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City Cast Twin Cities

Keep It Local

Keep It Local by City Cast Twin Cities features spotlights on local businesses we love and personal, curated, and neighborly recommendations that will help you live your best Twin Cities life right now. So, if you’re ready to ditch the national chains, e-commerce giants, and big box stores,

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Roseanne Pereira

✏️ Find past crossword puzzles below: 

September 24, 2026 - How About Them Apples

Try out this Twin Cities crossword on delicious fall flavors, and put your knowledge to the test!

Can You Solve This Twin Cities Crossword?

Pumpkin spice lattes are all about combining nostalgia with the warming spices of fall — but don’t just stop there! Below is a sampling of the flavors local coffee shops are offering this time of year.

Nearly every Saturday last fall, I treated myself to a hot oat milk chai (or sometimes a chai and chapati!) from 

 at the Mill City Farmers Market. Red Wolf, named for the 

 from the Bale Highlands of Oromia, Ethiopia, brews its chai for hours and uses Kenyan black tea as its base. At the farmers market, there’s no extra charge for oat milk (yesss!). The four friends who run the business describe themselves as “

 who have set their sights on building community one cup at a time.

, a Nepali and Indian restaurant in Uptown. (If you look at the restaurant menu, you can see how seriously they take their chai, with a variety of 

.) I typically order this chai at the cafe inside 

, where I can sip and read a good book (or write these newsletters!).

We’re lucky to have some Scandinavian spots that use warming cardamom to great effect. These include 

 at the American Swedish Institute, where you can order a Hot Swede — their house-brewed coffee with cardamom syrup and cardamom whipped cream. In St. Paul’s Como neighborhood, 

 sells a pulla latte, inspired by the pulla rolls they sell, with almond, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom mixed with espresso and steamed milk. And 

, with multiple metro locations, offers a Nordic latte with cardamom, vanilla, and cinnamon syrup.

The fall menu at New Zealand-inspired cafe 

 includes a Cookie Butter Latte (made with Biscoff cookies), a Cinnamon Roll Latte, and a Carrot Cake Latte with cream cheese cold foam. The Northeast Minneapolis cafe also offers seasonal drink flights, so patrons can try four mini-drinks in one sitting. (P.S. Silver Fern is also 

, which are served with seasonal spreads such as maple butter and housemade apple butter.)

 and witnessed the same fall drink ordered by multiple patrons one after the other, 

, a drink made with miso-maple-brown sugar syrup and topped with a brown butter whipped cream and toasted brown sugar. The friend I was meeting ordered it as well, and while we didn’t taste the miso, we both loved the brown-sugar creaminess.

Fruits and Vegetables (That Aren’t Pumpkin!)

When I first tasted the sweet potato chai (also available as a latte) at 

 last year, it was so smooth and balanced that it made me question my previous pumpkin spice commitment. Sweet potato lattes are also available at 

, made with sweet potato syrup, nutmeg, espresso, milk, and topped with mini marshmallows.

, which started as a beloved coffee trailer at farmers’ markets, now has two brick-and-mortars in Linden Hills and downtown Minneapolis. (For more on their journey, 

!) My go-to is their egg coffee, but if that pale purple color is calling you, check out their popular 

. Ube, a vibrant purple yam, has a mellow, nutty, and mildly sweet profile. The latte combines a housemade ube syrup with equal parts robusta espresso and Vietnamese-grown arabica. This month, they’ll start serving their draculatte, a raspberry white mocha topped with espresso or matcha.

 over the last few years after it made multiple 

. Red beans are a highlight at this Hmong-influenced restaurant, appearing in dishes such as the 

warm sesame balls with red bean caramel sauce

, as well as some of the cafe drinks. My go-to is the red bean steamer for its comforting and earthy flavor. Try it! And for coffee drinkers, there’s also a red bean latte. The restaurant’s recent renovations include an expansion and a new grab-and-go cafe. Uptown’s 

 also serves a red bean latte and a red bean milk tea.

Fatuma Ali, a former finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year, opened

 this March along with her brothers, Ahmed and Abdulqadir. The cafe, located across from U.S. Bank Stadium, offers a Somali-inspired menu, with fall features including a 

 made with a house-crafted fig syrup, almond milk or oat milk, and served as a matcha, latte, or chai. When I visited, I was asked which sweetness level I wanted: One for lightly sweetened, two for their standard, and three for sweetest. Grab chai sugar cookies and slices of cardamom spice loaf to complement your drink.

Looking for seasonal warm beverages beyond the pumpkin spice latte? Here’s a roundup of our favorite fall drinks at local coffee shops.

The Best Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

A Cornucopia of Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

; now we talk apples. SweeTango, First Kiss, and Honeycrisp are popular customer apple picks. Below are more AppleHouse goods.

judging of the University of Minnesota’s 175th anniversary ice cream flavor

 from their College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). The winning flavor is 

, a creamy vanilla ice cream with oat crumble, swirls of Minnesota-grown aronia berries, and yes, apples. It’s available at the AppleHouse the week of Oct. 5.

Other currently available CFANS flavors include Cinnamon (perfect with apple pie!), Huckleberry, Honey Lavender, Black Raspberry, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla, and Minnesota Sundae (honey ice cream with salted sunflower seeds). They’re available while supplies last! Students, staff, and faculty produce the ice cream in a state-certified dairy plant.

 is the retail store in the basement of the University of Minnesota’s “Meat Lab” (officially known as the 

. At the AppleHouse, you’ll find freezers full of meat in classic and innovative flavors. Think: beef patties, meatballs, summer sausage, bacon (smoked and apple cinnamon flavors!), snack sticks (like Hot Hawaiian Maple!), brats (jalapeño & cheddar; apple; wild rice; pickle-jack, and more), as well as ground meats like elk and pork.

If you can’t make it to the AppleHouse, Goldy’s Smokehouse 

 operates an on-site truck in front of the AppleHouse Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Oct. 30. Their apple cider mini-donuts are served hot and cost $9 for a dozen, $17 for two dozen, or $24 for three dozen. Hot cider, hot coffee, crafted cold brew, maple lemonade, and apple cider slushies are also available. I can attest to the comforting effect of North Star’s warm, cinnamon sugar-dusted donuts on a cool, crisp morning.

AppleHouse staff recommends the fresh-pressed apple cider and 

, which started with a father and son tapping maple trees on their family farm. Root beer fans can also try their maple root beer, also available at the AppleHouse. Faxon Farms hosts a 

 in Henderson through Oct. 25 that includes chickens, goats, cornhole, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, and a scarecrow contest.

 in nearby Chaska takes pride in its small-batch, slow-cooking methods. Their jams (such as strawberry, blueberry, and fig), glazes, and fudge sauces are other AppleHouse staff recommendations. If you want to try a thickly caramel-coated apple — some might say the AppleHouse’s are the clearest representation of a caramel apple — try one of theirs. Kettle Creek Kitchen makes them with caramel from 

, a fourth-generation family chocolate and candy business located in Apple Valley. The AppleHouse also sells tubs of Abdallah caramel dip, great for dipping fruit or topping ice cream.

It's apple season, and we know where to get the best varieties, ripe for picking. Check out this guide to AppleHouse.

Take a Fall Field Trip to the AppleHouse in Minnesota

Take a Fall Field Trip to the AppleHouse

Discover your fall equinox ritual with these wellness-oriented shops.

 has been in business for over 40 years. It was founded by Bob Gallagher, a pioneer in the world of herbalism. He passed away in 2018, but the shop is still in the family. With herbs, loose-leaf teas, books, tarot decks, stones, and incense, 

 has so much to explore. I was particularly wowed by the range of crystals, including ones from Australia, Indonesia, and Brazil. I also looked at a section of the store that included braided sweetgrass and hand-rolled bundles of cedar. As the signage explained, these can be used for smudging, the process of burning herbs to allow the smoke to purify what it touches and clear negative energy. People smudge rooms, objects, pets, and themselves. A store employee told me the bundles are antibacterial as well as ceremonial.

Founded by certified naturopath and master herbalist Eva Nyrie Garrett, 

 in North Minneapolis brings together herbal medicine, wellness education, and community care. Here you’ll find products like immune-boosting 

, but also an ethos of learning together. 

 are offered the last Thursday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m., each focusing on a different local herb. During these hands-on workshops, participants make herbal medicines such as syrups, tonics, tinctures, and teas. Subjects for this year include holy basil (tulsi), raspberry leaf, red clover, lemon balm, marshmallow root, and more.

Cultivate Consciousness Wellness Boutique

 opened this year and offers a variety of services including wellness consultations and intuitive readings (tarot oracle, crystal ball, and more). But if you walk by, you may be most drawn to all those mesmerizing crystals and stones — perfect for holding onto during tense meetings, or as a retired therapist friend told me, as a stress-relieving fidget. Each month, a theme is woven throughout 

; September’s is “The Power of Slowing Down: Creating Space to Notice What Matters Most.” To sample what the boutique offers, stop by the 

 festival at Father Hennepin Bluff Park on Sept. 19.

This autumn, how about some aromatherapy? 

 in Gaviidae Common includes handmade soaps, body oils, and perfumes. Owner and founder Ana Castillo Jiménez, who has a background in molecular biology, makes many of the products in-store where customers can choose which scents they want. Castillo Jiménez says popular scents include Love, a floral scent, and Tranquility, a scent with prominent notes of cedarwood, lavender, and chamomile. A fall special called The Slow Down Bundle includes a full-size soap bar, roll-on perfume (scented with essential oils), and a pillow/linen/room spray in the scent of your choice. Castillo Jiménez says she’s planning the shop’s first anniversary celebration for October.

, it felt like its own island, a much-needed grounding spot in a traffic-hectic part of the city. I went to pick up ingredients for a warming spice herbal mix for winter that included ashwagandha, dandelion root, licorice, ginger, and cardamom. The shop sells herbs by weight as well as stones, books, teas, and more. On Super Saturdays, which occur on the first Saturday of the month, everything in the shop is 20% off. The herbery is connected to a 

 that sells potions and elixirs in addition to healthy grain bowls and salads. (I consider both healing spaces.) 

Looking for the best shops to create your fall equinox ritual? Check out this roundup of shops around the Twin Cities for your crystals, herbs, and aromatherapy fixes.

Twin Cities Wellness Shops to Shift Your Energy this Fall

Shops to Shift Your Energy this Fall

To learn and to play mahjong, check out these local spots. As the game’s popularity grows, free community meetups can be found online, such as on this 

rave about walking into it the first time

 on the City Cast Twin Cities podcast (at the 20:33 mark!). It was an experience. The community-focused cafe and Asian-inspired retail boutique in Uptown hosts popular mahjong nights every other Tuesday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Moona Moono offers three modes of play to fit all levels: Learn to play, Reserve a table, and Join our Pool. Owner Angie Lee explains that for folks who join the pool, “we help them find players across a wide range of play variations including Taiwanese, Hong King, 

whose members teach Mahjong 101, most recently Taiwanese mahjong. The class tickets that participants purchase help fund the university mahjong travel team.

Claire Joseph and Tara Duginske are former law firm partners who share a passion for mahjong, both for the game and the way it brings people together. They founded 

. Players can move through Mahj 101, where they learn the basics, to Mahj 102, where they get more practice play, and on to Open Play where they can play without teacher assistance. There’s also a social league that offers a bit more infrastructure and competition (it includes scoring). The club hosts 

 at a number of local businesses around the metro including 

, Dangerous Man, Bad Weather, and Minneapolis Cider Company. Duginske says in the dark days of winter especially, it’s a great way to get out of the house and be with people for a fun event. The founders are proud of how welcoming and inclusive the club is. ”It’s such a wonderful community,” Duginske says. “I love seeing someone walk in the door who at first looks a little nervous. And they're just taken under somebody’s wing. It’s fantastic.”

 founder, Abbe Blacker, is known to many as the “queen bee” of mahjong and is a popular local instructor of the game. The club’s new storefront in the 50th and France neighborhood offers drop-in days, mixers, and a 4-week beginner class series marketed as “the best most comprehensive way to learn Mahj!” They aim to maintain a low teacher-to-student ratio of approximately 1:8. You can take a look at their current class list 

Fox and Willow Mahj Club - at Josefina’s (Wayzata)

If you play mahj and are near Wayzata, know that the Fox and Willow Mahj club meets Tuesday mornings, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at local restaurant, 

 is a luxury tabletop and fashion boutique shop and even has a 

 including tiles, mats, and racks. In the past, they’ve partnered with 

, Claire Briggs’ “Mahjong with Southern Hospitality” business. Briggs is a Deephaven, Minnesota-based certified mahjong instructor who offers lessons on Lake Minnetonka and around the Twin Cities.

The game of tiles, strategy, and luck has a growing following in the United States – including in the Twin Cities.

Mahjong in the Twin Cities Metro

Mahjong in the Metro

I see you at that grill. Did you know you can grill cheese? 

originated in Cyprus and can be grilled, pan fried, and seared without losing its shape. It’s typically made from sheep and goat’s milk. Pick it up at 

 or at local specialty cheese shops. Here’s a 

, a vendor at the Kingfield farmer’s market as well as the Lowertown St. Paul farmer’s market, offers Rustica, a cheese that also can be grilled, pan fried, or even broiled. Mary Falk, LoveTree’s owner, says, “You can even make shish kabobs with it, your vegetarian friends will love you for it!”

 in Minneapolis, summer Thursdays-Sundays are particularly exciting. That’s when they make their own hand-pulled mozzarella balls, typically 1/3-1/2 lb. each. Come early to get your fresh mozzarella before it runs out. 

 also sells hand-pulled mozzarella on Fridays and Saturdays – check out this 

. Summer is also burrata season, so get it while you can. Unlike mozzarella, burrata’s center oozes creamy stracciatella. 

that makes excellent use of ripe summer tomatoes.

Of course you can’t go wrong with a variety of snackable hard cheeses. Aged cheeses are easier for lactose-intolerant folks to digest, and you won’t have to worry about 

pulling them from the sun after two hours

. When I worked as a cheesemonger, my favorite crowd pleasers were Chӓllerhocker, a nutty Swiss wonder, and Ossau Iraty, a mild hard sheep’s milk cheese from the French Pyrenees. These can be found at Surdyk’s along with 

, a beloved aged alpine style cheese from Wisconsin made only in the summer months.

Feta is traditionally made with sheep’s milk cheese, or sheep and goat’s milk combined. (Both are easier for lactose intolerant folks to digest.) The quality of feta can vary widely. A local shop known to have the good stuff is 

 in Uptown. They have a variety of feta including French, Bulgarian, and Dodoni (a popular Greek feta). Another option for feta variety is 

 near the University of Minnesota at Stadium Village. Both of these places let you taste, so find your favorite feta, and perhaps try it in this recipe for 

 Honey Habanero Quark is a good choice if your picnic idea is cheese and crusty bread or crackers. They recommend serving it with crackers that include dried fruit. Taste the quark when you next visit the 

 in Kimball, WI is also a cheese and crackers option (sold at 

 sells an herb-encrusted goat cheese called The Big Holmes – and for the even more adventurous, there’s Gin Berry, which includes juniper berries and peppercorns, or Black Bear, dusted with ash.

As a former cheesemonger, I pulled together some ideas to make your summer events that much gooier.

Labor Day Picnic Cheese in Minnesota

Labor Day Picnic Cheese

This beloved, family-owned establishment in Northeast has been around since 1973. From spinach pies to pints or quarts of what I consider the best tabbouleh in town (my desert island food, people!), 

 has many affordable picnics and cabin weekend options. In the mood for meat pies filled with pine nuts, ground beef, and lamb, or smoky baba ganoush and pita? Hot tip: their stuffed grape leaves include ground lamb in addition to rice - mwha! So good.

Whenever I’m in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, I seem to leave 

 with to-go containers of two items – their traditional creamy coleslaw (a guarded family recipe), and their potato salad that’s bright (egg yolks must be involved!) and has notes of mustard and pickle juice. The chunky texture and mix of flavors hits the spot, truly. It’s no wonder, as 

 for decades. The deli’s been around since 1949. With an array of bagels, sliced meats, and in-house baked bread, discover your own picnic go-to to-gos next time you visit.

If I really wanted to impress someone, I would fill my picnic basket with 

,” an artisan elixir made with elderblossom syrup. Add sparkling water or one of the liquors recommended by owner, Mo Kotb, for a refreshing summer drink. (The former Tilia bartender knows his stuff.) Dervish Mazza spreads are familiar, but with a surprising twist, like 

, which takes the fire-roasted eggplant of classic baba ganoush and mixes it with the flavors of tahini, sweet-tart pomegranate, and chermoula herbs. One of my favorites (and a Dervish Mazza bestseller) is 

, where hummus meets Thai chili and sun dried tomato. Here’s a recipe for an 

) that prioritizes personal, engaging service. The friendly staff offers recipes and samples, and they sell dried fruits such as unsulfured apricots, a wide variety of nuts, dates, Middle Eastern pastries, and oh so many olives. You’ll likely discover something you’ve never tasted before. The last time I was there I learned about how the inner kernels of apricots (a sweet, almond-like seed) are eaten as snacks - and of course I was given one to try.

Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it, so let’s eat well on our summer get-togethers while we can.

Easy Minnesota Picnic Delights - Savory Pies, Dips, Salads

Easy Picnic Delights - Savory Pies, Dips, Salads

On a recent trip to Maryland and Virginia, I was bowled over by the treats in Asian bakeries there. This made me want to see what I could find in the Twin Cities. Luckily, I discovered 

 in St. Paul. The light-filled cafe with wooden beams and hanging vines was so enticing that I sat down for some piping hot congee with ginger chicken for lunch and got most of the buns to-go.

Zao’s bakery case includes red bean steam buns, taro twists, and many other delights. If you are uninitiated to the standard offerings at Asian bakeries, check out this 

video on 14 buns you need to try at a Chinese bakery

Responding by email, owner and baker William Ratsamy said the cafe is a family bakery in every sense. “Everything from the recipes (my mom's culinary experience) to the ingredients (from my brother's grocery store) to the design of the space (my architectural background) came from within our family.”

Ratsamy’s recommendations for a first visit are to try “a sesame ball, char siu pork bun, congee and our homemade soymilk. This would fill up your tray nicely. This includes something fried, something baked, something from our kitchen, and a homemade drink that you really can't get anywhere else.”

I can vouch for the slightly, but not-too sweet homemade soy milk which I tried after my congee along with a 

. This is a soft milk bread shaped like an oval, sliced down the middle and filled with buttery whipped cream, then dusted with coconut flakes. In other words, a bun of dreams.

Ratsamy says Zao’s best-sellers are the Spicy Chicken Curry Bun (that has a curry filling), the Pork Steam Bun (minced pork, an egg, and Chinese sausage surrounded by soft white bread), Sesame Balls (chewy, crunchy, nutty, sweet), and Ham Sui Gok (a glutinous fried dumpling).

Many of the baked goods in the case are easy grab-and-go items for a picnic, and for this purpose, Ratsamy’s top recommendation is the 

. It’s a hot dog wrapped in milk bread and arranged into a flower shape before baking. The result is an easy, pull-apart, soft treat that’s pleasing for both adults and kids. (You pull off the “petals”!) My picnic pick? A wilder-looking 

The light-filled cafe was so enticing that I sat down for some piping hot congee with ginger chicken for lunch and got most of the buns to-go.

St. Paul's Zao Bakery + Cafe - Hot Dog Flower Bun, Anyone?

Zao Bakery + Cafe - Hot Dog Flower Bun, Anyone?

Winter Keefer

I recently found the lunchbox of my dreams.

It’s the cutest blue, red, and yellow little zip-up with a perfect cutlery pocket inside. As much as I wanted to gatekeep this find, I’m sharing it with all of you because your kids probably need it more than I do.

So here’s how you get it: If you head to the back corner of 

 in downtown Robbinsdale, you’ll find this lunchbox in a small but mighty children’s section of the store.

Carefully curated by Golden Age Design co-owner Kara Kurth, the store’s selection of children’s items includes high-quality, Montessori-inspired toys and school items. “The kids section was something that we've always really liked to pour into because happy kids make happy parents,” Kurth said.

The space includes items like wooden and plush toys, storage containers, and notebooks for “tiny hopes and dreams.” A parent herself, Kurth said her goal is to foster children’s imaginations and encourage play. “We really believe in them and don’t want their magic to disappear,” she said of the children in her life.

Kurth also thinks about the experience of parents and grandparents of children shopping in the store. Many of the items sold harken back to the days before technology dominated children’s entertainment. For adults, “it's like this passing of the torch – they're excited to share something that maybe they played with when they were little.” 

Kurth emphasizes quality in addition to cultivating whimsy and nostalgia through her collection. Instead of buying pencils, erasers, and scissors from a big-box store that might last only a few months, she hopes her store can offer ethically-made and sustainably-sourced items that last years.

As she looks to the future, Kurth hopes her children will one day pass down items from her store to their own children. “We think those lessons are really important for kids – buying slower, buying quality items so you can use it for a lifetime.”

Carefully curated by co-owner Kara Kurth, the store’s selection of children’s items includes high-quality, Montessori-inspired toys and school items.

Robbinsdale's Golden Age Design Offers Generational Keepsakes

Golden Age Design Offers Generational Keepsakes 

Greetings and happy back-to-school shopping season!

 Do you want to shop local, but you don’t know where to go other than the big-box stores? Do you have a long list of school supplies that’s stressing you out and burning a hole on your kitchen counter? Don’t you worry, City Cast has a list of local shops that will have you and your kids covered this school year.

This St. Paul hidden gem is the perfect place to find school supplies on a budget. The store inside 

 in St. Paul is filled with an assortment of donated and recycled art supplies and materials. I’m talking 20-cent folders, 50-cent notebooks and 25-cent to $2 binders. There’s a whole bin of tape dispensers for $1 each. If your kid has a science project, this is the place to go for construction paper, popsicle sticks, egg cartons, bottle caps, paint – whatever catches your fancy.

This women-owned, women-run children's boutique in Edina has been dressing Twin Cities tykes since 1999. Offering a wide variety for babies to tweens, 

 boasts on its website its “classic, preppy styles you won't find anywhere else in the Twin Cities.” The store believes shopping for kids should be a joyful, in-person experience and offers the merchandise to match.

Looking to find quality designer resale on a budget? Look no further. At 

 in south Minneapolis, you can shop for your kids while trading in the clothes they outgrew last year. The store opened in 1981 as the Twin Cities' first maternity consignment store, so it’s always had kids and parents in mind offering brand-name items without the luxury price tag.

With its new downtown Minneapolis brick-and-mortar storefront, 

 is ready to welcome you in to peruse its collection of children's wear. The family-run store started as an online-only boutique and “grew from a desire to offer clothing that feels comfortable, meaningful, and right for everyday life,” according to its website. It opened its store front earlier this year and this is your perfect opportunity to check it out!

The store inside ArtStart & ArtScraps ReUse Center in St. Paul is filled with an assortment of donated and recycled art supplies and materials.