, the griddle, the molten core, the legendary typo, the vinyl wallpaper, the paper wrapping, and the warning: Give it a minute.
Afro Deli
Weaving African, Mediterranean, and American food together at four spots in the community.
New French
1977–2002
Boho in all the right ways, with handwritten menus, candlelit tables, and standard-setting bread.
Red’s Savoy
Though the OG location closed in 2018, the spicy-sauced, square-cut, heavy-on-the-cheese pizza lives on. Earl “Red” Schoenheider didn’t invent the square tavern-cut style of pizza, but he evangelized it.
Leeann Chin
Cream cheese wontons and a national empire from one spot near Ridgedale.
Black Forest Inn
The Christ family still owns this anchor of Eat Street, which created one of the first outdoor dining patios in the Cities.
Market BBQ
The Polski family is still smoking with the recipes that launched their OG farmers’ market spot.
J. Selby’s
Taking the scold out of vegan food, this Summit-University spot celebrates plant-based eating as an easy and modern way of living.
Illustration of Murray's Steakhouse
Murray’s
It was the 28-ounce strip sirloin, priced at $9.50, that earned Murray’s the coveted Silver Butter Knife award from steak expert Maurice Dreicer in 1951. Still cuts like butter.
La Belle Vie
Tim McKee and Josh Thoma’s refined French restaurant in Stillwater eventually moved into the historic 510 Groveland space in Minneapolis. As it aged beautifully into the city, it earned one of the first James Beard Awards and defined fine dining for a new century.
Broders’
The Broder family championed fresh pasta, good olive oil, and exotic ingredients like pesto.
Fuji Ya
1959–2020
Reiko Weston built the first sushi bar in the state on flour mill ruins near the river because bridges and water were lucky. Her vision for our first Japanese restaurant was tranquility.
Figlio
1985–2009
When the wood-burning oven was installed, Parasole had to help the city write the health code, because it had never been done.
Nye’s Polonaise Room
1950–2004
A Polish supper club and piano bar that seduced generation after generation of cocktail singers.
Spoon and Stable
Gavin Kaysen came home to build his first restaurant, and he brought the national media along.
Cecil’s Deli
Simple and steadfast with family recipes, the closest thing we have to a New York deli has yet to be matched. Best chicken soup ever.
Town Talk
2006–2011
The Tim Niver and Nick Kosevich years showed us how to drink cocktails with our cheeseburgers.
Kramarczuk’s
Northeast Minneapolis was once a Polish neighborhood, with immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe bringing their cured sausages and fermented vegetable traditions to the Midwest. This deli-café continues to mark that era.
Illustration of The Lincoln Del
The Lincoln Del
1957–2000
From the top of the menu: “At the price we have to charge to serve LOX, we suggest you make a different choice from our menu.”
Charlie’s Cafe Exceptionale
1933–1982
Charlie’s set the tone for fine dining in Minneapolis, with suits and celebrities packing the oak-paneled room for squab, whole cold lobster, Wisconsin frog legs, and, of course, that potato salad of yore.
Lucia’s
1985–2017
Uptown was more about art than bars, and Lucia Watson ran a kitchen and wine bar that celebrated regional food and eating seasonally instead of shining on to any coastal trends of the day. Fresh, with an honest creativity, it was the pinnacle of the neighborhood.
Mickey’s Diner
1939–2021
The pleasures of all-night dining are fast disappearing. But there is hope that this iconic diner will rise again—the eggs demand it.
Cafe Brenda
1986–2009
Long before it became fashionable to pedigree your chicken with the farm name, Brenda Langton was linking our food to our farms in this veg-focused Warehouse District pioneer.
Goodfellow’s
1987–2005
In the historic Forum Cafeteria space, it played a national culinary game with a stable of star chefs.
Quang
When do you think the kids will stop thinking the best pho on Eat Street has just been discovered?
Lord Fletcher’s
Boat-up dining and drinking is something we’ve had for so long we take it for granted. It’s special; trust us.
The Loring Café
1986–2002
As one of the most imaginative dining spaces, it gave us artichoke heart dip and Steven Brown.
El Burrito Mercado
With their Mexican grocery store serving as the community hub, the Silva family helped the District del Sol thrive. Now with the restaurants and catering run by the women of the family, it serves as a beacon of Mexican American culture.
Illustration of The Lexington
The Lexington
The former speakeasy has changed many hands, undergone serious structural renovations, and even added a rooftop while continuing to anchor Old St. Paul. Nowhere are the generational stories of a city brought back to life so vividly while enjoying a famously elegant smoked chicken pot pie.
David Fong’s
1963–2022
A Chinese immigrant drove south of the city with a dream for a takeout spot. What he created was generations of community.
Travail
What if you eat a course off your hands? What if pizza comes under a smoke-filled dome? Successfully breaking all the rules of fine dining and food in Robbinsdale.
Jax Cafe
Can you name another steak house with a trout stream running through the patio?
Nikki’s Cafe
1989–2000
Before there was a North Loop, there was an indie café with a huge patio and Cornbread Harris weekly.
Aquavit
1999–2003
Marcus Samuelsson had a brief and shining moment here and reminded us to be proud of our Scandi heritage.
Heartland
2002–2016
Lenny Russo set mile limits for how far he would go to get his ingredients, just to show us what home tastes like.
Be’Wiched Deli
2007–2018
When other chefs were turning their technique on tasting menus, this place turned to the sandwich to humbly elevate.
Cafe Wyrd
In Uptown, it created a safe space for openly gay people to hang out, have coffee, and just be.
Lucille’s Kitchen
1996–2004
Lucille Williams had a way with peach cobbler, smothered chicken, and feeding her guests with community.
Barbary Fig
1989–2016
Brahim Hadj-Moussa cooked North African on Grand Avenue at this undersung gem.
Sri Lanka Curry House
Heather Jansz lit us up with her brightly spiced curries in the ’70s, and still does with her Curry Diva pop-ups.
Illustration of Dayton's Sky Room
Dayton’s Sky Room
1947–2017
In 1947, the Sky Room was built for women. Soaring windows, crystal chandeliers, and lobster thermidor for the ladies who lunched and then shopped.
Saffron
2007–2016
The Wadi brothers taught us that Middle Eastern cuisine wasn’t just for deli counters and takeout, but also for fine dining.
The Strip Club
2008–2017
Just outside of downtown St. Paul, and just outside of traditional steak house ways.
Tejas
Though now you’ll only find it at the State Fair, the restaurant once defined Tex-Mex for the hoi polloi.
Surly Beer Hall
The destination brewery and restaurant set the new table for craft beer drinkers.
Auriga
1997–2008
Doug Flicker, Scott Davis, Melinda Goodin, and Mark Reinholtz ushered in the chefs-as-owners era with this gem that pushed the boundaries of cuisine with a focus on local.
