You may think you’ve tried it all, but have you tried these cuisines?
K'kinaco Nikkei & Pisco bar (Hopkins)
K’kinaco Nikkei & Pisco bar showcases Peru’s Nikkei cuisine, which blends Japanese culinary techniques with Peruvian ingredients. Menu offerings include tiradito (a Peruvian dish of thinly sliced raw fish, cut sashimi style – not ceviche style) as well as Japanese-style grilled skewers paired with Peruvian sauces, like the chicken yakitori with huacatay (an herb with minty, basil-like notes) sauce. Also available are sushi, tempura, and Peruvian classics like causitas (various salads – like chicken or tuna – made from a Peruvian yellow potato base), and aji de gallina, a chicken stew made with aji amarillo sauce. There’s also a lineup of pisco-based cocktails including a spicy maracuya (passionfruit) sour.
PolJam (On the Move)
A love story led to this food truck’s unique combinations of cuisines – Polish and Jamaican. Dishes include “currogi,” PolJam’s own invention – a chicken pierogi with curry sauce, as well as savory Jamaican beef patties, cabbage rolls, jerk chicken, and kielbasa sausage. Among the most popular items are PolJam’s signature smoked turkey leg, potato and cheese pierogi, and Island Breeze – a drink made of ginger, watermelon, and pineapple.
Biryani Stop (Eden Prairie)
You’ve probably had Indian food, but have you had Pakistani food? Biryani Stop offers Pakistani and North Indian specialties – dishes like chicken malai botti (chicken skewers known for the creamy, melt-in-the-mouth texture), achari chicken (a curry made with spices used for pickling), and beef seekh kabobs (spicy, ground beef skewers). Of course, on offer too are a variety of biryanis - chicken, mutton, or beef. These are aromatic, one-pot rice, vegetable, and meat dishes cooked slowly on low heat so the spices infuse everything in the pot.
Sanjusan (Minneapolis)
How about some Japanese-Italian in the North Loop? Lumache pasta with nori, basil, pistachio, and mentaiko (spicy, umami-rich roe)? Arancini with enoki mushrooms and an onsen egg? Anyone up for pizza with spicy raw tuna and cilantro? The Isaac Becker pizza, named for the chef at Burch Steak, is just one of six Neapolitan-style pizzas on the Sanjusan menu. Other pizza topping combinations include: miso pesto with Parmesan and walnuts (on the Verde), or shrimp, charred cabbage, kewpie, bonito (on the Okonomiyaki).
