Bite Of Minnesota: TC Tastes in June
By Crystal Grobe
Outdoor dining was primo in the month of June. With some mild, yet warm temperatures, patio dining called my name repeatedly and I heeded its call. I had a very hard time narrowing down my tastes from June, so I went with a guilty pleasure, a food truck lunch, and a happy hour delight.
"MFC" Moroccan Fried Chicken Sandwich at World Street Kitchen
World Street Kitchen
2743 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 424-8855
www.eatwsk.com
I was first introduced to World Street Kitchen (WSK for short) while dining at Saffron, a beautiful upscale Middle Eastern restaurant that existed in Minneapolis for several years. Here I was eating a multi-course fancy meal and one of the owners, Saed Wadi, started talking to me about selling tacos out of a food truck. Say, what? Not only did he and his brother, chef Sameh Wadi, launch that food truck, but they also went on to open a brick and mortar location version of WSK. I knew whatever they did was going to be delicious, and sure enough, it was quite impressive, with a menu of food truck favorites like the Yum Yum Rice Bowl and Bangkok Burrito, along with a bunch of other tasty creations.
That brings me to the MFC sandwich. If you like fried chicken and you're a fan of biscuits, this is the sandwich for you. It's a gut-buster, but it's well worth the calories, especially with that salty feta sauce and tangy carrot-preserved lemon salad. Gah, I'm drooling just thinking about it. If you have room for it, grab a scoop of ice cream from Milkjam Creamery next door. They own that, too.
Tuna Poke Bowl at Bibuta Food Truck
Monday-Friday: Downtown Minneapolis
Saturdays: Minnesota United Games
www.eatbibuta.com
The Bibuta food truck is the brainchild of Billy Tserenbat, who created Sushi Fix, the stellar sushi restaurant in Wayzata. He's another successful food truck story that turned brick and mortar and expanded from there. If you've had Billy's sushi, you know it's the best in town and Bibuta offers sushi burritos (yep, it's like a giant sushi roll) and poke bowls.
I recently started working in downtown Minneapolis and couldn't have been more excited when I spotted Bibuta right outside my building on my second day. It was raining, I didn't have an umbrella, and I didn't care at all. Nestled on a bed of perfect sushi rice was fresh tuna, ripe avocado, and pickled eggplant and cucumbers. There was even a sprinkling of corn, an ode to Billy's newest restaurant, Baja Haus. I need more of this in my life because it makes me so happy.
Bucket of Mini Prosecco at Constantine Mini Bar
1115 2nd Ave South
Minneapolis, Minnesota
(612) 886-1297
www.facebook.com/constantineminibar
I tend to jump on opportunities when they arise, like when Constantine Mini Bar posted on Facebook offering mini bottles of prosecco for happy hour. How cute, right? Mini prosecco bottles on the mini patio? I'm there. I immediately texted three friends to join me and check out the new spot at the Hotel Ivy, essentially Monello restaurant's patio. The menu is straight from Constantine, the downstairs Hotel Ivy bar that is known for its creative cocktail menu and decadent, yet simple $5 cheeseburgers. They come wrapped in paper just like the fast food joints, yet are a million times better than fast food. While you're at it, round out your happy hour with an order of fries and some more libations, like wine for $1 an ounce. It was too fun to pass up.
