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

If it feels like fried chicken tenders are everywhere lately, well, they are. Dave’s Hot Chicken is expanding, Toma Mojo Grill just added them to the menu, Tender Lovin’ Chix is still on its way in LynLake and Nashville Coop has just opened its third Twin Cities location, in Richfield.

The latest outpost occupies a retro diner in the former Flynn’s Eats and the short menu of combos doesn’t veer from the original locations and a food truck by the same name. Get three chicken strips, tenders with Texas toast or this “sammich” ($14), loaded with two large pieces of chicken and creamy-zingy “coop sauce” on the side for drizzling or dipping (fries included). I opted for medium spice, and I found I could have tolerated much more. But for those averse to the true meaning of Nashville hot, there is a “MN Nice” level.

Nashville Coop is a family affair, founded by a dad and two brothers (one of whom, Kamal Mohamed, is the chef and food entrepreneur behind StepChld and Parcelle, too). A longtime food truck family, they relaunched during the pandemic by putting an Ethiopian-spiced spin on Nashville-style hot chicken. The fiery chiles the Mohamed brothers’ mom would blend at home became the secret that sets them apart in an increasingly crowded chicken-finger field. (Sharyn Jackson)

6600 Penn Av. S., Richfield; 300 S. Snelling Av., St. Paul; 856 Washington Av. SE., Mpls., nashvillecoop.com

It was a rare Sunday morning with zero items on the to-do list and an open road calling us. After a swing through the farmers market, my husband and I experienced the rare kid-free brunch opportunity. In order to fully honor the occasion, we headed to Inver Grove Brewing Co and ordered the fried chicken eggs Benedict with thick-cut bacon on fresh biscuits ($15) spotted on the menu at our landing spot.

Opened in 2019, Inver Grove Brewing Co is a large open space with a generous patio that serves not just beer enthusiasts, but also just about everyone who could want for a good time. The huge dining room was filled with families just out of church, older couples in quieter corners and buddies catching the game on TV. It struck me that it’s a special thing when a restaurant has the nimble ability to meet all the folks of its neighborhood so equally where they are.

But this isn’t a story about crowd-pleasers. It’s about a brimming bowl of breakfast decadence. It’s likely that we’d be content with any element of this dish on its own: crumble-tender biscuits on the base, a handful of spinach because vegetables are important, hunky bacon and a Southern-fried beauty of a chicken thigh beneath a blanket of butter-rich hollandaise and two little poached eggs. We were happy to share while he nursed a coffee ale and I enjoyed a sober kombucha. This place really does have a little something to make everybody feel welcome. (Joy Summers)

9051 Buchanan Trail, Inver Grove Heights, 651-370-1565, igbrewing.com

Now that we’re in the thick of construction season, making that extra effort to support local establishments prompted us to show some love to Rinata, one of the many neighborhood gems impacted by heavy construction along Hennepin Avenue in Uptown Minneapolis.

The staff at the 16-year spot serving up housemade pastas and pizzas seemed appreciative of everyone who walked through the door and showed it with their cheery disposition, attentiveness to service and the well-paced dishes that came out of the kitchen.

As we waited for our order, we noshed on the complimentary bread basket with crisp on the outside, airy on the inside pieces of housemade focaccia that we dunked in an olive-tapenade/olive-oil dip. Chef Osvaldo Neave has a way with pastas and didn’t miss a beat with the pappardelle Bolognese and, our favorite, the bucatini all’Amatriciana ($23), with long strings of slurpy noodles cooked perfectly al dente. A house-cured pancetta and a deep red tomato sauce gave the dish richness and depth, while Parmesan gave off sharp and nutty notes and chili flakes a slight heat.

If we were to suggest one thing, it would be to go easier on the salt. But given Rinata’s casual bistro vibe, attention to detail, warm hospitality and the dish overall, we’d take that any day. (Nancy Ngo)

2451 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls; 612-374-8998; rinatarestaurant.com

Sarah Ann Haugen grew up around restaurants; her extended family was behind Twin Cities Italian eateries Mama D’s and Cafe Biaggio. She worked as a private chef to celebrities and CEOs in Silicon Valley, and when it came time to open her own spot in 2017, pasta was the furthest thing on her mind.

Her menu at Vitalist, the cafe she first launched in San Francisco, was gluten-free, organic, plant-based “real food with some semblance growing wild in nature and designed to help people cleanse while hacking junk food,” she explained. She moved Vitalist to Los Angeles during the pandemic, and “got hit with the three less-than-positive C’s: COVID, then cancer, then chemo.”

Haugen’s health brought her back to Minnesota, and earlier this year, she opened Vitalist by Sarah H in Spring Park, in the former Vann restaurant space on Lake Minnetonka. The menu has evolved to show Haugen’s range as a personal chef, and now includes animal proteins, such as the perfectly poached eggs atop the $16 Egg S’wich.

Think avocado toast-adjacent. Haugen stacks eggs, avocado, tomato, arugula and mayo on something she calls a “S.Cookie” (pronounced “scookie”).

A savory dish Haugen developed specifically for the Minnesota location, the S.Cookie was all my dining companion and I could talk about as we devoured this breakfast sandwich with a twist. To make it, Haugen builds off a gluten-free scone recipe she developed back in San Francisco. For this version, she infuses almond milk with rosemary, shallots, zucchini and parsley, then mixes that herbaceous liquid with brown rice flour and butter, for a light green-tinted fluffy breakfast cookie we didn’t know we needed. And you can get the S.Cookie in sweet versions, too. (S.J.)

4016 Shoreline Drive, Spring Park, 612-819-3111, vitalistsuperfood.com

The door swings open and closed with a country twang. Inside, the walls are a gleeful yellow dotted with rainbows and it’s immediately obvious that the name of this coffee shop is more than just something painted on the outside.

The vibes are intentional. Sunshine Coffee Co. was founded about a year ago by three friends, Erica Marsden, Julie Quinn and Sabrina Tvedten-Swinnea. Coffee beans are roasted on-site and are sourced with care from fair trade and small farms. The aromas are a heady mix of gently toasted, finely ground and just-brewed coffees. Specialty lattes include a salty maple latte ($6.50) made with amber-colored local syrup and a dash of salt. There’s usually a full, just-baked lineup of treats, but when I arrived, a lone tower of cinnamon pecan pull-apart bread ($5.50) remained. The rich caramel, meaty nuts and warm baking spice were a perfect pairing.

I had every intention of enjoying it solo, but the contagious cheer overcame me. Instead, I accidentally made a new friend. (J.S.)

3459 Lake Elmo Av. N., Lake Elmo, sunshinecoffeemn.com