Sharyn Jackson

1 week ago | startribune.com | Sharyn Jackson

It was a gloriously sunny day in downtown Anoka, lending an ideal backdrop to a restaurant and bar hop, checking out shops along the way. If local businesses have their way, crowds will head to the area in the coming months to do just that, as the season for downtown Anoka's social district, which started May 1 and runs through early October, gets underway.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Sharyn Jackson

Within hours, word came that a Minneapolis food hall known for launching one of the area's most popular pizza shops and the state's only gluten-free brewery were closing - both on May 10. The North Loop Galley food hall, in the Nordic building at 729 Washington Av. N., is the current home of Wrecktangle Pizza, Ono Hawaiian Plates, Ramen Kawae and Good Boy.

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Sharyn Jackson

As frequent restaurant-goers with a long list of places we want to try, it can be frustrating to return to the same old spots when the kids are in tow. Even more so when those spots must have a hot dog to even get them through the door. But we are all about trying mightily to expose our kids to food that doesn't come out of a box or freezer, and when great restaurants make an effort to not just tolerate but welcome the youngest set of diners, we take notice.

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Sharyn Jackson

Yuzu poppyseed doughnut at Moona Moono Angie Lee relocated from New York City to Minneapolis during the pandemic to pod up with her sister - and just happened to find herself in proximity to a fantastic doughnut shop. "New Yorkers think they have the corner on great bakeries, but they've got nothing on Minnesotans," she said. Years later, she crossed paths with a woman who struck her as a kindred spirit. Turns out, she's the entrepreneurial force behind those doughnuts: Anne Rucker.

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Sharyn Jackson

There was a short, sharp ding, just loud enough to break through the enthusiastic hum that accompanies a good meal. Whenever the bell rang, everyone quieted down; it was time to hear from the chef. Ritter, who was previously the chef at Demi, a tasting-menu-only restaurant in the North Loop, moved to an a la carte format in early 2024, when he opened his James Beard-nominated ode to Midwestern ingredients with Parisian bistro-style point of view.