Are you visiting the Twin Cities and wondering where to get the best food? There are tons of amazing restaurants in the Cities all with amazing menus. However, you can get great food at a great restaurant anywhere. So what makes the Twin Cities cuisine unique? Keep reading to find the unique things to eat in Minneapolis that will leave you with a taste of the town.
The Juicy Lucy
Two grilled beef patties sealed around a slab of cheese. Yes please! These grilled burgers are the most famous thing to eat in Minneapolis. These burgers are grilled with the cheese inside so when you bite into them the cheese oozes out. You’ll find a variety of different takes on this classic Minneapolis staple.
Be careful when you bite into them. Every Juicy Lucy comes with a warning against burning your mouth. Because the cheese is cooked inside the burger it basically comes out at the temperature of molten lava.
Tater Tot Hotdish
My mom made this dish and called it lob-lolly – otherwise known as random leftovers cooked in a casserole dish with tater tots on top of it. So imagine my surprise when I moved to Minnesota only to discover that this was a prized comfort food. Minnesotans love it so much they even serve this in restaurants. In restaurants, you’ll find this casserole (hotdish in Minnesota) served with ground beef, creamy sauce, some kind of green thing with tater tots and cheese on top. You’re most likely to find this on menus at local bars with a great and extensive menu.
Fried Stuff
Sure you can get fried stuff everywhere. But you can get all of the amazing fried things in one place at the Minnesota State Fair! Every year the state fair comes to town and invents a new fried delicacy. From actual fried ice cream (not the fake kind with fried bits sprinkled on ice cream) and cookie dough to fried steak and fully fried sandwiches you tongue will love you and your heart will hate you for. But don’t think the fair is the only place to get them. These fried treats often make it onto dessert or appetizer menus in bars throughout town.
Walleye Fish Fry
Fish Fry’s in Minnesota are not just for lent. Year round, you’ll find that fish specials at sit down restaurants on Friday are popular. With the land of 10,000 lakes, it’s no wonder that fish makes our list of the best things to eat in Minneapolis. But not just any fish, try the Walleye. This medium weight flaky fish is fun to fish for and yummy to eat! If you don’t want it fried in the traditional cornmeal batter, you can also have it broiled. Most fish fry’s include a side of potato and vegetable or salad.
Minnesota Wines
The University of Minnesota has long been working to develop and perfect cold weather grapes. So trying a local Minnesota wine is a must-do when visiting the Twin Cities. These wines are so unique we can’t even compare them to other more common wines. However, we will warn that they do make drier wines. So try our favorites, a Frontenac Gris (sweeter white) or a Marquette (dry red) and enjoy this unique wine flavor that you can only find in the cold weather wine regions just down the road from the University that developed the grapes.
Pho
The Hmong and Vietnamese community is large and vibrant in Minneapolis. So this is a great place to try the staple dish of many of these restaurants: Pho. This comfort soup takes forever to cook correctly at home. So ordering out while vacationing in Minneapolis is a good idea. Broth for this soup can simmer for hours to get the right flavor. Then add in rice noodles, veggies, fresh herbs and protein. These big bowls of soup serve as a full meal.
Apples and Such
Apple orchards are common throughout the state so it’s no wonder that apples are common in lots of things to eat in Minneapolis. From apple pie, to apple sauces on meats, to apple cider of the hard variety – it’s all good.
Ethiopian Food
Surprisingly Minneapolis has a large variety of East African restaurants. And since most people will never get a chance to visit that region, it’s one of our must-try things to eat in Minneapolis. Don’t know what to order at an Ethiopian restaurant – it’s okay we don’t either. Instead we order a meat sampler platter (you can do veggie too). Most Ethiopian restaurants in the Cities offer these sampler platters to cater to those of us who have no idea what we want. These sampler platters typically have a wide variety of stews and grilled items served with the spongy injera bread.
Wild Rice
Wild Rice is the state grain of Minnesota. And you’ll find bags of it for sale at every tourist shop in town. So this is one of the things to eat in Minneapolis that you can take to go. Or find a local farm to table restaurant and order a wild rice dish. On menus around town you’ll find this grain used in place of other grains (like in pancakes or as a thickener in burgers) or you’ll see it as an ingredient in soups or as a common side dish.
Scandinavian Food
Scandinavian Food is popular in Minnesota due to the large number of Scandinavian immigrants that live here. Minneapolis is even the home of the American Swedish Institute. However, don’t let a visit to this museum/genealogy hotspot be the only hint of Scandinavian that you get on a visit. Try leftse a Scandinavian thin bread or Swedish pancakes.
I hope this list of things to eat in Minneapolis has helped inspire you to try something new or something unique on your visit to the Twin cities. If you’re still wondering what to do with the time that you’re not eating, check out our list of things to do in Minneapolis here.
