MINNEAPOLIS — For years Minneapolis eateries have landed on top restaurant lists and best bite roundups in publications across the country.
Chef Ann Ahmed's Gai Noi can now count itself among them.
Earlier this week, the Laotion restaurant in Loring Park was named on the New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in the U.S. "The Restaurant List," curated by NYT reporters, editors and food critics, was narrowed down to just a few dozen restaurants from hundreds of contenders.
This year, half of the restaurants have opened since 2022.
"I'm still in shock!!!" Ahmed wrote on her Instagram page Tuesday. "And still processing that it's my restaurant on this list!!! My home state is on this list, food from my birth country is on this list!"
Gai Noi, Ahmed's third restaurant, opened in May 2023 along Harmon Place in Minneapolis. "Gai Noi is the most noteworthy restaurant yet opened by the veteran Twin Cities chef Ann Ahmed, mainly because she has never leaned so hard into her native Lao cuisine," NYT writer Brett Anderson penned.
"If customers appear at ease dredging sticky rice through one of the four kinds of jeow, or chasing hot bites of laab with juicy morsels of shrimp flake-dusted watermelon, it has something to do with Ms. Ahmed and others who’ve been spreading Southeast Asian flavors across the metro area."
Chef Ahmed is also the culinary brain behind Lat 14 in Golden Valley and Khaluna in Minneapolis, which garnered a nod for Best Chef-Midwest category in the 2023 James Beard Awards.
Reporter Kent Erdahl visited Gai Noi on Wednesday and caught up with Chef Ahmed to discuss the honor and what it all means during a year that was already full of milestones.
Erdahl: "What's the story behind the name of the restaurant?"
Ahmed: "Gai Noi came from a type of grain of rice that is unique from the region that my family is from in Laos. It's a short, stubby little rice, and there is a resemblance to a little chick, so that's why they call it khao gai noi, which means 'little chick sticky rice.' Really, it's just kind of my tribute to my home country of Laos."
Erdahl: "How does it feel to have that tribute now get the attention of the New York Times?"
Ahmed: "I feel very honored and very validated for what I do. To be on this list, especially to represent our home state and our home city, plus to do the food that I grew up with... you know, in my Minnesota home, I was eating Laotian food. That means a lot to me and and to be recognized on a national level is the highest accolade or recognition that I feel like I could have earned."
Erdahl: "That's saying something because you've been doing this for a long time. You have three restaurants right now, when did you start?"
Ahmed: "2005 was my first restaurant, that's almost what... 18 years ago? That restaurant was Lemon Grass in Brooklyn Park. We just closed at the end of March of this year so that we could open up Gai Noi."
Erdahl: "That's a big leap. Were you worried about what would happen?"
Ahmed: "Of course, and you know, when you're in the restaurant business, you're always worried, you're always taking risks. But at the same time, this location really spoke to me. We have an amazing community here that shares and they share things that they love, so a lot of the recognition that I've gotten for Gia Noi is just from the community, just taking a picture of the meal they had, sharing it on social media and saying, 'Hey, you've got to go check it out."
So what's on the menu? There's the popular Panang Spaghetti, noodles tossed in a creamy spicy Panang curry sauce, topped with fresh Thai basil. Red, yellow and green curries can be customized with your choice of protein or veggies. Three papaya salad options, a myriad of starters and snacks and Laotian specialties and noodles round out the menu.
Gai Noi is open Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and can host special events and private dining.
Chef Ahmed's accolade is the latest culinary kudos for the Twin Cities food scene.
In 2022, Sean Sherman and his Owamni by the Sioux Chef business partner, Dana Thompson, were honored by the James Beard Foundation as America's Best New Restaurant. Earlier in the year, Sherman made TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list and was honored with the prestigious 2023 Julia Child Award.
In March, Shawn McKenzie of Café Cerés was named a semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard Awards in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category, and four Twin Cities chefs were nominated under the Best Chef-Midwest category: Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel, Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen and Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai, along with Ahmed for Khâluna.
Ahmed says it's been an honor to be part of a food scene that is getting so much national recognition.
"It was only a few years ago that we were labeled a fly-over city," Ahmed said. "People didn't feel like Minneapolis was worth a stop, but it has always been here. It's about time that we get recognized for the craft that we're doing here, the food that we're serving here.
There's also much more to discover. I hope that this brings the excitement of the rest of the country to be like, 'Hey, I want to hang out in Minneapolis, or you know what? Let's spend the weekend in Minneapolis."
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