Italian sub sandwich from Red Wagon Pizza Co.
A friend who's a new mother recently asked for suggestions on where she could take her newborn for lunchtime mom meetups. It seems in this post-pandemic/shifted-hours reality we're living in, lunch has often fallen by the wayside. Well, I'd like to offer Red Wagon, the Minneapolis Armatage neighborhood pizzeria, as an option. Up until this week, I had forgotten they are open midday (lunch begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday-Sunday).
I'd come with grand plans for pizza, but drew a deep breath when I saw this beauty of a sandwich ($14) on the specials menu. Light-as-air crusty bread is stuffed with Red Table sopressata, sliced ham, Smoking Goose capocollo di dorman and topped with shredded romaine dressed in a fig-balsamic vinaigrette and oregano with a garlicky sauce. It dances up to the edge of flavor overload with snappy, rich, spicy, creamy, salty, sweet and savory notes happening in every bite.
It's absolutely worth making midday plans with a friend just to get over there and order this doozy. The picture only shows half the sandwich. After its arrival, I broke the cardinal rule of taking a picture before a bite. I assure you, I live with zero regrets. (Joy Summers)
5416 Penn Av. S., Mpls., 612-259-7147, redwagon-mpls.com

Key lime pie at CōV
You'd think that writing about the Twin Cities' most decadent desserts would be enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. But a week later, there I was, basking in Lake Minnetonka's golden sunset with an enormous slice of Key lime pie.
The suggestion came from a reader who had tried it last summer. She and her husband each ordered a piece, and wound up with leftovers for days. "I have never, ever tasted a better pie of any kind," she wrote.
Despite the slice's immensity, it's about as classic a Key lime pie as one could hope for. Tart and creamy all at once, on a graham cracker crust, and with enough structural integrity to withstand repeated stabs with a fork as you consider, deeply, whether you really want one more bite. (You do.) A scoop of lime-zested whipped cream on the side rounds it out.
It turns out that all of CōV's desserts are meant to serve two to four people family-style. And this one, at $18, certainly could. But no one is going to make you share. (Sharyn Jackson)