Jon Cheng
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Articles by Jon Cheng
Star Tribune restaurant critic Jon Cheng steps down
"Good food or good company. Which do you choose?" a friend once asked. My dining companion grimaced, then we both laughed because we knew it was true.
Cheng: The hearth is the heart of Black Duck
Chef Jason Sawicki melds culture, comfort and fire to put his own stamp on northeast Minneapolis dining. November 29, 2024 at 1:00PM Chef-owner Jason Sawicki works the hearth at his Minneapolis restaurant, Black Duck Spirits & Hearth. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Like at any easygoing restaurant, the menu of the low-slung, white tavern building in Northeast offers oysters, smash burgers, waffle fries and a Caesar.
Cheng: 7 reasons why I’m thankful for Minnesota’s food scene
When I arrived in the Twin Cities three years ago, I gave myself a year. Though I spent my formative childhood years in Singapore, my family hailed from Hong Kong. And after leaving my “home” country to attend college, I’ve spent no more than a few years in each city: Boston, London, the Bay Area and New York, where I was for five. “Where are you from?” is a question that often stumped me.
Cheng: At Vinai, chef Yia Vang rewrites the Hmong American playbook
The Minneapolis restaurant is a window to the chef’s past as it charts the cuisine’s future. October 24, 2024 at 12:00PM Chef Yia Vang poses for a portrait in his new restaurant Vinai in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune) The wood-burning grill that takes center stage of an open kitchen is a gleaming, magnificent beast flanked by two bumper car-sized wheels — a hangar for various meats, engulfed in flames that swell like bonfires.
Cheng: Your questions about restaurants and the restaurant critic answered
I rarely answer such pointed and specific questions, but it is my duty to re-establish Krewe, in St. Joseph, as my go-to for peerless renditions of New Orleans classics. I think fondly about the jambalaya, gumbo and Key lime pie. Comparing the Twin Cities dining scene with New York City’s dining scene, are we in the infant or teenager stage? What are we missing? Rather than assess maturity, I’d instead assess breadth.
A restaurant critic's quest to find the Twin Cities area's perfect taco
There's no shortage of terrific tacos in and around the Twin Cities. Over the past few weeks, I scoured the metro area — as far as Lake Elmo — to try dozens of taquerias recommended by friends, trusted confidants and readers. But there were rules: In the spirit of fairness, anywhere with table service was eliminated from this list. And yet these taquerias stand tall not just among any that serve tacos in the Twin Cities, but nationwide, too. Here are my top 10.
Cheng: 4 restaurants that should be on your radar
Tea Leaf Salad and Mohinga Soup from Mandalay Kitchen in St. Paul. (Jon Cheng/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Mandalay Kitchen Mandalay Kitchen made headlines for its chapli-patty Juicy Lucy ($14.95), and while a fantastic burger, it shouldn’t be emblematic of food that chef/owner Chris Tunbaw cooks at this newish Frogtown eatery. His tea leaf salad (Lahpet Thoke, $13.95) is, though.
Review: Gia puts a Minnesota spin on British-Italian cooking
This, happily, encourages more grazing, more frequent dining at Gia, where the menu changes each week in accordance with the seasons. In early July, I had bright, ruby-colored grape tomatoes on bruschetta; the next week, tomatoes were roasted instead, and featured in a panzanella salad. Juices from the grilled scallop and halibut seeped into the salad, and the Salmoriglio sauce — oregano, lemon, olive oil — tied it all together very appealingly.
Review: Gia celebrates the simplicity of Italian cooking
This, happily, encourages more grazing, more frequent dining at Gia, where the menu changes each week in accordance with the seasons. In early July, I had bright, ruby-colored grape tomatoes on bruschetta; the next week, tomatoes were roasted instead, and featured in a panzanella salad. Juices from the grilled scallop and halibut seeped into the salad, and the Salmoriglio sauce — oregano, lemon, olive oil — tied it all together very appealingly.
Chilango is chef Jorge Guzmán’s Mex-Tex playground Original
Affixed to the restaurant's name, Chilango, is the descriptor Mex-Tex — a linguistic sleight of hand that may at first sound like a grift. Tellingly, will diners still think of stale taco shells, lukewarm lettuce and fluorescently colored cheese? There is no such scheme at Chilango, nor any promise that the food served here is more sainted than that served north of the (southern) border.
5 fish dishes you should order from Twin Cities restaurants Original
Yes, seafood. Who knew that this landlocked state produces a steady bounty of first-rate fish dishes — beyond fish fries? Cynics, mostly. There's plenty to love, should you keep an open mind and a semi-adventurous palate. I've already waxed lyrical about fish dishes you should try: Bar La Grassa's branzino, Crasqui's Chilean sea bass, and Sidewalk Kitchen's shatteringly crisp, deeply satisfying Golden Garlic Fried Sole. Here, in no particular order, are five more to add to your list.
3 Twin Cities restaurants that you should know about Original
Dear readers, I know you know that I value the mainstay institutions as much as I do the buzzy new eateries I cover in my reviews. So, given the positive feedback from my last piece, here's another installment of my (now) intermittent series of underrated eateries across the Twin Cities. As a reminder, these range from sit-down restaurants to grab-and-go eateries — all or which are worth your time and palate.
Need to bring dessert? Here are 8 recommended by our critic Original
After three years of living in the Twin Cities, I finally accomplished what I thought was unachievable: being invited into someone's home, albeit following months of aggressive yet polite courting (thank you for your hospitality). To increase the likelihood that I am invited back, I do two things. First, I refrain from sharing any bold opinions — in true Minnesotan fashion, I defer to saying "interesting" when I am lost for words. Secondly, I bring a meaningful gift. So, dessert.
Dario a spectacle for talent, pasta and Instagram
Apprehension greets you as you approach. You may follow a long, dark alleyway, by the Deja Vu strip club, before spotting signage that resembles a logo from some wellness utopia that peddles sea moss gel by the jar. You may wonder if the gallery-sized windows are for diners to look out (less likely — it's a view of the parking lot) or for onlookers to peer in (see portrait of Christian Bale, circa "American Psycho," on the wall). Welcome to Dario.
Bûcheron is a landmark restaurant disguised as your friendly neighborhood bistro Original
There's eel on the menu at Bûcheron. Though marketed as a tartine, it may not charm you enough to order it. Slippery, muddy and riddled with bones, eel can be tricky to cook and a disaster to serve. There is no such disaster at Bûcheron. The tartine served here is, in fact, a revelation — not just because of the dish's interplay between smoke and sweetness, which will haunt you, but also because of how referential it is. "A Reuben," one dining companion said.
4 hidden restaurant gems you need to know about
The past couple of months have been a whirlwind on the restaurant scene, with several exciting new destinations opening. But on my mind lately: these great, underrated eateries across the Twin Cities. They range from sit-down restaurants to grab-and-go eateries, all of which are worth your time and palate.
Restaurant review: Kim's is bold, flavorful and personal Original
Halfway through our first meal at Kim's, a Korean American restaurant, my dinner companions and I had forgotten that we were dining in an identical space that once served birrias, tacos and a duck mole. Other than the few new earthenware pots on the shelf and several new bar stools, this restaurant still bears the handsome bones of its predecessor, Sooki & Mimi: the blonde herringbone floors, the cantina-esque bar, that beamed ceiling. Kim's, which opened in November, indeed feels wholly new.
Minnesota should have a Michelin Guide, and these 4 restaurants should be in it Original
I remember the red book as if it were a bible, because I carried it with me every time I visited a city that the Michelin Guide deemed worthy. When New York's first Michelin Guide was published in 2005, I read it cover to cover, committing each starred entry to memory, reading what the inspectors wrote, and detailing my imaginary dining plan for a city that my family had yet to visit. I did the same for Paris, Rome and eventually Tokyo.
Yes, Minnesota should have a Michelin Guide, and these 4 restaurants would likely get stars
I remember the red book as if it were a bible, because I carried it with me every time I visited a city that the Michelin Guide deemed worthy. When New York's first Michelin Guide was published in 2005, I read it cover to cover, committing each starred entry to memory, reading what the inspectors wrote, and detailing my imaginary dining plan for a city that my family had yet to visit. I did the same for Paris, Rome and eventually Tokyo.
We asked readers to send questions to our restaurant critic; they did, and he answered
While taking a holiday break from reviewing restaurants — but certainly not dining out — critic Jon Cheng put down his fork for a moment to respond to a few of the dozens of reader questions received after a recent social media callout. Questions ranged from his methodology and favorite foods to solo dining and marital status. Cheng picked the most popular and salient questions; here are his answers. Q: How do you evaluate food from a culture you're unfamiliar with?
The best meals the Star Tribune food writers ate in 2023
The Star Tribune's Taste team eats out — a lot. While we've had many memorable meals, these are among those that stood out. By Sharyn Jackson, Joy Summers, Jon Cheng and Nicole Hvidsten Star Tribune December 10, 2023 — 7:04am Ann Kim's Kasama collaboration dinner Somewhere behind the glittering silverware and artfully arranged plates, there's a quiet conversation that happens between cooks and diners. It's one of the privileges of being able to dine out so often that I can recognize these moments.
Oro is the Star Tribune's Restaurant of the Year
What started out as a sliver of a taco shop outside a tortilleria has evolved into Oro by Nixta, and it has set the gold standard for Mexican food in Minneapolis. By Jon Cheng Star Tribune December 10, 2023 — 6:51am When Nixta opened during the throes of the pandemic, vending tacos to go from a space no bigger than a storage container, the prospect of expansion wasn't on the proprietors' minds, nor ours.
Restaurant review: Is Daniel del Prado's Porzana worth the buzz?
Seasoned visitors to every new Daniel del Prado restaurant should have a checklist handy. Will there be tuna crudo? Some kind of grilled bread? A pork chop big enough to clobber the noisy diners next to you? Fish sauce and parsley, applied everywhere as liberally as lip balm in winter? Yes to all, but with caveats. At Porzana, the restaurateur's latest effort, the tuna is prepared in crimson-colored slabs the size of Hot Wheels, set over a seething Fresno purée under a hail of apple and pepitas.
St. Paul’s Crasqui an island escape for both diners and chef
The aquamarine floor that spans Crasqui, the restaurant, may at first recall the paint job of polished, psychedelic-looking bowling ball. This is not by design. "Try looking at it after a few drinks," our server suggests. We do, and it clicks. The undulating swirls dance like seawater lapping against the white leather furniture, the color of which supposedly resembles sand.
S.F. chefs are embracing this elegant, delicate style of Chinese food
Despite having one of the largest and oldest Chinatowns in North America, San Francisco’s Cantonese food scene hasn’t evolved much over the past 150 years. Now, that’s starting to change with new pop-ups and revamped menus at existing spots. Together, these chefs are gently bridging Bay Area diners to a new normal for Cantonese cuisine. This new normal looks like less dim sum, and more precise steaming, stir-frying and roasting — the tenets from China’s Guangdong province.
Where our restaurant critic takes a first-time visitor to eat over a weekend in Minneapolis
My friend Josh is well traveled, and though not fanatical about the latest dining trends, he will travel (within reason) for food. He hails from Switzerland, London, Singapore and, most recently, Chicago. What better way to explore his surrounds than by visiting another Midwestern neighbor? His visit may have been short, but I had planned several stops to showcase what the Twin Cities has to offer.
Review: Herbst veers from the New American classics, and it pays off
If tuna crudo, seared scallops and a pork chop with sweet glaze all sound familiar, it's because they feature on nearly every New American restaurant menu in the Twin Cities. I've heard many diners cite these as their favorite dishes. They are mine, too. But if you're beginning to tire of these recursive staples, then it may be time to pay a visit to Herbst, which is the most freewheeling restaurant I've seen open in the Twin Cities in years. Herbst doesn't serve a crudo, nor scallops.
Review: Gai Noi defies expectations and redefines casual dining
At Gai Noi, a restaurant by the James Beard-nominated chef Ann Ahmed, you may count the many ways in which expectations are defied. Can an all-day restaurant, open seven days a week and serving nearly 40 dishes, more than 10 sides and four desserts to a 70-table restaurant, work? Yes, if you discount the cadence in which dishes arrive (purposely at will); the minimalist batched cocktail program; and the kitchen's occasional foibles, which seemingly increase when the dining room nears capacity.
Review: David Fhima's Maison Margaux reinventing French classics
There was a time when food wasn't the focal point of Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood. About a century ago, it was the epicenter of manufacturing — where the Mars family created its eponymous candy bar, and Waters-Genter Co. manufactured the first pop-up toaster. Few would predict that all this would vanish and be reinvented as a vibrant dining destination. Noticeably missing was a good French bistro. Why couldn't we have the equivalent of St. Paul's Meritage on this side of the river?
5 surprises from our restaurant critic so far this year, and they're all good
In the past year, I bore witness to the opening of some terrific new restaurants and revisited older ones that have evolved. I also encountered many surprises along the way. Here are my top five, in no particular order. Krewe is worth a special journey from Minneapolis. I often stay within city limits when it comes to food because I don't drive frequently. But when I do visit suburbs and nearby cities, food comes first to mind.
Review: Oro by Nixta sets gold standard for Mexican food in Minneapolis
Like most counter-serve restaurants, the one adjoining this northeast Minneapolis takeout-only tortilleria has a tidy desk manned by someone who takes your order with the deftness of a Starbucks barista, hands you a placard holder with a number, and dispatches you to a dining room neatly littered with 20 tables. Unlike many counter-serve restaurants, orders aren't whistled at you, nor is there a reminder that guacamole is extra.
Review: Does Minneapolis need Butcher & the Boar 2.0?
You don't need to be a cinephile to conclude that "The Terminator" films peaked with its first sequel, "Judgment Day." That despite Arnold Schwarzenegger's reappearance and clumsy — but welcome — fan-service moments in the following films, the franchise had already frayed. On its best day, the restaurant Butcher & the Boar feels like the tail end of a calcifying franchise. The bones of a handsome Shea-designed restaurant are there.
Our critic picks his 4 favorite delis in the Twin Cities area
It isn't easy to create the right deli aesthetic. For some, like the old-school Jewish delis, things naturally fall into place. But how to ring in the modern, the new? Some on my list have stood the test of time; others have reinvented. Sandwich purists may find a better option or two that exist elsewhere, but these are all package deals. To define what needs to be sold at a modern deli — by yours truly — I'm expanding beyond cold cuts to include breads, salads, and cheeses.
Restaurant review: Blondette in downtown Minneapolis is wild, and wildly delicious
It may take awhile to settle in at Blondette, the hip, airy new restaurant on the fifth floor of the Rand Tower Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Maybe it's the makeshift setup, which feels like a prom after-party organized by a rogue PTA.
Review: Chelas in Minneapolis serves up fusion with flair Original
Any good debater will tell you that the most thrilling episodes in any match are when each side cohesively builds on another. It may not immediately seem like it at Chelas, which opened in Minneapolis' Tangletown neighborhood in December, but the prospect of marrying Latin American and Vietnamese cuisine by way of tapas can evoke these moments. One dish on Chelas' menu, called Bo Kho Menudo, certainly does.
The 5 best things we ate in the Twin Cities area this week
Sameh's Childhood Favorites at Milkjam Creamery In addition to its classics — black cocoa, Cereal Killers, Thai tea, etc. — Milkjam Creamery adds a few special flavors each month, all riffing on a theme. April is Arab American Heritage Month, and Milkjam owner and chef Sameh Wadi decided to get personal.
The 5 best things we ate in the Twin Cities area this week
Shrimp po'boy at Bar+Cart As expected, the cocktails at Bar+Cart are phenomenal. That should be a given, considering this cozy bar and restaurant inside the former Khyber Pass is now owned by Ralena Young and Brian Riess. Both are career drink-makers who have poured libations throughout the Twin Cities. Now, the realization of their business ownership dreams has been DIY'd into a thriving neighborhood gathering spot.
Restaurant critic Jon Cheng's quest for the best Indian food in the Twin Cities area Original
It's impossible to distill the vast wealth of Indian food into a single restaurant. A day fit for incandescent biryanis, another devoted to curries, or one when only a soul-affirming paneer tikka does the job. All these nuances — whether regional (North vs. South, and beyond) or with specific dishes — are cases when the parts are greater than the sum. Many great places throughout the Twin Cities area deliver on these dishes, so I took my time.
Review: Minneapolis' Chloe by Vincent both pleases and perplexes
If you miss the restaurant signage, you may mistake the restaurant at the Canopy by Hilton hotel, at the corner of 3rd Street and Park Avenue S. in downtown Minneapolis, for the one that once peddled bacon flights served with shears. Nearly everything from the former Bacon Social House remains. The dining chairs, vast open kitchen and plasticky booths. That Siberia of a dining section, to the right of the host stand. But in place of the old signage: "Chloe," in neon blue.
A restaurant critic's guide to navigating Eden Prairie's Asia Mall
The once-raucous crowds have not dwindled much at Asia Mall, the Eden Prairie food mecca that took the place of hunting and fishing retailer Gander Outdoors. It still draws a healthy one, three months after its soft opening. For all the good reasons. In addition to six food retail shops, there's a supermarket with more variations of frozen dumplings, rice snacks and instant ramen than there are lottery tickets, and a "meat" room that will tame hardcore carnivores.
Review: The Kenwood in Minneapolis is a home for comfort - and so much more
Restaurants come and go. The ones that stay the course often find ways to veer off them. So for a restaurant to court a loyal clientele while attracting a new one over the past decade(ish) of its tenure, there's a whole lot of restraint at play. For years at the Kenwood Restaurant, the eponymous burger has remained one of the best in the Twin Cities.
There's nothing fancy but the food at the best Thai restaurant in the Twin Cities
The doubt creeps in the moment you arrive at the painted-red storefront along University Avenue in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, near the other Hmong shops. Maybe it's the nondescript wording of the name, Thai Café; the way a red flickering "Open" sign snares you; or the often empty, sparsely decorated interior that makes you think twice.
Our chain salad power rankings: Who dishes the best salad in the Twin Cities?
January rarely inspires a bowl of cold mesclun, but the time and effort it takes to turn over a new leaf — pun intended — this month can pass more sweetly if you know the play. While you can cobble together a salad yourself, chances are that you may not have the patience to boil a jammy egg, nor fry bacon to a crisp before pounding it into smithereens.
The best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities area in 2022
As food writers, we eat out more than the average person. And while we're always on the lookout for great food, sometimes the experiences are just as delicious as the cuisine. Here are our top meals and dining experiences from 2022. Zucchini takeover at Hyacinth All it took was an utterance of "zucchini" and my perennial dining companion and I were off.
Mara is the Star Tribune's 2022 Restaurant of the Year
It is rare these days to see a restaurant embrace its accolades and then improve on them. But somehow Mara, Gavin Kaysen's voguish ode to the Mediterranean, has. Dishes are continually pruned — the crudos are as good as ever — and late-season additions, like the Turkish Manti, a type of stuffed lamb dumpling, and bacon-wrapped monkfish, continue to be executed with creativity and finesse.
7 restaurant openings in the Twin Cities area you should know about
Blondette Ever since the Art Deco beauty of the Rand Tower in downtown Minneapolis was restored and revealed as a hotel and destination dining space, the fifth-floor atrium has been waiting. While the downstairs restaurant space first served as Whiskey and Soda, the gorgeous upper-level space with two bars, a glass-topped dining room and an outdoor patio lay largely vacant.
With Macanda in Wayzata, an empire has finally met its match
In the X-Men comics, the character Mystique is both wily and resourceful. She can clone into any mutant she touches but will operate with greatly reduced powers. That doesn't seem to stop her from terrorizing others. Daniel del Prado's restaurants hardly induce dread, but the speed at which he opens restaurants may. In the span of about a year, he opened three restaurants and two bar concepts, in addition to the four-ish he already owns. Another will open next year.
5 Twin Cities restaurant desserts our critic can't stop thinking about
My weakness for sugar often compels me to end every restaurant meal with dessert. But as a food critic who regularly dines out, I must exercise restraint. On the rare occasion when I don't, I often find myself marveling at the desserts at Spoon and Stable, Mara and Khâluna, if I haven't already filled my quota of pastries from Marc Heu and Patisserie 46's John Kraus, chefs who surely run the finest pastry programs in the Midwest. Are dessert programs receding across restaurant kitchens, though?
Guacaya Bistreaux
To fully embrace the voices that guide Pedro Wolcott's cooking, consider the jerk chicken from his restaurant, Guacaya Bistreaux. It arrives already sectioned, dark with grill marks and painted with a glaze made with a different type of ketchup (Panamanian) that tangentially recalls jerk seasoning (Jamaican): the heat is tempered, and it's slightly — though not unappealingly — sweeter.
Critic's diary: A day of eating and drinking in Minneapolis' North Loop
The burgeoning North Loop in Minneapolis is filled with eateries near and dear to me. Whenever possible and budget permits, you'll find me at Spoon and Stable or, for special occasions, Demi and Kado No Mise, where the tasting menu and sushi, respectively, only get better with time. Yes, there's Bar La Grassa and other popular haunts, too, but in the spirit of giving, here are other places I frequent, and what constitutes a wholesome day of eating in the neighborhood.
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