Here at Eat, we spent a lot of time during the pandemic talking about ways restaurants were pivoting to meet the needs of customers during an unprecedented time.
Some of those things, like selling toilet paper along with to-go orders, have already blessedly disappeared.
But some of the trends to come out of the pandemic are here to stay, and there are others that we really hope will stick around for a while.
Here are the top five pivots we hope will carry on:
Cocktails in a can/Cocktail kits
Some of the restaurant versions of cocktail kits have gone the way of the dodo, but if you’re interested in tasty cocktails without any of the work for your at-home or backyard gathering, there are still plenty of great, local options.
Tattersall Distilling has long been in the pre-batched, bottled cocktail game, and their old-fashioned and Manhattan mixes are some of our go-tos. They also have lighter options, like the Bootlegger (a citrusy vodka mix — just add soda), Salty Dog (many mixing options, but we like to get naughty and add tequila and soda) and the new Cosmo. Those are available in many retail outlets. If you feel like making the drive to the Northeast Minneapolis distillery, they have creative options for takeout weekly. Currently, your options include a blackberry lavender honey number that comes with your choice of a 375-milliliter bottle of Tattersall gin, vodka or rye, something called summer pollens that includes rhubarb, honey, lemon, and grapefruit that comes with gin, vodka or aquavit.
Check their website for other options and hours for pickup: tattersalldistilling.com
At Red Cow and Red Rabbit, you can still order a wide range of cocktail kits, including a killer bloody Mary and a way better old-fashioned than I can make at home. There are also frose kits, mojitos and strawberry margaritas. Just add booze.
Red Cow: several locations, including 393 Selby Ave., St. Paul; redcowmn.com
Red Rabbit: several locations, including 788 Grand Ave., St. Paul; redrabbitmn.com
Speaking of margaritas, one of our favorites ever is available as a take-home kit — the habanero cilantro margarita from Pajarito! Again, you have to add your own booze, but no lime squeezing for you! Several locations, including 605 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; pajaritorestaurant.com
Minnetonka-based Dashfire makes some of the best canned, ready-to-drink cocktails we’ve ever tasted, and they’re available fairly widely in Twin Cities liquor stores. Our favorites include the Manhattan with fig and cascara and the lemon and lavender martini, but they really are all good.
Find locations at dashfire.us.
Ghost Kitchens
For better or for worse, this invention, which sprung from the necessity of kitchens catering to the immense demand for new takeout options, is here to stay.
The whole idea is that a separate, usually takeout-only, restaurant concept runs out of an existing kitchen. Nationally, celebrities have latched onto this situation, slinging often sub-par food that comes from a freezer — you can get chicken nuggets from an outfit started by the rapper Tyga, or greasy burgers and sandwiches created by (take that with a grain of salt) Guy Fieri — but a few good local options are still in operation.
Some of our favorites:
Charley Cat Chicken, run out of the Mallard’s kitchens in Inver Grove Heights, Forest Lake and New Richmond, Wis., which is serving really righteous chicken sandwiches and not much else. charleycatchicken.com
Italian Street Kitchen, run out of the West St. Paul 5-8 Club, makes meatballs, paninis, grain bowls and other Italian-ish menu items. My young adults love the pizzadilla, a mashup between pizza and a quesadilla. Italianstreetkitchenmn.com
The burgers from Toasty Buns, run by the Crave folks, are sizable and tasty, and arrive still warm, which is a trick in and of itself. Our favorite is the John Wayne, which is adorned with thick-cut bacon, not-too-sweet barbecue sauce and crispy onions. Toastybun.com
Patios as priority
A few restaurants that didn’t have patios built one, and others finally took their spaces seriously. It seems counterintuitive to prioritize outdoor seating in a cold-weather climate, but when the weather is nice, Minnesotans want to be outside! It just so happens that three restaurants on the always-hopping West Seventh Street decided to get serious about their patios this year.
At Mancini’s, the patio used to be an afterthought, functioning more as a smoking den than anything. That changed during the pandemic when Mancini’s went all out and created a pretty, landscaped patio with brick flooring, tented areas for shade and flower beds. 531 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-224-7345; mancinis.com
Shamrock’s is always so busy that they never had time to add a patio, but then, pandemic. The burger joint has added a sweet little space with pavers, built-in wooden booths, picnic tables and a new bar that opens to the outside, with a separate indoor lounge in case of inclement weather. There’s even a flowering tree planted in the corner of the space. 995 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-228-9925; crshamrocks.com
DeGidio’s also added a cute little cabal of outdoor tables in front of the restaurant, perfect for having one of their surprisingly awesome Manhattans or old-fashioneds and a plate of wings while watching the people and traffic on the street. 425 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-291-7105; degidios.com
Family-style takeout
For those of us stuck inside with multiple mouths to feed, family-style dinners were a godsend during the pandemic. For a few places, they were so successful that even though restaurants are fully open, takeout entrees for the whole brood remain on the menu.
At Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse, the family meals really feel like something mom would make. They have four generously portioned family-style options at incredibly affordable prices: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and all the fixings, Cajun chicken fettuccine, Chicken Kiev and barbecue ribs with mac and cheese. 1305 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-228-1408; bennettschopandrailhouse.com
Our favorite pandemic treat was family-style takeout from Urban Growler Brewing, and they’re still kicking out some options, like fried chicken, vegan bowls and killer pulled pork in very generous portions. 2325 Endicott St., St. Paul; 651-340-5793; urbangrowlerbrewing.com
Mason Jar in Eagan probably has the most family-style options, and everything we tried was a hit with parents and teens alike. They have more than a dozen different meals that feed four to six people, from meatloaf to pot pie to pot roast to beer-can chicken to mac and cheese — plain or with meaty toppers. 1565 Cliff Road, Eagan; 651-340-7809; themasonjar.us
Pickup windows
While I can’t recommend highly enough that we pick up our own takeout, because third-party delivery services charge restaurants high fees, it is sometimes less than convenient to walk in and figure out where to pick up your order.
To that end, a few crafty restaurants have added pick-up windows, and we really love that small convenience.
At Tori, which opened in the classic diner space on West Seventh Street (previously a Chicago dog spot), you can order ramen and pick it up without ever going inside. We especially love that they have a speaker set up to play music for you while you wait. 603 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-340-5866; toriramen.com
Nina’s Coffee Cafe also added a vestibule window, which is an extremely cool move for a coffee shop in a walking neighborhood. Get your latte without ever stepping foot inside, but since it’s in the entryway, you’re still out of the cold/heat/rain. 165 Western Ave., St. Paul; 651-292-9816; ninascoffeecafe.com
Kim’s Chow Mein on Marshall Avenue also added a takeout window, which is a brilliant move for a restaurant that has a large takeout operation. 2048 Marshall Ave., St. Paul; 651-646-4964; kimschowmein.com
