little chocolate joe mauers?

October 8, 2015 9:28 AM

MSP mefites! What is *the* food item to bring back from the Twin Cities?

In my office, like many offices, when we go out of town we bring back some local treats. I'm going to Minneapolis-St Paul for a conference and I'm sort of stumped. I don't want to just grab some random airport candy.

Specifications:
-must be able to be carried on, I am not checking a bag, so nothing liquid
-must be able to last a few days, so nothing extremely perishable
-must be somehow Minnesota-specific
-must be reasonably easy to acquire (no car)
-must be delicious! Or very weird.

Thanks!

posted by everybody had matching towels to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Chocolates from BT McElrath are always great and portable. These are widely available at grocery stores like Lunds (there's one in downtown Minneapolis).
posted by mlo at 9:32 AM on October 8, 2015

Pearson's Candy (home of the Nut Goodie and Bit-o-Honey) is a local brand.

Actual true wild rice (more grey and brown rather than the jet black grains you see in the grocery store).

Ummm, Spam.

Lefse is best homemade, but some store bought will do in a pinch.

Lunds has some items to help you.

Safe travels!
posted by jenquat at 9:39 AM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

The BT McElrath chocolate of choice in our household is the Salty Dog (its great).

A little less upscale, but also available at any grocery or convenience store are some local treats known as nut goodies.


If you are staying downtown consider stopping at Hells Kitchen for some of their home made peanut butter (not sure where the TSA falls on ground legumes ont he liquid-gel continuum)
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Gah, jenquat beat me to it, including the mention of wild rice (which doesnt seem to fit the specifics of your situation).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2015

It's not exactly Minnesota-themed, but Kowalski's markets have really amazing cookies. Like, three boxes of their trail mix mini-cookies is what I would get in your situation.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:46 AM on October 8, 2015

This isn't terribly exciting, but: Chicago Mix from Candyland. There are two in downtown Minneapolis and one in downtown St. Paul.

On a more exotic note, Scandinavian food is a regional specialty, so you could head to Ingebretsen in Powderhorn to get some of that and then hit up Midtown Global Market just up the street to round out your selection. The southbound #5 bus will take you straight there from downtown.
posted by divined by radio at 9:49 AM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Salty Tart makes some ridiculously good macaroons.
posted by advicepig at 10:00 AM on October 8, 2015

Hell's Kitchen peanut butter is the correct answer and I have flown with it successfully.
posted by clavicle at 11:04 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]

if you go to midtown global market as suggested by divined by radio you should absolutely and without question get an al pastor huarache from Los Ocampo (to eat right then, not to bring to your office mates).

(im gonna stop responding now since its clear the overlap of twin cities and food love has got me all worked up)
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:10 AM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd be willing to ship you some lutefisk at your final destination; you probably don't want to carry it on the plane.

Maybe not delicious, but certainly very weird.
posted by chazlarson at 1:07 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

I prefer Pearsons' Salty Nut Rolls to Nut Goodies--you should bring a selection back to the office. This time of year, you can find the former in "fun size" bags, but I've never seen the latter in small sizes.

I do hope you yourself will have the opportunity to have a Jucy Lucy burger at Matt's Bar on your way to or from the airport. You can't take that home with you but you can brag about the experience.
posted by padraigin at 1:50 PM on October 8, 2015

Salted Nut Rolls was my first thought. Or Mint Goodies. Really any Pearson's candy.

Maybe K'Ul Chocolate for something more indy?

Or cheese curds? You can get cheese curds in the grocery store here.
posted by miyabo at 2:23 PM on October 8, 2015

When my parents moved from Minnesota down to Florida, what they missed most was bratwurst and cheddarwurst. There was, like, ONE brand in the FREEZER section at their local grocery stores and that was IT. If this is a similar situation for you in your current location, I would recommend bringing home some delicious bratwurst and/or cheddarwurst. The large German immigrant population in MN and WI means there should be a good variety other than just the Johnsonville Brats in the freezer section.

Similarly, we have a whole lot of dairy farmers around here, so various types of cheese might be good to pick up, too.
posted by jillithd at 3:00 PM on October 8, 2015

Oh, it is also apple season. If you make it in time, definitely pick up some Honey crisp apples which were invented in Minnesota and are delicious!
posted by jillithd at 3:06 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd cast my votes (1) Hell's Kitchen PB; (2) Salted Nut Rolls; and (3) SweeTango apples.
posted by subgenius at 8:57 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, SweeTango apples are amazing. I resisted for a couple years, but they are so much better than Honeycrisp (it's a fascinating story, too). I accidentally left one in my backpack for a couple days while traveling, and it handled room temperature backpack jostling like a champ and was still super delicious.

Other than that, wild rice and nut rolls are the traditional Minnesotan exchange student gifts to bewildered host families around the globe.
posted by Maarika at 7:31 AM on October 9, 2015