I remember when I first moved back to Minneapolis, the food scene was a bit sad with the options on Eat Street being the most "exotic." In the past 10 years, I've loved seeing all the new chefs and concepts come in. It's been great to live and eat here (see Le Burger, pictured above), and watching the area grow.
However, in the past 2-3 years, I've noticed a huge influx of new Instagram and TikTok influencers dedicated to Twin Cities food coverage. Food is subjective, so opinions are valuable. Take a closer look, and you'll notice a few things.
Everything is a "hidden gem"
Everything tastes great but no one directly talk about what was a miss or terrible. Instead, you'll see subtle workarounds in reviews and influencer posts. Beautiful dish, pretty cocktail...and notice the lack of food/drink descriptors.
Regurgitation of the same restaurants on social media that doesn't highlight anything new. Instead, they all look and feel the same.
No one is capitalizing on a specific angle, but instead, hoping to ride the rave and revenue that people used to make a decade ago. But part of it is the culture here and the circles are small. If you are not from Minnesota and have watched trash TV like Love Is Blind Minneapolis like I do, you may have sensed this. If you're from here, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Because the industry is small, critiques are hard for a lot of the restaurateurs and chefs here to take. Many people don't want to be critical or honest about their opinions for the fear and risk of being ostracized from their Instagram circle or whatever. Secondly, there's a vast network of food writers and chefs who are friends. It makes it difficult to be objective when social circles are small.
Take a look at this review from Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune. This is the most critical thing this man has said: [ ] Just kidding, he's never said anything critical. By comparison of a similar era, Sam Sifton of the NYTimes: "Cabbage said to have been steamed with garlic and chilies, then drizzled with lardo, tastes of cardboard and water, a school-lunch nightmare that is hard to shake." In Minnesota, if a writer wrote like that, they would probably get demoted to Obituaries. 12-years ago, another food writer called it out in the most, subtle Minnesota way: "How many three- and four-star restaurants can one metro area have? Well, we have thirty-six, yep, thirty-six. According to The New York Times, New York City has just thirty-four restaurants of that rank. Now, I am not saying we don’t have a bevy of quality restaurants, I just think the star system that is used in many cities has been bastardized. There are, in my opinion, a very small handful of four-star caliber restaurants in the Twin Cities, but not thirty-six."
