Review
Winona Riverside Bistro: Four Loons for the Driftless Country
A second visit, an extraordinary meal, and the publication's first four-loon award.
Worth the Drive
Honest reviews forMinnesota's best tablesand bars.
Independent and reader-supported — reviews, venues, recipes, and essays from Minnesota, written for readers, paid for by readers.
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Review
Vermilion Cocktail Lounge, Revisited: Three Loons for Duluth's Best Room
A return visit confirms Vermilion as the most serious bar program between the Twin Cities and the Canadian border.
Worth the Drive
Review
Prairie Root Cellar, Revisited: Three Loons and a Case for Saint Cloud
The Central Minnesota kitchen has clarified into one of the state's most deliberate rooms.
Worth the Drive
Essays & guides
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Essay
The First Saturday of the Farmers Market Season
On the brief, specific euphoria of Minnesota spring produce and the problem of wanting too much of it at once.
Essay
What Aquavit Means Here
On the Nordic spirit, its Minnesota roots, and why it has taken this long for the local bar culture to catch up.
Essay
The Supper Club Is a Serious Room
On what the Minnesota supper club gets right that most restaurants are still trying to figure out.
Behind the bar & in the kitchen
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Cocktail
Cedar Smoke Old Fashioned
A Minnesota-cedar-smoked bourbon old fashioned for a long November evening.
Cocktail
Aquavit and Tonic
The Nordic spirit's answer to a gin and tonic, and in Minnesota, possibly the better answer.
Cocktail
Wild Rye and Rhubarb Collins
Spring's first sour thing, stretched tall with rye and soda.
Across Minnesota
From the North Shore to the Twin Cities.
Every room we cover, plotted where it actually stands — a supper club on Lake Superior, a bakery in Saint Paul, a cocktail bar above the lift bridge. Find a table near you, or plan the drive.
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