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

Zafar Khamdamov opened his first coffee shop in a former White Bear Lake gas station in 2020, just as soon as the first pandemic lockdown lifted. Four years later, a second outlet has arrived in a bank lobby in Maple Grove.

With a longtime dream to run his own cafe chain — he has plans to open eight more in Twin Cities suburbs — Khamdamov needed to find a way to differentiate his brand. So he leaned heavily on food offerings, starting with French crepes, ice cream, fruit smoothies and a sweet little lineup of pastries.

The you-can-only-get-them-here treats are from a local baker named Liubov. Her honey cake ($5.75) was a darling afternoon snack, with layers of honey-enriched cake disks alternating with a not-too-sweet cream cheese and sour cream frosting.

Khamdamov, who hails from Uzbekistan, is filling out the menu, soon to add gluten-free buckwheat and spinach crepes to the lineup. In time, he’d like to serve samsas, an Uzbek puff pastry filled with meat. With so much to offer, “now the coffee became an accessory,” he laughed. (Sharyn Jackson)

7951 Elm Creek Blvd. N., Maple Grove, 763-208-1331; 2490 E. County Road E, White Bear Lake, 651-377-4595, beancousa.com

Nothing inspires culty burger behavior like a little steamed slider and Hammies, a roving pop-up specializing in it, is proof of that. Just a couple of hours after Hammies first blanket of tiny onions hit their outdoor flattop, orders were almost sold out.

Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for those who came afterward, I nabbed one of the last orders available when Hammies posted up at St. Paul’s BlackStack Brewing.

Founded by friends Brenson Johnson and Nick Valentine, Hammies is an ode to a running “Simpsons” bit and a deep appreciation for the fryer things in life. Not unlike the burgers from a certain alabaster palace restaurant chain, the burgers harness the power of steam from tiny onions. The flat-top griddle is covered with a lot of finely diced onions, and then the beef is laid upon that sweet, allium blanket, then topped with a little dinner roll-sized bun lid to soak up all that good flavor.

Our Hammies pack came with six in an order for $16 and paired perfectly with a cold beer. (Joy Summers)

Follow @HammiesMpls on Instagram for their next pop-up.

As workers started to return downtown, longtime Minneapolis skyway tenant Asian Max decided to add pho to its lunch menu Tuesday through Thursday.

A superfan of this Vietnamese noodle dish and craving something with piping hot broth, I headed over and opted for the beef pho (available in chicken, beef or shrimp, $11.95). Still, I braced myself in case the casual nature of the order-at-the-counter place also meant a watered-down version. I was pleasantly wrong.

The broth, layered and complex in a good way, tasted as authentic as any of my favorite sit-down pho restaurants around town. The beef pho gets elevated here by replacing the standard cut, eye of round steak, with brisket. (Like barbecue, brisket is always a welcome treat.) It brought back memories of traveling through Vietnam and how some of the best pho came from casual night stalls.

Huong Nguyen, who can be spotted making rounds asking customers if they’re enjoying their lunch, is responsible for the delectable pho. While Asian Max has been open since 2001, Nguyen took over in 2019. She’s kept the same pan-Asian menu of rice and noodle stir-fries (also recommended: the green beans with a kick) while adding dishes. And the chef/owner, who ran Jenny An Cakes in Burnsville and owned a bakery in Vietnam, tells us she’s not done. Next up: Vietnamese sandwiches. (Nancy Ngo)

Asian Max, skyway level, Canadian Pacific Plaza, 120 S. 6th St., Mpls.; asianmax.restaurant

It’s hard to be indifferent about beets, a real love ’em or hate ’em vegetable if there ever were one. But this vegetarian sandwich from Revival,ordered at the urging of my veggie-loving spouse, might have moved the needle for me from beet-averse to beet acceptance.

To create chef Thomas Boemer’s beet Reuben ($13), sliced roots are brined like pastrami so they don’t taste like garden mulch, but do taste like the savory, peppery goodness of deli meat. The sandwich is piled with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on stunningly spiraled marble rye bread.

The relaxed patio at Texa-Tonka was my preferred place to enjoy it, but the St. Paul location has the sandwich on the menu, too. (S.J.)

8028 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, 952-303-4125; 525 Selby Av., St. Paul, 651-340-2355, revivalrestaurants.com

A small white cardboard boat of fried orbs wafted past me, bonito flakes waving farewell like I was surely missing something. Looking where the object of my desire came from led to an adorable food truck adorned with a lucky cat and Totoro. Young Man was parked on Nicollet Mall on Tuesday, part of the Minneapolis Downtown Council’s efforts to bring renewed vitality to the downtown transit and pedestrian hub this summer.

Serving a fusion of Balinese and Hawaiian food, the entire menu is tempting, from fried shrimp shumai to chicken katsu cutlet topped with fried rice. But the takoyaki, the popular Japanese street food made from a batter dotted with diced octopus that’s cooked in a special pan to get golden, crispy rounds, was calling. Topped with bonito flakes and served with a side of gingery mayo sauce, it’s a hearty snack for just $6.

Run by Albert and Zye Kurniawan, the truck is the newest chapter for the family business. Previously, the couple’s pre-pandemic era food truck, Don Oishi Kitchen, gained a hungry following for its Japanese fusion fare. They opened Young Man first as a restaurant in March 2020, just about the worst time to try and make a go of that business. They pivoted back to mobile food and catering, and now Young Man is on the streets making the brewery rounds. (J.S.)

Young Man, @YoungManMsp on Instagram, youngmanmsp.com