Food & Wine Names Grand Café Among Restaurants Of The Year

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Grand Café in Minneapolis has just received another honor.

The prestigious magazine Food & Wine announced Tuesday morning the establishments they deemed the "Restaurants of the Year" for 2018.

Previously, the magazine has chosen Surly Brewer's Table (in 2016) and Spoon and Stable (in 2015) for the honor.

Food & Wine praised Grand Café as a "Francophile fever dream," following the spot's purchase by chef Jamie Malone.

"If you really want to dial into Malone's vision for the place, first consider her Paris-Brest. It's a savory edit of the classic French dessert, a swirl of choux pastry painted with black honey sandwiching ethereal chicken liver mousse instead of sweet praline," the magazine suggested. "Or you could try her pike quenelle: Malone turbocharges the Lyon oldie with a new relevance, adding scallops to lighten the mousse and roasted garlic puree to give it a lingering depth."

Earlier this year, Malone was named a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for best Midwest chef, and the restaurant was a semifinalist for best new restaurant.

Of the 10 restaurants cited in this year's rundown of the year's best, only one other Midwestern eatery was among them, Ferndale, Michigan's Voyager. Other restaurants named include Seattle's Junebaby, New York's Fairfax, Maydan in Washington, D.C., and Kemuri Tatsu-ya in Austin, Texas.