Northeast Minneapolis’s new neighborhood destination for affordable American classics and cocktails made with Minnesota spirits comes from Morrissey Hospitality, the local group behind The Bad Waitress, St. Paul Grill. Executive chef John Henkels’s menu opens with sharable starters like pickle-brined fried chicken skewers, flatbreads, truffle fries, and grilled oysters, followed by three burger options, wraps, a BLT, and fried chicken sandwich. Mains like a whole trout dressed with chimichurri, fettuccini, bourbon-glazed pork chop, and scallops are all $21 and under — even high-brow wagyu, served with a mushroom demi-glace. — Tierney Plumb

Sidebar at Surdyk’s opened briefly last fall before the weather and pandemic took a turn for the worse. The modern bar and brasserie recently made a comeback, ready to impress northeast diners under its tenured chef Randall Prudden. The alum of Spoon and Stable and Chicago’s three Michelin-starred Alinea has put together a fun and easy-to-explore menu full of seasonal ingredients. Don’t miss the bright and light crudo or the tartare.

Sean Sherman’s paean to Native American cuisine is seven years in the making, when he first started The Sioux chef as a catering and food education business for the Twin Cities community. The venture spans much longer (300 years) if one counts the indigenous land on which Sherman’s namesake restaurant now sits. Now he’s reclaiming an important piece of history with dishes made from decolonized ingredients — wheat, flour, cane sugar and dairy are out of the picture and replaced by a mix of Indigenous game, fish, birds, and insects along with wild plants, Native American heirloom farm varieties, and locally grown produce. Think local lake fish, dandelions made from pesto, or corn bread served with wojape, a sauce made from native chokecherries.

The weekends crowds at the Malcolm Yards food hall are barely a month old and are already a sight to behold. No surprise, given the globetrotting lineup of vendors and prospect of cobbling a meal that stretches from Malaysia and Nepal to Italy. Pro tip: share an order of airy, shatteringly crisp Korean fried chicken at Abang Yoli; a warming serving of Rashmi Bhattachan’s ethereally light momos at Momo Dosa; a Detroit-style pie at Wrecktangle Pizza (Elote is recommended); and finally, end with the dizzyingly rich ice creams at Bebe Zito. 

Followers of Daniel Del Prado rarely know what to expect next. Sicilian pizza? New American meets Argentinian? A take on Japanese-Italian fusion? Check all of the above (Rosalia, Martina and Sanjusan, respectively). Middle Eastern cuisine comes next at Cardamom, with a menu influenced by the bounty of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The seasoned chef has partnered with pastry chef Shawn McKenzie to set up shop at the Walker Art Center and is churning out subversive riffs on Mediterranean staples, like “Cacio e Pepe” dumplings, raw ahi tuna tabbouleh, and Turkish coffee pot au creme. 

Mendota Heights’s new catch-all cafe and bar from the team behind The Green Mill and Crooked Pint kicks off the day at 7 a.m. with breakfast staples like pancakes, oatmeal, and egg sandwiches served until 3 p.m. At night, the versatile venture flips into an after-work hotspot with $5 Roku and tonic cocktails and bar bites like calamari and brie and cranberry bruschetta. Dinner entrees all $20 and under include flank steak, wild rice stuffed chicken, a lightly breaded walleye sandwich, and sizable “Mac Daddy” burger. The 145-seat setup with a big patio also houses a grab-and-go deli stocked with fresh macaroons, pastas, potato salad, and quiche. — T.P.