The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities area this week

There’s a reason why Joseph’s restaurant in Stillwater has been attracting regulars for more than 40 years — the scratch pies and homestyle breakfasts, with eggs cooked just right, among them. On a recent trip home to the St. Croix River Valley, “Joe’s” was top of mind when looking for brunch options.

The crowd favorite was the farmer’s skillet ($17), a savory dish with onions, green peppers, tomatoes and ham that comes with a heaping bed of hash browns and two eggs made your way. We ordered our eggs scrambled, and the glistening curds were a sign that they had been taken off the stove at exactly the right time. Just when we thought we couldn’t ask for more, a creamy, buttery, decadent hollandaise sauce ladled over the top let us know we could dream bigger.

For an extra $1, you can substitute the accompanying toast with buttermilk pancakes. That’s a bargain, considering it’s two generous hot cakes the size of a dinner plate, and they proved to be a tasteful delight, thanks to a hint of sweetness from the buttermilk. (Nancy Ngo)

14608 N. 60th St., Stillwater, josephsmn.com

Sometimes, Minneapolis’ constantly shifting road construction bestows a small gift. For me, that gift was a line of orange cones on University Avenue that cordoned off some very handy meter parking outside the new cocktail bar WildChld.

Restaurateur and entrepreneur Kamal Mohamed tapped Dampfwerk’s Bridgit Loeffelholz to create a new drinking den with low lights, an open room, a few pieces of art and sophisticated beverages.

Loeffelholz’s cocktail list toes the line between reinvention and redefined classics. Drink sophisticates might recognize cocktail styles, but the ingredients are either new or seldom seen. The Very Demure ($15) is a Negroni riff, but the base gin is a Japanese variety made with rice. It’s augmented with a little banana liqueur that tastes faintly of toasted banana bread and a little injection of coffee bitters that rounds out the bitterness from the amaro. It’s smooth and supple, a tidy sip for the end of the day or the beginning of a very nice night. (Joy Summers)

24 University Av. NE., Mpls., wildchld.co

The problem with sprawling menus, like the one at this year-old Shakopee restaurant, is that it’s difficult to decide what to order. Birria tacos or carne asada pizza? Ceviche or elote? Mango margaritas, bubbly colada or house-made sangria? The struggle is real.

Don Ramón Restaurante’s Lindo Special ($18.95) is the best of all worlds. Steak, chicken and shrimp are grilled until each is cooked just right — tender, juicy and snappy, respectively — and combined with onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, all served on a bed of rice. If that’s not enough to declare dinner a winner, it’s all topped with Don Ramón’s signature white cheese sauce, which is intensely flavorful but light, shedding the cuisine’s stereotype of heavy, cheese-laden dishes. Flour tortillas come on the side, checking that taco craving box, and the portion is big enough to pack lunch the next day, too — minus the margarita. (Nicole Hvidsten)

1561 1st Av. E., Shakopee, donramontacos.com

School may be back, but 89 degrees means it’s still very much summer. And at a new 365-day-a-year outdoor restaurant, a lingering summer is a very good thing.

We stopped by Wells Roadside on its second day of service. All patio and one very fast kitchen, it opened this week in the former Galaxy Drive In. It still retains the old drive-in vibes, even if the alien green has been tempered down to a slick black. We waited in a long but friendly line to order Oklahoma-style smashburgers (the kind where the onions cook right on the patty), snappy wagyu hot dogs, super-fresh hand-cut fries, and a blackened salmon sandwich with dill sauce ($10) that I’d like to put into my regular lunch rotation.

There was no way we were skipping dessert. The soft serve menu is built off two flavors, vanilla and celebration cake (starting at $3). Both can be twisted with up to four different “flavor blasts,” making fully customizable, brightly colored cones (shakes, too) that were hits with the kids and adults in our party. “Blue goo” (aka cotton candy) was especially popular at our table, as was orange, a nostalgic Dreamsicle of a treat.

This being a Craft & Crew restaurant, with one of their signature canine-friendly “paw-tios,” there’s a flavor for dogs, too (vanilla soft serve with whipped cream and a peanut butter cookie). Even the pups need to stay cool. (Sharyn Jackson)

3712 Quebec Av. S., St. Louis Park, wellsroadside.com

Unboxing the Colombian dog from Seward’s Cafe Racer Kitchen is a total present-to-self moment. The abundance is blissful: cotija, cilantro and Sriracha aioli, sweet peppers, crispy potatoes, pico verde and a meaty snap (beef or soy) all in a plush bun. Plus, the whole thing, served with homemade chips on the side, is just $6.

It’s just one of the gifts that owner Luis Patiño shares with the neighborhood. Patiño launched Cafe Racer as a food truck, before moving the business into the iconic Clicquot Club location in 2015. Serving breakfast through dinner most days, it was built to be a neighborhood meeting point. After just a year in business, Cafe Racer went a step further into community building with a free monthly meal. The tradition continues eight years later; the last Monday of the month the restaurant holds a community meal with a rotating menu. Donations are accepted, but the food is free to anyone who needs a bite or even just some kindness.

Which also lends to the beauty of this outstanding meal. It’s affordable enough that it’s easy to pay a few dollars forward (in person or online) to help subsidize those “free” meals. No matter what, it’s hard not to leave this neighborhood institution without a satisfied smile. (J.S.)

2929 E. 25th St., Mpls., caferacermn.com