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The Eater Mpls Heatmap: Where to Eat Right Now

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Restaurant obsessives want to know what's new, what's hot, which favorite chef just launched a sophomore effort, etc., and more often than not, tipsters, readers, friends and family of Eater have one question: Where should I eat right now? What is the "it" (ie, newest) place of the moment?

Thus, we offer the Eater Heatmap, which will change often to continually highlight where the food-focused crowds are flocking to at this very second. This time around, please welcome two new spots: Hen House Eatery and BoneYard.

Did we miss your personal favorite hot, new restaurant? By all means, let us know in the comments or email the tipline.


3/6/14: Added La Fresca, Kyatchi, and the Birchwood pop-up at Verdant Tea

2/6/14: Added Day Block Brewing, Relevé Champagne Lounge, Coup d'Etat, Travail, and The Rookery

1/2/14: Added Sonora Grill, Chef Shack Ranch, The Freehouse, and Hammer & Sickle

12/5/13: Added The Mill NE, Lake & Irving, and DiNoko's Bar Zia

11/7/13: Added The Rabbit Hole, Honey & Rye Bakehouse, and Umami Dim Sum

10/3/13: Added Seventh Street Social, Eat Street Buddha Kitchen, and Union Fish Market

9/5/13: Added Umami by Travail

8/1/13: Added: Ideal Diner, Town Hall Lanes

7/11/13: Added: Verdant Tea Tasting Room, The Buttered Tin, Terzo Vino Bar, Sandcastle

6/16/13: Added: Pig Ate My Pizza, Smoke in the Pit

5/2/13: Added: Potter's Pasties, Daily Diner Frogtown

4/4/13: Added: Spill the Wine, Origami Uptown, The Sample Room

3/7/13: Added: Rincón 38, Smack Shack, Burch Steak & Pizza Bar, One Two Three Sushi

2/7/13: Added: Parka, Blue Door Longfellow

1/3/13: Added: Borough, Parlour

12/6/12: Added: World Street Kitchen, Union

11/15/12: Debuted: The Lynn on Bryant, The Left Handed Cook, Fika, Icehouse, The Gray House, Nightingale, The Kenwood, Café Maude at Loring, New Bohemia

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

La Fresca

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This new spot from Hector Ruiz - known for Cafe Ena, Rincón 38, and the shuttered El Mesón - focuses on "nouveau Mexican cuisine," meaning lots of fresh (it's in the name, get it?) flavors and combinations that you won't find at your neighborhood Chipotle. The entrees are getting good reviews, but the small plates (in the primeros section of the menu) are really where it's at.

Kyatchi

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This new Kingfield spot is focused on sustainable sushi, as well as Japanese small plates, noodles, and more. The sushi menu features several types of sushi that are harder to find in the Cities, including two kinds of pressed sushi.

Coup d'état

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This Uptown mega-restaurant (two floors!) comes from the team behind the North Loop's popular Borough. The dinner-only menu offers upscale small plates (pork belly with potato butter, anyone?), as well as a few entree options, plus a brand-new cocktail menu from Parlour's Jesse Held.

Verdant Tea Tasting Room & Tea Bar

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While Seward restaurant the Birchwood Cafe is temporarily closed for renovations, it's doing a breakfast pop-up at nearby Verdant Tea. The pop-up keeps some Birchwood favorites (the savory waffle is intact), but is mostly a true mash-up, featuring breakfast dishes with a northern Chinese spin, like hoisin-glazed bacon, scallion and corn pancakes, and potstickers. The pop-up runs from 8 a.m. to noon every day.

Day Block Brewing Company

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This downtown pizza brewpub takes over the former Spill the Wine space on Washington Ave., bringing in a head brewer from Harriet and a pizza maker from Punch for creative beers and 'zas. The Winter Wit is a refreshing take on Belgian White Ale, along with a Banh Mizza (pizza crust with pork, scallions, slaw, and maple-soy glaze). Plus, bacon flights.

Travail Kitchen & Amusements

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The Travailians are back with a new location just down the street from their original home in Robbinsdale. The new spot is tasting menus only. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, it's $90 for a two-person tasting; on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, it's $110. A $35/person wine pairing is coming soon.

Rookery

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The Rookery shares space with the new Travail, but gets a separate entry because there's just too much going on for one entry alone. Located in the other half of Travail's new space, The Rookery serves "micro-plates" that range from $2-$10, with about 20 options for plates at any given time. Plus, Travail's first foray into craft cocktails.

Hen House Eatery

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Serving all-day breakfast and an epically long happy hour (2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday), Hen House Eatery brings a new casual dining option to downtown. The extensive menu includes dishes like chicken and waffles, tiramisu pancakes, and an ample selection of grilled cheeses (mac n' cheese grilled cheese, anyone?).

BoneYard

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BoneYard, the new Southern restaurant from the Crave empire, is a contentious spot, but it is new and foodies are talking about it. You decide if you want to try the very fried, very salted, very everything to the max food. Think: a lunchtime bacon-wrapped duck meatloaf sandwich with onion straws AND cottage fries. And fried chicken, of course

La Fresca

This new spot from Hector Ruiz - known for Cafe Ena, Rincón 38, and the shuttered El Mesón - focuses on "nouveau Mexican cuisine," meaning lots of fresh (it's in the name, get it?) flavors and combinations that you won't find at your neighborhood Chipotle. The entrees are getting good reviews, but the small plates (in the primeros section of the menu) are really where it's at.

Kyatchi

This new Kingfield spot is focused on sustainable sushi, as well as Japanese small plates, noodles, and more. The sushi menu features several types of sushi that are harder to find in the Cities, including two kinds of pressed sushi.

Coup d'état

This Uptown mega-restaurant (two floors!) comes from the team behind the North Loop's popular Borough. The dinner-only menu offers upscale small plates (pork belly with potato butter, anyone?), as well as a few entree options, plus a brand-new cocktail menu from Parlour's Jesse Held.

Verdant Tea Tasting Room & Tea Bar

While Seward restaurant the Birchwood Cafe is temporarily closed for renovations, it's doing a breakfast pop-up at nearby Verdant Tea. The pop-up keeps some Birchwood favorites (the savory waffle is intact), but is mostly a true mash-up, featuring breakfast dishes with a northern Chinese spin, like hoisin-glazed bacon, scallion and corn pancakes, and potstickers. The pop-up runs from 8 a.m. to noon every day.

Day Block Brewing Company

This downtown pizza brewpub takes over the former Spill the Wine space on Washington Ave., bringing in a head brewer from Harriet and a pizza maker from Punch for creative beers and 'zas. The Winter Wit is a refreshing take on Belgian White Ale, along with a Banh Mizza (pizza crust with pork, scallions, slaw, and maple-soy glaze). Plus, bacon flights.

Travail Kitchen & Amusements

The Travailians are back with a new location just down the street from their original home in Robbinsdale. The new spot is tasting menus only. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, it's $90 for a two-person tasting; on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, it's $110. A $35/person wine pairing is coming soon.

Rookery

The Rookery shares space with the new Travail, but gets a separate entry because there's just too much going on for one entry alone. Located in the other half of Travail's new space, The Rookery serves "micro-plates" that range from $2-$10, with about 20 options for plates at any given time. Plus, Travail's first foray into craft cocktails.

Hen House Eatery

Serving all-day breakfast and an epically long happy hour (2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday), Hen House Eatery brings a new casual dining option to downtown. The extensive menu includes dishes like chicken and waffles, tiramisu pancakes, and an ample selection of grilled cheeses (mac n' cheese grilled cheese, anyone?).

BoneYard

BoneYard, the new Southern restaurant from the Crave empire, is a contentious spot, but it is new and foodies are talking about it. You decide if you want to try the very fried, very salted, very everything to the max food. Think: a lunchtime bacon-wrapped duck meatloaf sandwich with onion straws AND cottage fries. And fried chicken, of course

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