The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities area this week

Porketta sandwich at Hagberg's Country Market

"I feel like we're in Eveleth," my mom giddily exclaimed. We were actually at Hagberg's Country Market in Lake Elmo. A grocery store with an expansive meat market and lunch counter, it reminded her of our favorite Iron Range IGA (a local, family-owned grocery chain). Cases are filled with premium cuts of meat, slabs of bacon sliced to order and a global array of sausage styles.

Off to the side is a sandwich counter where we found another taste of home in the porketta sandwich ($7.99). Up north, we're accustomed to every well-appointed local grocer stocking different kinds of porketta. The kind of pork can vary: shoulder, loin, Boston butt, but it's always boneless, usually held together by netting and slathered with dried Italian seasonings. At Hagberg's, they go with a low and slow braised meat that falls into submission: a juicy, highly flavorful mix that's redolent of fennel seed, oregano, basil and black pepper. It's piled onto a fresh bun sturdy enough to hold up to all those luscious juices, but soft enough to melt into the meat with each bite. Balancing this beauty of a sandwich is the horeseradish-spiked cream sauce that bites just enough to keep things interesting.

If heaven were a small town with copper-colored mud caked on truck wheels and hockey as a way of life, this is what it would taste like. (Joy Summers)

11325 Stillwater Blvd. N.; Lake Elmo; hagbergsmeats.com

Ümlauttè at Brühaven Craft Co.

When sweater weather finally hits, have one of these drinks cued up. The Ümlauttè is a cleverly named espresso drink at the equally umlauted Brühaven Craft Co.

The brewery opened in the Loring Park neighborhood earlier this summer, taking over Lakes & Legends' sprawling taproom and a few of its signature brews, but adding in a whole new line of things to sip on day and night, with former the Freehouse head brewer Alex Doering behind the beer.

But I came for coffee, and this signature latte ($5.25-$6.25) with brown sugar and rosemary was a tasty and toasty way to start the day. The food options are premade and light, including bagels from Mogi Bagel with a little tub of cream cheese. And for a more beer-forward morning, try a house-brewed seltzer-spiked bloody mary with a beer back, naturally. (Sharyn Jackson)

1368 LaSalle Av. S., Mpls., bruhaven.com

Smashburger at Beckett's

What's great when walking into Beckett's, the new retro sports bar in the Lyn-Lake area of Minneapolis, is that it seems like it's been there all along. There's an immediate feeling of camaraderie and come one, come all. Pennants on the ceiling seem to display every sports team under the sun. Messages of inclusivity come out in details such as a Minnesota Wild rainbow flag. An "Everyone watches women's sports" sign adorns a wall, as do T-shirts with an image of football great Deion Sanders on them.

The menu, in which you order through a QR code, is just as approachable, kept simple with just a few items — all priced at $13 or less. The standout was the smashburger with a sticker-shock-in-a-good-way price tag. For merely $8, flavors loomed large. Two thin smashed patties meant double the great char. Accompaniments of grilled onions, American cheese and a creamy, tangy house sauce with some zip added but didn't overshine.

If you want, you can order fries here "wild style" ($5), which is essentially these same burger accompaniments on top of fries. How appropriate that they've come up with their own down-to-earth version of poutine at this dive-y sports bar that feels original. (Nancy Ngo)

3006 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., beckettsmpls.com

TTHD at Local Rumor

While most menu offerings at Local Rumor in St. Paul are straightforward, there was one simply referred to as "TTHD" that we couldn't quite decipher. At a picnic table outside this petite neighborhood eatery that replaced the original Blue Door Pub on Selby Avenue, I tried to guess. "The Teriyaki Herring ... delicacy?" My dinner companion wasn't buying it. "Total Taste Hot Dog?" She ignored me and instead asked the server for clarification.

Good thing, because the truth was way better and possibly more obvious than I ever would have figured out on my own: Tater Tot Hot Dish. Yes, please.

The TTHD ($9) is a modern take on Tater Tot hot dish in which the base is a mushroom cream sauce bolstered by sliced shiitakes that gave a velvety umami base. The whole business is then topped with crispy tots. (Notably, the kitchen skipped over the sometimes traditional ground meat or green beans, and neither were missed at all.) A garnish of pickled fresno chiles gave a welcome spike of freshness and heat. (J.S.)

1811 Selby Av., St. Paul; instagram.com/localrumor

Kids sirloin at Steak & Ale

OK, this is actually one of the best things my kid ordered all week. Still, we all know it's usually the parents who end up scarfing down the kids' meal after the kid immediately spills lemonade everywhere and the grown-ups just get the grown-up food boxed to go because dining out with little kids is just too much sometimes. Fortunately, the new revival of Steak & Ale, attached to a Burnsville hotel, was plenty accommodating to my rambunctious and very needy table.

While the kids' menu (and coloring sheet) had all the usual suspects on it such as grilled cheese and pizza, I was impressed to see a more sophisticated option that my new first-grader was willing to try: a small sirloin ($12). When it arrived, I was even more impressed to see that the cooking of the steak was no afterthought. It was perfectly done to a shade of pink my kid found acceptable, and the garlic butter on top became a yummy dip for the restaurant's signature steak fries. The meal may not have lasted more than 5 to 7 minutes, but anything that gets my kid to eat a protein that hasn't been breaded or formed into a patty is a win. (S.J.)

14201 Nicollet Av. S., Burnsville, steakandale.com