Five Restaurants You’ve Missed

The recent spate of restaurant closings has created a lot of talk about the perceived obligation, or lack thereof, that we have as local diners.

Many espouse the notion that our local food scene will die on the vine if more don’t participate. This is the conclusion of the rabid food freaks who think that the closing of Five, Levain, and Auriga has a deeper and more portentous meaning than the normal ebb and flow of the restaurant life cycle.

The rosy-eyed eaters who see the closings as natural selection think that fiddling with the order of things—especially the call for us to eat out more—is balderdash. They believe the market is healthy, that eateries will open and close in perpetuity.

The truth is somewhere in between. I come from New York City, where everyone eats out, regardless of class, distance, cost, et cetera. Here, as Phil Roberts has been oft-quoted, “there’s too much Lutheran DNA,” and we opt for familiar foods and food styles.

On the premise that a few of you are willing to break free of the comfort zone, here are five restaurants you may not know about that deserve to be much more crowded than they are. Check out our restaurant directory for addresses and contact information.

Emily’s Lebanese Deli, Mpls.
The place is not much to look at, but in the back of the dining room is a picture of the owner’s mother sitting at the table over which the picture hangs. She is cleaning garlic by hand. Look down again, and you will see a family member, generation 3.0, also cleaning garlic. Enough said. Grab a spinach pie, some tabbouleh, and a grilled kebab for good measure. You won’t be disappointed.

Evergreen Taiwanese, Mpls.
Each time I venture into the basement on Eat Street where Evergreen is located, I am surprised at how empty this amazing little restaurant is. Granted, I eat lunch later than most, and dinner I usually take to go, but c’mon! Go for the hot pot specials, the incredible dumplings, the legendary sautéed Chinese eggplant—even the seafood dishes are delicious—and everything is a fraction of the price it deserves to be. Vegetarians will find more to eat here than at any of our big-league restaurants that cater to that crowd.

Hoa Bien, St. Paul
While other hybrid Vietnamese eateries get all the press, Hoa Bien has undergone a major facelift and still offers up some of the best Southeast Asian soups, barbecue, and stir-fries in town. Unlike Mai Village, which looks better than it cooks, Hoa Bien has the kitchen to match style with substance. Don’t expect P. F. Chang’s. The experience is gritty, but well worth it, even for the auslanders.

Krua Thai, St. Paul
Every Thai joint has its devotees—and I love Ruam Mit, Taste of Thailand, Tum Rup, and several others—but Krua is as good, offering a more honest and authentic version of Thai cuisine. Family-owned and -operated in every sense of the word, this wonderful restaurant is always on top of most critics’ “best” lists, but is half-empty most of the time. Anyone looking for a unique eating experience should head there for dinner. Its curries are without peer.

Tanpopo Noodle Shop, St. Paul
Koshiki Yonemura’s Tanpopo has a simple and elegant menu, and the food is freshly prepared from scratch with an eye toward serving true home-style Japanese fare. The menu centers around soba and udon noodle bowls, and there’s a set teishoku menu, which in any Japanese household is a typical dinner that features several little tastes of many items. I love this restaurant.