Tucked off Dodd Road in a residential area of St. Paul, El Cubano serves hot sandwiches, all toasted and pressed with butter. Try the eponymous Cubano, a layered masterpiece of roasted meat, tangy mustard, and pickles, served with yuca frita and a house mojito dip. (El Cubano serves entrees like Dominican-style red snapper or traditional Cuban bistec encebollado, too.) Don’t forget an order of the tostones.

Moscow on the Hill is a St. Paul staple for Eastern European fare: Think pillowy deruny (Ukranian-style potato pancakes), borscht, chicken kiev, and neatly wrapped pelmeni served with a dollop of sour cream. The house infused vodkas — particularly the horseradish — are one of this restaurant’s specialties. There’s a big, leafy patio out back for when the weather’s good; otherwise, the main dining room, draped in rich red and gold fabrics, is one of St. Paul’s coziest.

Zait & Za’atar, a casual “Mediterranean dhaba” on Selby Avenue, marries Mediterranean and South Asian flavors. It’s a great place to fill up on fresh falafel, baba ghanoush, and juicy shawarma sandwiches and plates. But don’t overlook the chaat: crispy samosas, tangy pani puri dripping with tamarind, and vada doused in cool dahi.

Heather’s might be the perfect neighborhood restaurant. The brunch specials — like pineapple upside-down pancakes and classic croque-madames — are always a hit. For lunch and dinner, it rotates in specials that feel fresh and seasonal (think sweet corn polenta with roasted duck and blueberry chutney). The space is casual but bright, and usually filled with fresh-cut flowers. Cap off a meal with a stroll around nearby Lake Nokomis, and grab a noodle salad from the little deli counter on the way out.

Apoy serves traditional Filipino cuisine and a few original dishes of its own on Nicollet Avenue. Start with the classic lumpia or tender, caramelized tocino; the Shrimp Bicol Express pairs creamy coconut with piquant ginger in a tantalizing sauce. For dessert, the halo halo, a shaved ice medley of coconut, plantains, jackfruit, and sweetbeans, is the perfect dessert for a hot day (or a cold one, honestly).

Peninsula is an Eat Street gem that serves Malaysian fare like tamarind fried fish and prawn sambal, but the can’t-miss dish here is the spicy golden tofu. This restaurant makes its tofu by hand — it’s cut into big, irregular hunks, fried to a perfect crisp but custardy and tender on the inside. Note that Peninsula is takeout only.

Cafe Racer’s arepas — subtly sweet and soft on the inside, fried golden on the outside — are at the heart of this pared-down Latin American menu. For breakfast, they’re served with marmalade or kielbasa, or as a side to an omelet topped with bright salsa criolla and pico. For dinner, they’re a perfect complement to braised pulled pork or roasted chicken, and other sides like yuca frita and sweet plantains.

Nearly lost in the menagerie of PR-backed restaurants that populate Dinkytown, Korea Restaurant keeps quietly chugging along with a glorious assortment of bibimbap, bulgogi, and potstickers. Lunch is mayhem, but worth every second of wait time. Prepare for self-service and generous helpings, and don’t be shy to refill on the side dishes.