Andrew Zimmern: Escape from the Bizarre

A relative newcomer to the Twin Cities sushi scene, Fuji Ya St. Paul across from the Minnesota Children’s Museum, makes for a great family night. Chef-owner Wei Wang is always in the kitchen and regularly brings in some pretty cool fish for those who ask for it (or are smart enough to order off the small daily specials board posted in the sushi bar). Our son loves the Japanese cartoons running on the hi-def TV almost as much as we love the gyoza, ginger salad dressing, katsu-don, and the awesome raw fish selection. In a town where all the sushi bars serve the same food, it’s the extras here that make it a regular stop.

I Nonni is the best Italian restaurant on the St. Paul side of the big river, and many of the dishes are the best you will find locally. The room is odd—it looks more like a Woodbury living room than a restaurant—but the food is so fresh and well-made you forget you are in Lilydale. Seared bacalao with tomato, olives, and capers, perfect calamari fritti, braised veal shanks, and squash ravioli with brown butter are some of our favorites. The wine list is nationally renowned. Best of all, if you eat early enough you can stop by the adjacent market (Buon Giorno Italia) and take home some rare Italian cheeses or salumi for a nosh later.

Jun Bo is one of the newer Chinese restaurants in town, but we became early regulars. The restaurant is huge, some 500 seats, and that means our son can run around as much as he likes and not cause much damage. The rolling carts flit around day and night, heavy with assorted dim sum, and the Champagne short ribs, Peking pork chops, and crispy Hong Kong–style shrimp, lobster, or crab are addictive.

A family-run Eastern European deli that has been making its own smoked meats and pastries for generations, Kramarczuk’s is one of the best food halls in the state. The Krakowska sausage alone makes it tops in my book, but there are about thirty sausages and cured meats to choose from. The recent expansive makeover included the new café, where you can sample everything from stuffed cabbage to real wurst to Czech sausage griddled and served with house-made sauerkraut. Orest Kramarczuk is there all the time, keeping a hand on the tiller and making sure every customer feels like family.

Mandarin Kitchen is a typical Twin Cities Chinese restaurant. Hundreds of menu items, but only fifty or so worth eating. That said, most of those dishes at Mandarin Kitchen are addictive, which makes it one of our regular haunts. Weekend brunches offer some of the best dim sum in town, the fish tanks lining one side of the restaurant are filled with crab, lobster, shrimp, and whole fish, and anything from the tanks can be steamed, fried, or wok-tossed to order. Don’t skip the steamed live shrimp or ginger-scallion-tossed Dungeness crab. The noodle dishes are excellent as well.

Manny’s is one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities, period. There are very few that offer such reliable service, well-made food, and a great vibe. I would just as soon eat a meal in the bar at Manny’s than anywhere in town. The porterhouse and rib eye are our favorites, but the tenderloin and veal chop get high marks as well. Sides are very good, and the hash browns with onions and bacon are iconic. At Manny’s, they understand the meaning of the word regular, but first-timers here rave about the complete experience as well.