Episodes

  • S3 - Episode 22 - Hoyt Hill, the $25k bottle of wine at one of America's best restaurants

    S3 - Episode 22 - Hoyt Hill, the $25k bottle of wine at one of America's best restaurants
    May 1 2026
    Hoyt Hill is the sommelier at Forepaugh's Restaurant in Saint Paul, in late April he got the opportunity to stage a couple days at Chef Thomas Keller's yountville, California restaurant The French Laundry. He talks about the experience, what makes a 3 Michelin starred restaurant different, and the guest who bought a $25,000 bottle of wine. Imagine what the tip was! Well don't imagine, listen to Hoyt talk about it in this edition of DeRusha Eats.
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    19 mins
  • S3 - Episode 21 - Bucheron

    S3 - Episode 21 - Bucheron
    Mar 9 2026
    A 38-seat restaurant in South Minneapolis is the Best New Restaurant in America! Bûcheron was named James Beard Foundation's best new restaurant for 2025, built by two veterans of fine dining, both with experience in Gavin Kaysen's Minneapolis restaurants. But Jeanie Janas Ritter and her chef/husband Adam Ritter are trying to do something different: a new version of fine dining where high technique is matched with casual and friendly service as well as a family-friendly life for their team. Bûcheron joins Jason on DeRusha Eats.
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    47 mins
  • S3 - Episode 20- Kitchen and Rail Co-Owner Joe Newhouse

    S3 - Episode 20- Kitchen and Rail Co-Owner Joe Newhouse
    Feb 25 2026
    On this episode of DeRusha Eats, Jason is joined by Kitchen and Rail Co-Owner Joe Newhouse as they discuss opening a second location, opening during challenging times, their tribute to "Mort's Deli", what makes a good pastrami sandwich, having an "approachable menu" and more.
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    12 mins
  • S3 - Episode 19 - Megan Luedtke: Bar Director For The Twin Cities Busiest Restaurant Group

    S3 - Episode 19 - Megan Luedtke: Bar Director For The Twin Cities Busiest Restaurant Group
    Jan 9 2026
    Megan Luedtke is the most significant voice in deciding what cocktails Minnesotans are drinking, and no one's talking about her. DeRusha Eats is. Megan shares what inspired her to start creating craft cocktails, the challenges of being a woman in a part of the restaurant world that's stereotypically male, and how she finds flavor inspiration for Daniel del Prado's restaurant group. You can find her cocktails at Porzana, Minari, Rosalia, Martina, Dexter's, Colita, Cardamom, Flora Room, and Thérèse, newly open at 50th & France in Edina.
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    45 mins
  • S3 - Episode 18 - From Fire and ruin to Restaurant of the Year: Khue's Kitchen

    S3 - Episode 18 - From Fire and ruin to Restaurant of the Year: Khue's Kitchen
    Dec 17 2025
    In 2024, Chef Eric Pham got the call that his restaurant was on fire, days before opening. He considered calling it - but he found a new location and opened Khue's Kitchen. In 2025, the Minnesota Star Tribune named it the New Restaurant of the Year. Eric talks about growing up in his family's restaurant, Quang; he talks about dropping out of college to get a job at Spoon and Stable, and his goal as a 25-year-old to create a restaurant perfect for younger diners. High technique, affordable prices, and lined up with his experience as a Vietnamese kid growing up in Minnesota.
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    51 mins
  • S3 - Episode 17: Brim Restaurant Chef/Owner Kate Sidoti

    S3 - Episode 17: Brim Restaurant Chef/Owner Kate Sidoti
    Nov 13 2025
    Gluten-free. No seed oils. The hottest trends in nutrition have been part of life for nearly a decade at Brim, a farm-to-fast casual restaurant founded by former personal chef Kate Sidoti. Kate talks about her food inspiration, the challenges of running a restaurant, and why after so long in Uptown Minneapolis she's now in the suburbs with her second spot. Brim survived through COVID, through riots after George Floyd, and through a very slow recovery in the city.
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    31 mins
  • S3 - Episode 16: The Minnesota Women of Mezcal

    S3 - Episode 16: The Minnesota Women of Mezcal
    Oct 27 2025
    Two Minnesota women, linked through a connection to Prince, have founded their own mezcal brand. Why? How? Ingrid Chavez and Jacqui Thompson, co-founders of Las Melodías de la Luna Mezcal, join Jason DeRusha on DeRusha Eats to talk about their history, their love for mezcal, and why having a woman-owned company with a woman distiller makes a difference. The Prince connection? Jacqui Thompson managed Prince’s Paisley Park recording studios and co-founded the PRN Alumni Foundation, a nonprofit established by Prince’s team to continue his legacy of social justice. She co-founded the agave brand Revel Avila in 2012. Ingrid Chavez is a songwriter, poet, producer, artist, and entrepreneur who has collaborated with major musicians like Lenny Kravitz, Madonna and was a recording artist on Paisley Park Records albums.
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    29 mins
  • S3 - Episode 15: IS THE CRAFT BEER ERA OVER? Jim Diley, Co-Founder of Fulton

    S3 - Episode 15: IS THE CRAFT BEER ERA OVER? Jim Diley, Co-Founder of Fulton
    Oct 8 2025
    From college friends to garage beer brewers, the buddies who started Fulton in 2009 rode the craft beer wage. Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde were on tap everywhere, the tap room near Target Field was bumping. Today - the business has changed, and Fulton has matured as a business along with it's founders. Jim Diley is a lawyer who left his day job to be COO of Fulton and talks with Jason DeRusha about the growth in seltzer, THC drinks, and the future of beer in Minneapolis.
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    33 mins