Ono Hawaiian Plates Is Opening a New Location in the United Noodles Marketplace

Ono Hawaiian Plates, the Hawaiian comfort food restaurant in Minneapolis’s North Loop Galley food hall, is opening a second location in the United Noodles marketplace at 2015 E. 24th St. The new spot will have both take-out and dine-in options, with seating for about 40. A number of Ono staples will appear on the new menu — look for garlic shrimp and kalbi short ribs, Hawaiian barbecue chicken, and luau bowls with ahi poke and kalua pork. But chef Warren Seta (who co-owns Ono with his partner Jess Kelley) is adding a few new dishes, including nori-wrapped Spam musubi and sesame chicken bowls. The duo hopes to open in late August.

United Noodles was home to the popular UniDeli ramen bar for many years, before it closed during the early months of the pandemic. Hours for the new Ono Hawaiian Plates will be 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday for dine-in; takeout will be available until 8 p.m., when the market closes. Kelley and Seta are also expanding to the Lunds & Byerlys deli in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, where they plan to set up shop in October.

The Minnesota State Fair’s new beverages are here

The State Fair announced its new beverages for 2023 on Tuesday, and there’s a whopping 65 new brews on the list. (Well, most are brews, though there’s a good number of hard seltzers, ciders, and sparkling wines — even an orange-blossom honey mead.) A few highlights include a rhubarb and lemon shandy from Mankato brewing; a sparkling Edelweiss wine cocktail with peach puree from Cannon River Winery, and a gluten-reduced “Greek cookie” cream ale from Brent Brewstillery, brewed with orange and honey to evoke melomakarona cookies.

Indigenous Food Lab announces its first chef-in-residence

Navajo chef Freddie Bitsoie is the new chef-in-residence at the NĀTIFS Indigenous Food Lab on Lake Street. In addition to its hot bar, tea bar, and marketplace, Indigenous Food Lab also has a test kitchen and training center devoted to the exploration of Indigenous foodways — Bitsoie will act in a consulting role, adding to the library of training and cooking videos, as NĀTIFS and chef Sean Sherman continue to build the nonprofit’s research, development, and educational capacities. “I’m looking forward to learning more about the Indigenous foods of the Midwest, as I’m more familiar with ingredients from the Southwest, and to help to continue to progress Native American food culture like other cuisines have progressed,” Bitsoie said in a statement.