The 5 best things our food writers ate this week

It was 1988 when I fully embraced my season. In our darkened basement, under an elaborate fort constructed of sheets and dining room chairs, my best friends, sister and I were absorbed into the blinking light of the TV. The VCR hummed as it played “The Monster Squad,” a glorious horror cheesefest about kids battling classic movie monsters.

Between wigs and makeup, crunchy leaves and even that one time it super snowed, how could anyone not love Minnesota Halloween?

Anoka is a town after my little, black heart as the “Halloween Capital of the World.” Main Street is filled with cute ghosties, pumpkins and even some more grizzly decor. Everyone is in on the fun including Oakwood Cafe. Sharing space with a flower shop, the menu is filled with comforts: freshly made cinnamon rolls, seasonal scones, breakfast sandwiches on just-made English muffins, long-simmered soups and more. The room smells just as good as you’d imagine.

But what delighted me the most, were the bats ($2.99). Tender, fragrant gingerbread cookies are decorated with varying levels of derpy expressions — and irresistibly adorable. Biting off that molasses/sugary wing brought me back to that giddy, ghoulish girl ready to take up arms with all her friends against the things that go bump in the night. (Joy Summers)

1917 2nd Av., Anoka, facebook.com/oakwoodcafeanoka

The Minneapolis-based craft sausage and butchery, run by two restaurant veterans, launched a food truck this year, which makes regular stops at breweries, including a recent appearance at Steel Toe Brewing in St. Louis Park.

Sweet Lou’s products are spotlighted in many ways, with the kielbasa ($15) house made “jumbo sausage” among the most impressive. The smoked sausage with a juicy middle and snappy casing gets infused with garlic, paprika and caraway. The 9-inch sausage protrudes from a buttery, toasted, split-top New England-style bun and it all gets topped with whole-grain mustard and apple kraut. If you’re looking for another taste of Sweet Lou’s line-up, try the melt-in-your-mouth smash burger ($14) with griddled onions and beer cheese sauce.

Louisa Farhat, a butcher who developed restaurant charcuterie programs and former Seward Community Co-op meat manager, and Tim Dubay, a 15-year industry veteran (including sous chef at the Butcher’s Tale), are behind the operation. What started as a side gig in 2021 has grown into a full-time business with their products in local restaurants and in grocery stores, farmers markets and, of course, the food truck.

Upcoming stops are typically posted weekly on their social media pages. Starting in December, they’ll have a temporary St. Paul address. “We will park the truck on Black Hart’s patio and begin a winter residency until March,” Farhat said. (Nancy Ngo)

instagram.com/sweetlousmeats

A new fast-casual Minneapolis skyway spot serving Indian fare, classic American hot sandwiches and more is up and running in Deluxe Plaza. Spice Shack features plates with your choice of a starch such as basmati as well as chicken biryani or vegetarian saffron fried rice plus a main ($6.99; or $7.99 for an additional main). Saffron rice bowls are also available, ranging from Mediterranean-style steak and crispy chicken to spicy shrimp and gyro, each with their own toppings and sauces.

The chicken biryani platter, with deep curry flavors in the bone-in chicken leg, was such a standout it could have starred on its own. Owner Ather Jameel credits his mother with the recipe, in which chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices for two days so “the spices really get into the chicken.”

Chicken tikka masala is another comfort food and the paneer dishes are highly recommended: the mildness of the firm cheese complementing the delicious spinach and tikka sauces. It’s not every day we come across the south Indian dish Chicken 65, so it’s worth noting that Jameel, whose family is from Hyderabad, has it on the menu here. Take note: It kicks serious heat. He also has family from the Windy City, hence the Chicago dogs that share space with items such as Philly steak and Italian beef on the handhelds part of the menu.

Jameel, who launched the Igrill and Kabob’s concepts, said he plans to rotate the menu daily at his lunch spot. “We want customers to have different options every time they come, so hopefully they’ll keep coming back.” (N.N.)

Deluxe Plaza, skyway, 121 S. 8th St., Mpls.

Lunch is underrated. Taking a midday break has to be one of the keys to a long life. Imagining retirement, I hope to have long swaths of midday meals with little agenda beyond ordering all the good things and camping out until the sun dips towards the other edge of the horizon. Thankfully, the meal is making a comeback at several restaurants across the metro area, including Snelling Avenue’s own sort of supper club.

Chip’s Clubhouse extended its hours earlier this year, and the menu is just as stacked with those comforting plates the St. Paul restaurant is known for at dinner. A burger, giant pork tenderloin and a serious Rueben are all present. So is a mighty, spiced fried chicken sandwich ($15). Billed as Nashville Hot, the flavors taste almost more like a dry curry seasoning: perfumed, warming without a sledgehammer of spice and a thunderous crackle of crust around a juicy chicken thigh. (J.S.)

272 S. Snelling Av., St. Paul, chipsclubhousemn.com

Seven years strong, 20-seat Tenant in south Minneapolis is still the place for a pasta-leaning tasting menu and intimate date-night conversation. Though the two seatings a night are finely coordinated, there’s nothing stuffy about the service here, and the library of LPs keep the atmosphere casual and cool. It had been years since my last dinner here, though I’d always remembered it fondly. (It’s also a reader favorite; I’ve had loads of people telling me over the years to go back.) Finally, I returned this week for the six-course tasting ($80) and marveled at each delicate plate, especially the gorgeous hamachi crudo in salsa verde with bright purple beet cubes, and the tangle of linguini with plump scallops and thin slices of shishito pepper.

But a tasting isn’t the only way to experience Tenant. In 2021, the restaurant took over the space next door and named it, aptly, Next Door. Like going through the looking glass, the spot on the other side of the wall feels a lot like Tenant proper, with a comfortable bar at its center, just a few tables, a pool table and, yes, a record player. It acts as an overflow spot, a place to enjoy an aperitif before a reservation or a comfortable place to linger with a glass of a wine afterward. Walk-ins are also welcome. There is a micro-menu of bread and butter or a bratwurst, and a selection of cocktails, each an affordable $10.

I followed dinner with a blushing gimlet, pink from hibiscus flower petals, and pungent with ginger and lemon steeped together, pureed and strained, and steeped again. The freshness was staggering (and sinus-clearing). All the juices for the cocktails are pressed daily, and whatever is leftover at the end of the night goes into a palate-cleansing granita served in the restaurant the next day. (S.J.)

4300 Bryant Av. S., Mpls., tenantmpls.com