We are blessed to live in a metro area with a nearly-inexhaustible number of fantastic restaurants, and one of (if not the) best of them all is Myriel. Always-exquisite food, great bar program, excellent service from every person front of house, hospitable atmosphere . . . if you’re ever in the St. Paul area, I can’t commend it highly enough. We’ve done the tasting menu, we’ve done a la carte (including one memorable visit with friends where we impulsively ordered the entire menu), and it’s always a delight. Reservations can be a bit tricky to come by, especially as the accolades and awards have continued to heap up over the years, but we have consistent good luck joining the wait list. I also hear it’s usually pretty easy to walk in and snag a spot at the bar.

(Not pictured: The rest of the gnocchi that we devoured before I remembered to take a photo, the bite-sized Kernza grain cookies always served alongside the bill, and the glasses of amaro gifted to us by our server just before we left.)