Kaila Chan ’14

Spring food: Thai green papaya salad. Good crunchy textures and very fresh tasting. Fish sauce is the best.

Twin Cities restaurant: Blue Door Pub (I don’t get out much but I legitimately love this place and would go here everyday if I could)

Coffee shop: Ditto not getting out much. Any place on Grand that serves Dogwood cuz that jolts my brain in a horrible but effective way.

Favorite drink: Left Hand milk stout, Summit Winter Ale, Blue Moon, anything with Malibu.

Current craving: Korean fried chicken with raw oysters and lemon.

Recipe I’ve been meaning to try: I’m embarrassingly bad at cooking. I guess I’d like to try making xiao long bao (soup dumplings)

Rachel Wilson ’17

Spring food: I’ve never really eaten “spring foods.” At home, in California, we don’t really have a definitive spring season. I eat a lot more fresh produce, but that’s about it.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Anything with mint. Coffee, iced coffee, tea, lemonade. Anything.

Current craving: Mexican food. I’m more than a little obsessed with veggie burritos and Mac is farther from good taquerias than I’m used to.

Rachel Quay ’14

Twin Cities restaurant: Blue Door Longfellow. It has the best build-your-own veggie burgers and my favorite local beers on tap.

Favorite coffee shop: I really like the Caribou Coffee at Snelling and Grand. It has big windows, big tables, and a couple of my friends work there.

Favorite drink: Boozy smoothies. My roommate and I invented them last summer. They are refreshing and fruity, perfect for when it gets warm outside.

Current craving: I can’t get enough of the peanut butter smoothie at the Grille lately.

Recipe I’ve been meaning to try: vegan scones from the Teany Restaurant cookbook.

Karintha Lowe ’16

Spring food: (Spring) Rolls.

Twin Cities restaurant: Blue Door.

Coffee shop: Nina’s Coffee Cafe.

Favorite drink: Shirley Temples. I’m a lady.

Jeff Kaplan ’14

Spring food: Spring garlic. Get it from the farmers market once they’re up and running, roast it in foil, and eat it with good bread.

Twin Cities restaurant: Sole Cafe, Korean food north of University Ave. on Snelling. So satisfying and comforting, friendly service. I had soup.

Coffee shop: St Paul Corner Drug at St. Clair and Snelling. 5c coffee if you sit down at the lunch counter!

Favorite drink: Summit True Brit IPA or, if I’m in Wisconsin, New Glarus Black Top black IPA.

Current craving: Dishes with lots of parsley and lemon in them. Trying to get in the swing of spring I guess.

Recipe I’ve been meaning to try: Preserved Lemons from the cookbook Ottolenghi by the cook of the same name. I’ve been making lots of pickles lately, and using lots of lemon so it seems like a natural next step.

Current craving: Bread because I’m keeping kosher for Passover.

Kyle Coombs ’14

Spring food: Spring chicken, just like me (it’s a pun).

Twin Cities restaurant: Snelling Cafe—seriously, it doesn’t look all that impressive on the outside, but the food is amazing and it’s a great value!

Coffee shop: Coffee News, RIP. But I guess now it’s probably Cahoots?

Favorite drink: I had this awesome shot called a “Pokemon.” No idea what was in it, but it was yellow and red and in Spain.

Current craving: Heath Bar, really.

Recipe I’ve been meaning to try: Beer Can Chicken, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Lucy Andrews ’14

Spring food: I LOVE ASPARAGUS.

Twin Cities restaurant: Al Vento. It’s an Italian restaurant in south Minneapolis, and it’s just so damn good. The Tuesday “date night special” (but no date necessary) is four courses for $20. Italian food homemade from scratch—does life get any better? Well, it does when you consider their excellent wine selection…

Coffee shop: I’ve got a caffeine problem, and I fiend on scones. I’m gonna have to go with Bean Factory on Randolph, since their americano is phenomenal and the scones aren’t half bad, either.

Favorite drink: Indeed Let It Ride IPA. The. Best. Beer. It’s only a spring brew, so I’m preparing to stock my fridge in order to survive three seasons of not letting it ride.

Current craving: Peaches. When do peaches get good? Only when it stops snowing. Hmmm.

Recipe I’ve been meaning to try: If mimosas don’t count—they don’t exactly require a recipe—then my answer here is everything seafood. I’m waiting until I live in a coastal place/live with a bunch of meat-eaters to really dig in to seafood-based cuisine. I’ve got a bunch of recipes bookmarked ranging from lime-coconut baked salmon to sriracha shrimp—bring on the clarified butter!