From Pizza to Tortillas, a Midwestern Chef Defies Assumptions

Love her attitude. Never let anyone tell you you can’t do something.

My husband and I often visit Minneapolis to take in shows at Dakota Jazz Club. During one such visit we lunched at Pizzeria Lola. It was such a delight it made me want to move into that neighborhood -- I am still trying to re-create an appetizer of charred cauliflower and red chiles. We gawked like tourists over the gleaming pizza oven. The restaurant has great food and fun touches, too. There's a photo booth in the back and vistors are invited to share their images by displaying them on a back wall. There was mismatched china that looked as if it was part of a family collection. And yes, there was soft-serve ice cream. We will be visiting one of Ms. Kim's other restaurants when we return.

Minnesotans: How does Ms. Kim's pizza compare to Pizza Karma in Eden Prairie? I'm curious because the chef behind that restaurant is longtime Minneapolis resident and noted cookbook author Raghavan Iyer, who has written extensively about his native Indian cuisines, as well as all sorts of potato recipes. At Pizza Karma, the pies are cooked in a tandoor. [Full disclosure: I know Raghavan through the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and copyedited his potato book. He is a real sweetie.]

When I was an undergrad in Baltimore in the 1980’s, I often ate at a Korean owned takeout where I could get a cheesesteak with a side of kimchi. They served food that I liked.

This article was really well done and accurate. The food scene here 40 years ago was really bleak but things really started to change when Lucia Watson opened Lucia's in 1985. It was the first chef-driven, farm-to-table restaurant here. The food and dining experience there were remarkably good until she retired 29 years later. Many people here very fondly remember it. So, good that someone of the caliber of Ann Kim is taking Lucia's space. It will be a very busy place when it opens.

A person preparing great food that she cares about and shares with her clients. I love it. I also love the variety of foods, Italian, Korean, Mexican, ... I remember a recent article in The Times of a white woman in NYC that had a Chinese restaurant and people cried "cultural appropriation" At least comments so far have yet to cry foul, maybe they grew up

"Ms. Kim is at pains to frame her efforts to master new cuisines — she is trying to learn how to hand-grind nixtamalized corn, and will travel to Spain this month to explore how churros are made — as an exercise in respect, not acquisition." I read a New Yorker article yesterday about the playwright Matthew Lopez, ("The Inheritance") who spoke about his right to write about anything he wants to, including Jews; he respected the rights of whites who wrote and made music for Puerto Ricans in West Side Story. Who ever made up the ugly, bitter phrase, "Stay in Your Own Lane" to forbid one type of pigment or religion or culture from dabbling in another, should take note. Nobody has the right to censor or keep out others in the name of preserving purity. And now, heartingly, we see this Korean-American going into Mexican-American cooking and I just want everyone in the world to pass into any adventure, any learning, any creativity they want to, regardless of self-described or proscribed identity. The human world should be open to any human who wants to dream and work and invent and I hope we are passing out of this ugly time of proscribed identities back into the melting pot of innovation that made us this great nation.

Hate to say this, growing up in NYC and living in Los Angeles, but the most exciting new restaurants—the ones that give chefs and restaurateurs the greatest freedom—aren't going to be found in NY or LA (or any huge city) soon because of the high cost of doing business and over-saturation in these markets. We are in the middle of a renaissance (hopefully a long middle) of food and dining in our country outside the usual large cities and I for one am super stoked. I look forward to my next trip to Minneapolis!

I'm a transplanted Minnesotan living in New Mexico and a foodie is a foodie anywhere! I can't wait to visit family and friends in Minneapolis so I can experience her "creativity".

While I have never dined at any of Ms. Kim's celebrated restaurants, and know her only through this wonderful article, I can safely say that I just LOVE this woman! What glorious joie de vivre!

I worked with Ann at a law firm many years ago when she was also working as an actress. She is a wonderful person. Since that time I have watched from afar her career as a restauranteur grow and prosper. Each neighborhood where she has located one of her establishments has benefited greatly. Taking over the former Lucia's space is daunting, but Ann is more than up to the challenge. Best wishes, Ann. Keep it up!

While there are only a dozen comments as I write this, the positiveness and exuberance that reads through all of them is amazing! Certainly a testament to Ms. Kim's business expertise, her respect for the industry and, especially, the obvious respect she holds for her customers, as illustrated by the glowing comments about service. So great to read such positive reviews. I'm looking at some business opportunities in MPLS, Ms. Kim's restaurants would be high on my list to experience early on.

Amazing food and amazing person.

I was in the audience at this year's James Beard Awards in Chicago... and Ann Kim's acceptance speech was by far the most memorable of the night. I remember it bringing me to tears, and inspiring me, and making me giggle out loud all in just a minute or two. Just wow. I have not yet dined in any of her restaurants, but I hope to someday. In the meantime, I wish her continued success. It is obviously well-deserved.

Brett - why would you describe a female chef opening a restaurant as "she had never so much as waited on a table" before opening her own restaurant. I have never read that a male chef had never acted as a waiter before opening his own restaurant.

I have had the pleasure of eating Ann’s food at Young Joni AND working with her at the Guthrie. Creativity and collaboration are things I treasure about her personally and professionally and I am just grateful I live in the city in which she cooks and shares her extraordinary talents and her grace.

This article gives the impression she does the cooking, but while mentioning her acting career, never really discusses her background as a chef. Is she the owner with other chefs working under her? Does she do the cooking (the photo of her shoving a pizza into the wood-fired oven gives that impression)? The restaurants sound good and Ms. Kim has obviously put a lot of work into making them a success, but we're missing a lot of important background information here.

Her new restaurant is in our neighborhood, and only adds to the wonderful diversity of excellent food here. We can eat great Cuban food across the street at Victor's 1959, tapas at Rincon 38, award winning cuisine at Grand Cafe (on Food & Wine cover last year), Nighthawks Diner, Kyatchi Sushi, Dragon Wok (great unassuming Chinese take-out), and a new Argentinian Pizza place I haven't been to yet but have heard raves. All within 1 mile, and the best fried chicken in Minneapolis (Revival) is a stone's throw away as well. You can't get me to leave the Kingfield neighborhood in South Minneapolis! There may not be a better neighborhood for great food in the world!

We've eaten there several times and each time the food, service and hospitality were amazing. She has worked extremely hard and earned this amazing recognition. We can't wait to see if her nixtamalized tortillas make us weep. Also, check out the back-alley speakeasy behind Young Joni as well. Great space, great design and fun place to get a drink and hang out with friends.

I have experienced Young Joni's while visiting my son in Minneapolis about a year ago and found the food and customer service so amazing I am still talking about it. I will try Ann Kim's and of course re experience Young Joni again when I visit.

It's a really fun time for small local restaurants & bars here in the Twin Cities. We have local entrepreneurs who aren't afraid to take risks and create "fusion" (an anachronistic word to me) food. It's sad that "Sweet Chow", one of the best new joints, just closed, but it helped to fuel the growth of places like Ann Kim's.

Indeed, when hand-made heirloom blue corn tortillas can move someone to tears, that person has a soul of an inborn chef. Best wishes!