A Minnesota Gem Named One Of The 50 Best Restaurants In America

Minnesotans love a night out enjoying, and the numbers back it up. The state is home to more than 11,300 eating and drinking places that together ring up around $20.8 billion in sales and employ nearly 196,000 people.

From supper clubs to food trucks to the neighborhood spot everyone swears by, eating out is a big part of our lives, so when one of the most respected names in food singles out a Minnesota favorite, it's worth taking note.

The New York Times has released its 2026 list of America's 50 Best Restaurants, and a soulful Minnesota kitchen made the cut. Even better, it did it against a comeback story that would make a great movie.

What Is "The Restaurant List"?

This isn't a random online ranking. For the 2026 edition, the Times says its scouting team was bigger than ever, with 16 critics traveling the country and eating everywhere from out-of-the-way spots in small towns to places generating a lot of buzz on the coasts.

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The picks aren't ranked, and repeats from previous years are left off to make room for new discoveries.

What sets it apart is the ground rules. The scouts brave the reservation apps, stand in line, walk in unannounced, and pay for every meal with no freebies. Ultimately, what they're chasing, in their words, is a feeling — that sense that you're somewhere like no other.

The St. Paul Spot That Made The List

Khue's Kitchen in St. Paul is the Minnesota restaurant that earned a spot among the nation's 50 best.

It's the first sit-down restaurant from Eric Pham, a 25-year-old chef who grew up inside his family's Vietnamese institution, the beloved Minneapolis restaurant Quang on Eat Street.

The place is named for his mother, Khue, a longtime Quang chef, and the menu is his tribute to three generations of family cooking.

Getting here wasn't easy. After building a cult following for his fried chicken sandwich, Pham finally secured a St. Paul space — and then, days before opening, the building caught fire.

The Twin Cities food community rallied with a fundraiser, a GoFundMe, and help finding a new home. The comeback paid off fast: the Star Tribune named Khue's its 2025 Best New Restaurant before the Times ever came calling.

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Regulars pack in for the locally famous crispy chicken sandwich, the bún chay, and a grilled sirloin that mixes steakhouse-grade beef with Vietnamese takeout flavors, all served in a warm, unfussy room worth the trip across town.

So what won over the New York Times? Their scouts praised Pham as a gifted young chef with the instincts of a seasoned operator, but reserved their biggest raves for the jicama ribs — a vegan showstopper so convincing you can hardly tell there's no meat in it.

They also loved that most entrees run $21 or less, calling it a budget-friendly restaurant that doesn't ask you to sacrifice a thing, right down to the very good wine list. If you have yet to visit Khue's Kitchen, put it on the list now and enjoy an amazing meal and be a part of a great comeback story.