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.

Whether you prefer the cool breezes of spring or the warm rays of summer sunshine, scoring a table on the rooftop of Joe's Garage is certainly a treat. The tables fill up quickly with cocktail sipping diners all eager for a slice of the outdoor ambiance.

While it was too chilly to sit outside when I visited, I learned to value the indoor experience as well. Large picture windows highlight Loring Park and multiple levels of dining offer variety not seen at traditional restaurants. To get started, I went with the newest addition to the cocktail menu (so new it actually was not on the menu yet), the Bootleg, which is similar to a mojito with muddled mint and citrus juices, but with vodka and Joe's special citrus mix instead. It was so delicious and refreshing that my dining partner kept trying to steal it from me.

For appetizers, our table went with the server's recommendation and started with the Buffalo wings. Sweet, spicy, tangy and definitely saucy, these wings were quite good. Joe's Garage makes their own buffalo sauce, so you know it is fresh.

We also ordered the Cream Cheese Eggrolls. Think of it as an inside out eggroll with the crunchy slaw served on the outside and instead, the eggroll is filled with a spicy cream cheese. After a couple bites, I started stuffing slaw in with the cream cheese and made my own eggroll creation.

Have you ever heard of a mashed potato bar? Sure enough, Joe's Garage offers a full page outlining the fabulous mashed potato offerings. A diner can order a la carte, picking meats, veggies and sauces to top their scoop of potatoes or they can choose a Blue Plate Special where the combination is pre-determined.

Ordering the Country French from the Blue Plate Specials menu turned out to be a great choice. Lamb meatballs, warm chevre, and ratatouille made for a very cohesive dish. The lamb meatballs were very fresh and had chopped mint leaves throughout that paired well with the zing of the ratatouille. While the mashed potatoes were creamy enough on their own, the warm chevre added to the richness.

Next up, we tried the Mac and Cheese. The spiral shape of the cavatappi pasta helped hold on to the special ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, and blue cheese. It is a fun spin on traditional macaroni and cheese and satisfies the kid in all of us.

One cannot go to Joe's Garage without getting a burger! With over ten to choose from, it was a tough decision, but we all agreed to go for the spice and ordered the Bulgogi Burger. This is not your typical burger as the beef is marinated in teriyaki before being topped with spicy kim chee, sriracha, red onion and lettuce. It is a perfect mix of flavors starting with the sweet and salty teriyaki and ending with the oh-so-spicy kim chee. Have your napkin ready as this is a messy burger!

While debating over whether to get dessert or not, our server cut us a deal. She would buy us dessert if we would try her favorite. Who can resist two chocolate cookies anchoring local Sebastian Joe's ice cream? We surely could not, so our server's deal was accepted and we ate every last bit of that delicious Ice Cream Sandwich.

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