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Once a year, many local publications produce a "Best of" edition, with a wide-ranging assessment of the Twin Cities food scene. This time, instead of having its staff pick the "Bests," Minnesota Monthly asked local chefs, bartenders and restaurateurs to vote. Editor Rachel Hutton gave MPR News host Tom Crann a sneak peek at the surprising results.

 We came up with a list of the most influential people in the Twin Cities restaurant industry and asked them to name their favorites of the local dining scene. The survey listed about a dozen or so categories, including best burgers, cocktails and special-occasion dining. They could vote for anyone they wanted, except their own business; if they thought they were the best in that category, we asked them to leave it blank.

 How different were their selections from those of the critics?

 It was actually surprising how similar they were; a lot of the usual suspects made the list. For example, the winners of Best Bakery and Best Late Night Dining have both won that same award multiple times from various local publications. The Dive Bar our voters chose wasn't a big surprise, since earlier this year it was honored with a slot on Esquire's Best Bars in America list due to its colorful clientele, generous pours and trough-like urinal in the men's restroom. 

That's the fun part about all these Best Of lists — there are often so many strong contenders in each category, that I almost like finding out why a place was chosen more than which particular place was chosen. So when we surveyed our voters, we also asked them to share the reason behind their selection, and included many of those comments in the story.


Dangerous Man took the honor of Best Local Brewer, and when I compiled all the comments, I found that three voters from the same family — Mitch Omer, who co-owns Hell's Kitchen with his wife, Cynthia Gerdes, and Cynthia's daughter Katy Gerdes, who runs Angel Food Bakery — had each chosen the brewery, but for very different reasons. Mitch said that he chose Dangerous Man because he was a former brewer and really respected the beers; Katy's reasoning focused more on the ambiance of the tap room, and what a cool place it was to hang out. Meanwhile, Cynthia picked Dangerous Man because one day she found the owner's mom sweeping the sidewalk out front and she introduced herself as "Dangerous Mom."

 There must have been a lot of great comments for places that didn't win, then, too?

 Yes. And some were so wonderful that we decided to include the recommendation as a "Personal Fave," even if it didn't win the category. For example, the breakfast that Ann Kim, the chef-owner of Pizzeria Lola, voted for didn't win, but she had such high praise for the pancakes that we had to include it. "They don't even need butter," she said, which I'd say is also my measuring stick for what makes an outstanding pancake. 

 So even though Ann Kim is a pizza expert, you'd trust her judgment on pancakes?

 Absolutely. A discerning palate is widely transferable and everyone we asked to vote executes their own business at a high level that I knew they'd hold others to the same standard. In my years covering the restaurant beat, I've been impressed by how generally supportive our chefs and restaurateurs are of one another. I think there's a lot of mutual respect, so it was fun to give them a platform to praise their peers.

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In a spin on annual "Best of" lists, Minnesota Monthly asked local chefs, bartenders, and restaurateurs to vote for their favorites in the local food scene.

Appetites: Chefs pick the Twin Cities' best food and drink

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