The 5 best things we ate in the Twin Cities area this week

Pork Congee from SoYen Desserts

As I turned down the street, I spotted other souls with a familiar gleam in their eyes: We were all on the hunt for a rising pastry star. Yen Fang began SoYen Desserts as a pop-up, but opened her weekends-only cafe in one of the historic Lowertown buildings in March. Up some marble stairs and around the corner, sweets seekers will find camaraderie in the line. Fang has gained a dedicated following for her brioche doughnuts, filled with cream laced with whatever her heart wants. On this day that meant ube and Oreo, pistachio blackberry and nutella whipped creams.

I was expecting the doughnuts, but I didn't plan on discovering a bowl of rich and soulful congee that is the breakfast porridge of my dreams. Rich and subtly savory soup is filled with starchy rice and topped with a just-set egg, crispy pork, lively ginger matchsticks, grassy scallions and a toasty chili crisp. Every bite was a textural journey, from plush comforts to Saturday night dance floor liveliness.

Luckily it all travels well, because there isn't much room to dine inside. Maybe this is the spring that communal congee picnics finally become a thing. (Joy Summers)

275 E. 4th St., St. Paul, 651-219-5175, soyen-desserts.square.site

Flatbread and burrata at Hyacinth

I love a happy hour, but what do I love even more? An aperitivo. Slap an Italian name on having a cocktail and salty snacks at a bar while it's still light out, and I'm there.

I finally made it to Hyacinth for the first time since founding chef Rikki Giambruno sold the business to chef Abraham Gessesse last year. In a seamless changing of hands, Hyacinth retains its warm coziness and tight curation on comforting Italian food that's expertly prepared.

Everything my companion and I tried I would order again and again. But the first thing that called to me as a perfect salty-creamy counterpart to my spiced espresso martini was the housemade flatbread with sea salt and olive oil. It sounds so simple, but sometimes simple is the hardest to pull off. This round of dough, which I watched the chef cook in a pan from the other side of the intimate bar, was crisp, bubbly and fluffy in all the right places. It was so satisfying to rip into, and to use to sop up the curds that flowed from a broken orb of burrata cheese. The flatbread is $8, the burrata is an extra $10; the cheese, doused in cracked pepper and more olive oil, comes on the side, but I immediately slid it into the center of the bread and let the residual heat send even more cream flowing into an olive oil river. Happy hour, indeed. (Sharyn Jackson)

790 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-478-1822, hyacinthstpaul.com

Scallop gnocchi from Perron's Sul Lago

Reserving lakeside restaurants strictly for warm-weather dining can be a big mistake. Enter this south-of-the-river gem, which has been serving Italian food on the shores of Prior Lake for two decades. The cozy setting is just as welcoming on biting spring days. Plus, there's pasta.

I was tempted to highlight the filet tips, which were cooked just until tender before being combined with caramelized onions, wild mushrooms and funky Gorgonzola and cream — all tossed with fettuccine ($26). I purposefully rationed my bites so I'd have lunch the next day. But I couldn't not talk about the scallop gnocchi. Scallops can be hit or miss, depending on the skill of the kitchen. Here, they were expertly seared, the crusty exterior a perfect foil for pillowy gnocchi, bacon, onions, a sprinkle of peas and a proper dousing of velvety cream sauce and Parmesan ($32). It's very rich, but very worth it.

The bar is small but delightful, a very comfortable atmosphere to take in a drink and pizza (served Mon.-Thu. in the bar), but no lake views. But Sul Lago is Italian for "on the lake," which is where you'll find us when we revisit for proper warm-weather lakeside dining. (Nicole Hvidsten)

16154 Main Av. SE., Prior Lake, 952-440-1411, sul-lago.com

Biscuits and gravy from Perk Up Kitchen

My stomach was already rumbling when I walked up to the newly opened Perk Up Kitchen and saw a line. It was a late weekday morning, bordering on lunch, and I'd thought I'd be safe to wander on in. I dropped my name on the list and waited just outside in the shade, where a cutting breeze smacked my cheeks. Just as my stomach was about to take my mind to a dark place, another diner struck up a conversation. Soon we were chatting with another waiting group, and the wait evaporated like a fog.

All too quickly, I left my newfound friends and was seated to devour a bunch of the menu. Mary and Jarrett Ritenour opened Perk Up Kitchen in February, and Bloomington has embraced this little cafe with its light-filled dining room and daily stocked pastry case.

The biscuits and gravy ($17) were more than enough to satisfy my well of hunger and leave me with leftovers. Scratch-made, creamy gravy is dotted with sausage nubs and the biscuit — crunchy on the outside, tender in the middle — is ready to sop up all the good stuff. It's just the kind of cozy optimism my jaded soul needed on a random weekday. (J.S.)

3809 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, 952-247-0659, perkupkitchen.com

Jalapeño mac and cheese bites at the Black Hart of St. Paul

The enormous mural of Megan Rapinoe facing the equally enormous patio near Allianz Field is the first clue you've arrived at Black Hart. I'd come for karaoke night at the convivial former Town House Bar, which became the Black Hart in 2018. The queer soccer bar has a little something for everyone. Pool tables, cocktails named after women's soccer stars (I may have had a couple of the Mia Hamm Alabama Slammers, $9.50), and a heavy rotation of show tunes on the karaoke machine.

Food selection is limited to things that come in freezer bags, but my friend had a feeling about the jalapeño mac and cheese bites ($8), and she was right. A basket of crisp-breaded cubes of macaroni contain all the cheese pulls, and just the right hint of heat. It's gooey, crunchy bar food at its best, made even better by the surroundings of a solidly welcoming neighborhood bar. (S.J.)

1415 W. University Av., St. Paul, 651-528-8028, blackhartstp.com