Aji Contemporary Japanese in Hopkins: decent, stylish and inexpensive

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(Note: Aji Contemporary Japanese has changed some of its prices since this article was originally posted and the sushi and salad bar is no longer included in the price of hibachi entrees at dinner.)

It’s nice to see Hopkins making a gastronomic comeback. A year or two ago, it seemed like all the news was bad – we had the closings of Gusto Cafe and Wine Bar, Trattoria Michaelangelo, and even the venerable Jack Yee’s. That pattern has been reversed, with the openings of Samba Taste of Brazil, Curry ‘n Noodles, and now Aji Contemporary Japanese restaurant. Continue Reading

Gai Gai Thai: New at the Kingfield and Fulton farmers markets

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Stopped by the Kingfield Farmers Market Sunday, and discovered a new food stand – Gai Gai Thai, operated by Kris Petcharawises (shown right) with a crew of Southwest High students from the Fulton neighborhood. Gai Gai Thai bills itself as “Local and sustainable Bangkok-inspired eats, with extra beats from Hong Kong, Saigon, Lima, LA and New York.” Their version of som tum, the classic Thai papaya salad, is called thum thum, made with red cabbage, green beans, daikon and tomatoes, fish sauce and Thai chilies, and billed as a “playful homage to the Midwest.” Continue Reading

Pacific Islander Cuisine: Filipino fare at the Midtown Global Market

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Filipino cuisine has had a hard time getting a foothold in the Twin Cities. At Cora’s Best Chicken Wings on Concord St. in St. Paul, you could occasionally find a few Filipino dishes on offer, but not any more. Mabuhay in St. Paul and Subo in downtown Minneapolis lasted a matter of months. That’s a shame, because it’s a complex and interesting cuisine, with Chinese and Spanish influences.

Now comes Pacific Islander Cuisine (the banner is wrong), a new food stall at the Midtown Global Market, at Lake St. and 10th Ave., Minneapolis. The prepared dishes change from day to day, but you can get a good sampling by ordering their $6.75 combination plate. which includes a couple of meat entrees and an eggroll, plus rice, noodles or macaroni salad. And if you want a dish that isn’t being featured, co-owner Noemi Castrence can prepare it for you if she has the ingredients on hand. Continue Reading

Tim McKee, Masu, and renewing the sushi brand

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If you are going to open a Japanese restaurant in 2011, you better have something new to say. When sushi first appeared in the Midwest a generation ago, there was something cutting edge and hip and daring about eating raw fish. Sushi restaurants were few and far between, usually operated by Japanese immigrants. But over the years, sushi has gone down-market and lost a lot of its cachet—you can find it pre-packaged in little plastic trays in nearly every supernarket, and offered all-you-can-eat at cheap Chinese buffets.

Nearly all the local sushi restaurants get their fish from the same suppliers, and by the time it arrives in Minnesota, it isn’t at the peak of freshness. Also, since most of it does come from the same sources, (many of them tied to Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church) the sushi all tends to taste about the same, whether you get it at a supermarket or a sit-down restaurants. Continue Reading

Somali cuisine moves to the mainstream

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Immigrants from Somalia are now one of the largest ethnic groups in the Twin Cities, but Somali restaurants haven’t gained nearly as much crossover acceptance as Mexican, Vietnamese or even Thai restaurants.  Race no doubt plays a part, and so do culture and location. Most of Somali restaurants are concentrated in neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrants, and you are much less likely to find a Somali restaurant in a suburban strip mall than a taqueria or Vietnamese restaurant. Continue Reading

Fine dining at Abbott Northwestern Hospital

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Just got home from a six-day stay at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. This is a bit off-topic for a food blog, but let me say that I was deeply impressed by the quality of the care I got from everybody who took care of me – thanks to nurses Vanessa, Amanda, Rick and docs Tor and Brian – and everybody else. If you ever decide to have a medical emergency, this is definitely the place to go.

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