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

In addition to its classics — black cocoa, Cereal Killers, Thai tea, etc. — Milkjam Creamery adds a few special flavors each month, all riffing on a theme. April is Arab American Heritage Month, and Milkjam owner and chef Sameh Wadi decided to get personal.

Wadi, who grew up in a Palestinian home in Kuwait, devoted this month's four featured flavors to his "childhood favorites."

"Each flavor has core memories attached to it, and a personal connection," Wadi said.

Milkjam's roster has always tipped global, including Southeast Asian and Mexican flavor profiles and ingredients. But the flavors of Wadi's upbringing rarely made it onto the menu — until now.

My favorite was kunafa, which is inspired by a special dessert made with sweet cheese, pistachios, shredded phyllo and orange blossom. One bite practically teleported me to a Middle Eastern market, where I'd recently sampled those same treats. Another fantastic flavor, kahwa, is a coffee base infused with cardamom and saffron.

"They each represent a different joy that my childhood had for me," Wadi explained. "Like, when the kunafa came out, it meant celebration. It meant there was joy. And when the special Arabic coffee that had saffron and cardamom came out, it was different than the Turkish coffee that we would drink every day, because that would mean that special guests are here because we're breaking out the saffron and the nice coffee that takes an hour to steep. Just a time and a place and really good memories."

The other two flavors are halawa, a chocolatey vegan flavor inspired by the sweet tahini confection, and shosho, a mango ice cream with pistachio swirl and rose petal toffee. Pints are $11 and available until May 4. (Sharyn Jackson)

2743 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., 612-424-4668, milkjamcreamery.com

Frozen family meals from favorite restaurants are one of the things that carried over from pandemic times, and I'm grateful. When decision fatigue hits after a long week of deadlines and carting kids around, there's money in the bank in the form of frozen foods that have been expertly made by someone else.

Arepa Bar from chef Soleil Ramirez has recently started offering frozen meals, a choose-your-own adventure of braised meats, her signature arepas, long-stewed beans and condiments. After a rigorous week, I was thrilled to order a meal for easy prep come Friday night. (They're available for delivery around Minneapolis or pickup at her Midtown Global Market restaurant.)

The chicken empanadas are $20 for a six-pack, and way better than any other freezer meal. Just pop them in the air fryer or a skillet for a few minutes and the cornmeal gets all toasty brown, the interiors juicy and flavorful. The mild spice level and individual servings are total crowd pleasers — even for picky kids. I served them with plenty of the provided chimichurri and cilantro aioli for dipping. A week later, the leftover condiments are still amping up quick weeknight meals around the house. (Joy Summers)

920 E. Lake St., Mpls., 612-353-4885, arepabarmpls.com

When the weather began to turn, all I could think about were the vibrant flavors of spring. This past weekend was a dreary surprise and darkened my soul a little; still, I lusted for peas and carrots.

All Saints, the neighborhood restaurant that has historically done justice by vegetables, was happy to oblige at an unforgiving hour — close to 9 p.m. on a Monday. The spring menu was in full swing, and one dish in particular, the pea salad ($14), caught my eye. Two kinds of peas — snap and snow — are striped from the grill, and smoky too. They don't immediately embrace the sweetness of peas; it's less piercing, gentler. Lingering around it is puffed black rice, crunchy like shrapnel, and oblong furls of purple radishes and lime supremes, jousts of acidity and brightness that didn't overstay their welcome. And silken green goddess dressing cradles it all, creamy and hot from yuzu kosho.

It all is a masterstroke of layers, textures and acidity — I'll be back for more. (Jon Cheng)

222 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., 612-259-7507, allsaintsmpls.com

Full disclosure: This top-notch cafe is in my hometown, and one of their local purveyors, Odenthal Meats, is owned by a friend from high school. But the growing popularity and reach of both places means the secret's out — they've segued from hidden gem to must visit.

Like all good diners, Ettlin's knows its audience. The coffee's hot and plentiful, and breakfast is available all day. There's a sprawling lunch menu, rotating specials and local touches, which includes the Czech burger ($14.99). Instead of a beef patty, this burger employs jiternice (pronounced yee-ter-neat-za), a traditional pork sausage that has barley in the mix as well as a blend of herbs and spices. It's drier than many sausages, a trait I love but others don't. While you'd usually find jiternice on the breakfast table, in this case it's topped with a phenomenal housemade sauerkraut, tomato, onion and lettuce and sandwiched between a fluffy brioche bun.

It gets better. Instead of fries, the burger comes with housemade fried dumplings and a side of gravy, and you can and should add a kolacky ($3.59, flavors vary) to get the full Czech experience. They're made in house, too.

Ettlin's is a creative, bustling daytime cafe, open from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. (Be sure to check out the very fun coffee menu.) And while you're here, a visit to Odenthal Meats, about 6 miles out of town, is definitely worth the trip. (Nicole Hvidsten)

208 4th Av. SW., New Prague, 952-758-6772, ettlinscafe.com

It's been a while since I stopped by J. Selby's, St. Paul's vegan shrine to comfort food. But hearing about a change in ownership — the restaurant was recently acquired by the Herbivorous Butcher team — brought me back.

Devotees will be pleased to know that little has changed, from the casual diner digs to the menu. All of the greatest hits are still there, only with a few more of Herbivorous Butcher's products sprinkled in. I'm not alone in loving the Dirty Secret, a plant-based Big Mac-esque burger. But this time, I ordered the gyro ($13). The nicely spiced curls of protein resemble shavings of spit-fired meat in both taste and texture. Mixed with a finely diced Greek salad of sorts and drizzled with dairy-free "green goodness" sauce, the whole thing is stuffed into a pita and wrapped in foil, ready to eat. It's street food sans meat for the win — and the fries are pretty great, too. (S.J.)

169 N. Victoria St., St. Paul, 651-222-3263, jselbys.com

Miss a week? Revisit previous installments at startribune.com/5best.