The Only MN Restaurant to Make National 'Best Restaurant' List

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It's a prestigious national list of the Best 50 Restaurants in the U.S. and there's only one Minnesota restaurant included this year.

There is no shortage of lists floating around these days, right? Whether it's USA Today, Reddit, Yelp, Google, or some other site, it seems like just about *everyone* has published a list of the best this or that in YOUR state.

But *this* list is a wee bit different. It's the 2023 edition of The Restaurant List, published by the New York Times, a small daily newspaper with which you might be familiar. (<--- sarcasm filter on.) It describes the Restaurant List as 'The 50 places in the United States that we're most excited about right now.' And it IS a fairly prestigious honor to be included, and this year only one restaurant here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes made the list.

SEE ALSO: Here Are the Top-Rated Fast Food Chains in Minnesota

And that honor would go to Gai Noi, a Minneapolis restaurant specializing in authentic Lao cuisine, located on Harmon Place near Loring Park. It opened back in May of 2023, and is the only Minnesota eatery on the Times Restaurant List this year.

Here's what Gai Noi is all about, according to their website:

Gai Noi, short for khao gai noi, is a type of short grain glutinous rice emblematic of the northern Xieng Khouang regions of Laos, where Chef Ann Ahmed and her family are from. Also known as ‘little chick’ due to its spotted appearance and small shape, khao niew (sticky rice) is a staple of the Lao diet and is eaten in tandem with nearly all other dishes.

While it's the only restaurant in the North Star State to make the Times' Restaurant List, Gai Noi isn't Chef Ann Ahmed's only outlet. She also has had a hand in two other Twin Cities restaurants, including Khaluna in Minneapolis and Lat 14 Asian Eatery in Golden Valley.

She posted the news on her Instagram page earlier this week:

So, congrats to Chef Ann and her crew at Gai Noi! Now, sometimes the top-rated restaurants aren't necessarily the most popular. So keep scrolling to check out the most popular fast-food chains in the country, as well-- and see if you agree!

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