Few chefs have had the opportunity to try as many amazing restaurants and dishes as Andrew Zimmern. As the co-creator, host, and executive producer of the Food Network television show "Bizarre Foods," Zimmern traversed the globe in search of unique, traditional dishes. In "The Zimmern List," he showed viewers amazing eats across the United States. It stands to reason that the chef is just as adept at finding the best restaurants in his hometown -- the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
We recently had the opportunity to ask Zimmern about his favorite places to eat in the Twin Cities, and he didn't hold back. In an exclusive interview with Chowhound, he listed a wide variety of restaurants that are his go-to spots when he's craving really good food. He let us in on laid-back spots that are perfect for easy-going comfort food, as well as innovative restaurants helmed by award-winning chefs. Visit Andrew Zimmern's favorite restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul and you'll find everything from Hmong cuisine to handmade tortillas, burgers, and Korean-inspired small plates. These are 26 hometown eateries that he highly recommends.
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When we asked Zimmern where he would take folks visiting from out of town to eat, the Hmongtown Marketplace was the first place he mentioned. This bustling market in St. Paul has a plethora of stalls selling food and goods from countries where Hmong culture is prevalent like Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. You can find traditional Hmong clothing, music, jewelry, and groceries like fresh vegetables and meats. For Zimmern though, the food stalls are the main draw. He told us he would take out-of-town guests to the food hall for, "Lao-style papaya salad, Hmong sausage, and crispy pork belly ... and anything else on the menus at all the incredible booths." The market and food hall is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Located in a historic former horse stable in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, Spoon & Stable is an elegant spot that Zimmern called "one of the best restaurants in America." The impressive space features soaring ceilings, skylights, and a two-story wine room. You can grab a seat at the bar or a table in the spacious dining room. There's also a patio for al fresco dining in the warmer months. In the kitchen, chef and owner Gavin Kaysen and his team whip up creative French-inspired dishes using local, seasonal ingredients. According to Zimmern, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. He said, "Don't sleep on the handmade pasta program or the insane local pasture-raised pork, a grilled chop with tamarind that in my mind is the best pork chop served in the Upper Midwest."
Local specialties are something Zimmern seeks out wherever he is, including in his own hometown. He told us, "Everyone who comes to our town should eat some walleye, and no place does it better than Shuang Cheng." As you might have guessed from the name, Shuang Cheng specializes in Chinese cuisine. It's been a fixture in the Dinkytown neighborhood since 1990 and is popular for its Cantonese creations like char siu, hot pots, and seafood. Zimmern highly recommends the steamed walleye (Minnesota's state fish) with ginger and scallions. You can also get the walleye steamed with black bean sauce, fried with a spicy sauce, or fried with sweet and sour sauce. Zimmern told us he's also a fan of the oysters with black bean sauce and roast pork chow fun.
Andrew Zimmern can't get enough of Mexican cuisine and culture. He's visited the country on multiple occasions, both for his show "Bizarre Foods" and personal trips. He also offers a slew of Mexican-inspired recipes on his website. When he's at home in the Twin Cities and craving a great Mexican meal out, Oro by Nixta is one of his top places to go. This innovative spot shines the spotlight on heirloom Mexican corn in dishes like tacos, huaraches, tamales, and pozole. You'll also find several unique dishes that go above and beyond your standard Mexican-American restaurant fare including chayote tacos, wild boar sopes, and suckling pig terrine. Zimmern described the restaurant as, "Incredible Mexican food without pretense but very sophisticated. House nixtamalized tortillas, insane moles, and quite simply superb in every way."
Another spot that Zimmern highly recommends for impressing out-of-town guests is Bûcheron. He called it, "A superb food-forward neighborhood restaurant that has elevated the genre in the Cities with excellent service, a faultless menu, a great wine program, and a cozy, romantic dining room." Situated in south Minneapolis, Bûcheron opened in early 2024, which makes it a relatively new addition to the city's dining scene. However, it's already made waves with foodies. The name means "lumberjack" in French, which hints at the concept of hearty fare made with local ingredients and French-American touches. Your meal at Bûcheron could include dishes like venison tartare with poached egg and spruce tips, smoked whitefish dip with trout roe and wild rice crackers, pheasant roulade with pork sausage, and steelhead trout with andouille wild rice.
Established in 1989, Quang Restaurant has amassed a loyal following of fans who have been coming to the spot for years to indulge in authentic Vietnamese dishes. Zimmern is one of the restaurant's staunch supporters. Quang got its start as a small bakery run by Lung Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who had moved to the United States nine years earlier. As more people frequented the bakery for Tran's pastries and Vietnamese street food, the restaurant expanded and eventually moved to a larger location across the street. On the menu, you'll find traditional dishes like shrimp and pork spring rolls, Vietnamese pho, noodle salads, and banh mi sandwiches. Zimmern said his go-to dishes are, "A bowl of wonton and egg noodle soup and their giant sized pork filled bao buns."
If you want to try an iconic local dish in the Twin Cities, Zimmern recommends Matt's Bar for a Jucy Lucy. "And yes, that's how it's spelled," he said. This neighborhood bar has been around since 1954 and is the birthplace of the Jucy Lucy hamburger. Legend has it that in the early days, a customer asked for a two-patty burger with cheese sandwiched in the middle of the patties. Upon taking a bite, the customer said, "That's one juicy Lucy!" The bar put it on the menu but forgot to add the "i" in juicy, hence the oddly spelled name. The molten cheese in the burger also prompted the bar to adopt the motto "Fear the Cheese!" Just be sure to bring cash for your Jucy Lucy because Matt's Bar doesn't accept credit cards.
Zimmern may have traveled the world in search of the most bizarre culinary creations, but that doesn't mean he's opposed to all-American comfort food every once in a while. He told us that the burger and fries at Lions Tap is a solid choice when it comes to a casual, no-frills meal that always delivers. In fact, Zimmern called it, "My personal favorite." Located in Eden Prairie, the Lions Tap has won numerous awards for its burgers over the years. There are several burgers to choose from, each featuring a fresh ground beef patty or two with house seasoning, pickles, and onions on a lightly toasted bun. You can add toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, bacon, and mushrooms. Be sure to get your burger with a side of crinkle-cut fries.
If you've watched Zimmern's show "Bizarre Foods," you may have seen him indulging in delicious barbecue around the world. From babi guling in Bali to shashlik in Russia and legendary barbecue joints in Kansas City, the chef knows good barbecue when he sees it. When he's at home in the Twin Cities, Animales Barbeque Co. is his go-to spot for grilled and smoked meats. He said, "The best BBQ in town, and killer sides and sweets." For years, the Animales barbecue and burger food trucks have been located outside Bauhaus Brew Labs. Rumor has it that both will be relocating to a permanent restaurant space in 2025. You can expect the same barbecue goodness like meaty ribs and smoked pork shoulder sandwiches, burgers, sides like mac and cheese, and desserts like banana pudding.
When it comes to comfort food, Zimmern has a few dishes he always craves in the Twin Cities. He told us that one of those is the dill pickle fried chicken at the Bulls Horn, a spot that he called, "a superb retro tavern." It opened as Bull's Horn in 2017, but the spot has been a bar since 1935. Owners Doug Flicker and Amy Greeley have revamped it slightly but kept most of the old-school, dive bar ambiance. The current menu features comfort food dishes like fried cheese curds, nachos, and burgers. However, the main draw for many is the fried chicken. It comes in buckets with nine or five pieces of crispy chicken seasoned with subtle hints of dill. Zimmern didn't mince words about it. He simply said, "Get the bucket."
There's no shortage of pizza joints in the Twin Cities. One of Zimmern's favorite pizza spots is the Red Wagon Pizza Company. Husband and wife team Paul and Jacquie Campbell started it as a mobile pizzeria slinging slices at farmer's markets and special events. In 2014, the couple settled into Red Wagon's permanent location. The concept is modern American pizzas made with innovative toppings. Think pizzas inspired by Cuban and banh mi sandwiches, riffs on a McDonald's cheeseburger in pie form, and an Alabama barbecue-influenced pizza. The house specialty is the Red Wagon Pizza with red sauce, soppressata, banana peppers, cheese, sausage, chili flakes, garlic salt, and a fig balsamic drizzle. You can pair your pie with sides like Gaufrette-style bar chips, chicken wings, and mac and cheese croquettes.
Al's Breakfast is a local institution in Minneapolis and one that Zimmern calls, "simply the best." There's nothing fancy about this Dinkytown diner that's been around since 1938. The narrow space sports one long counter with only 14 stools and somewhat cluttered decor. In addition, it only accepts cash or checks. However, don't let its humble set-up fool you. Al's serves some seriously good breakfast dishes. There's no freezer, deep fryer, or microwave in sight. Just cooks serving made-to-order meals. That's just one of the reasons it won a James Beard Award for "American Classics." The blueberry-walnut pancakes are a must-try dish, but if you're craving something savory, you can also dig into a hearty scramble, eggs Benedict, or omelet. You might want to head there early though because the lines can be full-on.
When it comes to late-night eats, Zimmern told us that one of his go-to's is El Taco Riendo for a burrito. This easy-going spot specializes in authentic Mexican dishes that you might find on the streets of Mexico City. The menu is large with plenty of options including tortas, tacos, and elotes (corn on the cob). You can also order a bowl of hangover-helper menudo soup, a plate of shrimp in a spicy al diablo sauce, and Tex-Mex fare like fajitas and chimichangas. If you want to go with a burrito like Zimmern does, you can choose from a huge array of fillings. Proteins include chicken, chicharron, and chorizo to name a few. The meat is piled into a tortilla with fresh veggies and sauce like pico de gallo and salsa verde.
You may have seen the "Bizarre Foods" episode where Zimmern chowed down on eclectic eats in Cambodia like fried crickets and water snakes. However, Cambodia's culinary traditions go far beyond those dishes. When in St. Paul, you can sample authentic Khmer dishes at Heng Cheng, one of Zimmern's favorites. He said, "Cambodian meals in a bowl are my thing here." You can start your meal with a fresh salad featuring shrimp and chicken in lime juice tossed with shredded veggies and herbs. Next up should be a bowl of hearty noodle soup like the Kor Koo beef soup or Phnom Penh soup with pork done three ways. You can also try traditional Cambodian dishes like luc lac (stir-fried beef with lime sauce) and ho muk (fish curry in a creamy coconut sauce).
For a pizza spot that does things a little differently than your run-of-the-mill delivery spot, Zimmern recommends Boludo. Owner and chef Facundo DeFraia grew up in Buenos Aires and learned the art of Argentinian cooking from his grandmother. He moved to the States in the early 2000s and opened Boludo in 2018. Here he hand shapes pizza dough into oblong shapes and layers them with interesting toppings like creamed leeks and gorgonzola, corn and chile peppers, and beef picadillo with ají molido and olives. You can also grab empanadas and desserts like churro doughnuts and flan. Zimmern said he hits Boludo up for, "Pepperoni hand pies that seem to be oval pizzas ... Who cares, delicious." There are four different Boludo locations in Minneapolis where you can get your pizza fix.
When we asked Zimmern where he goes when he's in the mood for something sophisticated, he said Demi was at the top of his list. He believes that if this contemporary restaurant was in another state, it would easily have two Michelin stars. Zimmern said, "Demi is the best restaurant in the seven-state upper Midwest area and a top 100 national treasure. Local doesn't even begin to describe the literal 'taste of place' that Demi creates with every service." The artfully prepared dishes at Demi feature a mix of local Minnesota ingredients and rare ingredients from across the globe. Previous specials have included foie gras with green apple mostarda and watercress and pheasant breast and sausage wrapped in bacon, steamed, sliced, and served with polenta and a Jimmy Nardello pepper puree.
Zimmern is always on the lookout for interesting new spots, and one of the places that's impressed him recently is Diane's Place. Owner and executive chef Diane Moua is an acclaimed pastry chef who creates delectable pastries, sweet treats, and brunch dishes. She also draws on her Hmong heritage to whip up innovative dinner dishes like Hmong sausage with sticky rice, papaya noodle salad, and sour pork short ribs. If you fancy something boozy to go with your meal, there's also a great selection of hand-crafted cocktails. Zimmern said, "I adore this place. To be so good at croissants and laminated pastries and nail house chile sauces for their Hmong sausage is a feat that is really hard to pull off. It's my favorite new restaurant in the Twin Cities."
Several restaurants in the Twin Cities have long-term staying power thanks to their consistently good cuisine. One that Zimmern appreciates is Alma. He said, "More than 20 years old and still crushing it. Not so much fine dining as just excellent dining." Located on the ground floor of Alma Hotel, Restaurant Alma offers seasonal tasting menus that showcase local ingredients like smoked ham hock and Badger Flame beets. The dishes are typically familiar yet elevated and always changing, so you can have a different dining experience every time you visit. The restaurant is only open for dinner and offers four-course set menus with optional wine pairings. If you're looking for something more low-key, the bakery next door offers pastries, breakfast dishes, sandwiches, and salads. You can also grab a glass of wine or a cocktail.
Looking for a spot that offers divine dishes all day long? Zimmern recommends Mara. He said, "Best brunch in the Twin Cities, but their Mediterranean menu is extraordinary for dinner ... and it's the best lunch value in town. An underrated gem." This inviting spot is located in the Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis and has something to please everyone. You can swing by for breakfast dishes like Belgian waffles and avocado toast or pop in at lunchtime for midday eats like the fattoush salad and Chermoula chicken skewers. Come dinner, you can grab a seat at the bar for light bites or settle in the dining room for tasty dishes that include the octopus carpaccio, roasted tomato bucatini with shrimp and lobster roe, and grilled lamb with sprouted legume and wild rice falafel.
Step into 112 Eatery and you'll find yourself in a cozy spot with brick walls and dark wooden tables and booths. The vibe is relaxed and the kitchen puts out tasty dishes that are both comforting and contemporary. Take for example the burrata toast with walnut pesto and the tagliatelle with foie gras meatballs. The thoughtful menu caters to all types of diners with dishes for vegetarians, vegans, meat eaters, and pescatarians. It's a great dinner spot where you can indulge in a multi-course meal or just chill with a glass of wine and a cheese plate. The desserts are also ultra-tempting. Zimmern said of 112 Eatery, "Still my fave late-night spot. Superb food in a great bar, small, humble, and excellent. Hamburgers on English muffins and a tres leches cake that is still the best."
Based on his favorite restaurant picks, it's clear that Zimmern has an affinity for Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Hmong cuisine. Luckily for him, there are plenty of restaurants in the Twin Cities that serve Hmong-style cuisine. That's not surprising considering that Minneapolis-St. Paul has the largest Hmong population in the U.S. with roughly 81,000 people of Hmong descent. Vinai is one of the spots that Zimmern believes stands out. He called it, "A stunner of a Hmong restaurant with a grilled meats and fish program that I love. Big flavors and delicious food." Chef Yia Vang puts modern spins on traditional Hmong dishes like curry rice balls with blue crab, "hilltribe" grilled chicken with Southeast Asian sofrito and a coconut ginger vinaigrette, and braised beef rib with sour bamboo and mushrooms. You can also choose from a variety of housemade hot sauces.
Located across from St. Kate's University in St. Paul, Myriel is a spot that Zimmern described as, "Homey Scando-grandmother food in a modest space with insane quality." You can sidle up to the cozy bar or grab a seat in the dining room to indulge in seasonal dishes that change regularly. There's usually a good selection of vegetarian dishes on the menu, some of which feature wild ingredients and produce from small farms. Heirloom blue corn, wild plums, and radish greens have all made appearances on the menu. For meat dishes, Myriel only buys whole animals, so you'll often find interesting cuts and charcuterie on offer. You can opt for a la carte dishes or go for the tasting menu and let the kitchen impress you with a variety of culinary creations.
Not too far from Myriel is Estelle, a casual spot that specializes in Southern European fare. As Zimmern described it, "Spanish-Portuguese hybrid. Delish." The bar is the place to be if you want to experience pinxtos, which are the Basque Country equivalent of tapas. The bar snacks include bacon-wrapped dates and avocado mousse with crostini, and they're best washed down with a glass or two of Spanish wine. The main menu is served in the dining room and includes dishes like roasted piri piri chicken and rigatoni with fennel sausage, onion, roasted red pepper, and Calabrian chiles. Don't skip dessert or you'll be missing out on some enticing treats like the pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard egg tarts) and a honey cake with honey de leche, hazelnut praline, and honeycomb toffee.
It's easy to see why Zimmern is a fan of Young Joni. It's owned by Ann Kim, a James Beard Award-winning chef who is renowned for her fun take on pizzas. The interior is warm and welcoming with big glass windows that look out to the street, and the menu has a great selection of intriguing dishes. You could start with chili-glazed prawns or kalbi beef ribs. The pizzas are an absolute must with creative pies like the Perfect Pickle pie with sour pickles, mozzarella, fontina, smoked onions, chili, ranch dressing, potato chips, and dill. Zimmern said, "Come for the pizzas and Korean-inspired small plates, but don't skip the whole fish of the day." There is also a not-so-secret speakeasy-style bar in the back alley where you can get craft cocktails and pizza.
Housed in a former dive bar and strip club, Hai Hai is now a chic restaurant serving vibrant Southeast Asian-inspired cocktails and cuisine. Zimmern considers it an essential addition to any foodie's Twin Cities restaurant list. He said, "Love the flavors and party vibe in Christina Ngyuen's Viet-inspired restaurant that just earned her a James Beard Award." You can go just for drinks and tasty snacks like salt and pepper fried tofu and beef grilled in betel leaves. However, you'll probably want to save room for a main meal. Larger dishes include a banana blossom cobb salad, beef rendang, and Vietnamese crepes filled with your choice of pork belly and shrimp or shiitake mushroom and squash puree. You can finish your meal with desserts like the Thai tea tiramisu and passion fruit posset.
Tilia is a Minneapolis restaurant that Zimmern believes deserves more praise than it gets. He described it as, "A nearly perfect neighborhood restaurant from a chef (Steven Brown) who should have won more awards over the years than almost anyone else I can think of. Love his food." The vibe is friendly, the interior is inviting with a curved bar and polished wooden tables, and there is a garden patio for warm-weather days and nights. The dishes are homey with options like the cacio e pepe pasta, petite tenderloin with peppercorn mustard and kale pesto, and a cheeseburger with maple bacon jam. Tilia also does a weekend brunch with delish dishes like chilaquiles, eggs Benedict, and smoked salmon on an everything bagel.