The 5 best things our food writers ate this week

Pizza farms are a spring and summer rite of passage in the Upper Midwest. If you’re not familiar, they’re not farms that have some strange, never-before-seen pizza plants. Rather, they’re farms that open their fields to us city folk to enjoy a piping hot wood-fired pizza with music, friends and animals in the most picturesque of surroundings.

I have a bucket list of pizza farms that keeps growing each year, and finally made it to a new-to-me spot less than an hour from home. Alpha & Omega is a twinkle-lit compound of rural possibilities: baby goats, chickens and pigs frolic; there’s ample seating for those who want to picnic upright; overnight guests can “glamp” here; and the pizza truck cranks out farm-fresh pies.

I opted for the Fainting Goat ($24, plus a $10 pre-ordered crust). Instead of sauce, this feeds-two-plus pie is spread with garlic oil and topped with caramelized onions, asparagus, goat cheese and microgreens. (I’m not a goat cheese fan, and got it without, a request the friendly staff was more than willing to accommodate.)

Pizza nights at Alpha & Omega run Thursdays and Saturdays, May through September. Reservations, which you secure by buying a pizza crust, are recommended. (Sharyn Jackson)

6714 Alpha Road, Princeton, Minn., alphaomegafarm.co

Food truck season is back. Just as the sun lingers a little longer before hitting the horizon, the sunscreen is rediscovered from the medicine cabinet and toes are released without fear of mud covering, the food on four wheels scene comes alive.

Sasquatch Sandwiches is one such entrepreneurial effort. The brightly decorated truck with the eponymous hairy fellow can be found at area breweries. Run by chef Graham Messenger, known for making good things that pair with cold beverages, the menu leans more toward burgers.

But on one warm evening, we found a special known as the Brutus ($15). It’s everything good about a Caesar salad cradled in warm flatbread. Tender, highly seasoned chicken is chopped up on the flattop, getting all crispy around the edges. Fresh lettuce is coated in Parmesan cheese and pulverized breadcrumbs that lend a garlicky bite. The sauce has that anchovy edge, but is predominantly creamy. It’s a handheld dining delight. (Joy Summers)

Check the website for the truck’s latest whereabouts, sasquatchsandwiches.com

Chef Jamie Yoo has been quietly changing the fried chicken game in the Twin Cities for the past few years, ever since he opened Abang Yoli in 2021 at the Market at Malcolm Yards. A tiny slip of a brick-and-mortar spot on Nicollet Avenue joined the family the next year. And last month, Minnetonka got its own paean to Korean flavors and Asian street food in a log-cabin-like restaurant next to a Dairy Queen.

Boneless chicken thighs ($14 for two pieces), fried twice for ultimate cragginess, are still the main event. But Yoo’s menu goes beyond that, and the Cantonese char siu pork belly ($16), sweetly glazed and served simply with some sliced cucumber and jalapeños and a side of steamed jasmine rice, is a strong contender for what to get.

Yoo also stuffs his own chicken sausage, and we hear the chocolate chip cookie is a must (it was sold out on our visit). We’ll be back to sample the rest of the menu. (S.J.)

12934 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, abangyoli.com

We hit hot early. When the sun reaches that zenith of midday and the temperatures soar, it’s a lot for those who wintered for so long to venture into the rays so early in the season. But we are Minnesotans, and according to the bylaws of 10,000 Lakes, we must dine outside as much as possible, while we can.

Enter: Rosalia Northeast. The second Minneapolis outpost of Daniel del Prado’s pizza restaurant recently opened on E. Hennepin Avenue with the same menu of pizzas and light bites, but a new streetside patio.

The cucumber salad ($17) is a meal-sized serving with crisp vegetables, tons of herbs, black lime dressing and a healthy amount of sumac on top. Accompanied by a spritz, this is summer vacation in the city eating. (J.S.)

333 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., rosaliapizza.com

While my colleagues were enjoying pizza farms, patios and food trucks, I went in pursuit of another dining adventure that also goes hand in hand with the warm weather months: barbecue.

Located in an unassuming spot next to Subway in a Blaine strip mall, this casual order-at-the-counter operation has been around since 1981. And judging by the steady stream of customers mainly ordering takeout (a handful of booths are available, too), it’s a local hidden gem for those in the know.

The wing and rib combo ($14) that comes with fries, coleslaw and toast is the best of all worlds. Thick, hickory-smoked, slow-cooked ribs pay attention to technique for smoky, juicy results. Pieces get a light brushing of a well-balanced sweet and tangy barbecue.

As much of a showstopper were the chicken wings, in which whole pieces are lightly battered — just enough to crisp the skin but not yield breadiness — then fried before being tossed in butter and seasoned with a salt and spice blend. The wings, with an incredible juicy middle, golden crisp and well-balanced seasoning, evoked a sense of nostalgia, the legendary ones from the former Arnellia’s in St. Paul among those that come to mind.

And now that we’re in the know, it’s nice that a place like Wing Joint will be at the ready when craving old-school wings and barbecue. (Nancy Ngo)

10603 University Av. NE., Blaine, wingjointwings.com