The New York Times 2021 Restaurant List dropped today, with restaurants from Honolulu, Hawaii to Cambridge, Massachusetts among the "50 places in America [they're] most excited about right now."
Two Minneapolis restaurants made the list: Owamni by the Sioux Chef and Sooki & Mimi.
"Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson, the married partners behind the Twin Cities-based nonprofit the Sioux Chef, are leading lights in the movement to revitalize Indigenous cuisine and decolonize American cooking," NYT food writer Brett Anderson writes of Owamni. "So the menu at Owamni, which opened in July on urban park land, highlights ingredients from Native American producers, like local venison sausages, green salad with toasted crickets and smoked Lake Superior trout served with seasonal berry wojape."
The Times food team already loves Ann Kim, who made her mark on the Midwest with Young Joni (and Hello Pizza, and Pizzeria Lola) before opening Sooki & Mimi earlier this year.
Of her latest, Anderson commends the "genre-defying menu," adding: "With the chef de cuisine Fiona Hunter churning out dishes that seem to mirror the clean-lined interior design, Sooki & Mimi has brought a sense of renewal to a neighborhood still scarred from the unrest following the killing of George Floyd."
It's worth noting that while the Times feature includes classic restaurants and some that have been around for a few years and are "at their practiced peaks," both Twin Cities list-makers are newcomers—Sooki & Mimi opened in February, and Owamni opened in July.
Also very cool? On Monday, Indigenous Peoples Day, Owamni was recognized in Vogue as a "must-visit dining destination." Big 48 hours for the Sioux Chef!
