Dervish Mazza Dinners and San José Chocolatier
The Tap for Friday, August 16, 2024
Welcome to the Tap, Heavy Table’s biweekly guide to restaurants and culinary industry news for Minnesota and beyond. We’re here doing this work only because of your support - thank you for your support of this independent journalistic enterprise.
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR WANTED:
HOPKINS, MINN. MAINSTREET CHECKLIST
Heavy Table is looking for a contributing illustrator to join us for 3-6 outings to restaurants on Mainstreet in Hopkins, Minn. You’ll be part of a team including a writer and a photographer, and help to document every independent restaurant along this particular stretch. (Current estimate: about 18 spots.)
Your food and drink will be paid for; you’ll also receive a set fee of $55-110 per outing depending upon how many spots are visited. We’re hoping for roughly 1-2 illustrations per restaurant. If you’d like to get a sense of what these stories look like, have a gander at our most recently completed Lyndale Avenue Checklist. [1]
Interested? Email Hopkins Checklist organizer and lead writer Amy Rea: writerrea@gmail.com
KEEPING YOUR POWDER DRY
By James Norton
Over the past few weeks, I’ve come across a number of Minnesota State Fair food guides organized along various principles - most of them geographical (what to eat close to X or Y) or culinary (best new foods, best vegan foods, etc.). Here’s what I have to say about them: nuts. You just never know a thing until you’ve actually tasted the thing. And not at a media preview, or from a kit delivered to your doorstep. You don’t know it until you’ve tasted it in the field like an honest-to-God fairgoer, and you don’t know it until you’ve had it made by a cook under pressure to perform for thousands of hungry customers every day. If you’re as serious about food as we are, that’s the thing you can write about. That’s the thing you can rave up, or overanalyze, or tear down in a meaningful way.
Last year, Shanghai Henri’s debuted its Lutefisk Steamed Bun amid a good deal of advanced praise. Among all the fair purveyors, Henri’s is one of the most media savvy. But that cleverness doesn’t typically extend to their kitchen. Here’s our review of that bun:
[This dish] is touted as a "steamed lotus bun filled with a blend of cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and yum yum sauce, plus Olsen Fish Company lutefisk." Here's the thing: You've had this "yum yum sauce" before. It's shipped in 5-gallon buckets to struggling independent Chinese-American restaurants from coast to coast and throughout Canada, where it covers most "sweet and sour" dishes in a nearly inedible, mucous-like glaze of sugar, cornstarch and vinegar. So strong was the "yum yum" sauce that I couldn't really discern much about the lutefisk beyond its texture, which didn't exactly save the dish. A dry-as-dust lotus bun didn't help complete the sale of this miserable wreck, and the $14 price tag added injury to other injury.
If you read the previews, this experience might have caught you off guard. Don’t read the previews. Keep your powder dry, keep your options open, and look for Heavy Table’s sweepingly ambitious review of many dozens of new foods and drinks in our Minnesota State Fair edition next week: The Churn for Friday, August 23, 2024. It’ll come out at 7 in the morning, and you’ll have a team of tired, overfed, and over-watered food and drink writers to thank. We’re dreading it, and we also can’t wait. See you at the Fair!
THE TAP
The Tap is the Heavy Table’s ongoing biweekly account of noteworthy Minnesota restaurant openings, closings, and future openings. Please send any tips to editor@heavytable.com. All dates are approximate based on best information available; opening dates, in particular, tend to shift around a lot.
NOW OPEN (Up to 3 Months)
Vinai, 1300 NE 2nd St., Minneapolis ■ After years of anticipation, Yia Vang’s Hmong restaurant will make its debut in the former Dangerous Man taproom in Northeast. Opened July 28, 2024.
Black Duck Spirits and Hearth, 2900 Johnson Street NE, Minneapolis ■ Smoked and/or wood-fired fare will be the driving culinary influence for this new spot by Fare Game food truck chef/owner Jason Sawicki. Opened July 22, 2024.
Local Rumor, 1811 Selby Ave., St. Paul ■ The COO of the now defunct Keg and Case food hall is trying out some much smaller digs: the former founding location of the Blue Door jucy lucy burger chain. Opened July 19, 2024.
Restaurants at North Loop Green (Hope Breakfast Bar, Salt & Flour, Bassett Hound), 350 North 5th Street, Minneapolis ■ A new partnership between restaurateur Brian Ingram and the upcoming North Loop Green development features three new restaurants, including a new location of Ingram’s Hope Breakfast Bar and his new Italian classics concept Salt & Flour, and the North Loop Green-operated bar and casual restaurant Bassett Hound (named for nearby Bassett Creek). Bassett Hound opened July 5, 2024; Salt & Flour and Hope to open this fall.
Asian Duck, 4010 E 46th Street, Minneapolis ■ Lao/Thai favorites served up with joy and aplomb in a tiny little space at 46th Street and Minnehaha. Opened July 3, 2024. Reviewed in the July 26, 2024 edition of the Churn.
Oh Crêpe!, 4408 France Avenue South, Minneapolis ■ Claire Corvaisier has converted her mobile Breizh Crepes project into a bricks-and-mortar serving classic sweet crepes and savory crepes, plus some ice cream concepts and crepe cakes. Opened June 26, 2024.
Tap In, 2618 Lowry Avenue N., Minneapolis ■ This newly opened neighborhood gathering spot and bar is ambitious about bringing people together, but keeps the food simple with salads, bowls, and sandwiches. Opened June 22, 2024.
Darling, 3311 E. 25th St., Minneapolis ■ Former private chefs for Prince (and co-owners of Peoples Organic) have teamed up with the owner of Hi-Lo Diner to transform the former Birchwood space into a new breakfast and lunch spot. Opened June 14, 2024.
Duluth’s Best Bread (Superior, Wisc. location), 1418 Tower Ave., Superior, Wisc. ■ A third location of this well-regarded French- and German-inspired Duluth bakery known for its croissants, pretzels, and monster sweet rolls has opened across the state line in Wisconsin. Opened May 28, 2024.
CLOSED AND CLOSING (Up to 3 Months)
Tattersall Distilling, Minneapolis ■ After a controversial rent dispute / possible scam, this foundational craft distilling company is shutting down its Minnesota location at the end of the year. Its River Falls, Wisc. location remains open. Closing December 2024.
Gray Duck Tavern ■ As per the Pioneer Press, Gray Duck Tavern was shut down abruptly last month. Closed July 13, 2024.
Eli's Food & Cocktails ■ Open in downtown Minneapolis since 1960, Eli’s Food and Cocktails called it quits this year after one last Pride celebration. Relatedly, Business Journal reports that sister businesses Eli’s East and Beast BBQ are for sale.
Peppers and Fries ■ The Longfellow neighborhood burgers and burritos mainstay is shutting its bricks and mortar and going food truck-only. Closed June 29, 2024.
Italian Eatery and Un Dito ■ Open since 2016 and often packed to capacity, South Minneapolis favorite Italian Eatery stunned the public by suddenly announcing its closing this week. Closed mid-June.
Tavern on Grand ■ The legendary and long-lived Tavern on Grand, home to one of the state’s best-known walleye sandwiches and a claimant to the title of most-walleye-selling restaurant in the world, is calling it quits after more than 30 years. Closed early June, 2024.
Protagonist ■ An oddball but ambitious concept restaurant located on the southern stretch of Lyndale Avenue, Protagonist is shutting down but looking for a possible future location. Closed May 21. We profiled it as part of the Lyndale Avenue Checklist.
UPCOMING (Most Imminent to Furthest Out)
Caphin, 4503 France Avenue South, Minneapolis ■ A hip Vietnamese coffee truck is getting bricks-and-mortar space in the former Jinx Tea and Folly Coffee spot in South Minneapolis. Opening Summer 2024.
Razava Bread Company, 685 Grand Avenue, St. Paul ■ This upcoming bakery is a partnership between Steve Baldinger (whose family ran Baldinger Bakery in St. Paul) and Omri Zin-Tamir of the Bakery on 22nd St. Will feature challah, bagels, pita and more. Read our interview with Omri Zin-Tamir in the May 13, 2022 edition of the Tap. Opening Summer 2024.
Grackle, 11852 Elm Creek Boulevard North, Maple Grove, Minn. ■ Hot on the heels of Starling, another suburban bird-themed restaurant shooting for “neighborhood, but upscale”: Grackle, from the team behind Margie's Kitchen & Cocktails in Andover. Opening Summer 2024.
Hey Bear Cafe, 791 Raymond Ave., St. Paul ■ The former Foxy Falafel spot on Raymond will become a biscuit-driven breakfast and lunch spot. Opening Summer 2024.
Dexter’s, 3717 W. 50th St., Minneapolis ■ The latest Daniel del Prado restaurant is coming to 50th and France, offering a “casual yet refined” concept including burgers and wings. Opening Summer 2024.
Lynette, 3751 42nd Ave S., Minneapolis ■ Ben Siers-Rients, a mainstay of the well-regarded Lyn65 restaurant, will be opening a new spot in the former Riverview Cafe and Winebar in South Minneapolis with partner Travis Serbus. Opening Summer 2024. We checked out one of their soft openings.
Jade Dynasty, 600 West Lake Street, Minneapolis ■ A former owner of the well-regarded Hong Kong Noodles restaurant is teaming up with a former Mystic Lake Casino restaurant manager to open a dim sum, hot pot, and Cantonese restaurant in the former Fuji Ya space on Lake Street. Opening Summer 2024.
Crossing Bridge Noodle Restaurant, 2 E 26th Street, Minneapolis ■ The former Bad Waitress on Nicollet will become a new spot from Sushi Train co-owner Kevin Ni, serving crossing-the-bridge-noodles, a pho variant native to China's Yunnan province. Opening Summer 2024.
Ate Ate Ate, 1178 Burnsville Center, Burnsville, Minn. ■ Yet another Asian-focused food hall is coming to the metro, anchored by the Asian food store Ensom Market. The spot is giving some Market at Malcolm Yards vibes. As per the press release: “The 13,320 square foot location will be home to a diverse roster of nine food vendors, plus a bar and beer pull wall, an event space, and regular entertainment offerings.” The project is spearheaded by Akhtar Nawab, a Michelin-awarded chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. Opening Summer 2024.
Tender Lovin’ Chix, 2700 Lyndale Ave S., Minneapolis ■ We didn’t dig Fire and Nice Ale House when we visited it on our Lyndale Avenue Checklist; it has since shuttered its doors, to be replaced by the bricks and mortar location of a popular local fried chicken truck with support from Billy Tserenbat of Billy Sushi. Opening August 19, 2024.
Minari, 323 13th Ave. NE., Minneapolis ■ The former Erté & the Peacock Lounge space will become a Korean-inspired temple of noodles, dumplings, and dim sum controlled by the burgeoning Daniel del Prado group and headed by Chef Jeff Watson. Opening August 2024.
La Madre, 205 Park Ave., Minneapolis ■ The floor level of The Vicinity apartments will soon offer “a chef-curated menu providing a modern take on traditional Mexican entrees, small plates, and shareables with plenty of seafood and exotic Mexican cuisine options” operated by Abe Ponce of La Tapatia in Roseville. Opening August 2024.
Khue’s Kitchen, 799 University Ave. W, St. Paul ■ The former Ngon Bistro will see life again as pop-up restaurant Khue’s Kitchen, formerly at Bar Brava, takes over the space. Chef Eric Pham is the grandson of Lung Tran, who opened the locally legendary Quang on Nicollet Avenue. Opening delayed by fire.
Forepaughs, 276 Exchange St., St. Paul ■ The venerable Saint Paul institution is due to return this summer after five years of hibernation. Jeremy Wessing (Pau Hana, Baldamar, Sea Change) will run the culinary side of things. Opening August 2024.
Aster House, 25 SE Main St., Minneapolis ■ New-school supper club with a local food edge by the team behind Aster Cafe and Jefe Urban Cantina, helmed by Chef Josh Jones with Myriel’s Karyn Tomlinson acting as menu consultant and mentor. Opening September 2024.
Saturday Dumpling Company, 519 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis ■ The popular subscription-based dumpling company will be moving its production operation to a space with 45 indoor and 10 outdoor seats, in the former Glam Dolls Donut shop space. The restaurant will serve dumplings in three styles (steamed, pan fried, and deep fried) with pork, beef, chicken, and vegetarian fillings, plus a filling of the month. The menu will also feature scallion pancake burritos and rice bowls. Opening Fall 2024.
Pearl & the Thief and Big E, 250 Portland Avenue, Minneapolis ■ A reboot of Justin Sutherland’s Stillwater-based restaurant, Pearl & the Thief, will be going into the 02 Luxury Tower along with another location for the chef’s egg-based sandwich shop, Big E. Press release promises “an exceptional culinary experience” plus “a high-end whiskey bar, craft cocktails, and approximately 2,000 SF of outdoor patio space.” Opening Fall 2024.
Le Burger 4304, 4304 Upton Av. S., Minneapolis ■ Roast chicken, soft-serve ice cream, and most of all carefully turned-out burgers will be the heart of the menu for this new spot by two Bachelor Farmer alums in partnership with John Gross of Kado no Mise and Sanjusan. Opening Fall 2024.
Russell's Bar and Grill, 656 Grand Ave., St. Paul ■ The former Tavern on Grand space will reopen as a restaurant with contemporary American classics and some supper club favorites. Opening November 2024.
Eloise, 332 Broadway Ave S, Wayzaya, Minn. ■ A new sister restaurant to the existing and popular Grocer’s Table, Eloise will be focused on evening gatherings, “elevated food,” and cocktails. Opening 2024.
Tim McKee Restaurants at The West Hotel, 167 N. First St., Minneapolis ■ A basque-inspired charcoal-driven restaurant and a Mediterranean bakery will be part of a new North Loop hotel in the former [Commutator Building](https://northloop.org/history-of-the-commutator-building/) operated by Salt Hotels. Opening 2024.
Animales BBQ and Burger Co., 241 Fremont Ave. North, Minneapolis ■ The two well-regarded Jon Wipfli food trucks, Animales BBQ and Animales Burger Co., will unite in a bricks-and-mortar effort located in the former Royal Foundry Distillery in the Harrison neighborhood of Minneapolis. Opening early 2025.
MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE
Dervish Mazza dinners are a culinary tour on a plate.
By Amy Rea
Dervish Mazza is the brainchild of Mohamed Kotb, who was born in Egypt before spending years training in restaurants in France and New York. He eventually landed in Minnesota, where he founded his company and began getting a foothold in the local food world with his line of dips influenced by his childhood in Egypt. (Kotb defines mazza as "an assortment of dishes served as appetizers, accompaniments to main dishes, or a complete meal in itself. An age old culinary tradition of Middle Eastern cuisine from Morocco to Persia.")
We sampled the dips at Mill City Farmers Market and were struck by the depth of flavor they have, and a wide range of flavors too, everything from feta to olive tapenade to a take on hummus called Silk Road with Thai chiles and cumin. The dips can also be found at Surdyk's, France 44, and several local food co-ops.
Kotb had more room to demonstrate his wide-ranging culinary skills at a recent Mediterranean-inspired six-course dinner ($115 per person plus tax and gratuity), with everything cooked from scratch. The first course was a lovely charred aubergine, melty soft and paired with a pomegranate chermoula with kiwi. The flavors were bright and fresh, especially the chermoula, and even convinced the eggplant hater at our table that maybe eggplant was edible after all.
Next were tartlets with artichokes for a base instead of pastry, topped with a robust ratatouille made of corn, peppers, and tomatoes, topped with fresh basil. The artichoke proved a good vessel for holding the bountiful ratatouille that tasted fresher than one would expect before corn and tomato season had fully arrived in Minnesota.
The dips that Kotb used to start his business made an appearance next along with zesty za'atar pita chips. The aforementioned Silk Road was present, along with black-eyed peas, feta-mint, olive tapenade, tomato Provencal, and what Kotb referred to as "Mama Ghanoush," with the return of aubergine with more pomegranate molasses and chermoula (Kotb noted that he's obsessed with pomegranate molasses, and we can't disagree with his use of it). At this point, we could have been finished and utterly satisfied. All were small plates, but all were more than a bite or two. Lucky for us, the best was yet to come.
Falafel can (and does) so easily become a dried-out bite of nothingness. Here, they were combined with Lebanese tahini, coated in three kinds of seeds, and fried until crispy. They were hearty (and a bit heftier than other falafel we've tasted), crunchy, with a pleasantly earthy flavor that contrasted nicely with the radishes, ginger, and mushrooms pickled in date vinegar that accompanied them.
The star of the dinner was lamb kofta, rolled into logs and covered with sour cherries and pine nuts. Surrounding the kofta were slices of roasted sweet potato topped with dukkah. The flavors ranged from sweet to sour to spicy to a little gamey, and textures went across the spectrum. Although we were approaching the point of being unable to eat more, it was impossible to let this go unfinished.
Which meant we weren't entirely up for dessert, yet when it came out, we rose to the occasion. Most at the table had a Venetian lemon dessert of sorbet with cream and cardamom, served in a cocktail glass, sippable, smooth, and light enough to balance off the heavy previous course. One person at the table had requested no dairy and was served a Meyer lemon poached in elderberry tonic with saffron. It was beautiful to look at and complex to taste, with both bitter and sweet flavors swirling back and forth.
SINGLE-FARM CACAO
Chocolate San José brings a fifth-generation chocolate business to the Upper Midwest.
By Jeanne Lakso
“Chocolate is jealous,” entrepreneur and single-plantation chocolate purveyor Monica Jimenez asserts. “Traditionally, we have this saying because it’s very temperamental. We have to focus on it when we are working, watching the time, the temperature, our movements, all of that. So I love it.”
Jimenez’s emotional attachment to chocolate and cacao most likely began in her home country, Ecuador, where her family has a long history of growing exceptional cacao. Since the 1930s, five generations of Jimenez’s family have owned and managed a cacao plantation. Hacienda San José in Los Rios province exports cacao and chocolate to manufacturers worldwide like renowned chocolatier Barry Callebaut, and now, to Jimenez. The family plantation regularly receives accolades for the quality, aroma, and flavors of their cacao. In 2023, Hacienda San José received the Cacao of Excellence Gold award from the Alliance of Biovdiversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture for the quality of their cacao.
Jimenez arrived in Minnesota in 2002 needing a bone marrow transplant, after which she and her husband decided to stay and raise their four children here. Initially Jimenez worked in finance and accounting. “This is what I was prepared for in Ecuador. I am an economist; I got my degree at Catholic University of Guayaquil, and when I found out I needed some equivalent [qualifications] here, I enrolled at North Hennepin Community College and received my AA in accounting.”
“I enjoyed my job, but after a while, it was like I woke up, I said, this is not what I aim to be. I'm an entrepreneur, and I want to work with my new community here in Minnesota. I want to bring a part of myself, my family, the best of what we do in Ecuador, what we enjoy the most, to my community.” In 2016, she resumed her lifelong relationship with cacao and founded Chocolate San José to import cacao and chocolate to the U.S.
“My Minnesota family helps a lot with the business. I have four grown kids and my husband is very involved. He helps me go to the farmers markets, with inventory, with shipment. And my kids! When I shared the idea of making chocolate here with them, they knew that we needed some investors and decided to put their money into the business. They are my partners in this adventure.”
I asked Jimenez what she really wanted people to know about the single-farm cacao and chocolate from Chocolates San José. Instead of offering flavor notes or talking about their awards, Jimenez wanted to focus on her Ecuadorian family’s efforts to grow cacao sustainably. She is thrilled that the family members who manage the plantation are committed to protecting native biodiversity, improving pollinator habitat, and conserving water. “While we are one of the best of the world, I feel very proud of this. I'm very happy for my nephew, who spends his days on the farm: inspecting, working with all the agricultural practices, as well as the rest of the family and the farm employees.” Besides being Rainforest Alliance Certified, Hacienda San José is committed to improving the quality of life for their 400 workers, through the PRODETI Foundation, which supports community projects like training and access to groceries.
She’s also proud of the exceptionally fine cacao Hacienda San José produces. “We have experience and a long tradition, and also modern tools and practices. But more important than that, I think, is the care we take in growing and selecting our cacao, and the knowledge we carry on how to ferment it. The fermentation process we use is the best, so we don’t get as much acidity and then we don’t need to add so much sugar. You get all the health benefits of chocolate, like antioxidants, bioflavonoids, anti-inflammatory compounds, magnesium, without extra sugar. We have milk chocolate as well as 55%, 70%, 80% and 100% dark chocolate, but even the 100% cacao bars don’t have the acid or astringency you find in other brands.”
Jimenez imports San José’s consumer-ready chocolate bars and chocolate disks from Ecuador, as well as her family’s cacao, which she uses in her locally produced signature Inkakaw truffles, spreads, drinking chocolate, and ceremonial cacao. The bulk bags of chocolate disks do double duty as eating chocolate and supplies for bakers and chocolatiers.
“I love to do the truffles,” says Jimenez, who studied how to temper chocolate at the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Chicago. “I started making ganache truffles because I didn’t know how to temper chocolate. It took a lot of time at the beginning, but now I have a good feel for the chocolate, and a good response from my customers, especially at farmers markets.”
Her hands-on practice with her jealous friend has paid off. Jimenez’s hand-made truffles are beautiful to look at with a lovely sheen. The flavors on display at a recent Mill City Farmers Market reflected both Jimenez’s South American roots and her Minnesota home: pineapple, papaya, dragon fruit, and freeze-dried blueberry.
Jimenez’s Inkakaw line of locally-made products includes a hot chocolate mix, ceremonial cacao beverage, and brewing cacao that is made from 100% roasted and ground cacao. “I love to explain the brewing option to people. It’s a great substitute for coffee, because it doesn't have caffeine and is a natural energy booster. It smells and tastes like dark chocolate, but the texture is a little more like tea. You can make it in a French press coffee maker, or use a cold brew maker. It has so little acid and so much flavor you don’t need to add sugar and milk.”
I took home a bag of Jimenez’s brewing cacao to try with her enthusiastic endorsement, and used a French press to make a sample batch. The scent is (not surprising) like warm dark chocolate and the flavor is rich with nearly no astringency and notes of dark fruit, almost fig-like. It tastes smooth and has a definite softness, almost as if I had brewed it with distilled water. Jimenez likes to drink it hot, without milk or sugar, but I particularly enjoyed it iced with just a hint of sweetness and a splash of oat milk. I also taste-tested two of the chocolate bars from Chocolate San José. If you’ve never tried single plantation bars, prepare to have your chocolate bar preconceptions upended. The 70% dark chocolate bar has a lovely undertone of dried cherry, and the 80% has nearly no bitterness at all. The aftertaste is reminiscent of caramel and maybe a hint of sea salt.
Other signature products include chocolate spreads, one with hazelnut and another that incorporates black truffles for a deep, savory note. “The truffle one is delicious with cheeses,” says Jimenez. Beth Jones, a guest chef at the Mill City Market, recently devised a delicious rye shortbread recipe that showed off Inkakaw hazelnut spread paired with a fresh black raspberry. The deep chocolate flavor and the subtlety of the finely-chopped hazelnuts completely eclipses the taste memory of any rival chocolate hazelnut spread. Nutella should be very jealous!
So what about the future? Jimenez, ever the entrepreneur, has plans. “I have the idea to start making my own chocolate bars. I want to buy a large tempering machine to replace the smaller one that I rent. That way, I can scale up and incorporate local ingredients and flavors into those as well: local fruit, dried fruit, nuts.” She’s also looking forward to upcoming holiday markets around the Twin Cities.
Jimenez’s Inkakow products are available at the Indigenous Food Lab in Midtown Global Market, Centennial Lakes Farmers Market, Mill City Farmers Market, Northeast Farmers Market, as well as other seasonal events and specialty markets. Chocolate San José single plantation chocolate bars are available at Kowalski’s Market and Lakewinds Co-op. A complete list of locations and upcoming farmers markets is available on the Chocolate San José website.
ELSEWHERE ONLINE
Turnover at Eat Street Crossing proceeds at a terrific pace; the Star Tribune looks at the replacement of Ouro Pizzaria with a new bun bo hue shop called House of Hue; Staff Meeting and PinKU Omakase have replaced ESC's ramen and sushi shops. (For more bun bo hue content, see our review of Tay Ho, part of the Green Line Checklist.) Steph March follows along as Saturday Dumpling Co. works on opening its bricks and mortar location and looks at the planned big new Animales BBQ Co. and Animales Burger Co. restaurants at the former Royal Foundry Distillery. The Strib has details on the fire that derailed the opening of Khue's Kitchen in the former Ngon Bistro space. The Star Tribune profiles many of the best locally available affogatos, but misses our two favorites: Love Creamery in Duluth, and the black pepper cardamom affogato at Sonny's in Minneapolis, above right. Sahan Journal documents some Cambodian vendors making their mark on the local food truck scene. And Eater digs into the nasty backstory of lawsuits roiling the Minnesota-based Nautical Bowls company.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This newsletter and the entire Heavy Table magazine presence is made possible by you and everyone else who subscribes to our enterprise. We’re incredibly grateful for our support - it’s the only way we can keep writing, editing, visually documenting and publishing so much Upper Midwestern culinary news.
FOOTNOTES
[1] EDITOR’S NOTE: I seriously think the Checklist projects are one of the most valuable and entertaining things we’ve ever done with this publication, and I hope we can find a good match for this illustrator gig. (WACSO is just too busy, otherwise we’d love to have him tackle these spots, too.) The Checklist is a really unique crossover between art, craft, culinary criticism, and creative writing.
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