Spicy-puckery buffalo chicken, grilled to juicy perfection.
Served over fluffy rice speckled with roasted cauliflower bits and herbs.
Topped with a freshy-fresh little cucumber and tomato situation.
Dolloped with a spoonful of creamy dill dip.
And hungry you, at lunchtime, with this exciting little container of flavor fireworks awaiting you.
I mean, come on! It’s juicy, spicy, and cool and crunchy and almost comforting all at the same time. And the fact that this is an all-around feel-good with big flavor and a yummy mix of protein and fiber and carbs…
This is the energy we are bringing into the month of September.
Fresh, clean, big and bold, and just generally ON IT.
In This Post: Everything You Need For Buffalo Chicken Bowls
If You’re Not Already, You Should Be Shopping At ALDI
Here’s the deal. ALDI is a really important part of our weekly grocery situation at home for two reasons: 1) the products are good – like, GOOD good, and often organic! and 2) it saves us money.
We get so many of our basics from ALDI every week:
organic whole milk
organic produce
organic grains
organic yogurt
And if you’re not already shopping there, I just think that as we get into the fall times with back to school, making more regular grocery trips, getting back on the meal planning train, etc. – you’re going to want to be doing some weekly stock-ups.
Check out this post of 21 Things You Should Absolutely Be Buying at ALDI to get you started if you’re not sure. Or DM me on Instagram and I’ll send you the detailed receipts of all my weekly Instacart orders to ALDI so you can see what I’ve been mowing down on every week. (Kidding, sort of?)
Everything you need for this recipe can be found at ALDI – yay! – and some of the featured items would be their Simply Nature Organic Thin Sliced Chicken Breast Fillets (love that you can buy them already thinly sliced!), their frozen Season’s Choice Riced Cauliflower, their fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, their Park Street Deli Dill Dip, and their Simply Nature Organic White Rice.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken
There’s a lot of buffalo chicken in the world. This buffalo chicken is:
Marinated and grilled, not breaded and fried
Super super easy
Packed with flavor
Extra juicy
Golden and beautiful
Versatile and can go with just about everything.
To make the chicken, just marinate it with some pantry basics… and then grill it.
And if you’re like me you can just use a grill pan right on your stove and avoid the actual grill which isn’t hard but sometimes just feels hard, know what I mean?
Marinate and inside-grill. Easiest. Ever.
I prefer the thinly cut chicken breasts because they cook more quickly and evenly.
How To Make Cauliflower Garlic Rice
This might actually deserve its own post later on because it’s one of my new favorite ways to rice.
It’s really a hybrid regular rice and cauliflower rice:
You cook the rice.
You roast the cauliflower rice.
And then you combine the two.
They really do need each other, ya know? Like plain white rice on its own doesn’t have enough zazz, and cauliflower rice on its own leaves you a little carb-sad. So roasting the cauliflower rice to concentrate the flavor and get a little crispy browned texture, and then tossing it in with the regular rice to help it be more yummy and interesting? It is SUCH a win. Part veg, part carb, all-around texture and flavor winner.
Every time I make this rice, Bjork raves about it and my kids are all over it.
How To Store This Buffalo Chicken
The chicken and the rice will store beautifully together in the fridge for a couple of days.
The veggies will prep well, too! But they should just stay in their own container so that they don’t have to be heated up when you reheat the individual portions.
I’d recommend storing the rice and chicken in individual containers, and then just keeping a side container for your toppers (the fresh veg and the dip).
Speaking Of Toppings
The dill dip is what I used here – because I am a sucker for the dill dip at ALDI. (Okay, fine, all their dips.)
But any store bought sauce you like that has some kind of creaminess would be great. Even just… ranch? If you wanted to go the homemade route I feel like either this magic green sauce or this jalapeño ranch would be really, really good.
All of this is weirdly getting me kind of excited for that September back-to-everything rush. Is this allowed? Can we be excited to pack up our little lunches and eat buffalo chicken and garlic cauliflower rice? Because that’s where I’m at.
Buffalo Chicken Bowls: Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best way to store this for meal prep?
Store the chicken and rice together in the container, and the tomatoes, cucumber, and dill dip separate. After you’ve warmed the chicken and rice, add the rest of it on top!
How spicy is this?
On its own, the chicken has a bit of a kick! But when combined with everything else, it really tones it down. If you’re concerned about it being too spicy, feel free to reduce the amount of hot sauce.
The ultimate meal prep: Buffalo Chicken Bowls! Spicy buffalo chicken, a fluffy rice and cauliflower rice combo, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and a dollop of creamy dill dip.
Ingredients
Units
For the Chicken:
1lb. Simply Nature Organic Thin Sliced Chicken Breast Fillets, pounded or cut in half lengthwise so they are flat and thin
1/4cupBurman’s Hot Sauce
2tablespoonsSpecially Selected Raw Honey
1teaspoon garlic powder
1teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoon onion powder
black pepper to taste
For the Rice:
1cupSimply Nature Organic White Rice
1 package Season’s Choice Riced Cauliflower
1–2 tablespoons of Simply Nature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Marinate Chicken: Place chicken, buffalo sauce, honey, garlic powder, paprika, salt, onion powder, and black pepper in a bowl or bag. Place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Cook Rice: Cook rice according to package directions.
Roast Cauliflower: Place cauliflower rice on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes until partially browned and a little roasty. Add roasted cauliflower rice to cooked rice. (Optional: season with garlic powder, lemon juice, parsley, or parmesan.)
Cook Chicken: Heat a grill pan over high heat. Add a little olive oil if needed, then add the marinated chicken pieces, discarding extra marinade. Cook for a few minutes on each side until nice and browned, and no longer pink on the inside. Remove from the pan and let rest for a few minutes.
Serve: Slice chicken and serve with a scoop of cauliflower rice. Top with sliced cucumber and tomato and a dollop of dill dip or ranch dressing. Yum!
Notes
Nutrition note: Nutrition label does not include dip or dressing.
If you want to make this as a meal prep recipe in individual containers, just package the rice and chicken together. Keep the cucumber, tomato, and dip separate, and add them after you heat up the individual servings.
Introducing: your new favorite lunch for the foreseeable future!
These are Ang’s chicken wraps: basically a quick summer lunch that my friend Ang got me hooked on that includes not one but two sauces. TWO sauces! Or two dips, depending on if you’re generously saucing the wrap, or dipping the pieces of chicken and lettuce and juicy tomato while assembling this at the kitchen counter. Both accepted.
You know this chicken wrap is going to be good because Ang does not steer us wrong – think Ang’s tortellini soup? This is a friend who knows how to make delicious food.
What’s In These Chicken Wraps
rotisserie chicken
a “cheddar cheese crispy” – more on this in a second
fresh tomato chunks
fresh (raw) sweet corn
fresh lettuce
pickled red onion
Chick-Fil-A sauce
and ranch dressing.
Would also like to announce that I’m now officially obsessed with the Joseph’s brand wraps(affiliate link) with oat bran, flax, and whole wheat because they are chewy, stretchy, and zero percent dry. I love them so much. It’s everything my 90’s wrap-loving self wants a wrap to be.
What Is a Cheddar Cheese Crispy
It’s a little flat and crispy piece of melted, then cooled, then crunchy cheddar cheese.
Is it the sharp tangy flavor? the crunchy texture? I’m not sure why this little extra cheddar cheese crispy makes these chicken wraps so good, but it really brings it all to the next level.
Basically you’re going to take your shredded cheddar cheese and make a little pile in a skillet.
Let it melt, let it crispify, and then pull it off like it’s a crispy giant cheddar cheese chip.
You COULD add the tortilla to the pan over the cheese, but I like to do it this way because a) the cheese gets more crispy, and b) it prevents the wrap from soaking up all that excess oil. Not that we’re afraid of oil, but there are already a lot of satisfying elements in this wrap including, as mentioned, TWO sauces. I felt like the wraps just seemed a bit fresher without that oil soaking in, so I prefer to make the cheddar cheese crispy on its own and then add it to the wrap.
How To Make Pickled Red Onion
First of all, let’s establish that you’re definitely going to be better off slicing your onion on a mandoline, if you can! Get that onion sliced super thinly – it’s just so much more satisfying to bite into small wispy pieces of fresh onion rather than a big ol’ crunchy piece.
From there, you can decide whether or not you want to pickle the onions. I LOVE pickled onions on many different things so I find it a great excuse to get a jar of these in my fridge. Here’s what I like to do.
Put a thinly sliced red onion in a jar.
Add a generous pinch of both salt and sugar.
Fill about a third of the way with white vinegar.
Finish the jar off with warm water.
Give it a good shake and then place it in the fridge.
The red onions should be “pickled” (soft and tangy) in about an hour! They’ll last in the fridge for a week or two and go well on wraps, but also things like black bean tacos and tikka masala rice bowls.
(I included the pickled red onion instructions in the notes portion of the recipe, too, so you can reference it there as well.)
Pickled red onion for life!
Best Type Of Chicken For a Wrap
Okay, finally, a few words about the best type of chicken for these wraps.
You have a couple options for the type of chicken you want to use here.
Grilled Chicken
Grilled chicken breasts or grilled chicken thighs probably have the best texture and flavor – it’s juicy, it has a nice char outside, and usually it’s been marinated ahead of time to give a lot of flavor. This is probably also the healthiest option.
I really like this all-purpose marinade for grilled chicken. You don’t have to marinate it for the full time Jess recommends (although you’ll probably get more flavor if you do). I find that even 30 minutes with this marinade will give your chicken really awesome flavor before it hits the grill.
That being said, you don’t always have time to grill chicken or have leftover grilled chicken in the fridge (and by you, I mean me). So that brings us to…
Rotisserie Chicken
Reasons to love rotisserie chicken in a wrap:
It’s delicious.
It’s easy.
It falls apart into shreds pretty much perfectly.
You get a mix of light and dark meat.
You can use the bones and skin for making chicken stock when you’re done.
I almost always use rotisserie chicken for these chicken wraps but Ang uses grilled chicken (and she is the OG here).
And finally, if you really need that extra crunch in your life…
Crispy Chicken
Crispy chicken is delicious here, as it always is. You could make your own – we have a really yummy fried chicken recipe that is marinated in buttermilk (heavenly). But honestly, these wraps are low-key and most of us probably don’t need to exert that much energy for a casual lunch between Zoom meetings, right?
So if crispy chicken is in your heart, I would advise you to just take the crispy-chicken-from-the-freezer route.
I love the ALDI green bag chicken, aka the Parmesan Herb Encrusted Chicken Tenders. They’re actually pieces of raw but breaded chicken breasts that you can pop in the oven for 25 minutes and get a really delicious crispy, juicy piece of chicken with a lot of flavor and crunch. They’re awesome on salads, sandwiches, and, hey! Wraps.
At the end of the day, all you need to know is that these wraps are SO VERY DELICIOUS. Absolutely essential way to ride out these last few weeks of summer.
Bjork loves them, I love them, and the girls love them – a rare 4-way win in this house!
Hellllooo quick summer lunch! These chicken wraps have me hooked. Shredded chicken, crispy cheddar cheese, fresh veg like tomato, corn, and lettuce, some pickled red onion, and not one, but TWO sauces.
Ingredients
Units
Chicken Wraps:
1 1/2cupsshredded cheddar cheese
whole wheat wraps(I *really* love the Joseph’s brand – affiliate link)
about a pound of grilled chicken or pulled rotisserie chicken meat, cut into small pieces
2 ears fresh sweet corn, cut off the cob
1red onion, very thinly sliced (see notes)
a head of fresh lettuce, shredded
a couple of small fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced or chopped
Your Double Dips:
really good ranch dressing (for store-bought I am partial to the OG ranch: Hidden Valley, and for homemade I like this jalapeño ranch)
Make your cheddar cheese crispies: place the cheese in little piles in a nonstick or cast iron pan (I do 2 at a time). Leave it over medium heat until the cheese melts and starts to get crispy around the edge. Once it’s crisped up, you can gently remove it from the pan. And as it sits on a plate to cool, it will harden and get light and crunchy!
Arrange your wraps: place the cheese crisp down on the wrap (I put it so it aligns with one edge of the wrap). Add chicken and cover with a squizzle of Chick-Fil-A sauce. Add corn, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and top with ranch. Fold it up and devour!
Notes
You can use thinly sliced red onion on the wrap, or you can make quick pickled onions! To make the pickled onions, place thinly sliced red onions in a jar. Add a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, and fill about 1/3 of the way with white vinegar. Fill the jar to the top with water. Shake it up and pop it in the fridge. It’ll be ready / pickly in about an hour and you can keep them in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
The beauty of this is that any dips or sauces can work! I am loving the Chick-Fil-A / ranch combo this summer, but you can do this with any store-bought or homemade sauces.
And we’re back atcha with a detailed list of all our favorite places to eat in the Twin Cities.
Whether you are visiting, new here, or a long-time resident who panics every time you actually get a night out and then can only think of the same two restaurants to go to…well, we have some food finds for you.
Like, amazing places you can go and people will deliver food and drinks to you and you absolutely don’t have to have anything to do with making them. Sure, we’re predominantly a recipe blog over here, but now we want to tell you (ask you? kindly demand?) to go ahead and check every single one of these establishments off your list because the Twin Cities has a pretty amazing restaurant scene.
This list has been a team effort – we’re not saying we have a dedicated Slack channel where all we do is tell each other where to go and what to eat but also, OF COURSE WE DO. So here’s a little round-up from all of us of these must-eat spots.
From coffee to dinner, this post lists our collective favorites for:
Is this a professional food critic’s list of the top restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul? No.
Is this a list of some of OUR favorite places? The ones that we know and love, that have our hearts, that recognize our faces because we frequent them so much? Yes!
Bless you, hungry eater in Minneapolis / St. Paul! We hope you find just what you’re looking for.
If we could permanently reside on the outdoor patio at Penny’s downtown (pictured above), we would. Tons of seating options, a grassy hill to relax on, and GLORIOUS SHADE. Sweet, sweet shade for those hot summer days.
What we order: Penny’s Cold Brew, Matcha or Golden Latte, a delicious sweet or savory crepe, and whatever beautiful pastry we see in the case.
Situated smack dab on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul, you can enjoy your coffee inside the beautiful library-esque Nina’s, sit outside on the sidewalk on a sunny Sunday morning, or take your jolt to go and walk around one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.
What we order: Coffee coffee coffee! Latte, capuccino, Americano, espresso, whatever sounds good and makes us feel most like F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Come for the drinks, stay for the snacks. Or come for the snacks, stay for the drinks? The booths are cozy, the vibe is 10/10, and you can always sneak over to Bar La Grassa across the hall when you need second dinner.
What we order: For drinks, Burch Old Fashioned or a glass of red from their beautiful wine list. For snacks, Charred Leeks, Pickled Cauliflower Salad, Schupfnudeln, and PIZZA.
So many great local breweries here in the Twin Cities but Indeed is a treat. Amazing craft beers, a beautiful patio area, and if you’re lucky (and you usually are), the Revival food truck is right around the corner.
(Also, their community-driven charitable initiative, Indeed We Can, is another excellent reason to get over there on any given Wednesday night.)
What we order: Flavorwave IPA, Pistachio Cream Ale, or the Mexican Honey Light.
This super fun secret bar is gorgeously designed like a prohibition-era speakeasy with a tricky-to-find, hidden entrance and all. Beautiful ambience, truly excellent craft cocktails, and if you happen to get there when the house-made french onion dip is on the menu, you are in for a TREAT.
What we order: (the menu changes often but…) El Cucuy, Volstead’s Old Fashioned, New Romance
The drinks at Norseman are WILD. But in the best way. Also there’s a food truck right out front that has amazing tacos and really what more could you ever want?
What we order: Their menu changes often, so whatever funky new seasonal drink they’ve come up with is always gonna be good!
If you like your drink to not only taste good but look beautiful too, then this is your spot. The bar is small but that just means you’ll feel like a VIP.
What we order: G&T, Selene, or Martina Old Fashioned
Out of everywhere else for brunching in the Twin Cities, this is our go-to spot where we could almost just say “I’ll have the usual.” The usual being a giant breakfast burrito the size of your head.
What we order: Breakfast Burrito, Zone Omelette, or Cajun Hashbrowns – Tempeh Rueben if you’re there for lunch
1662 Grand Ave, St Paul (another location in Minneapolis)
Honestly, being at ALMA just makes you feel good. There’s a coursed dinner on the restaurant side that’s delicious, but the cafe side is airy, casual, and has breakfast all day.
What we order: Corner Store Breakfast Sandwich, Sunshine Helps Breakfast Sandwich (add bacon!), Blueberry Smoothie, House Fresh Ricotta and Toast, Bibb Lettuce Salad, and the Saffron Rice and Chickpeas.
Modern, fun food meets an actual 1957 diner. Plus a charming patio for the better-weather days. The menu is part classic and lovable, part zany and weird and really ridiculous. The best of both worlds!
What we order: Gary Cooper (fried chicken on a donut? you can’t make this up), Huevos Rancheros, or good ol’ Pancakes
Just a good, basic, strip mall, neighborhood sushi spot that will make all your dynamite roll dreams come true. Takeout is the reg for us, but contrary to everything you think, the in-house all-you-can-eat deal is actually kind of amazing.
What we order: Dynamite Roll, Kyoto Roll, Dragon Roll, and maybe Vegetable Tempura if you’re feeling greedy
Nothing special on the inside, other than a fresh basket of the most delicious, most life-changing Everything Bagels that you will ever sink your teeth into.
Annoying day at work. Broken heart. Speeding ticket. There is no bad-day-SOS situation that an India Palace curry with paneer naan can’t fix. This is the ultimate in comfort food.
What we order: Palak Aloo is honestly life changing – but also, Shahi Paneer, Vegetable Korma, Chicken Josh, Palak Paneer, and Paneer Naan
2570 Cleveland Ave N, St Paul (multiple locations in Twin Cities)
Food truck turned restaurant so you know it’s gonna be good. You can pick and choose between tacos and nachos and burritos and more, but we’re partial to a good plate of Chorizo Nachos. Recently opened a new location with more seating which can also be cute for a night out!
What we order: Chorizo Nachos and Carnitas Tacos / Fish Tacos combo
If we counted up all our Bitesquad orders at the office over the past few years, approximately 95% of them would be from Spitz. This restaurant is not exclusive to the Twin Cities and we don’t care. It’s a winner.
What we order: Street Cart Fries, Street Cart Doner, or Doner Basket (with falafel or beef/lamb)
Another legendary spot for our team (see here). A wide array of griddled arepas stuffed to the brim, cocktails that make you swoon, and some necessary yuca fries with the famous aioli verde. YUM.
What we order: Arepas! Duh. Specifically: Slow-Roasted Pork, Hola Hot Chicken, or Black Bean and Sweet Potato PLUS a side of yuca fries
Calling all vegans and non-vegans and people who just really like fun food! This one is a GAME-CHANGER. So much so that it inspired one of our favorite recipes on the blog.
What we order: Buffalo Cauliflower Wings (ALWAYS, and with extra ranch), Dirty Secret Burger, or Crunchwrap
Southern food, here you come. When the craving for fried chicken, sweet tea, fried green tomatoes, and banana cream pie strikes… this is the place. The St. Paul location is our hot spot.
What we order: Fried Chicken, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Banana Cream Pie
525 Selby Ave St. Paul(more locations in Twin Cities)
If you want to sit on a cute patio and eat a la carte tacos and drink margaritas with your BFFs, go here now. And by now we mean Tuesday because buy-two-get-one-free-tacos.
What we order: Barbacoa, Chipotle Camaron, or Carnitas Tacos (with a side of any of the amazing salsas)
2516 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis (location in St. Paul as well)
A super hip food hall hosting 9 different kitchens all bringing small and unique menus to the table. You could grab food all from one place or, do what we love to do, and bounce around to try several things! It’s so hard to choose! Oh, and it’s also a very fun spot for drinks with a self-pour tap wall featuring delicious beers, wines and ciders.
What we order: Burger and ice cream at Bebe Zito, Korean Chicken Sandwich and the Cauliflower at Abang Yoli, Chicken Momos at Momo Dosa.
Looking for the famous Juicy Lucy? Here you go! Yes, you could go to any of the amazing spots that serve it but we’re partial to the fries – er, the vibe – at the Nook (complete with vintage bowling alley downstairs).
Food truck turned restaurant, resulting in counter-service fusion food at its finest. Everything is a little mind-twisty, hugely flavorful, and extremely delicious.
What we order: Bangkok Burrito or Yum Yum Rice Bowl
Small menu, large beer list, cozy bar for winter, and great patio for summer. Stop in the more proper restaurant for a fancy steak or lobster mac and cheese, or opt for the bar-side for poutine and wings.
What we order: Giant pretzel, Gnome Burger and the fries – oh my goodness, THE FRIES
This gem over in Northeast serving up traditional food from Ecuador is truly not to be missed! (But you *could* miss it while driving past because it is humble little guy!) The rich coconutty sauce in the encocado is seriously drinkable and you don’t want to leave this place without the patacones (fried green plantains). We don’t dream about them every night, but most.
What we order: Churrasco, Llampingachos Con Chorizo, Shrimp Encocado, Patacones Con Queso
Really, truly, hands-down the best fish & chips in the Cities. FIGHT US. Just kidding, please don’t. Just eat deliciously light, crisp-battered, perfectly salty fish & chips! Since this is the real authentic Irish deal, you’ll have to ask for tartar sauce, but do not skip.
What we order: Fish & Chips, (but also sometimes a Meat Pastie!)
Another amazing ambience and food extravaganza from the folks behind Hola. This brightly colored oasis is full of delicious craft cocktails and fresh, bold and zippy dishes inspired by Southeast Asian street food. Order everything, is that too much? The patio is also tops!
What we order: Spring Rolls, Crispy Salt & Pepper Tofu, Beef Laab Lettuce Wraps, Hanoi Sticky Rice, and Balinese Chicken Thigh.
They say they are bringing “a taste of Buenos Aires to Minneapolis” and WHOO-BOY, do they deliver! The pizza is unlike anything you’ve ever had and the Argentinian empanadas will not let you down. Are you going to also grab some churro donuts and flan? Listen, you’re going to be mad if you don’t.
What we order: Empanadas! (the Carne, Pollo, and Humita ones are faves). The Campo, Peras, and Sarandano pizzas.
Real talk: this is the best patio in all of the Twin Cities. THERE. We said it. Tucked into a charming and lush corner of old Saint Paul with the best cheese boards in town.
What we order: Charcuterie/cheese plates and of any their seafood dishes.
If we had to pick one spot to say “YOU HAVE TO GO HERE” it would be Bar La Grassa. Best pastas, best wine list, best cozy date-night atmosphere. Just, honestly, best everything.
What we order: Charred Red Onion and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Orange (A MUST), Pappardelle with Veal Ragu, Mushroom & Taleggio Agnolotti, Crab Ravioli.
A Saint Paul neighborhood favorite. Pasta, tapas, housemade desserts, the coziest bar, unique and delicious cocktails… Estelle’s got it all.
What we order: Patatas bravas, the pasta with jalapeño pesto, the silky sausage rigatoni, the cheeseburger, Star Bar for dessert, and any of their specialty cocktails.
If its long list of reservations doesn’t already tell you that it’s good, then you’ll just have to take our word for it when we say this: Korean. BBQ. Pizza.
What we order: The Cauliflower, Bibim Grain Bowl, and Korean BBQ Pizza, and Tavern Pie.
This sweet little family-owned pasta bar in South Minneapolis is and Italian gem. The pasta is always perfect, the sauces are drinkable and the wine menu has everything you need. Everything about it feels special.
What we order: Olive Ripiene, Burrata, Bucatini al Mascarpone e Ruccola, Fettucini con Gamberi, Spaghetti Bolognese, and Lemon Chicken Risotto
A teeny-tiny little pasta joint with a small and thoroughly excellent menu. Adorable patio for summer and fall, and cozy tables inside for the colder months. House-made pastas, creative appetizers, and a classic Italian hand-me-down recipe for that Mucci’s red sauce… so yes, you’ll want to eat everything.
What we order: Lasagna, Bucatini (POY version here), Chicken Parm, and for surely the Hangover Kale with a hunk of focaccia for dipping.
A spacious, airy, and Joanna-Gainesy looking space that is supremely comfortable and ideal for long catching-up conversations. Try not to get mesmerized by watching pizzas come in and out of the woodstone fire oven.
What we order: the Oliver’s salad (POY version here!), the loaded tots, the corn dip, the burgers or fried chicken sandwiches, OR the scrambler and breakfast tacos for brunch.
A little taste of the city food scene up here in the suburbs. Loaded with modern charm. Amazing pastries and creative, unique, fun lunch and dinner dishes.
What we order: Arancini, Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Churchill Burger, OR the Old Fashioned donut for morning times.
Absolute essential brunch experience for anyone living in the north suburbs. Less of a magazine vibe and more of a neighborhood bakery feel brimming with tried-and-true Scandinavian favorites.
What we order: Swedish Pancakes, Swedish Sausage Scrambler, Breakfast Croissant, Bacon Avocado Lefse Wrap, and of course, Swedish Meatballs (the best anywhere).
Kind of like a local-chain, upscale, grown-up Applebees – meaning this as a true compliment. Great place for happy hour or an outdoor dinner on their twinkle-lighty patio.
What we order: Buffalo Chicken Salad, Tavern Style Burger, Crab Artichoke Dip, and absolutely do not skip the waffle fries with the seasoned sour cream or – in true Midwestern form – one of their many varieties of housemade ranch.
A nearly-weekly takeout order for us in the colder months especially. The actual definition of comfort food. So lovely to have such amazing Indian food in our little Minnesotan suburb!
What we order: Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer or Palak Aloo, Paneer Shahi Korma, and the “Bread Basket” aka a sampler platter of all the varieties hot, steamy naan.
AKA Doug’s Place! Perfect little lunch stop with sandwiches as big as your whole head.
What we order: The California (ordering Lindsay-style will get you the aioli instead of the mayo, which is a winning swap), and the “Bjorkie” Reuben will get you a less meat, more kraut reuben that is very very yum.
3600 Lexington Ave. N, Shoreview
Do you have a favorite that’s NOT on our list? Leave it in the comments and tell us what to order. Pinky promise we will keep hunting down your good recommendations (and updating the list as necessary)!
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Category: Lunch
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
