Chef Gavin Kaysen is a personal hero of husband’s so ever since Mara Restaurant and Bar opened he’s been talking about going. However, because of all the things we had to do for our wedding in October it unfortunately kept getting pushed to the backburner so when I decided to plan a special experience for him over the holidays, reservations at Mara were the obvious choice. He was thrilled and his excitement didn’t even damper when the day of the reservations came and Minnesota was in the middle of a blizzard warning that he had to drive through haha.
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Kennedy’s Cafe | Somerset, WI
StandardWe had a girls day that started off with us playing Purse Bingo at The Sportsman to raise money for the Somerset Community Food Shelf and then headed over to Kennedy’s Cafe for lunch. Such a cute little diner.
Continue readingHazelwood Food and Drink | Woodbury, MN
StandardEver since realizing a new restaurant was coming to the vacant space over by Woodbury Lakes I’ve been eagerly awaiting it’s opening. Hazelwood Food & Drink couldn’t be more different than the previous venue, which is a great thing. They completely revamped the interior and while it is a little more upscale in pricing for Woodbury the quality definitely makes it worth it.
Continue readingOld Southern BBQ | Arden Hills, MN
StandardHusband was working across town so I got a pleasant surprise via text asking me what I wanted him to bring home from Old Southern BBQ for dinner.
Continue readingUnion Hmong Kitchen | Minneapolis, MN
StandardThis isn’t my first time at Graze in the North Loop, but this was the first time I went with a mission in mind. The mission – try Union Hmong Kitchen.
I really wanted to get to their stand during the Minnesota State Fair, but the line was WRAPPING around the corner so I made a promise to myself then that I’d get there this year – and I did!
Continue readingLa Maria Taqueria | Lakeland, MN
StandardMy husband’s family lives in Lakeland so we’re down there quite a lot, but for some reason there is such a high turnover of restaurants in that area. La Maria Taqueria is a new restaurant in Lakeland, Minnesota that opened earlier this year. They actually have had a long standing food truck in Lake Elmo which is raved about so that made it even more exciting!
Continue readingLoLo American Kitchen and Craft Bar | Stillwater, MN
StandardI went to post a photo of our most recent visit to LoLo American Kitchen and Craft Bar in Stillwater, Minnesota and realized, that although they are probably my most recommended spot, I’ve never written a Hipster Hack about them which felt very wrong, so here we are with a recap of some of our favorite dishes!
Continue readingDevil’s Advocate | Stillwater, MN
StandardAfter months of driving past it and saying “oh shit, we keep forgetting about that place,” we finally made it to Devil’s Advocate in Stillwater for a very quick dinner before my nephew’s soccer game.
Continue readingLolito Cantina | Stillwater, MN – 2022 Hipster Hack
StandardI’ve already written one Hipster Hack back in 2020 for Lolito Cantina, but that was two years ago and it’s still one of our favorite places so it definitely deserved an update!
Continue readingSTEPCHLD | Northeast Minneapolis, MN
StandardI’ve been wanting to try STEPCHLD for a while so I was excited when I was able to make dinner plans with my friend to check it out.
I miss living in Northeast Minneapolis so much and it’s places like this that are why.
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