The 5 best things our food writers ate this week

From the earliest days of Minneapolis’ food truck revolution, to the downtown skyway, to a brick-and-mortar all-day spot in a northeast Minneapolis apartment building, Vellee Deli has been on a slow and steady rise since 2011. But when the restaurant in the Nordhaus apartments closed abruptly earlier this year, the other locations took a break to regroup. It looked, for a moment, like we might lose what has been a constant, at least in the Minneapolis lunch scene, for Asian-Mexican-fusion deliciousness, such as Korean barbecue burritos, duck confit bánh mì and the “dragon melt” quesadilla.

But the family behind Vellee Deli had something else in the works all along. In an unlikely spot along a frontage road in Brooklyn Park, they — that is, the couple, Will Xiong and Joyce Truong, with kitchen help from their parents — were already planning a new offshoot of the business, one that paid homage to the more traditional comforts they grew up with. Xiong is Hmong, and Truong is Vietnamese and Chinese, and their “Tastic” concept features dishes from each of those cultures. The Brooklyn Park location was supposed to serve only those foods, but after the Nordhaus location closed, they found themselves fortunate to have a space to house all the flavors their longtime customers loved, and then some.

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” said Xiong over the lunch hour this week.

Here, you can get the dragon melt, plus what Xiong calls the Tastic “secret menu,” featuring Hmong sausage fragrant with lemongrass and ginger, pork belly with an astoundingly crackly top, chicken wings stuffed with egg roll filling, and the tart/funky/sweet hot sauce that brings it all together. I didn’t want to choose, and engineered my own sticky rice platter with pork belly ($16), an angel wing ($4) and a link of Hmong sausage ($6). It all comes with shreds of papaya salad in a little lettuce boat. There’s more to come back for, both from the Tastic menu and an expanded Vellee menu that goes beyond the beloved skyway fare as well as selections from the Northeast operation. My next visit will, undoubtedly, be for the dino rib pho ($32), which comes in a bowl the size of a beach ball, filled with spiced broth and a braised beef long rib that peeks out over the top. Comfort food indeed.

8200 Lakeland Av. N., Brooklyn Park, vellee.com

I was introduced to the pale (but delicious) Scandinavian treats through marriage, learning the ins and outs of krumkake, kringler, flatbread and three varieties of lefse each holiday season. Before long, I owned a lefse griddle, lefse stick, lefse board and three different rolling pins. I was smitten, with both the treats and my husband.

But Taste of Scandinavia, which has been supplying the metro with sweet and savory European treats since 1990, has taken its housemade potato lefse to new creative heights. It is served solo, or as wraps in breakfast burritos and lunchtime sandwiches, the base of a quesadilla-like melt and the vessel for these Swedish wontons ($8.99). Tangy lingonberry cream cheese is enveloped in lefse and then deep fried and topped with cinnamon sugar, a dollop of sinful whipped cream (also housemade) and chocolate curls. The cream cheese tang kept the sweetness in check, and one bite did exactly what you want a dish to do: make us smile. (Nicole Hvidsten)

Locations in Little Canada, North Oaks and Bloomington; tasteofscandinavia.com

Grill weather may be closed for the season, but those craving char flavors now have a new option to check out. La Estancia, an Argentine and Uruguayan steakhouse on the corner of 48th Street and Nicollet Avenue S., is all dressed up with white linens, blond wood and servers in button-upped-collar shirts. Offerings include finger foods such as empanadas and a wagyu burger as well as knife-and-fork entrees like cutlets and pasta. There’s also a sizable grill menu ranging from $31 (marinated chicken breast) to $125 (32-ounce tomahawk ribeye).

We couldn’t decide which grilled item to order, but there was no need since the Parrillada sampler platter was available. While the menu says it serves two people ($95), the heaping pile of protein could have easily fed four or more like-minded appetites. A piece of chicken breast and chorizo, as well as three cuts of beef (strip loin, skirt steak, short ribs), are served alongside salsas and an herbaceous, olive oil-packed chimichurri.

It was a fun way to graze. It also was a great way to help narrow down which cuts we liked best in case we order a la carte in the future. In our case, the top pick was the tender, buttery strip loin followed by the more textured (but also tender) skirt steak. We’d then round it out with an order of grilled chorizo ($7) to share; the housemade link, sweet and mild, was a great pairing between steak bites. (Nancy Ngo)

4751 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., bit.ly/laestanciampls

The fact that there’s a new Chinese bakery in St. Paul was exciting enough. Ahead of my visit, visions of barbecue pork buns danced in my head, but that was before I saw the rest of the savory menu and realized that there’s a new congee spot in town.

Zao Bakery is located on University Avenue, not far from the Dale Street light rail stop, and there’s also a handy parking lot next to the building, making it all very easy to get to.

The bakery has shelves lined with scratch-made buns stuffed with all kinds of goodness. Offerings also include fresh noodle soups and congee ($10.99), all tasting as if all the care was poured into these pots.

The chicken broth has depth, is distinctively chicken-y and cloaks each velvety rice kernel in rich flavor. Bright ginger snaps each bite to attention — perfect for a meal early in the day. Toppings are simple with chopped cilantro, green onions, fried shallots, and options for protein — broiled chicken, minced pork meatballs and tilapia — and veggies. On the table are condiments, including chili crisp, to personalize the flavor. But no matter how it’s doctored, this is a perfect cozy breakfast during this blustery season. Plus, it’s open seven days a week starting at 9 a.m. (Joy Summers)

575 W. University Av., St. Paul, instagram.com/575zao

When a community theater star buys a cafe in a small town with an unsolved mystery at its core, the natural first thought is: dinner theater. Jana Johnson took over the former Cozy Cottage Cafe and turned it into the Barclay, named for the main street on which it sits, which slices right through the heart of Pine River, Minn., 30 miles north of Brainerd. Barclay Avenue, she learned, was itself named after the town’s founder, George Barclay, who was shot dead through his window in 1898. The murder was never solved, and Johnson was drawn to the history. “Being a middle-aged single woman, I love ‘Dateline’ and ‘48 Hours,’” she said this week, seated at a booth in her cafe. “This so catered to me. I’m the right demographic.”

For the past two years on the anniversary of Barclay’s death, Johnson has hosted a play about the mystery, preceded by dinner at the cafe. The actors? They’re the regulars who come in every morning for coffee.

But I was in the homey one-room restaurant this week for lunch. There was no grisly drama; just lots of tables enjoying biscuits, burgers, enormous pancakes and gravy-smothered hot sandwiches. One of my dining companions ordered the commercial, something that this non-Minnesotan couldn’t exactly define. But it seemed like the thing to get, and that was the correct assumption, according to Johnson. “It’s the go-to,” she said later.

I ordered a half a commercial, too, and was served this glorious roast beef on white bread with a hot scoop of mashed potatoes — the kind with the comforting lumps in it — and enough glossy brown gravy to see my own reflection. It was $5.49. This mystery was easy, and delicious, to solve. (S.J.)

300 Barclay Av., Pine River, facebook.com/p/The-Barclay-100063733414669

The Taste team is stepping away from the table for the holidays and will return in 2025.