You know, I don’t think lunch gets enough love as an important meal. And lunch-dessert, itself a vital part of any worthwhile dining day, gets even less.
So let’s change that.
This week, in search of mouthwatering midday meals, I visited a newly opened restaurant, a longtime staple under new ownership and a place that’s been in business for a bit but new to our side of the river.
Jamaican lunch in South St. Paul
The brick building housing D&G Jamaican Restaurant in South St. Paul — which, as of its opening earlier this year, is the first Jamaican spot in the southeast metro — is a full split-level, so you head up a few stairs to reach the dining room. It almost feels like you’re on an island.
For the most part, the menu is Jamaican classics: braised oxtails, curry goat, jerk chicken. The jerk seasoning on the bone-in chicken is great; the meat is tender and tangy and warms you up without setting your mouth on fire (unless you’re into that, in which case several sauces, both housemade and bottled, are available). Meals come with rice and beans, a crisp sauteed slaw and plantains that are sweet enough to cut the spice but, pleasantly, more starchy than syrupy. And D&G is taking its jerk chicken in creative twists and turns, too, with dishes like jerk chicken tacos and “Rasta pasta’ in a rich cream sauce.
Oh, and the ginger beer is serious business, folks. Juicy and plenty spicy from good ginger, it’ll knock you back on your seat. If you have to take small sips, that’s OK: The portions here are pretty big, so you can pace yourself.
D&G Jamaican Restaurant: 1025 Southview Blvd., South St. Paul; 651-666-3346
The Greek gyro salad (foreground) and grilled cheese with tomato soup (background) are among the menu items offered at The Main Cafe in Stillwater on March 31. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Homestyle lunch in downtown Stillwater
As you might expect given this restaurant’s name (The Main Cafe) and its location (Main Street), it’s been a mainstay in downtown Stillwater for decades. In November, after 35 years running the Main Cafe, Samy and Fifi Youssef retired and sold the place to former employee Casie Beltran. And while Beltran may have some creative daily specials up her sleeve for the future, delightfully, the no-frills diner continues to chug along just as it always has.
The cafe is best known for its breakfast, but don’t forget about the lunch menu. The soup of the day on a recent Monday was tomato, a hearty and nicely peppered soup that naturally called out for a buttery grilled cheese. We obliged, of course. I also ordered the Greek gyro salad; the meat was perhaps over-crisped but the warm pita alongside the salad was a thoughtful touch. And with fair prices for these days (just over $30 for two), it’s hard not to be happy here.
The Main Cafe: 108 S. Main St., Stillwater; 651-430-2319; themaincafemn.com
Cookies on Grand Avenue
From left to right, the buckeye cookie, a goat cheese and raspberry jam cookie, a s’mores cookie and a Nutella and sea salt cookie are among the varieties sold April 4 at Baking Betty’s, which relocated to Grand Avenue late last year. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
You might recognize Baking Betty’s from the Mall of America, the home of the cookie bakery from 2019 until early last year. But just before the holiday season, Baking Betty’s moved over to Grand Avenue, by Macalester College. Founder Emily Osterberg makes a variety of clever cookies, from sprinkled “circus animal” to goat cheese and raspberry jam. Classic Midwestern peanut butter buckeyes are elevated by being attached to a good chocolate cookie (or so I hear, from my trusty non-peanut-allergic girlfriend), and I can personally vouch for the Nutella-filled cookie topped with sea salt. But go early: Some favorite flavors (like chocolate chip, on a recent Friday afternoon) sell out.
Baking Betty’s: 1700 Grand Ave.; 612-900-5587; bakingbettys.com
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