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

With all the restaurants along the busy stretch of Lyndale Avenue S. in Richfield, it’s easy to overlook Joy’s Pattaya Thai Restaurant, a small, unassuming operation. But a Thai food craving kicked in, and we zeroed in on the place on the northeast corner of W. 76th Street.

The menu covers the basics, from standard fried rice and curries to stir-fries and noodle dishes, but then shoots off from there. One particular item, the pad thai boran ($21), caught our attention. Boran loosely translates to “ancient” in Thai, alluding to an old-school way of making the dish.

One bite and it quickly brought back memories of my honeymoon in Thailand, where my husband and I found a new appreciation for pad thais prepared with a silky sauce that was sweet, sour and tangy, with ingredients such as tamarind shining through. The sauce here had those same flavor profiles and glided into the rice noodles. The boran-style pad thai automatically comes with shrimp and a thick omelet on top, a side of crushed peanuts and lemon wedge — a plate as pretty as it was delicious. (Nancy Ngo)

7545 Lyndale Av. S., Richfield, joyspattayathairichfieldofficial.com

It sounds straightforward: French tacos. But this French late-night takeout staple defies logic.

“It’s not [traditional] French. It’s not tacos,” said Vincent Francoual, chef/proprietor of Chloe by Vincent, where he’s added his own take on the comfort-food dish to the happy hour menu. “It’s the mac and cheese of France.”

I first heard about French tacos (it’s plural, even when there’s just one) in this New Yorker piece, but had never encountered it in Minnesota. Nor had Francoual. He ate his way through the phenomenon on a trip to Paris and decided to bring it to his downtown Minneapolis bistro.

French tacos originated in a kebab shop near Lyon, and it’s like someone put everything on a kids’ menu into a tortilla. Chicken fingers, fries, cheese sauce. Francoual serves his ($10.50) with harissa dip, giving a little spice and color to the beige-est of foods.

He says he’ll change up the fillings, but don’t expect it to go all haute. French tacos is a deliberate entry point to the more casual French fare Francoual has been adding to the menu. He started doing pastas recently, and the list of bites for happy hour (weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m.) is a fun balance to more upscale dinner entrees that call back to some of his iconic dishes from his former Vincent A Restaurant.

“We try to figure out the right middle without losing our soul,” he said. (Sharyn Jackson)

700 S. 3rd St., Mpls., chloebyvincent.com

Fried Pickle Kitchen opened this summer in the back of a cinder block building and it’s both an ode to the humble goodness of a great frickle and one of those off-the-beaten-path restaurant gems that are so fun to discover. Said co-owner Julie Lynch: “We’ve only been open a couple of weeks and have been flying under the radar, but word has been spreading.”

The signature item is a pizza topped with house-fried pickles ($14.95) and it’s the dish that showcases why the fried pickle craze is worthy of the buzz. The pickles inside retain a dilly kick, while the crusty exterior holds its crunch even after an extensive car ride (I was halfway to the boonies before I gave in and took a bite). Built on a Midwesterner-approved crackery crust, the cheese is mild and gooey and the whole business gets a drizzle of ranch. An extra smattering of dill ties it all together.

Order ahead — it’s a two-person crew and a mostly takeout operation. Bring some patience and a little neighborly friendliness to chat with the other pickle fans. This tiny spot is a super fun stop. (Joy Summers)

759 County Road D, Vadnais Heights, friedpicklekitchen.com

When I recently wrote about where to dine near Lake Waconia, I heard from a few readers with roots in the area that I neglected to mention one of their favorite southwest metro places, Pangea Cafe.

Arriving squarely in the morning at the breakfast-and-lunch spot in downtown Waconia, I had a huge breakfast menu of choices in front of me. Thankfully, one reader had steered me toward the long list of eggs Benedicts. My impulse was the smoked salmon over a schmear of roasted tomato cream cheese, but they were out. It was a happy accident, then, that I landed on the crab Benedict ($24).

The two cakes were loosely packed with chunks of lump crab and veggies, the buttery green asparagus a nice match for the shellfish. Perfectly poached eggs rested on top like the fluffy clouds over the nearby lake. A tangy hollandaise blanketed everything, and you’d better believe I soaked up every last bit of it with the ultra-crunchy hash browns on the side.

Another reader suggested Mocha Monkey coffee shop around the corner. I stopped in after breakfast and ordered one of their specialty mochas ($5.34-$6.25). The cafe, in a charming, creaky old Victorian, has a chalkboard listing 10 creative mochas, plus a few specials on a board outside.

Together, Pangea Cafe and Mocha Monkey were a perfect morning pairing. Keep the recommendations coming. (S.J.)

Pangea Cafe, 37 W. 1st St., Waconia, pangeacafemn.com; The Mocha Monkey, 115 S. Olive St., Waconia, also in St. Bonifacius, themochamonkey.com

Running errands between Roseville and Minneapolis led me to check out Listo, the fast-casual Tex-Mex grill at the Quarry retail center. As I headed in, I ran into a friend on her way out who lives in the neighborhood and is a regular.

I followed her recommendation to order the mini-burrito. You can get a standard for $8.25 or Listo-style for $10.49, which comes with add-ons such as sour cream and guacamole. I ordered the latter. The main question was whether a mini-burrito would be filling enough, but it wasn’t an issue. The bean, rice, lettuce and cheese with your choice of protein was thick and generously stuffed, despite measuring about half the size of a standard burrito.

My protein of choice, the carne asada/steak, was a solid pick and the house salsas gave the burrito extra oomph. A side of yuca fries ($3.99), which I ordered just in case the mini-burrito wasn’t filling enough, were cooked to a nice crisp and are also highly recommended (and easily shareable). The tacos, starting at $3 and available on flour or corn tortillas, are also worth checking out.

Owner Manuel Pizano-Carlo, who was raised in the Mexico port city of Veracruz, opened Listo in the former Baja Sol with his wife, Suzanne, in 2018. “We just wanted to experiment in the food industry, Pizano-Carlo said. “We initially did a lease for a couple of years and we recently just renewed our lease for 10 years.” A win for the neighborhood and anyone in need of a quick, casual bite when in the area. (N.N.)

1730 New Brighton Blvd., Suite 100, Mpls., listofreshmexicangrill.com