The Essential Guide to Twin Cities Restaurants

Crystal Grobe is a local food writer who loves trying out new restaurants to gain inspiration for cooking in her own kitchen. She loves Minnesota and is always on the go in search of new foods, events, music, and friends with her husband, Ryan. Find more of her work on Café Cyan and Bite of Minnesota, where she blogs for WCCO.

Blink and you might miss this Italian gem on Hennepin Avenue. Rinata popped up two years ago when the beloved Giorgio's called it quits and has continued to offer homey Italian dishes ever since. Through the use of dark woods, dim lighting, and bright pops of color, Rinata creates a cozy atmosphere perfect for a date night or simply an escape from bustling Hennepin Avenue.

Dining early and late can have its advantages as both drink and food specials are offered from 4:30pm to 6:00pm again from 10:00pm - 1:00am. I dined early with a few others to take advantage of the half-priced bottles of wine. Needing some sustenance to go with our wine, we ordered a couple appetizers.

First up, the Eggplant Involtini which is delicate slices of eggplant wrapped around creamy goat cheese. This appetizer was simply amazing and is a must-get even if you are not a fan of eggplant. The eggplant only serves as a vessel for decadent goat cheese and pungent garlic all atop a light tomato sauce.

The Baked Bulgarian Feta was next up and offered a nice saltiness from feta cheese and olives, and was brightened up with roasted peppers and artichokes. The bread served as a soft yet crusty accompaniment to the dish and allowed me to sop up every last bite.

Rinata offers a daily special and I was delighted to learn that not only was it a rock shrimp risotto (one of my favorite dishes), but the chef incorporated the perfect spring ingredient, fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads have been compared to green beans and asparagus with their grassy taste and firm texture and are only available fresh in the spring.

The pizza selection was a tough choice as Rinata offers four great ones. We went with the fennel sausage with roasted tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. One bite of the spicy sausage and I knew it was not only fresh, but likely homemade. Our attentive server confirmed this assumption for us.

The final entrée we selected was quite simple yet packed a lot of flavor thanks to the mushrooms and rich pan jus. Homemade ziti combined with tender balsamic braised short ribs made for a hearty meal and was reminiscent of a pot roast mom used to make.

With such an enticing dessert list full of house made gelatos, we had to try at least one. Choosing the Lemon Crostada was an excellent decision because it was light, lemony, and refreshing. A great end to our meal.

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