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Every pop-up menu the Dahlia team has released has had us falling all over each other for another bite of the gold leaf-adorned doughnuts, flaky pain Suisse and savory Danishes.
These Travail alums have been building anticipation ever since they announced they were branching out on their own. Sarah Julson, Nat Moser and Alex Althoff left the Robbinsdale restaurant group in 2022. Althoff was executive pastry chef and Moser (Althoff's husband) was head chef at Nouvelle Brewing (and Pig Ate My Pizza before that). Julson served as creative director.
Dahlia will one day be a full-service daytime cafe with an emphasis on the food we like to eat in the morning — and all day long. They haven't found an address yet, but they're actively on the hunt and we're ready to follow wherever they lead.
Where to Get a Lovely Whole Cake in the Twin Cities — Eater
Every special occasion requires an equally special cake. With all due respect to cake slices — an immaculate dessert in their own right — there’s something irresistibly festive about ordering a whole cake in all its frosted glory. These Twin Cities bakeries offer cakes in all styles: layered with pastry creams, dripping with chocolate ganache, or painted with bright frosting flowers. Here are 19 places to get a lovely whole cake in the Twin Cities.
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Dahlia’s cakes are dreamy and romantic — they look a little more like Monet’s Water Lilies than dessert. Made with either two or four layers, they’re frosted with buttercream in a simple color scheme, though pastry chef Alex Althoff accepts requests for design, color, and flavor. Cakes range from $50 to $120 depending on size.
Where to Find Decadent Doughnuts in the Twin Cities — Eater
Minneapolis and St. Paul have a fantastic doughnut scene. Some of the Cities’ best shops have been around for decades, wafting the sweet, tantalizing scents of fried dough, sugar, and cinnamon over their neighborhoods across generations. Others are newer to the scene, innovating these classic pastries with cereal and candy toppings, doughnut vending machines, and chewy rice flour blends. From dense, crackly old fashioneds to raised doughnuts stuffed with rich creams and curds, here are some excellent spots for decadent doughnuts around Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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Dahlia operates as a roving pop-up, so don’t drive out to Robbinsdale and expect to find a bakery here. To snag these artful, square-shaped doughnuts, keep an eye on Dahlia’s website or Instagram for upcoming pop-up dates. Flavors range from chocolate caramel to passionfruit vanilla bean. The creme brulee doughnut, stuffed with banana cream, is lacquered with a shimmering glaze.
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.
Look for fresh ideas, familiar faces on the Twin Cities restaurant scene in 2023 — Star Tribune
Ones to Watch
Sometimes we come across new makers and are so excited about their stories and ideas that we want a front-row seat to whatever comes next.
Dahlia: A daytime cafe from three former Travail staffers will inject a full-service, fine-dining flair into breakfast and lunch. Alex Althoff, Sarah Julson and Nat Moser plan to open Dahlia in 2023 or 2024, possibly in northeast Minneapolis — but have already been selling out their dessert-centric pop-ups.
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A Look Ahead at the Twin Cities’ Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of 2023 — Eater
Em Cassel, editor and co-owner of Racket
Oh man, I have to name a few. I can’t wait to see what ex-Travailians Alex Althoff, Sarah Julson, and Nat Moser do with Dahlia. I’m so excited that an Animales brick-and-mortar is in the works (need those ribs in the winter!). A last-minute addition to this list — good thing I turned in my responses to your survey late!!! — is the forthcoming Ann Ahmed restaurant in the old 4 Bells space. (Mpls.St.Paul Magazine had the scoop just this week.)
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Restaurant news: 3 Travail alumni will open Minneapolis daytime cafe — Star Tribune
Three former Travail staffers are bringing their fine-dining pedigree to breakfast and lunch.
Sarah Julson, Nat Moser and Alex Althoff left the Robbinsdale restaurant group this summer. Althoff was executive pastry chef, and Moser, Althoff's husband, was head chef at Nouvelle Brewing (and Pig Ate My Pizza before that). Julson served as creative director.
After riding out the pandemic, they each felt there was another path on the horizon.
"During that time, we all got to step up in our own ways and we all came into our own, and it just came time that we need new experiences and see what else the world can bring us," Julson said.
After traveling to other cities and noticing a trend in restaurants that hadn't made its way to Minnesota yet, they had an idea.
Dahlia, a full-service restaurant, will apply the team's hospitality chops to daytime dining.
"Alex and Nat both love brunch, and there's not a huge existence of that in the Twin Cities right now," Julson said. "We feel like the level of hospitality that's given for dinner service isn't always applied to lunch and breakfast service. We're excited to come have a coffee, or a drink, and just enjoy the daylight."
Expect a pastry program that highlights Althoff's baking ingenuity; she's the inventor of Nouvelle Brewing's pizza croissant, among many of Travail's other hit desserts during her four-year tenure there. There will also be a full menu, bar program and coffee program. Just no dinner.
"Everyone else has that kind of under control," Julson said.
The team is "taking it slow," and will roll out catering, baking orders (beginning with Thanksgiving pie pickups) and pop-ups in physical restaurant spaces before an eventual 2023 or 2024 opening, possibly in northeast Minneapolis, where all three of them live.
Those events will be announced on social media, @eatatdahlia, and via a newsletter. Sign up at eatatdahlia.com for updates.
The name Dahlia comes from Althoff's favorite flower. "The symbolism of dahlias is hardiness, and dignity and creativity," Julson said. "All the things we are trying to encompass and what we want this business to be."
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