Hai Hai

"The Twin Cities aren’t exactly known for their mild winters. When it’s 15 below and the snowbanks are up to my elbows, I head to the sunny, plant-filled paradise ofHai Hai. Chef and co-owner Christina Nguyen has transformed a former strip club into a little slice of street food heaven, taking menu cues from a host of Southeast Asian countries. Deciding what to get—the Vietnamese water fern cakes or the banana blossom salad? the Malaysian-style laksa shrimp and grits or the Balinese chicken thigh?—is the hardest part. My M.O.: Order all the above and bank on leftovers." - ByAshlea Halpern