DeRUSHA: Hidden Edina Gem, Why Tim McKee Wants You To Go To XELAS
New Summer Thursday Edition! Plus TWO fun things to do TONIGHT!
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DIALOGUE: ARE THERE TRULY “HIDDEN GEMS” OUT THERE?
If you’re on Instagram or TikTok a lot, it’s hard to avoid the “hidden gem.” Hidden gems you’ll find in our town include places like: Spoon and Stable, World Street Kitchen, The Lexington, Mancini’s. You know, gems but not hidden. Unless you’re 22 and everything old is new to you!
I actually have no problem with the hidden-gem-ification of online food coverage. I like seeing young people discovering things that we olds have known about for awhile. But I do believe even in a smaller market like Minneapolis/Saint Paul, we can find hidden gems, and this week two friends took me to one of them.
JK’s Table is in an office building off of highway 100 in Edina. Two industry vets took me there this week, we were trying to figure out where they heard about it- there’s not much news coverage out there: I found a The Heavy Table write-up on their breakfast from 2018 [heavytable.com] and a Star Tribune story from 2024 on the post-COVID survival of restaurants [startribune.com].
This is a family-owned labor of love: when we walked in, Junko Kumamoto was taking orders and her husband, Hiroshi, was in the kitchen cooking and plating our Bento Box.
You can read more about my experience at MinnesotaMonthly.com, but I’m trying to make an effort to highlight more of these places. Spots that have been around a decade or more - that survive on word-of-mouth and just keep plugging away. Go check out JK’s, and hit reply on this email or drop a comment to let me know where else I should shine a light on! jkstable.com
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Tim McKee Wants You To Go To Xelas
Happy Pride Weekend: Lots of events
50th & France Restaurant Week HAPPENING NOW
Two fun THURSDAY night events!
Best Chicken in Minnesota
Indígena by Owamni Is Open
Alyssa and I adore Riva Terrace at Four Seasons Minneapolis. The skyline views were perfect, and Executive Chef Martín Morelli’s menu along a great selection of wines, spritzes and classic cocktails. You would lose your mind at this place if you were on vacation - make any day a vacation right by the North Loop of Minneapolis!! They’ve just extended hours too- Open dinner on Wednesday and lunch through sunset Thursday through Sunday. Check out the menu and a video of what you can expect here: FourSeasons.com/minneapolis/dining/restaurants/riva/
Thanks to Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis for being a DeRUSHA partner!
TONIGHT: WE LOVE OUR CITY! I’ll be here tonight after I finish giving a keynote speech at the Minnesota Turkey Growers meeting in Alexandria… if you’re downtown Minneapolis this Thursday night, grab a ticket and come hang out! Benefiting 4 non-profits, cool idea from Sherman Associates. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-love-our-city-tickets-1989102431919
TONIGHT: KICKERNICK ART GALLERY OPENING: 5-8PM THURSDAY. You need a (free) ticket and the sign-ups for this one have been through the roof. I love Kickernick - great artwork, great spirit here. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kickernick-art-opening-and-open-studio-night-tickets-1989106569294
TIM MCKEE WANTS YOU TO GO TO XELAS IN STILLWATER: Tim McKee is one of the best chefs over the last three decades in Minnesota. He brought La Belle Vie, Solera, Sea Change, Barrio, OCTO Fish bar and more. Last night he brought some friends together to cook a phenomenal eight course meal at Chef Cristian De León’s Xelas by El Sazon off Highway 36 in Stillwater. Why?
“I want people to come to this restaurant,” Tim told me. “It’s Guatemalan and Latin American and that’s maybe confusing to some people,” he said - but it’s real and unique and beautiful. I’ve been a couple times - the bar program is phenomenal, the flavors are bold and interesting. Tim lives in Stillwater, where he opened Smalley’s back in the day, he brought Tyge Nelson (Pajarito, Barrio, Chino Latino, and Solera) and Matt Bickford (South Lyndale Liquors, Be’Wiched, Icehouse) who cooked with Xelas’ exec chef José Cortés. Go to Xelas! (IG @xelas_MN, website https://elsazonmn.com/xelas
note: Xelas by El Sazón comped our visit, we did tip cash
THE BEST CHICKEN IN MINNESOTA: BIG list article in Minnesota Monthly with some of the best forms of chicken you can find right now. Sandwiches, fried, tendies, and whole/half chicken with my picks in each category: MNMO: minnesotamonthly.com/general/the-best-chicken-in-minnesota
50TH & FRANCE RESTAURANT WEEK: With free valet parking! Lasts through Sunday the 28th with specials at some of my favorite restaurants including Pajarito, Raag, Bojae’s, Red Cow, Ama Sushi, Dexter’s, Mothership, Mr. Paul’s, NoMa and more: DETAILS: http://50thandfrance.com/restaurantweek. (I shot a video at Mothership Pizza Paradise in partnership with the neighborhood association last week)
BOROUGH LAST SUPPER: Bar seating is sold out for Sunday the 28th, but last check found a couple seats still available for this 6pm celebration at Borough in the North Loop with a lot of all stars from the early years (Jesse Held, Karyn Tomlinson, Joe Rolle) RESERVE: https://fluence-media.co/4eifPNP. Borough and Parlour will close at the end of the month in prep of a refresh in the bar and a change to Revival upstairs. (Jester Concepts is a partner of mine but I bought two tickets to the bar for this, if you care about these sorts of disclosures)
FIGHT FOR FRIEND: My friend Andy Doan (The Dapper Wolf) is hosting an in-person auction for Michael Friend, facing the fight of his life after being diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. Noon-3p Saturday at The Dapper Wolf salon in Saint Paul, you can bid online on some great bourbon and restaurant gift cards here: https://givebutter.com/c/fight-for-friend/auction
DERUSHA-APPROVED WEEKEND FUN
PRIDE WEEKEND: Festival in Loring Park (SAT/SUN 10am-7pm (6p Sun) tcpride.org/festival Parade SUN 11am-2p on Hennepin tcpride.org/parade/
PRIDE BEER DABBLER: FRI 6–9:30 pm (5 pm Early Access). Parade Park Stadium at Minneapolis Sculpture Garden TICKETS: beerdabbler.com/festivals/pride-beer-dabbler/
COLORADO ROCKIES v TWINS: Perfect weekend to hit Target Field - 7:10p Friday followed by a Ludacris concert; 6:10p Saturday, 1:10p Sunday. MY TWINS MEMBERS get $2 beer/hot dogs before every game: twins.com/mytwins
Minnetonka Summer Fest: Sat Saturday, June 27, 2026 | 4-10:30 p.m. Minnetonka Civic Center Park, fireworks at night. https://www.minnetonkamn.gov/our-city/community-events/summer-fest
Afton Strawberry Festival: Sat/Sun: discoverstillwater.com/event/afton
Hmong International Freedom Festival: SAT/SUN near Como Park in St. Paul theunitedhmongfamily.org/hiff
Blaine Festival: Fri/Sat/Sun blainefestival.org/
MYSTIC LAKE RIB FEST: THUR-SAT, 4-10p (Sat starts at 1p): 10 Competitive pitmasters from around the country here - plus free outdoor concerts. Thursday, June 25, through Saturday, June 27. Buy tickets to buy ribs, vote for the best, The Great Midwest Rib Fest World Rib Eating Championship will also be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, where competitors will attempt to beat the world record of consuming 13.76 pounds of pork in 12 minutes. [Awesome Aussie BBQ joined my show yesterday - podcast link https://fluence-media.co/4eyAqxe]
THE SUBURBS/RICK SPRINGFIELD: Free show outdoors Saturday at Mystic Lake! https://mysticlake.com/shows-and-events/the-great-midwest-rib-fest/outdoor-concerts FREE SHOWS Tonight & FRIDAY TOO.
OPENING/OPEN NOW/ COMING SOON
INDÍGENA by OWAMNI: Walk-in only after 9pm, reservations at OpenTable.com (If you’re looking for a 7:15p table for 2, next available is on July 29!!!)
PARCELLE at LASALLE PLAZA: Opened Tuesday at 9th & Lasalle, used to be a credit union, Hempel just keeps killing it at LaSalle Plaza. https://lasalleplaza.com/blog/all-stories/lasalle-plaza-to-add-second-parcelle-organics-location
LONELY’S BAR: Former Pracna’s on Main in St. Anthony Main. Open until 2am. IG: @Lonelysbar
SWEET LOU’S MEATS: St. Louis Park. Hot breakfast, sandwiches, meat. 6318 Minnetonka Boulevard. https://www.sweetlousmeats.com/
CLIMB THE PEQUOT FIRE TOWER: Facebook.com/TheJasonDeRusha
VAL’S in SAINT CLOUD: One of the best No-frills burgers. Facebook LINK: https://fluence-media.co/4uXdAWr
I LOVE THE LONESOME PINE: facebook.com/TheJasonDeRusha/posts/
TOUR LUTHER KIA OF BLOOMINGTON:
CHECK OUT DRIVETIME WITH DeRUSHA WEEKDAYS 3-6PM ON WCCO RADIO - WE UPLOAD ALL THE SEGMENTS TO SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS AND THE AUDACY APP!
GRACE ZUMWINKLE on her role in Special Olympics: https://fluence-media.co/4eKWlSc
WILL STEGER on surviving a 70-day solo expedition: https://fluence-media.co/4vzwiVa
DID I VIOLATE THE WORKPLACE FRIDGE RULES? https://fluence-media.co/4vwCw8l
ARE DADS GETTING BETTER? https://www.audacy.com/wccoradio/podcasts/cedde55cba31c0a73903567ad6816bfc/episodes/are_dads_getting_better_at_fat-8469109
AND I launched a TikTok channel with short form clips from my show tiktok.com/@derushashow
DRIVE IN SNOW OR RAIN - AND DO YOU BLAME THESE GOOFS? https://fluence-media.co/4voVBsU
WILL STEGER TIKTOK:
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WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND
Today I’m giving the keynote speech at the Minnesota Turkey Growers Summer Conference in Alexandria and then attending WE LOVE OUR CITY by Sherman. Friday night and Saturday are pretty open for us. Sunday night we’ll be at the BOROUGH LAST SUPPER.