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

Tucked into the back of a strip mall, not far off Hwy. 55 in Plymouth, is a different kind of coffee shop. The giant windows and elegant space, filled with creamy colors and rough wood tones, beckon. Shelves stock an alluring mix of home goods, jewelry and art. Behind the marble counter, workers are eager to share stories about the wares and fire up the imported Italian espresso machine. While the Fox and Pantry is a coffee shop, bakery and cafe, it's also so much more.

During the pandemic, owner Kym Joles, who grew up in South Africa and landed in Minnesota after spending time in London and Seattle, craved meaningful human connection. We talked about the deep bonds of female friendships and the morning coffee routine and conversation that some of her older customers missed — both among the reasons she opened this stunning, light-filled room about six months ago.

"What I really wanted was to build a community," she said. That's why, in addition to daytime baked goods and soon-to-launch soup and sandwiches, private events from floral arranging classes to cookie decorating parties fill the evening hours.

The food is entirely made in house from Joles' recipes, with care and quality poured into every item. The almond cake ($6) is naturally gluten-free (mixes and replacement flours didn't live up to her exacting standards), and the result is a light, toasty flavor topped with a bit of crackling sugar crust. It's just the right amount of sweet to pair with a rich espresso. As we walked out the door, my companion and I were plotting a return. It's that kind of neighborhood gathering space. (Joy Summers)

15725 37th Av. N., Plymouth, 763-553-7938, thefoxandpantry.com

Anyone who follows former Star Tribune restaurant critic Rick Nelson on Instagram knows that retirement has not halted his quest to discover the perfect breakfast sandwich. Which is why it makes perfect sense that the breakfast sandwich on the menu of the new Westside Wine & Spirits, a liquor store and gourmet market in St. Louis Park, would be named after him.

The Full Nelson ($9) is a deliciously executed entry into the breakfast sandwich canon. A crusty breakfast bun is smeared with paprika mayo and loaded with a fried egg, a generous patty of breakfast sausage, Tillamook sharp white cheddar and arugula — a nice green touch that too many breakfast sandwiches lack. (Get the Half Nelson, without the sausage, for $6.) It's just one of a handful of terrific sandwiches that co-owner and chef Tom Schoenberger crafted for the grab-and-go menu at this tasteful Texa-Tonka shop. He and co-owner and wife Alex Schoenberger have followed Nelson's breakfast sandwich reviews over the years and tried many of them themselves.

8016 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, westsidewinemsp.com

Whenever I drop by this gem, either at the stand-alone Minnetonka storefront or its Market at Malcolm Yards outpost, I vow to try something different — the Lomito steak sandwich, maybe a couple of alfajor cookies. But without fail, I am swayed by the case of pillowy empanadas and forget all about that promise.

No regrets, though. On our most recent visit, a trio of empanadas ($3.75 each) included beef (ground beef, potatoes, olives, peppers and onions), classic Caprese (the never-gets-old combo of roasted tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil) and spinach (a marvelous blend of steamed spinach, onions, salty feta and mozzarella). The dough is made fresh in-house before being stuffed with a rotating variety of fillings and baked up to crispy, pint-size perfection.

Owners and Argentina natives Diego Montero and Nicolas Nikolov keep things hopping at their Minnetonka location, where you can count on a soccer match to be on the TV, the occasional tango class and a steady flow of customers and empanadas. Next time I promise to get the Lomito — I'll just get the empanadas to go. (Nicole Hvidsten)

14725 Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka, 952-303-6081, delsurempanadas.com

Despite its namesake, I'd go for the hefty torta ($12) as a first bite. A football-shaped (and nearly football-sized) bread is split and stuffed with al pastor, crispy pork bits that are shaved off that spit and then cooked on a flat top. The meat is adorned with fresh cilantro, raw onion and a squiggle of mayonnaise. It's served next to an assortment of salsas, the spiciest of which gave a pleasant warmth to each bite. Open until 11 p.m., it's a good spot to know about pre- or post- downtown St. Paul events. (J.S.)

241 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-493-6884. taqueriamn.com

I can't think of a good excuse why I have yet to make the drive to St. Joseph to try Krewe, Mateo Mackbee and Erin Lucas' New Orleanian restaurant that opened to immediate acclaim (and New York Times publicity) in May 2020. But after a recent dinner in Minneapolis featuring the impeccable food that Mackbee and Lucas have been dishing out in central Minnesota, I'm finally planning my road trip.

Mackbee was the guest chef at the Black History Month installment of Stories Behind the Menu, a fabulous quarterly dinner series founded by friends and entrepreneurs Chaz Sandifer and Julie Burton that aims to "break bread and bridge the cultural divide among people of different backgrounds, races, religions." (Check it out.)

Krewe is an ode to the cuisine that Mackbee's mother, Mary, a St. Paul school principal, grew up cooking and eating in New Orleans. Though Mackbee was raised in the Twin Cities, everything he served at the sold-out dinner luxuriated in his family's Cajun memories, including an ultra-comforting red beans and rice.

A scoop of Jupiter Moon vanilla ice cream, also from St. Joseph, accompanies. And there's a secret ingredient that Mary Mackbee shared with Lucas which makes it just that much more deeply caramelly and dreamy, but Lucas wouldn't divulge other than to say that "it adds a lovely New Orleans classic flavor to the bread pudding that you would definitely only notice if it wasn't added."

The Stories Behind the Menu dinner — which has another installment coming up in May with Milissa Silva of El Burrito Mercado — was a set menu, but that didn't stop some attendees at my table from bargaining with the waitstaff for seconds. I'd do more than that — say, drive 80 miles — for a chance to have that bread pudding again. (S.J.)