Ann Ahmed has captured imaginations and appetites with her second restaurant Lat14, but Lemon Grass was her first and is just as delicious and buzzworthy. Try the zippy Lao style papaya salad, the tom kha (a coconut milk-based soup with galangal) or any one of the roast duck preparations. Stay tuned for her third forthcoming spot called Khâluna.

Don’t let the no-frills vibe fool you at this family-run deli that’s known for its perfectly smoked meats. Expect friendly counter service, pork ribs with textbook sweet-smokey glaze, and brisket so tender you can cut it with a plastic fork. Multiple locations.

A progressive small plates menu paired with a sturdy beverage list gives Sample Room the air of a speakeasy for food lovers who appreciate presentation. Go for the stellar cocktails and stay for the unique takes on bar food, like lion’s mane mushroom cakes and beer-battered Ellsworth cheese curds.

Make no mistake: NOLO’s sits in the heart of the restaurant-packed North Loop. But the setup feels like a home-y hideaway, complete with a basement bar, rooftop bar and a handsome dining room. Dig in for daily breakfast and stay over for lunch, or breeze by for happy hour or evening cocktails. The kale Caesar and the egg salad toast are unexpected hits. Chef/owner Peter Hoff also makes some wonderful fresh pasta like a delicious lobster bucatini and a big ol’ burger (go for the turkey patty).

While Giulia is a hotel restaurant in sleepy downtown Minneapolis, it pretty much runs stands on its own. Giulia shares its handsome, vaulting space with The Emery’s lobby, but the hotel overlap stops there. The focus on northern Italian flavors are precise and spot on — think virtually faultless ricotta meatballs, a play on arancini (here, named suppli) paired with apple, and maltagliati: homemade, silky ribbons of pasta with a tonkotsu-style Japanese stock that’s wildly flavorful.

There isn’t anything quite like The Bungalow Club in the Twin Cities. Kudos to Italian chef-owner Andrew Kraft for pushing the envelope on dining formats. There’s a family feast for $50 per person, a Wednesday burger club, and a Sunday night menu devoted to handmade pasta, Kraft’s specialty. His ragus are one of the most flavorful and robust in the Twin Cities. His grilled romaine and lamb crudo is also not to miss.

Chef and owner Max Thompson’s dishes tend to be built upon punches of flavor added to familiar comfort foods. Served with a duo of dipping sauces, the Korean chili-flake fries vie for the top title in the Twin Cities and its burger is a thing of true beauty. Even their parker house rolls, served with terrific honey butter, are must-orders.

This charming restaurant serves deeply satisfying, comforting dishes. The setting is an old firehouse, with decor representing all the neighborhood icons that define Lake Harriet. Expect staples dishes, like salmon rillettes, grass-fed burgers, gnocchi with a glossy beurre blanc, or more adventurous options, like a clams and bison sausage. Don’t leave without plunging a fork into the coconut tres leches cake.