The 5 best things we ate in the Twin Cities area this week

Vegan bowl from Bom Dia Treats

Even on a day that began brutally warm and humid, the icy base of this smoothie bowl remained cold and frosty with every bite, from beginning to bowl-scaping end. Bom Dia is the Instagram and Tik Tok darling of the moment with an entire menu of fresh bowls built for gorgeous close-ups.

Dennise Mejía opened Bom Dia in 2021 with fresh fruit bowls built on a base of an organic açai berry blend that's topped with all manner of organic, vegan and gluten-free toppings. There are several bowls on the menu, or build your own with mix-ins like flaked coconut, organic chocolate granola, quinoa puffs, almond butter and a pile of fresh fruit.

I got the vegan bowl ($12) that's topped with sliced banana, tart strawberries, blueberries, crunchy-crisp granola, slivered almonds and a tumble of fresh coconut. The result was a wonderful antidote to the bullish humidity and a fresh breakfast that kept me filled for hours.

For right now, Bom Dia is serving exclusively out of Quixotic Coffee in St. Paul, but a Minneapolis North Loop location is in the works. (Joy Summers)

769 S. Cleveland Av., St. Paul, 651-448-1391, instagram.com/bomdiatreats

Grilled Shrimp at Sooki & Mimi

If this $17 dish from at Sooki & Mimi inspires fantasies of beachside snacking on the freshest seafood in Tulum, Mexico, then you're doing it right.

Five plump, grilled shrimp that have been marinated in chile rest over a shocking green epazote aioli sprinkled with chunky salsa macha. It comes straight from a memory that chef/owner Ann Kim felt compelled to re-create for stifling, landlocked Minneapolis.

"My favorite way to eat shrimp is with everything intact because I love to eat shrimp in its entirety, literally from head to tail," Kim said. "It reminds me of eating freshly grilled shrimp on the beaches of Mexico with a cold beer."

Epazote is an herb used in Mexican cooking, often added to beans, but here it's used for its "fragrant, herbaceous notes." Take your server up on their offer for a side of corn tortillas to swipe up any and all of what's left on the plate.

As Kim pointed out, a cold beer is a perfect accompaniment. But I went with the mango sour ($12), a zero-proof cocktail that spices and puckers up mango juice with chile and lime, and tops it with a creamy egg-white foam. Refreshing as ever. (Sharyn Jackson)

1432 W. 31st St., Mpls., 612-540-2554, sookiandmimi.com

Hibiscus ice cream at Sebastian Joe's

The oppressive weather had us screaming for ice cream, and thankfully the Twin Cities has no shortage of top-notch scoop shops. Deciding where to go is normally a chore, but a reader tip raving about Sebastian Joe's hibiscus ice cream piqued our interest. Would it be "absolutely divine" like she said? The answer is yes.

Hibiscus is having a moment during the Summer of Barbie as pink cocktails, mocktails, desserts and more pop up on menus across the metro. But, like Barbie, the pink flower is hardly new. With a tart, slightly sour taste, it has long been used as a flavor enhancer, especially in teas. Sebastian Joe's harnesses the tart hibiscus flavor and adds a hint of cherry for a fruity kick, all tempered by the cool creaminess of the main attraction. While ice cream is always delicious, sometimes it can get heavy. This doesn't — it's light and refreshing, just what we were looking for on a steamy night.

We opted to have it scooped into one of Sebastian Joe's housemade, hand-dipped chocolate waffle cones, knowing the rich chocolate would be the perfect foil to the tart hibiscus-cherry notes ($7.20 for one scoop in a hand-dipped cone). Our reader suggested the chocolate cone covered in sprinkles, and normally we'd say sprinkles make everything better. But in this case there's no need for improvement. (Nicole Hvidsten)

1007 W. Franklin Av. S., Mpls., 612-870-0065; 4321 Upton Av. S., Mpls., 612-926-7916; sebastianjoesicecream.com

Ceviche at K'kinaco Nikkei & Pisco Bar

"It's the best ceviche IN. THE. WORLD." That's how my server introduced the dish he placed on my table. It's something I heard him repeat to other guests at this one-of-a-kind Peruvian-Japanese restaurant on Hopkins' Mainstreet.

It might have just been a line, but there had to be some truth to it if orders kept flying out from behind the sushi bar, right? I can't speak to the whole world's ceviche situation, but it was certainly the best I'd had in recent memory.

Where others may contain a puckery mélange of seafood in lime juice, this $18 plate focused on mahi mahi, a generous heap of thick-sliced shards surrounded by a moat of leche de tigre that I drank with my spoon. Literally "tiger's milk," this sunshiny sauce is a blend of Peruvian yellow chile peppers, fish broth and citrus. As is traditional in Peruvian ceviche, the cold fish comes with soft sliced sweet potatoes and two kinds of corn — boiled and puffy, and dried and crunchy.

You'll find a similar ceviche — albeit fancier, with piped sweet potato purée — at Guacaya Bistreaux in Minneapolis' North Loop. But while the rest of that menu is distinctly Latin American, K'kinaco's skews toward sushi and sashimi that incorporate telltale Peruvian ingredients, such as aji amarillo sauce. Nikkei cuisine is not fusion, but rather distinct techniques and flavors forged by the Japanese diaspora in Latin America. It's a menu worth exploring. (Sharyn Jackson)

922 Mainstreet, Hopkins, 952-737-9866, kkinaco-nikkei.com

Spring rolls from Pho 79

When the temperatures reach scorching, I love to find dinner inspiration from warmer climates. Fiery Thai bird chiles help my inside temperature rise to the outside and reach some kind of heat equilibrium. Asada tastes better when the sidewalks shimmer like the heat rising off the coals, and Vietnamese cuisine, so packed with fresh herbs, hits the cool, crunchy desire to escape the weighty humidity.

Pho 79 might be best known for the soup in its name, but the spring rolls are delicious. Rice paper is wrapped around fresh and crispy romaine lettuce, shrimp, carrots, rice noodles and a thin slice of pork tucked into the edge. The whole thing is served with sweet hoisin and peanut dipping sauce that's stuffed with more shredded carrots. It's an incredibly affordable light lunch at just $6.25 for two spring rolls. (Joy Summers)

2233 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, 651-644-2327, pho79.net