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What I ate in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Blog by: Maelynn Le

5 November 2022

All photos were taken by Maelynn Le unless noted

Photo by: Lonely Planet


When I tell friends and family that I am heading to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, they asked me ”why out of any other city and state?” When I ask people if they every been to Minneapolis, 98% of my friends said they NEVER have been to Minnesota in general. I actually am not quite why people don’t travel here often. I started to laugh because I thought it was super funny that a lot of people in California have never been to the Twin Cities. I have to say, there is a great amount of tourists attractions in Minneapolis/St. Paul and of course the food scene is so special. I would describe the food scene as very diverse, melting pot, and hidden. There are so many hidden gems in Minneapolis and St. Paul that it’s just amazing to see these businesses and restaurants making authentic food. You can see and try different cuisines here as none of the restaurants are sectioned off into their own section. What I mean by that is there is no Chinatown, Little Italy, etc here as everything is a melting pot of different types of cuisines and cultures in one area. I would say the different between Minneapolis and St. Paul is Minneapolis has more trendy and newer restaurants while St. Paul has more historic/farmhouse charm restaurants that are very precious. A lot of the restaurants in St. Paul have been in business for more than 10-40 years. I think that is just crazy in my opinion Overall, the Twin Cities have an amazing food scene that is just not established enough but hoping they can be more well-known one day. Here are all of the amazing restaurants/businesses I went to.


  1. Hope Breakfast Bar

I had hope the breakfast spot was a smashing hit and turns out it was! I started St. Paul with a bang this morning by having an incredible brunch at Hope breakfast bar! I honestly love these brunch items because they taste like heaven and I couldn’t stop eating everything! My favorite item would be the pina colada French toast because it was sweet, nutty, and the sauce was yummy! I love the addition of the coconut shredding so to the top because it added a nice nutty and sweet element on top! I also love the playfulness of the cotton candy! The jalapeño and veg sandwich was also another one of my favs because the acidity of the pickles with the creamy earthiness of the avocado was delicious! Did you also notice how fluffy and massive those pancakes are? Indeed, they were so fluffy and the blueberry was subtle and sweet.


2. La Grolla

Photo: Penne Alla Vodka, Cappelletti AI Quattro Formaggi, Bruschetta Classica, Crème brûlée, Cannoli


Did you know this restaurant has been opened for almost 30 years? That is insane! This historic Italian with some modern touch ups is the spot to go to for Italian food! My favorite has to be the Cappelletti AI Quattro Formaggi because of how creamy the sauce was and the filling inside had a nice funky taste! The bruschetta is another one of my favorites as the tomatoes, cheese, and olives were a joy to taste! I'm in LOVE with the Crème brûlée as it was so delicious, rich, creamy, and had a nice burnt flavor. Probably one of the best crème brûlée's I ever had which I can't believe either. It's such a nice decadent dessert that is such and Italian stable. I'm in love with La Grolla and their dishes are bomb so make sure you check them out when you are in the St. Paul Area! This is comfort Italian food at its best!


3. Coconut and Whisk

Photo: Strawberry Cheesecake Drink and Waffle Sticks: The Cloud Berrry


Located at Nicollet Mall, Coconut and Whisk is an ALL Vegan boba and snack shop. If you love boba and snacks and are vegan, you MUST check out this place! I got their strawberry cheesecake Cheezo drink and it tasted like cheesecake! The strawberries were fresh and the crystal boba had a nice hard texture. The “cheese” on top is vegan and is not as thick as cheese foam! The vegan waffle sticks were very tasty and that strawberry blueberry sauce was so yummy to taste! Thye also have vegan pancake/waffle mixes and vegan cookie mixes as well! I recommend buying them because the recipe was so simple and I had a lot of fun making them with my roommate. I truly love this shop because it’s all vegan!


4. Eat To

Photo: Pesto

You know I crave Italian food an this has been one of the BEST Italian spots I’ve been to! I wanted to tell you this one dish you MUST get! It’s the Taleggio and honey Pizza! Taleggio is a really Smokey funky cheese that taste very bitter! If you eat it alone, it’s very funky. With the honey, there’s a nice sweetness that counters the cheese and the rosemary acts as a nice bright note. Together, the funky, earthy, and sweet ingredients go together in one pizza! It just works all together and that’s the pizza I would get! It’s MY FAVORITE pizza of all time! The other dishes were out of this world as well and I recommend the pasta and seasonal veggies as well! Everything is made homemade, authentically, and organically!


5. Love you Cookie

Photo: Confetti Cake and Chocolate chip Cashew with Sea Salt


Love you Cookie is based in Minneapolis, MN! Look at your local grocery store coffee shop, or co-op to find these thick cookies! Yes they deliver to you!!! The perfect cookies for the perfect day! A nice thick cookie is what I need during this trip! The confetti cookie is basically a sugar cookie with fun sprinkles to make it fun! The chocolate chip sea salt has a nice salty sweet flavor that was addicting and yummy! If you love thicker cookies, Love you cookie is the perfect cookie company!!!! I love them very much!


6. Manny’s Steakhouse

Photo: 65 day aged bone in New York Steak


Manny’s Steakhouse is located inside the W-Foshay Hotel. This resturant is known to be one of America’s top 10 steakhouses nationwide. Their Heritage Beef is sourced from our own herds and comes from cattle sired by our own bull, American Made, and his siblings. Their 100% hormone-free, genetically confirmed Bull-to-Table beef gives the utmost in flavor and tenderness in every cut and bite. In the beggining, one of the servers (I had Shaun) gives a brief intro on what types of cuts of meat the restaurant serves. The presentation was well-presented and I love the mannerism and cleanliness the restaurant strives for. I definitely would say this one of the top 10 steakhouses because the meats are so juicy, flavorful, and there’s a nice variety of cuts you can choose from! Most of their steaks are dry-aged so you get that nice tender and juicy flavor a steak should have. Just look how pink it is in the center! I love a nice medium Rare cut and it’s perfect! Very nice seasoning and the cut is very nice quality! The other dishes like the lobster crab cakes were delicious as well! Nice tender texture and the flavor was yummy!


7. Mochi Dough

Photo: Taro, black sesame, pumpkin spice, maple glaze, apple pie, funnel cake

Located near the University of Minnesota, mochi dough has their own location in Minneapolis. I normally don’t go to franchises because the Bay Area already has a location however, I was craving mochi donuts during the trip. I can honestly say, I am so happy I went here because the flavors and texture were so on point. It has to be one of my favorite mochi donut spots of all time! The texture of the mochi donuts were very chewy and the flavors were on point that I can actually taste them! Not sure if they still have some fall flavors but I would recommend trying out the maple leaf, pumpkin, and apple pie mochi donuts! They are perfect for the fall occasion and we’re so addicting!


8. Treats

Photo: Crisp N Cream and No Cereal Club


St Paul‘s sweetooth scene is absolutely perfect! Are you a dessert fan? Craving cereal, ice cream, boba, and other desserts, you deserve s treat! From Milk shakes, to waffles, to cereal, to ice cream, to boba, it’s sugar dessert heaven here at Treats! My favorite would have to be the No cereal club! That Lucius strawberry flavor is just phenomenal! The strawberry flavor is very refreshing and sweet! It’s just what I need in St. Paul, even though it was so cold! If y’all judge me for having ice cream and boba on a cold day in St. Paul, y’all are insane haha! Make sure you check out Treats!


9. Bober Tea


Photo: Signature milk Tea and Pink Haze


Whenever I go to a new state, I have to get some boba and try out the boba scenter in each state. Located in the same building as Mochi dough, Bober has great and trendy drinks you will love! My absolute favorite has to be the Mung Bean drink! It had a nice sweet and nutty flavor that you will just love! Th brown sugar drink was also a delight as well. The boba texture was perfect and the drink wasn’t too sweet. Minnesota knows how to do boba right! They have other locations across the US so make sure you find the nearest one to you!

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