• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Epicurean Traveler

A Blog For The Culinary Explorer

  • Destinations
    • Asia
    • Europe
      • Denmark
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • The Netherlands
      • Switzerland
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Central America
        • Costa Rica
      • Mexico
      • USA
        • Colorado
        • Florida
        • Michigan
        • Minnesota
        • New York
        • Wisconsin
    • South America
      • Peru
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Restaurants
  • Recipes
  • Beer, Wine & Spirits
  • Style
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Twin Cities Food Tours | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Tasting Northeast Minneapolis With Twin Cities Food Tours

I’d like to thank Twin Cities Food Tours for providing me a comped ticket, a value of $45, to take the Northeast Minneapolis tour for this post. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

When you visit a new destination, do you like to learn about the local history? Do you set off on foot to explore a neighborhood? Do you eat the local cuisine and want to find out where the local foodies dine?

If you answered affirmatively to any combination of those questions, taking a food tour with Twin Cities Food Tours should be on your itinerary when you visit Minneapolis or Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

  • Here is why I chose Twin Cities Food Tours …
  • Touring Northeast Minneapolis
  • Tasting Eastern European Cuisine
  • Tasting Gelato
  • Tasting Cheese
  • Tasting Neapolitan Pizza
  • Tasting Himalayan/South Asian Cuisine
  • Tasting Greek Desserts
  • Things To Know Before Booking With Twin Cities Food Tours
  • Where have you taken a food tour? If you haven’t yet, where would you like to go on a food tour? Tell me in a comment below!

Here is why I chose Twin Cities Food Tours …

Yep, you'll taste this pizza on the tour. You're already salivating, right? I can't blame you. I certainly am. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)
Yep, you’ll taste this pizza on the tour. You’re already salivating, right? I can’t blame you. I certainly am. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

Did you know Minneapolis has so many restaurants on one of its main thoroughfares that Nicolette Avenue has been dubbed “Eat Street”? The Minnesota metropolis is also an incubator for culinary entrepreneurs. You’ll see a lot of that innovation at the Food Building and Midtown Global Market. Plus, neighboring St. Paul plays host to the foodie heaven that is the Minnesota State Fair and its many foods on-a-stick each summer. Armed with all that knowledge, I knew I wanted to dive right into the local food scene.

I was visiting the Twin Cities for the travel blogging conference TBEX, and I had booked an extra day to explore Minneapolis on my own. With this limited time frame, I realized a food tour would be the best way to learn about the Minneapolis dining scene from a knowledgeable local and to taste a variety of delicious dishes. And all in one afternoon!

Like any other traveler, I turned to Google to search for possible tours. After researching my options, I found Twin Cities Food Tours had a five-star rating on TripAdvisor. They also offered a Friday afternoon tour that perfectly fit my schedule. And, the icing on the cake: The tour was of Northeast Minneapolis, and I was staying nearby at the geek-chic Commons Hotel.

Touring Northeast Minneapolis

On a rainy May afternoon, Abby, of WanderLost Travels, and I joined Twin Cities Food Tours to explore the Northeast Minneapolis food scene. (Photo by Becca, our Twin Cities Food Tours guide)
On a rainy May afternoon, Abby, of WanderLost Travels, and I joined Twin Cities Food Tours to explore the Northeast Minneapolis food scene. (Photo by Becca, our Twin Cities Food Tours guide)

The day of my Northeast Minneapolis food tour was a drizzly spring day. Rain or shine, the Twin Cities Food Tours’ Northeast Minneapolis route involves walking 1.5 miles to visit six local eateries.

Abby, of WanderLost Travels, and I grabbed our umbrellas, and we set off with our guide Becca and our tour group to eat our way around a neighborhood we’d come to learn was as rich in history as it was diverse in cuisine.

Tasting Eastern European Cuisine

Look at all that sausage at Kramarczuk's! (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)
Look at all that sausage at Kramarczuk’s! (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

Considered a Minneapolis institution, Kramarczuk’s has been serving smoked sausages, baked goods, and house-made Eastern European cuisine since 1954. So, it seemed a natural fit to start our ethnically diverse food tour.

After World War II ended, original owners Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk left the Ukraine and settled in Minneapolis. Putting Wasyl’s knowledge of sausage making together with Anna’s cooking and baking skills, the couple created what is now a third-generation family-owned landmark eatery.

Borscht, goulash, and varenyky are a sampling of the ethnic Eastern European dishes available. During the tour, we tasted one of Kramarczuk’s famous sausages. We also ate a cheese-and-potato-filled varenyky (also known as pierogi) and pickled red cabbage.

Tasting Gelato

Creamy gelato in a variety of flavors from Oscar's Gelato Micro-Creamery at Wilde Cafe.
Creamy gelato comes in a variety of tasty flavors from Oscar’s Gelato Micro-Creamery at Wilde Cafe. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

Our next stop was Oscar’s Gelato Micro-Creamery at Wilde Cafe & Spirits, located along the Mississippi Riverfront. Our stop here was just long enough for our group to get a sample of a gelato flavor of our choice.

We took in the dozen flavors before us, and I selected a delicious salted caramel. Each flavor is made in a small batch by their dessert chef. If you want to keep up on the seasonal flavors, check out Oscar’s Gelato’s Facebook page. Browsing their page today, I discovered they are serving a Pumpkin Spice Latte gelato this fall.

Tasting Cheese

Soft cheese heaven! This Bent River Camembert is made in Mankato, Minn., about 1.5 hours from the Twin Cities. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)
Soft cheese heaven! This Bent River Camembert is made in Mankato, Minn., about a 1.5-hour drive from the Twin Cities. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

Ducking out of the rain at supermarket Lunds & Byerlys, we tasted three regional cheeses.

The first was hyperlocal Grazier’s Edge from the Lone Grazer Creamery in Northeast Minneapolis. The mild, buttery cheese is made from Minnesota grass-fed cow’s milk and washed with St. Paul-based 11 Wells Rye Whiskey.

Pictured above is another Minnesota-made cheese. From Alemar Cheese Company in Mankato, the Bent River Camembert is a soft, creamy cow’s milk cheese. As a lover of Brie and soft cow’s milk cheeses, this was my favorite of the three.

The third bite of cheesy heaven was Marieke Gouda, artisan raw-milk Dutch Gouda made about two hours away in Thorp, Wisconsin.

Tasting Neapolitan Pizza

Academy-Award-slaying, spot-on Margaret-Thatcher-and-Julia-Childs-impresonator, and everybody's favorite Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep called this "the best pizza" she EVER ate. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)
Academy-Award-slaying, spot-on Margaret-Thatcher-and-Julia-Child-impersonator, and everybody’s favorite Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep, called this “the best pizza” she EVER ate. I have to agree. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

Are we really surprised my favorite stop along the tour was Punch Pizza? I mean, have you read my welcome message on this blog? I could live on pizza. And, Neapolitan is king of the pizzas. It is the Holy Grail.

At Punch, you’ll find authentic Neapolitan pizza, too. The thin pies are made with fresh crushed tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, and olive oil. As you can see, Punch’s pizza has that blistered crust from the wood-fired oven.

When you visit any Punch location around Minnesota, check out the oven. Each oven was hand-tiled by Punch’s cooks using 50,000 hand-made glass tiles imported from the old country. Each of these elaborately designed ovens is named after a pizzeria the Punch staff loves in Naples, Italy.

During our visit, everything we ate was absolutely delicious. We started with the Punch salad of mixed greens, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and prosciutto in a balsamic vinaigrette. Then we had sea salt and rosemary focaccia bread. Of course, we had pizza, too! The Margherita is a classic, but you can’t pass up the Borgata topped with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, eggplant, goat cheese, and Saracen olives.

I was really disappointed that I didn’t make it back to Punch when I visited the Twin Cities again in August. I guess there is always next time, right?

Tasting Himalayan/South Asian Cuisine

Gorkha Palace Minneapolis
Delicious veggie pakora and Mo:Mo at Gorkha Palace! (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

For our next stop on the tour, Becca took us to Gorkha Palace. The restaurant serves authentic Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan cuisine.

One thing I learned is Gorkha Palace estimates 90 percent of its ingredients are organic. The restaurant also grinds its spices in house.

During our tour, we sampled the veggie pakora appetizer served with a mint chutney. Gorkha Palace’s pakoras are cabbage, onion, and jalapeño dipped  in a chickpea batter and fried into a delicious, crispy fritter. So yummy!

We also had a Mo:Mo. What’s a Mo:Mo? Essentially it’s a dumpling. The steamed potstickers are filled with scallions, onions, cabbage, ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, and Himalayan spices. They are served with a tomato chutney and are utterly delicious.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Gorkha Palace considering I’ve only recently discovered my interest in Indian cuisine.

Tasting Greek Desserts

What a trio! Baklava, Lemon Cream Boughatsa (TM), and Chocolate Hazelnut Boughatsa (TM) are just heavenly. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)
What a trio! Baklava, Lemon Cream Boughatsa (TM), and Chocolate Hazelnut Boughatsa (TM) are just heavenly. (Erin Klema/The Epicurean Traveler)

There’s no sweeter way to end a food tour than with dessert. So, our Northeast Minneapolis food crawl — and you really may be crawling as the food coma sets in — ended at Gardens of Salonica.

Serving traditional and modern Greek cuisine for 25 years, Gardens of Salonica really seems like a bit of Greece has found its way to the Twin Cities. Another way the restaurant connects its diners with Greece is through overseas tours led by co-founder Anna Christoforides. Pretty cool, huh?

I especially like that the restaurant uses local, all-natural, and organic ingredients when available. But, let’s talk about these desserts. Of course, baklava is a classic Greek dessert, and this was certainly one of the best I’ve eaten. And, I’ve been to Greece. The Boughatsa™ — literally a trademark dessert — is not to be missed. The lemon cream flavor was light and wonderful. The chocolate hazelnut is described as “better than brownies,” and I wholeheartedly agree.

Things To Know Before Booking With Twin Cities Food Tours

  • Tours are offered seasonally at 11 a.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. most Fridays and Saturdays. Be sure to check the website for schedule updates!
  • Tickets cost $45/adult.
  • Tours cap at 14 participants, so you’ll enjoy an intimate group setting.
  • Wear your walking shoes! The tour is 1.5 miles with six stops that sometimes involve standing.
  • Dress for the elements! You’ll be outside just as much as you are indoors on this tour.
  • Twin Cities Food Tours now offers a new route through Cathedral Hill in Saint Paul! This tour of one of the state capital’s oldest neighborhoods costs $55 and includes 10 food tastings.
  • You can book your tour here by clicking on “Buy Tickets.”

Save this to Pinterest for future reference!

Explore and tast Northeast Minneapolis with Twin Cities Food Tours! Via EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Where have you taken a food tour? If you haven’t yet, where would you like to go on a food tour? Tell me in a comment below!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Share This Post
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Buffer this page
Buffer
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Digg this
Digg
Email this to someone
email

Written by:
erinklema
Published on:
October 3, 2016
Thoughts:
30 Comments

Categories: Food Tours, MinnesotaTags: Culinary Travel, Food Tour, Food Travel, Midwest Epicurean Adventure, Midwest Travel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Twin Cities, Twin Cities Food Tours

Get My Travel Tips In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to receive my travel articles, packing lists, and foodie travel itinerary ideas in your email!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brianna

    November 2, 2016 at 10:54 pm

    Food tours are a wonderful way to see a city! Nordeast is one of my favorite areas when I head home to the cities. I always suggests the visitors on my tours to take them at the beginning of your stay because you’re bound to want to go back to something you heard about, check out a boutique or festival going on.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      November 3, 2016 at 12:14 am

      So very true! After sampling Punch on the tour, I really wanted to squeeze in another meal there. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but next time it will! I’d love to come take your Rochester tour, Brianna!

      Reply
  2. atlifestylecrossroads

    October 26, 2016 at 11:14 am

    Food tour is a must of all my trips! I guess it´s one of the best ways to experience the local culture or, in this case, its multi-cultural origins! Loved your pics and story! I´m also a foodie incapable of saying “no” to a pizza… lol

    Reply
  3. The World in a Weekend

    October 17, 2016 at 5:16 am

    This looks amazing! Ice cream, cheese tasting, pizza, greek deserts! I am already hooked! Love a good food tour, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Indrani

    October 16, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    So much to taste, I wouldn’t leave anything untasted, I am sure you didn’t too. 🙂

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 16, 2016 at 11:04 pm

      Definitely! It was all too good to not finish every last bite.

      Reply
  5. Vedante | The Lavish Nomad

    October 16, 2016 at 4:55 am

    My kind of tour 😀 All these pictures of food are making me hungry!

    Reply
  6. wyldfamilytravel

    October 15, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Hi Erin wow what great food they have. We love European food. We recently did a post called our 10 favorite foods in Europe. The picture of all the sausages looks amazing would love to cook them up.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 15, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      I read that post. It made me so hungry and craving paella!

      Reply
      • wyldfamilytravel

        October 27, 2016 at 6:19 pm

        We will getting some Paella in 3 weeks when we land Madrid

        Reply
  7. Vicki Louise

    October 15, 2016 at 7:34 am

    What a fabulous food tour! I love the choice and variety of foods to taste – the pizza, gelato and cheese would be my go to’s but the Himalayan food looks interesting too!

    Reply
  8. Lara Dunning

    October 8, 2016 at 11:57 pm

    If I go back to Minneapolis I’m going on this tour. Love the selection and everything looks so yummy!

    Reply
  9. Jill

    October 8, 2016 at 6:42 am

    I went on a food tour of Nashville and I loved it. I’m sold on taking more! Looks like this was a good one!

    Reply
  10. Carolina Colborn

    October 7, 2016 at 9:20 am

    Looks like there’s great variety!

    Reply
  11. Kevin Wagar

    October 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Everything here looks so delicious and such a variety of food tastes. Minneapolis looks like a delicious place for a visit

    Reply
  12. Angela Sherman

    October 5, 2016 at 9:53 pm

    Now I’m craving pizza! Great review.

    Reply
  13. ourfamilytraveladventures

    October 5, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    You had me at tasting gelato! I would love to take this tour!

    Reply
  14. Jenni

    October 5, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    I love food tours this looks so much fun and that pizza looks amazing I’m definately gonna try and do this if in the area so I have pinned for future reference

    Reply
  15. Beth Daubner

    October 5, 2016 at 12:43 pm

    Those pictures you took are amazing!! They were deffinately my favourite part of this post. Keep up the awesome work!

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:48 pm

      Thanks, Beth!

      Reply
  16. Crystal (The Imperfect Mom)

    October 5, 2016 at 7:50 am

    This looks fabulous and right up my alley. I would love to go on a food tour. I’m doing a tour in Traverse City in a few weeks.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:25 pm

      I love Traverse City. Enjoy your tour there, Crystal!

      Reply
  17. shobha42016

    October 5, 2016 at 7:21 am

    I was in Minneapolis last year for a wedding and I had no time but I did make them take me to Eat Street just so I could go to a fab retro donut place (priorities!!) – glam girl donuts I think it was called – so delicious. I had no idea Minneapolis had such a fab foodie scene before I went there.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:27 pm

      Right? Huge foodie scene in the Twin Cities! There are a few spots on Eat Street that I’ve been wanting to check out. Glam Doll Donuts being one of them! Obviously, return trips are necessary for both of us. 🙂

      Reply
  18. Bree

    October 4, 2016 at 8:29 pm

    This blog is so bad for my waistline. But, so good for my taste buds.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      Trust me, Bree. I KNOW. 😉

      Reply
  19. Dining Duster

    October 3, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    Just noticed that the cheese you ate is made in the town I live in (Mankato) and I have never tried that! Going to have to do something about that!!

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:30 pm

      It is! I didn’t realize that until I was writing up this post. If I had gotten around to writing this post this summer before I went back to Minnesota, I probably would have made more of an effort to squeeze Mankato into my itinerary. Oh, well. Lesson learned. Gotta book another Twin Cities trip apparently!

      Reply
  20. Dining Duster

    October 3, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    Get out- I just looked this tour up and I think we’ll plan to take it. Your tour looks wonderful and we’ve never eaten at any of those places. I love the history lesson you get with these tours.
    I just returned from Seattle a few months ago and did a foodie tour of Pike Place Market. You can read about it here if you are so inclined: http://diningduster.com/foodie-tour-pikes-place-in-seattle-wa/
    Also, we are taking foodie tours of Madison, WI and Chicago later this month. Can’t wait! I think they are my new favorite thing to do.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      October 5, 2016 at 12:33 pm

      Ooh, visiting Pike Place Market is totally on my bucket list. I think you’ll love Madison. If you need some more info before you go, I’ve got several blog posts about Madison. I’m also happy to answer any questions since I just traveled there in May and LOVED it. As for Chicago, you really can’t go wrong foodwise there, so I’m sure your tour will be fab. Eat a slice of deep dish for me!

      Reply

What do you think? Leave your comment here ... Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Erin, and welcome to my culinary travel blog! I'm a proud Michigander sharing culinary adventures with you from the Midwest and beyond. Though I'm exploring the world one bite at a time, I'm confident I could live on pizza and red wine. I mean, if I really had to.

In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Us

  • View theepicureantraveler’s profile on Facebook
  • View epctraveler’s profile on Twitter
  • View michiganepicure’s profile on Instagram
  • View erinklema’s profile on Pinterest

Note To Our Readers

As a resource for culinary travelers, we hope you continue to daydream about traveling and use this site to plan future trips. If you do travel at this time, please do so as safely as possible for yourself and others.

Recent Posts

  • 7 Health Benefits of Tofu — A Superfood of Asian Cuisines
  • Where to Eat in Amsterdam: 5 Best Amsterdam Restaurants (According to a Netherlands Expert)
  • Top 8 Copenhagen Seafood Restaurants: Where to Eat Seafood in Denmark’s Capital
  • Five International Travel Documents You May Need To See (And Taste) The World
  • Seven Traditional Irish Foods To Eat In Ireland (Or On St. Patrick’s Day)

Popular Posts

8 Beautiful Lavender Fields You Must See In Michigan
Fort Lauderdale Weekend Getaway Guide For Foodies (With Map)
Essential Boston: Five Things To Do In Boston During Your First Visit
10 Culinary Experiences To Savor In Atlanta
Five Tips For What To Wear In Colorado
Saugatuck, Michigan Trip: Four Things To Do In A Day

Proud Member Of

Everywhere
CLEVER Badge

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · The Epicurean Traveler

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT