The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities area this week — Star Tribune
Doughnuts from Dahlia
One of the new restaurants I'm most excited about for 2023 doesn't even have a location or opening date yet. Luckily, I've already been able to sample the food, thanks to the robust number of pop-ups they've been holding around town.
The restaurant/pop-up is Dahlia, a collaboration of three Travail alumni who aim to bring full-service, daytime fine dining to the Twin Cities. Pastry is at the center of the operation, with pastry chef Alex Althoff as one of the Dahlia trio. This week, the team was at Dangerous Man Brewing for the northeast Minneapolis brewery's 10th anniversary celebration. The David Bowie-themed party called for glitter, and Althoff coated each of the four huge, square doughnut selections in a sparkly sheen.
My favorite of the bunch (they were $20 for a box of all four) was the coffee hazelnut (top left), though brown butter (bottom right) was a close second. The doughnuts went surprisingly well with Dangerous Man's collaboration with nearby Nixta — a Mexican corn lager. And after trying and kind of liking chili cheese dip beer last week, a doughnuts-and-beer combination doesn't sound so outlandish. (S.J.)
Dahlia's next pop-up is Jan. 29 at Barrel Theory, 248 E. 7th St., St. Paul, with both sweet and savory selections and beer pairing recommendations. On Feb. 11, they'll be at Falling Knife Brewing Co., 783 NE. Harding St., Mpls. Stay tuned for more at eatatdahlia.com.
