Quick Service Southeast Asian Eatery Is Almost Open in the North Loop

Mama D’s Southern Kitchen is cooking up Soul food as Midtown Global Market’s newest tenant. The food stall is chef Destiny Brooks’s first physical restaurant, but she has been running her own catering business since 1996. The restaurant serves a wide range of Southern staple dishes, from fried catfish and Tennessee pork to collard greens, fried okra, and baked mac & cheese. Ordering a mix-and-match platter is the most efficient way to explore the menu, giving eaters the opportunity to pick and choose a little bit of everything Mama D’s has to offer.

• Chef John Krattenmaker of Fika and Cafe Alma is at the helm of Sweet Chow, a nearly-open restaurant coming to the North Loop. Inspired by a bicycle trip across Southeast Asia, the menu features Krattenmaker’s interpretations of Cambodian, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese street food. Expect dishes like green papaya salad, sticky Korean wings, lemongrass sausage and crispy pork belly. For dessert, there’s Vietnamese coffee flavored pot de creme and Nutella-chili-spice doughnuts. Plus, there are affordably priced wines and beers on the menu. Keep an eye on the spot at 116 North 1st Avenue for an open door this Thursday February 22 at 11 am.
• Taking over the recently shuttered Pepito’s space is ‘El Burrito Minneapolis,’ sister restaurant to St. Paul Mexican market El Burrito Mercado. The family-owned restaurant will focus on familiar Mexican fare with highlights of roasted street corn (elotes), fresh salsas and tres leches cake. El Burrito Minneapolis is expected to open in May, followed soon after by a June reopening of the renovated Parkway Theater next door.

Minnesota BBQ Co./Website

• Travail alum Kale Thome is bringing fresh-smoked fare to Lowry Avenue this May, just in time for Art-a-Whirl and just around the corner from Fair State Brewing. The barbecue restaurant, appropriately named Minnesota BBQ Co., will be takeout-only, fit into a neat 760-square-foot space. Thome is still refining the menu but says it will be influenced by local agriculture and Minnesotans’ flavor preferences. If previous menus are any indication, eaters can expect to see items like smoked ribs and duck, brisket sandwiches and apple bacon sausage.

The Herbivorous Butcher/Website

• Speaking of sausage, this summer brings vegan options with the launch of the Herbivorous Butcher food truck. The mobile adaptation of Northeast’s meat-free meat shop will be licensed to post up in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. As for the menu, owners Aubry and Kale Walch say the one thing they will definitely be showcasing is chicken-free fried chicken.