Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota’

WITH THE EXCEPTION of the hot dog bun, there has never been an edible invention as useful as the ice cream cone. Eat it all and leave nothing behind but a napkin. No need to sit down, and only one hand is required. We’ve hardly ever met a cone we didn’t like, but these are … Continue reading Top 12 favorite Ice Cream Scoops

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 2009 Gourmet Magazine On the western edge of Lake Superior, superlative natural ingredients reign supreme. Prolific orchards contribute ripe fruit for mouthwatering pies, and the pristine waters of the lake yield firm-fleshed fish. We’ve been known to indulge in over-the-top pies, but when it comes to just-caught fish, … Continue reading Pie Shakes and Whitefish Fillets

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 2008 Gourmet Magazine If you have time for only one meal in Minneapolis or Duluth, we strongly urge you not to go to Hell’s Kitchen, which has a location in each city. It is the best place in either town, among the great restaurants of the Midwest, and high on … Continue reading Circles of Heaven

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 2006 Gourmet Magazine We’ve never met a cooked potato we didn’t like. Baked with butter, salt-boiled, fire-roasted, puréed with cream, au gratin, dauphinois, frittered, and french fried—all are surefire transformations of the homely starch into supertuber. But shallow-fried on a grill or in a skillet is the pinnacle of … Continue reading Monster Hash

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 1999 Gourmet Magazine I doubt there is another restaurant like this anywhere in the Twin Cities   area,” Grace Gibas says across an oilcloth-covered table in Carol’s Calico Kitchen. “Carol serves the kind of food you never get tired of eating.” We take a bite of Carol’s supremely … Continue reading The Homemade Restaurant

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 1999 Gourmet Magazine Pancakes make people happy. Arriving at the table in the form of short stacks or lofty towers, or fanned out like a haul of soft gold medallions, they are a simple indulgence that demands sweet syrup and defies seriousness. In a too-complicated world, a plate … Continue reading Pancakes

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 1997 Gourmet Magazine Before Ralph Nader, cars were fun. For generations of joyriders, a purring V-8 was a vehicle for play and pleasure. “Companion of carefree days” is how Chevy advertised itself in 1950, when few people behind the wheel worried about such mundane concerns as safety and … Continue reading Curbside, America

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 1996 Gourmet Magazine As a matter of principle, we are committed to finding food with ample fat, from marbled steaks to chocolate cakes, but even we sometimes yearn for light fare. On our beat, finding it isn’t easy. In some cafés, “diet plates” are not-so-dietetic bunless burgers with … Continue reading Healthful Detours U.S.A.

By Jane and Michael Stern Originally Published 1994 Gourmet Magazine Al’s Breakfast, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, serves the best morning meal in town. Handsome half-moon omelets, creamy scrambled eggs, broad flapjacks made from buttermilk or whole-wheat batter, and crusty hashed brown potatoes have helped make this diner a breakfast benchmark in the Midwest for half a … Continue reading Al’s Breakfast