Great Food in St. Paul
There’s a new food writer at the Pioneer Press and Jess Fleming asked readers to tell Jared where to eat in St. Paul. Bloggin’ to the rescue Jared, I got you.
Best Sandwich
The best sandwich in St. Paul is the surprise sandwich at the St. Paul Cheese Shop. It costs $10. If you want to get it on baguette it’s another $2. Don’t do it. The baguette actually isn’t spectacular. But they basically put together a couple sandwiches that generally contain a creamy cheese, a courageously fruitty jam and some delicious meat. There are minor variations and they almost never go wrong. If you also have a Jewish wife at home who doesn’t eat pork at home you can ask for it without pork. Not only it is a great sandwich, it’s a great conversation. For years I would pick up three of these to kick off the Trivia Mafia Monday lunch meetings. You could trade half sandwiches, you could discuss the spice level. It’s a conversation starter in a way that a sandwich that is described on a menu never could be.
Best Cup of Coffee
The best cup of coffee in St. Paul is at J&S at Randolph and Saratoga. I love a coffee shop with knick knacks, that has music every once in awhile but not all the time, that has big colorful mugs. I guess what I’m saying is I like a 90s coffee shop. And coffee shops were one of the things I missed the most during the throws of the pandemic. The bit of conversation with the barista, the ability to sequester yourself in a spot where suddenly your book, your taxes, your friend, your cafe are all easier to focus on than they are at your own home. And I do believe that a medium coffee is one of the perfect things on this earth. It’s the right size, it’s the right feel in your hand. You take one of those coffees outside and sit down and do ONE THING for 40 minutes, maybe it’s talk, maybe it’s read, maybe it’s write, but it’s something and you do it and you do it with your friend the coffee. Nothing better.
Best Ethiopian Food
This one isn’t even close to me. I just think Fasika makes the best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had anywhere. If you are going there with two hungry adults who both eat meat, get the Zilzil Tibs and the Veggie sampler. Share it all, eat it all. Love it. If you are going with someone who doesn’t like eating with their hands. . .consider going with someone else. . .but if you can’t. . .get the chicken tibs with rice, still legit amazing and less heavy than the veggie sampler or the Zilzil Tibs.
Best Cocktail
The Sazerac from Meritage is unfuckwithable. It is a delicious cocktail in an amazing environment. If you are sitting good financially I recommend buying a shrimp cocktail because honestly, you deserve it and you love shrimp. But that Sazerac does everything a cocktail is supposed to. You feel a little buzzed just sniffing it, and then you feel intrigued by the flavors, and then you feel like everything is simpler in your life for a couple minutes. And then you get another. And then you don’t feel so bad about spending $40 on shrimp.
Best Fish Situation
Not all Brasas are created equal. That’s just a fact. And the only Brasa you can get catfish at is on Grand Ave. It’s incredible. The sauce that comes with is incredible. And even though catfish isn’t kosher my wife lets me eat it at our house. Thank you Rachel. Catfish responds to breading in a very interesting way and it creates lots of different surfaces and crevices of salty fishy delishiosios. Plus it comes with a red sauce that has a bit of creamy and a bit of spice to it. And you might think. . .catfish. . .great, that’s enough, I don’t need dessert. Naw, you need dessert. I think pudding is mostly gross (I don’t want WET desserts, that’s why tiramisu can die slow). But, that butterscotch pudding? This particular pudding, spectacular. Killing it.
Best Appetizer
Italian fries can mean a lot of things. Many of those things suck. A pile of fries with oregano and parmesan tossed on top is not an upcharge I’m willing to deal with. BUT, the Italian fries at Italian Pie Shoppe are killing it. Spectacular. When I was in high school it was my favorite food on earth. But I’ve grown. Now it’s just my favorite appetizer in St. Paul, and I get em with broccoli and a touch of cheddar. These have nothing to do with potatoes. This is just pizza crust folded around mozzarella with a reasonable dusting of Italian seasoning. You step it up a bit going with the brocchi, like I said they sneak in a touch of cheddar and some finely chopped up broccoli. Get that shit.
Best Curry Dish
I love arguing about what the best Thai food in St. Paul is. Great. Awesome conversation, happy to have it. I’ll even listen to your suggestions. And I’ll even respect the new Thai places that just shot up in the last couple years. But I won’t entertain discussions about the best Green Curry. Because that matter is settled. It’s going down at Ruam Mit in downtown St. Paul! How’s the buffet at Ruam Mit? unlabeled and it feels risky! How’s the ambience? Kinda basic! It’s not that bad, but it’s not Instagrammable if that’s what you’re asking. But the team who runs the place is awesome. And the food off the menu is incredible. They raise they prices maybe every month and a half but I’ll be honest, I’m gonna keep going. That green curry is absolutely out of control. So delicious. The broccoli is perfect and plentiful. The tofu is crispy and then just a touch of creamy. The basil, the creamy sauce. I want it right now, and I had close to identical green curry from somewhere else tonight. But still, I’m in. If someone walked up to my house right now at 10:38 at night and said “give me a hundred dollars and I’ll give you this green curry” I would be asking if they accepted Paypal.