2025 Food and Drink Review | Fargo, ND

Every year in July my sister and I do a road trip and this year she agreed to go to Fargo, North Dakota with me so that I can cross that state off my list!

We were only in Fargo for about 24 hours so we made sure to hit a couple of the “sites” I found ahead of time and also found a couple places to try there by recommendation. Obviously, this is a very short list, but I thought it made sense to share since I do think this is a great amount of stuff for a quick visit or a great base for someone planning to be there longer!

Panda Fest Twin Cities | Bloomington, MN

I found out about Panda Fest about a month ago and immediately scooped up tickets for me and husband to go the weekend before our birthdays – food outings are sort of our tradition since we both love trying new things/places.

Panda Fest is happening until tomorrow, July 13th and it is currently sold out, but it looked like they were selling limited tickets at the gate and online some people are reselling if they can’t go so if you’re interested there is still time!

Read through to check out all the food items we tried and get my honest review about the experience.

Fiesta Mexican Grill | Stillwater, MN

I’m going to apologize ahead of time, because we were in a group of 5 and I did not pay attention to what everyone was ordering I was too keyed up waiting for queso dip….so make sure you check out the menu below for all the details.

Fiesta Mexican Grill is in the same strip mall as the Kowalskis in Stillwater. Technically the city is Oak Park Heights, but everyone just refers to the whole area as Stillwater…the Stillwater High School is next door.

5 Outdoor Dining Spots | Saint Paul, MN

This list is my favorite patios and outdoor dining spots in Saint Paul and the east side suburbs. I know that there are a lot of revered spots in Minneapolis and the west burbs also, but I spend most my time on this side of the Mississippi so I’m making a list true to me!

If you have a spot you absolutely love, please drop it in the comments!

*Also shout out to my husband for being the star of most of these photos haha

Barbette | Minneapolis, MN

I was excited to grab lunch with friends at Barbette to celebrate our friend’s birthday as it was my first official time. Previously I had only been there for patio drinks.

The food definitely lived up to the hype!

Maynards | Excelsior, MN

What better day to be a Maynards first timer than on the 4th of July to sit on the patio!

MACS | Wisconsin Dells, WI

I had previously visited MACS Macaroni and Cheese Shop on the return trip from Chicago with my sister, niece and Mom and I was determined to get back there so this last weekend on the way home from visiting some friends in Madison I convinced husband we had to stop. However, I didn’t realize that the location my sister had taken us to was the Baraboo one and not the Wisconsin Dells so I did get a little turned around not recognizing where I was and it was definitely crazier trying to find parking, but still so worth the detour.

2025 Food and Drink Review | Duluth, MN

Husband and I were planning a trip to Duluth, Minnesota, but we only had about 36 hours to spend, so I went on a mission to find some of the best rated breweries, distilleries and city spots to check out.

We didn’t make it everywhere, but truthfully you can only eat and drink so much in such a short amount of time haha so below I’m sharing the spots we went (spoiler alert, I would recommend every single one of them).

Brick & Bourbon | Stillwater, MN

I previously reviewed Brick & Bourbon back in 2020, but we recently went for date night so it felt like a good time to refresh!

Olive & Lamb | Northeast Minneapolis, MN

Last Friday I had a Northeast Minneapolis girls night with some friends starting with dinner at Olive & Lamb and ending at some of the local Northeast establishments for cocktails.

This was my first time eating at Olive & Lamb and actually gave me a strong sense of nostalgia as I used to live a few blocks from that building and had been there for lunch when it was a deli…I miss that neighborhood!

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Food & Drink spots throughout the Twin Cities (Minneapolis + St. Paul) and Minnesota.

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