Chris Kolve is co-founder of Wabasha Brewing Company in St. Paul. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. There has been a lot of talk about the “growler cap” in Minnesota recently and while it’s good for everyone to know about the regulations that affect them, I think it’s important to have … [ Read more]
What Do Minnesota Grapes Taste Like?
August 29, 2019 by
You’ve probably noticed our local wineries don’t grow chardonnay and cabernet grapes like their California cousins. Our wicked continental climate is only suitable for wine grapes engineered to withstand the biting cold. But in the absence of those recognizable grapes, how do you know what flavors to expect from our wines? Here are the four … [ Read more]
Bubbles That Won’t Break the Bank: A Buyer’s Guide
August 29, 2019 by
In my wine-buying experience, there’s no single purchase that can be more variable and unpredictable than a mid-priced bottle of sparkling. At around $10–20, you can get nuanced, estate-driven, interesting bubbles just as easily as industrial, one-note, sickly plonk. And if you’re a newbie to the cage-cork aisle, it can be maddening to tell the … [ Read more]
Mistaken Minnesota: The mapmaking errors that shaped our state’s landscape
July 2, 2019 by
It’s not hard to find Minnesota on a map. Drag your finger as far north as the continental United States goes. We are the one that looks like a bizarre “K.” So how is it that we live in a country with states that are tidy rectangles and squares, and then states that look like … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Pepperoni Pizza at Michael’s Pizza in St. Paul
April 3, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. If you let yourself wander the streets of St. Paul a little bit, one of the first things you’ll notice is a sprinkling of old-school pizzerias. Mixed in throughout the city’s many neighborhoods, they’re the opposite of … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Tempura Shrimp Roll at the Eagan Hy-Vee Market Grille
March 27, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. In these modern times, we have to get increasingly used to decoupling food quality (and value) from venue. There are white tablecloth restaurants in beautiful settings that provide supremely overpriced and objectively lousy food, and there are … [ Read more]
Review: Garage Bar and Bowl is an oasis of plainspoken culinary magic
March 26, 2019 by
What’s in a chicken wing? Along with burgers and pizza, wings are one of America’s quintessential bar foods, simple to do tolerably well, but surprisingly difficult to get exactly right. The question is: Why shoot for excellence when “tolerable” is good enough? That’s what drew us out to Waconia (twice) to visit the six-month-old Garage … [ Read more]
Order Up! Dining scene in Minneapolis’ Longfellow neighborhood heating up
March 14, 2019 by
Updated March 14, 2019 Order Up! is the Growler’s ongoing biweekly account of noteworthy Minnesota restaurant openings, closings, and future openings. Please send any tips to [email protected] All dates are approximate based on best information available; opening dates, in particular, tend to shift around a lot. THIS WEEK’S GIST: The Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis may … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: The Flavor Explosion at Mama’s Pizza
March 13, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. There’s something disarming and charming about a dish that brags up its own effectiveness. The Flavor Explosion pizza at Mama’s Pizza talks a good game, and it delivers: sausage, pepperoni, bacon, banana peppers, and pineapple. The cumulative … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Chicken Schwarma Wrap at Sultan Lebanese
March 6, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. If you head far enough north on Central Avenue, the frequency of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-influenced spots (everything from Filfillah to Big Marina to New York Gyro) starts to spike. New to the neighborhood in Fridley is … [ Read more]
Now Open: Pantown Brewing Company in St. Cloud
February 8, 2019 by
St. Cloud’s newest brewery aims to bring the city one step closer to becoming a destination for craft beer. Pantown Brewing Company is named after the neighborhood on the northwest end of St. Cloud, which was originally made up of 45 homes built by Samuel Pandolfo to house the employees of the Pan Motor Company, … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Beef Pho at Pho Lodge
February 6, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. It’s highly likely that Maplewood’s Pho Lodge is the only restaurant in Minnesota that features housemade bowls of pho and taxidermied squirrels on the walls. In fact, it’s entirely possible that Pho Lodge is the only restaurant worldwide that … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Brisket Sandwich at Jellybean and Julia’s
January 30, 2019 by
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. Most good food is a craft, repeatable and reasonably straightforward and produced by an attentive crew following thoughtful procedures. And then there’s barbecue. Its “simplicity”—rub large piece of meat with spices, apply heat, and smoke—conceals its complexity. A … [ Read more]
Little Shrimp on the Prairie
January 2, 2019 by
The uncertain future of the world’s oceans is propelling the establishment of saltwater farming in Minnesota No one believed that Paul Damhof had ordered 20 above-ground swimming pools. His credit card company flagged the purchase and called to verify it. The FedEx guy called believing the delivery was a mistake. The retailer was also perplexed—ultimately … [ Read more]
Now Open (Or Damn Close): 3rd Act Craft Brewery in Woodbury
December 5, 2018 by
Thanksgiving week 2018 was a historic one for the town of Woodbury, Minnesota. This eastern suburb of St. Paul that nearly 70,000 people call home is finally home to its first brewery. 3rd Act Craft Brewery, the brainchild of Woodbury resident and longtime homebrewer Steve Long and his wife Deb Long, quietly opened its doors … [ Read more]
