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

There was magic in that downtown department store. As a child, I remember holding my mother’s hand, shifting in heavy snow boots waiting in what seemed like an impossible line. Then, the room would suddenly open up into wonderment and bliss. Like a lot of Minnesotans, I held onto my yearly Dayton’s trip as long as I could, even when the store changed names and the annual holiday displays dazzled a little less.

It’s such a beautiful thing to see the Dayton’s Market light up the first floor of the historic department store space once again. There are gifts, small food vendors, candies, cookies, art and an Oak Grill-inspired wild rice soup ($9) courtesy of Parcelle, the northeast Minneapolis restaurant.

A worker pours creamy cupfuls studded with bloomed wild rice and optional almond slices. It’s rich, comforting and a cozy new tradition that leans into all those good memories. It’s available most days at both the market and Parcelle, where there are tables and real silverware. But, I preferred having mine at the nearby Santa Bear display. (Joy Summers)

700 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; parcelleorganics.com

If there’s one gripe I have about the newly minted “Westopolis” district in which I reside, it’s not the name, but the lack of a true downtown. That’s the price we pay for space, I guess. In Golden Valley, the business district is largely formed by a pair of strip malls on Olson Memorial Highway. It’s easy to miss one smaller shopping center behind the more prominent ones. But this one, called Town Square, feels almost like a traditional town square.

A lot of that neighborly feeling has to do with one of the anchor tenants, Triple D Espresso. The family-run cafe and coffee roaster just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and regulars were flocking there for conversation, seasonal lattes and warmth on a recent sleety morning. The baked goods are made in house, and they disappear before the day is out. I got there early, and had my choice of about a dozen flavors of muffins and scones. I went with the popular cherry almond muffin ($2.79), its soft center still warm out of the oven, dried cherries for tartness and sugar crystals adding some crunch on top. Small-town vibes all in one pillowy breakfast cake. (Sharyn Jackson)

675 Winnetka Av. N., Golden Valley, tripledespresso.biz

If you’re like me and love ramen in all of its broth-filled glory, it’s hard to imagine why you would want a bowl without. But curiosity got the best of us, and we checked out the fast-casual brothless ramen chain sweeping the globe that just rolled out its first Minnesota location in Richfield. It’s clear that there’s more to this dish than just ramen noodles sans broth. (Fans of traditional ramen with broth will be happy to know that there are a few available.)

There are nine varieties of abura soba, or soupless ramen, each with distinct sauces that sub in for broth. At Kajiken, the abura soba noodles are thicker and chewier than traditional ramen noodles. The springy, textured gold strands lent themselves well to absorbing those sauces.

Of the ones we tried, those favorite sauces came from the vegan bowl ($14.50), a satisfyingly creamy tofu paste served with crunchy edamame, silky tofu and more. But the big crowd-pleaser was the Original ($14.50). With ingredients such as braised pork belly chasu, bamboo shoots and nori, it’s a riff on a traditional tonkotsu ramen bowl with familiar, wonderful umami flavors included in the sauce and seasonings.

We found most of the dishes to be on the neutral side, so it was great that accompaniments such as vinegar and chili oil were available at the table for more acid, heat or other flavor boosts. Or, just to clear your sinuses like we were needing on a recent chilly night. (Nancy Ngo)

9 E. 66th St., Richfield, kajikenus.com

One of the most anticipated restaurants in St. Paul this year, the newest Los Ocampo near the intersection of Cretin and Marshall avenues, is finally open. Even on a chilly weeknight, families cycled through for chips and horchatas while other patrons celebrated happy hour with discounted margaritas.

The former Bark and the Bite space took more than a year to transform, and the lively interior captures the fun of the Los Ocampo family of restaurants. Bistro lights criss-cross the dining room and a large mural captures the restaurant’s story in visual form.

The new location serves breakfast through late night. It’s open until midnight on weekends, a rarity in this part of town.

Dishes will be familiar to Los Ocampo fans: sopes, tacos, enchiladas and more. We ordered up all the favorites plus a wet burrito ($16.99) soaked in beef consommé. Served with a side of rice and beans, this is at least a two-person meal. The burrito is massive and stuffed with slow braised beef, rice, pico de gallo and cheese. It then gets doused in a rich beef sauce accented with toasty chili that’s ideal hibernation-season eating. (J.S.)

2186 Marshall Av., St. Paul; losocampo.com

It’s the season for holiday pop-ups. And a gathering for a friend’s birthday during this most wonderful time of the year was a great excuse to descend upon “Jingle Giles.” Through Dec. 31, the northeast Minneapolis restaurant and distillery is among several establishments featuring special holiday food and drink menus in addition to regular offerings. At Earl Giles, the pop-up consists of merry cocktails as well as eight, mostly shareable bites, such as shrimp cocktail, roast beef sliders, Swedish meatballs, bolo fries (waffle fries with bolognese) and arancini.

We tried the latter three and while all were decent noshes, the arancini ($8) deserves the most ink. The Italian rice balls are amplified with smoked mozzarella and truffle aioli. But all would be lost if it weren’t executed well, and it was — the cheesy rice filling was creamy and gooey and the coating golden crisp. Fine slivers of manchego get liberally sprinkled on top and it’s all placed on a bed of arugula. We ordered it as a shareable bite, but our table agreed it had all the makings of a great salad and could easily stand alone.

The place was packed when we stopped by, and the kitchen and front of the house were backed up, so it took a little time, patience and understanding to order and get dishes to the table. But the friendly, communicative and apologetic staff did their best and that made all the difference. Plus, taking in the place dripped in gorgeous red, green and gold decorations, it was hard not to get into the holiday spirit. (N.N.)

1325 NE. Quincy St., Mpls., 612-345-5305, earlgiles.com