Minneapolis' restaurant scene has been getting some major national love. Whether that's the James Beard Awards or Food and Wine, not to mention all the local love.
Now, Minneapolis's Bûcheron and Diane's Place have another huge honor: they've both been named to the New York Times' 50 Best Places In America Right Now list.
Bûcheron is really riding high right now, coming off a prestigious win for "Best New Restaurant" at this past year's James Beard Awards. The south Minneapolis bistro digs deep into those Scandinavia by way of Minnesota flavors.
Diane's Place, located in Northeast Minneapolis, brings Hmong cooking to Midwest favorites. Chef Diane Mou was up for a James Beard for "Best Chef: Midwest" but she lost out to another Twin Cities restaurant, Myriel's Karyn Tomlinson.
But it didn't take long for Mou and Diane's Place to find another honor. They were named Food and Wine's "Restaurant of the Year," with the publication saying the bring "the comforting flavors of Hmong cuisine to the forefront of American palates."
To make their selections, 14 of the NY Times reporters and editors took 76 flights to eat more than 200 meals in 33 states. No small task, and even more clout for these two Minneapolis dining destinations.
Here's what The Times had to say about each of the two Minnesota restaurants. See the rest of the list here.
Bûcheron
"Bûcheron is almost certainly the country’s first French bistro to count lumberjacks as a source of inspiration. It’s a sincere claim, if you can imagine large men laying down their axes to enjoy meals adorned with juniper and pickled elderberries. The flavors, redolent of Scandinavian American home cooks and the North Woods, are part of a broader, Upper Midwestern palate staked out by the chef Adam Ritter, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jeanie Janas Ritter. Mr. Ritter’s talents are particularly evident in the fall, when he’s turning rutabaga, butternut squash and pumpkin into dishes worthy of an anniversary. But the restaurant’s real gift to the Twin Cities is that it aims to achieve that standard in a neighborhood setting with staples you can count on, like the smoked whitefish dip and pommes dauphine that, as every regular knows, are really amazing Tater Tots."
Diane's Place
"The chef Diane Moua was a star pastry chef in Minneapolis before she opened this warm, elegant neighborhood restaurant. The barely sweet coconut-pandan croissants and crisp-edged scallion Danishes would be reason enough to visit, but there are so many more. Ms. Moua exalts the Hmong home cooking she grew up with in the Midwest with a sense of both technique and abundance, serving heaps of the pan-fried bean thread noodles that her aunties and grandmas used to cook, as well as sheer-skinned steamed pork rolls just flickering with pepper, and a deeply restorative chicken soup with thick housemade noodles. This is the kind of restaurant that turns you into a regular — if you’re lucky enough to live nearby."