La La Homemade Ice Cream at the Painted Turtle
There's a new beachside restaurant on Lake Nokomis, now that the Painted Turtle has replaced Sandcastle. The menu is just as crowd-pleasing as its forebear, with sliders, hot dogs, popcorn and charcuterie plates. There's also a new ice cream vendor in the mix: La La Homemade Ice Cream is in residence at the Painted Turtle, with eight flavors and a variety of sundaes, shakes and other creations. "They have been keeping me very busy," said La La owner Jennifer Lisburg.
La La's super-smooth ice cream uses fresh and bright ingredients, and I went for a $5 scoop of lemon berry, a cobbler-like ode to the season enjoyed at one of Minneapolis' loveliest lakes. (If you're in the mood for savory, a humongous piece of beer-battered walleye, whether in a basket or on a sandwich, is the way to go.)
And don't forget La La's flagship in Uptown. The quaint luncheonette has much more than ice cream on the menu, all of it made with as much attention to ingredients as the flavor-packed scoops. (Sharyn Jackson)
Painted Turtle: 4955 W. Lake Nokomis Pkwy., Mpls., paintedturtlempls.com; La La Homemade Ice Cream & Luncheonette: 3146 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-824-5252, lalaicecream.com
French fries and champagne at Manger Restaurant and Wine Bar
Some of the best things in life happen when highbrow meets lowbrow. Who doesn't appreciate a little of bit fancy with a little bit of comfy? Champagne with a bowl of crispy, hot French fries is one such confluence. And Bayport's Manger Restaurant is clever enough to pair the two on the menu.
First opened in January 2019, Manger is the work of Nicole and Mike Willenbring. Mike was holding down the kitchen on our quiet, midweek visit as Bayport residents ambled in, looking for a seat on the back patio. The restaurant balances fine dining and weeknight cooking with dishes that run the gamut from escargot to burgers.
The crusty, salty fries have just a little bit of russet skin left on the tips and a baked potato-fluffy interior — they're an exemplary argument for every restaurant, even fine dining, to put a little time into making this sublime yet humble dish.
A half order ($7) is available on the happy hour menu, but we found it's so much better to get the whole bowl and a glass of proper champagne ($20). Along with a garlic- and lemon-spiked aioli, each bite and sip hits all the good flavor notes. And with its faint yeastiness, the tiny bubbles in the champagne whisk away all the fat and salt from the fries. (Joy Summers)
320 5th Av. N., Bayport, 651-324-9313, mangerrestaurant.com
Korean barbecue from Hoban Korean BBQ
The idea of cooking my food at a restaurant had never appealed to me. Why pay a premium for something I do every night at home? But Korean barbecue has softened that stance. Like many things, cooking is more fun when you do it with friends, and that's how we landed at Hoban in Uptown.
The menu reads like a novel, with pages of appetizers, signature dishes, soups, noodle dishes, rice dishes and barbecue options; finding something for everyone shouldn't be difficult. (The menu is also accessed by QR code, so it pays to take a peek before heading out.) But you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not partaking in the barbecue.
Options range from several styles of beef, pork, seafood, chicken and vegetables with price tags from $18.99 for vegetables to $42.95 for traditional Korean short ribs. For the uninitiated, tables are equipped with built-in grills; servers bring the raw ingredients to the table, and diners do the cooking. Each main comes with several sides — bean sprouts, kimchi, mashed potatoes, fish cakes, sauces and more — but rice and lettuce (for wraps) are extra. We ordered two entrees, the pork belly and the hoban galbi (intensely flavorful marinated short ribs), along with rice and lettuce, which was sufficient for three of us. The whole experience made for a fun, laid-back and tasty evening.
You'd also be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't start with the pajeon ($16.95), a fluffy scallion pancake served with housemade soy dipping sauce. It sets a delicious tone for the adventure ahead. (Nicole Hvidsten)
2329 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-345-7214, hobankoreanbbq.com
Country-fried steak at Hope Breakfast Bar
There were two breakfast restaurants where we grew up, and each stocked a simmering vat of breakfast gravy. In both places, there was a group of men who could make a cup of coffee last from the first farm report exchange until news devolved into gossip.
Meeting my oldest, dearest friend for breakfast recently, our conversation took the same meandering route from coffee to family news to all the juicy bits. Since we're no longer small-town girls, we had a wide landscape of weekday brunch options, but we chose a new place with an old soul: Hope Breakfast Bar in Eagan.
It's the latest of Sarah and Brian Ingram's restaurants that specializes in decadent comfort foods — like waffles that masquerade as cake and country-fried steak ($19). The menu is the same as the other Hope Breakfast Bar locations in St. Paul and St. Louis Park. The Eagan outpost was bustling on a Friday morning, with a packed dining room and adjoining patio and a waitlist.
The country-fried steak was everything one could want in a diner classic: tenderized meat cuddled up in a well-seasoned crust, doused with mushroom gravy alongside crispy hash browns, scrambled eggs and a crumbly yet fluffy biscuit that tasted exactly like the ones we remembered from our small-town beginnings. (Joy Summers)
1012 Diffley Road, Eagan, 612-489-5793, hopebreakfast.com
Cocktails at Lost Bay
You can get a paper basket of chips and a cup with a scoop of finely puréed guacamole, but food is not why one goes to Lost Bay. The Caribbean Marina patio on Lake Minnetonka's Echo Bay is all about the views and the cocktails.
The drive is a bit winding, but it's still the quickest way to feel like you've gone on vacation, between the lap of the waves under the boards at your feet and the frozen tiki-style drinks served in a hollowed pineapple (drinks start at $13, the pineapple is an extra $10).
Seen here, the Lolo Strawberry is a little more sophisticated than your average rum punch. Compared with some of the other offerings, it's a not-too-sweet blend of rum and strawberry with a slightly bitter bite of Aperol. A refreshing drink in a new spot (it replaces Tequila Butcher) that was made for lazy summer evenings with friends. (Sharyn Jackson)
135 Lakeview Av., Tonka Bay, 952-474-3550, lostbaytonka.com
The Taste team is stepping away from the table next week for the holiday. In the meantime, enjoy some of our past favorites at startribune.com/5best
The 5 best things our food writers ate this week
The 5 best things our food writers ate this week
Critics' picks: The 14 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week
The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week
