Appetites®

Every week, we bring you local and regional food and drink news, trends, reviews, flavors, recipes and advice. Appetites airs every Wednesday on MPR News' All Things Considered with host Tom Crann.

Heavy rainfall made this year’s pumpkin harvest ‘one of the hardest’
It’s finally pumpkin season but this year’s heavy rainfall has made the harvest “one of the hardest,” according to University of Minnesota pumpkin expert Jenny Thull.
Appetites: Robots food runners take load off restaurant staff
Three years ago Sawatdee Thai Restaurant got a robot food runner named DeeDee to help with pandemic employment stresses. Now the company, which operates four Twin Cities restaurants, has two of them and says they’re an invaluable part of the team.
Minnesota State Fair food review: Here’s the food you need to wait in line for
As she does every year, food critic Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl tried all the new foods at the Minnesota State Fair on opening day. She shares her recommendations.
After 75 years, Salem Dining Hall continues to be a family affair, iconic stop for fairgoers
Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall has maintained a significant presence at the Minnesota State Fair for 75 years, drawing on a deep-rooted community of volunteers and evolving to meet the changing tastes of fairgoers.
Minnesota is getting fired up for fried chicken
With the appearance of new chicken restaurants in the Twin Cities, it seems that the metro acquired a taste for spicy chicken in the form of chicken tenders and crafted sandwiches.
Secret ice cream spots popping up in the Twin Cities
Here’s the scoop — there’s a growing trend of opening restaurants in novel ways in the Twin Cities. Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl talks about the secret ice cream shops hiding in plain sight.
New cookbook celebrates fresh and soulful recipes from north Minneapolis
Princess Titus, co-founder of Appetite for Change, shared a glimpse into the stories and people that inspired the cookbook “Appetite for Change: Soulful Recipes from a north Minneapolis Kitchen.”