The Big K.R.I.T. at Soul Bowl in the Graze Food Provisions + Food Hall // Photo by Tj Turner
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler.
One of the pleasant surprises hidden within the stylish confines of the new North Loop food courts is that great food can emerge from even manicured, highly focus-grouped surroundings. We loved the Luau Bowl at Ono Hawaiian Plates in the North Loop Galley, and damned if the Big K.R.I.T. fried chicken sandwich at Soul Bowl in Graze Provisions + Libations isn’t a metro-wide champ in its own right.
This is a substantial sandwich: big bold pieces of fried chicken dressed with a barbecue-like honey hot sauce, with turkey bacon for some salty chew and greens plus tomatoes for a bit refreshing contrast to the earthy, tender, beautifully fried-up poultry. The sandwich’s killer edge, so low-key as to go unmentioned in its menu description, is a chewy-but-yielding bun that’s so studded with sesame and poppy seeds that it looks like a bread-based model of a North Country blizzard. All of these various facets combine to make a sandwich that offers crunch, chew, snap, tender delicacy, umami, heat, and plain old-fashioned contentment. It’s a joy to eat, and despite the bulky nature of the chicken, the sandwich goes down with startling ease.
The fried chicken, bacon, lettuce, and tomato filled Big K.R.I.T. from Soul Bowl // Photo by Tj Turner
THE DISH: The Big K.R.I.T. Sandwich, $10
THE PLACE: Soul Bowl at Graze Provisions + Libations, 520 N 4th St., Minneapolis
THE REASON: It’s a big, bold, substantial sandwich that’s shockingly light on its feet.
