Rick Nelson

It’s not a sandwich, but what a fabulous breakfast from @wiseacreeatery. There have to be at least 10 just-harvested vegetables on this plate, all from the restaurant’s farm, located about 45 minutes west of the Twin Cities. Oh, and the eggs! So rich and creamy, and fresh from the farm’ s chickens. Toss in a crazy-beautiful patio (it helps that the nursery across the street is an affiliated business) that’s so full of blooms that I’m barely noticing being under the busy MSP flight path, and this is one lovely morning. #breakfast #goodmorning #farmtotable Less

My breakfast sandwich obsession continues, this time with a return visit to @heathersmpls. Do you ever encounter an item that’s making a brief appearance but you hope it earns a berth on the daily menu? That’s the case with the basil pesto breakfast sandwich that Heather Asbury and her crew were cranking out this weekend. All the components worked — and then some — starting with a sturdy white sourdough sandwich loaf that responded really well to the buttered-and-grilled treatment. The lively pesto seemed to be heralding spring’s imminent arrival, and the presence of prosciutto, Muenster and onion gave the proceedings some heft, flavor-wise. All kinds of gratitude for using the oven to boost the qualities of out-of-season tomatoes. And the scrambled eggs were perfection; seriously, when I attempted them at home, I channel the talents of the kitchen pros at Heather’s. Also, I thank them for serving a side salad that skips greens that were harvested, washed and bagged a week ago in California and instead features lettuces that have crunch, flavor and life; you are role models for garde-mangers everywhere. The $18 price seemed to be a reflection of its this-could-easily-serve-two portion size. Heather’s just celebrated its sixth birthday (and here's to many, many, many more). I should have ordered a slice of cake. #breakfastsandwich #breakfastsandwiches #pesto #signsofspring #breakfast #brunch #mpls #minneapolis #goodmorning. Less

Morning baking. Headed down to the MN Bars Bake Sale at @grazenorthloop in the North Loop. From noon to 2 p.m. (and lots of other fun from 2-4) you can pick up bars (pronounced buh-arzz in Minnesota-speak) from nearly 50 Twin Cities bakers, including yours truly. It's a benefit for the @thesaltcurefund, an extraordinary effort to aid the state's embattled restaurant industry. It's going to be a beautiful day for bars! #bakesale #bakingfromscratch #mpls #minneapolis #northloop #bars #blondies. Less

LET’S BAKE SOME BARS!!

Minnesota bakers, we need your ❤️

Got killer Scotcheroos, lemon bars, blondies or your own special BARS everyone raves about? Bring them to our Bars Bake Sale benefiting The Salt Cure Restaurant Recovery Fund.

Comment “BAKE SALE” and we will DM you a link with more info and how to sign up to bake bars. Help serve those who so often serve us. 🍒
Please share this post with your baking buddies!

Saturday, March 21, 2026
12 to 2PM Bake Sale
2 to 4PM DJ and community vibes
📍 Graze Food Hall by Travail

Watch our socials for more info about the in-person event coming soon! ✨ Less

My breakfast sandwich obsession continues, this time at the new-ish @animalesbarbequeco. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a big-deal example of a food truck matriculating to a brick-and-mortar operation, so having this impressive setup materialize in our city is throwing off major “worth-the-wait” vibes. Ditto the spectacular breakfast sandwich. First things first: If there’s a better ham to be found in the Twin Cities, I haven’t encountered it, but it makes total sense that pork would be the front-and-center attribute of a barbecue joint’s breakfast sandwich, right? I’m so glad to see that chef/owner @jonwipfli has stamped the “Dr. Jon’s” name onto this ham, because his doctorate-level skills in the curing and smoking departments deserve top billing. And talk about a pile-on! The portion size is enough to outfit a smallish Easter dinner, in a good way, and it’s sliced so entrancingly thin that Hobart must be placing a “sheer” setting on its meat slicers. I’m also completely hooked on the soufflé-style egg, a baked marvel that is so delicately ethereal that I seriously wondered if molecular gastronomist José Andrés was working the brunch service. All other components are first-rate. The bun is a sterling example of the milk bun genre, rich and delicate and gently toasted. There’s just enough gooey Swiss cheese to make its presence known, and the sole condiment is a barely sweet and nicely punchy maple-mustard sauce. All of this goodness (if this isn’t Breakfast Sandwich Hall of Fame material, what is?) goes for $15.60, which is $13 with a tacked-on 20 percent service fee. Worth every penny, and then some. Weekends only. (And gratitude to @raphael_brion for the recommendation). #breakfastsandwich #breakfastsandwiches #barbecue #barbeque #bbq #ham #animales #mpls #minneapolis #brunch. Less

My breakfast sandwich obsession continues, this time at the south Minneapolis iteration of @rusticabakery, just west of Bde Maka Ska. This hefty sandwich has a total less-is-more appeal. For me, this one is all about the bread. Since Rustica ranks among the city’s top-performing bakeries, it’s no surprise that the dairy-enriched bun, lightly toasted, is fantastic. But also of note is the impressively generous stack of thinly sliced and gently crispy bacon, and the (expertly prepared) over-easy fried egg. I’m always all-in when it comes to avocado, so much so that I barely noticed the cheese, to the point where I couldn’t tell you anything about it. But, yeah, that bun. So good. Price is a reasonable $12.95. Not available at Rustica's Southdale and downtown Minneapolis locations. #breakfastsandwich #breakfastsandwiches #breakfast #mpls #minneapolis #goodmorning Less