9 Twin Cities restaurants you probably haven't heard of

We've discovered some new places to eat.

1. AIDA

2208 W. 66th St., Richfield; 612-866-5061; aidamn.com

A former Taco Bell at Penn Avenue and 66th Street in Richfield is now a Mediterranean restaurant with an Egyptian accent. The food - kebabs, shawarma, gyros, falafel - is very good. If you like lamb, you won't want to miss the kofta kebab, perfectly seasoned ground lamb cooked on a flaming grill. There is also an awesome selection of toppings and sauces - and pink basmati rice that's almost too pretty to eat.

2. BRIX COFFEE, CREPES, CUSTARD

572 Commons Drive, Woodbury; 651-730-7284; brixcoffee.com

Who'd think you could find such a swell coffee and crepe bar in a Woodbury strip mall. This is a great place to meet friends or dine solo. There's even a patio to use on nice days. Choose from more than a dozen sweet and savory crepes. The batter is made from scratch, and crepes are made to order. Not to be missed are the provencale with chicken and thick, herby tomato-parmesan sauce and the fresh strawberry with frozen custard. There's decent coffee here, too.

3. BLUE LAGOON

540 Rice St., St. Paul; 651-224-7555; bluelagoonmn.com

New owners took over the old Lagoon Vietnamese restaurant.

They painted the walls, upgraded the lighting (love the new IKEA chandeliers) and changed the name to Blue Lagoon. The menu still offers soups, curries, bun salads, banh mi sandwiches and other comfort fare. But there are also Chinese stir-fries and traditional dishes from Hue in central Vietnam. On a recent Saturday afternoon, half the room had ordered the bun bo Hue, a red spicy soup with simmered beef and pork bones, rice noodles, lemongrass and tons of chile oil. Next time, I'm getting that.

4. LULU'S

1626 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 651-645-2160; mylulus.com

What happens when a young entrepreneur takes over a dilapidated convenience store? A miracle! Rouzbeh Toliati spent a year giving the former neighborhood spot a facelift and installing a fast-casual deli. The menu is a mix of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and American, which means saffron fries, Greek salad and tabbouleh sharing the bill with juicy Lucys. If the fish tacos are offered as a special, you should get them.

5. SEVENTH HEAVEN

327 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-222-0122

You truly can hide in plain sight. Exhibit A: Seventh Heaven. The coffee shop, cafe and antiques store all in one opened three years ago, but few people have yet to discover it in the triangular building on West Seventh and Leech streets in St. Paul. Owner Becky Harrington spent time doing missionary work in India, and it influenced her menu. In addition to breakfast sandwiches, French dips, hot dagos and chili, there are samosa burritos, curried meatball subs and authentic Indian chai, which tastes nothing like the thick sweet stuff served at big-chain coffee houses. And the comfort food is all reasonably priced - nothing is more than $8.

6. SOSA

3909 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis; 612-728-9662; sosafoods.comcastbiz.net

At this Puerto Rican deli in a divey convenience store, you pay for your food in one place and soft drinks in another. You probably will have to wait for a table - and then share it. But none of this will matter after one bite of the shrimp mofongo, a fragrant soupy bowl of garlic mashed plantains. The chicken wings are also fantastic, and so are the potato-crusted pork chops and beans and yellow rice.

7. T-BOX BAR & GRILL

1431 147th St. N.E., Ham Lake; 763-413-9950; tboxbarandgrill.com

T-Box is a suburban non-sports bar, a non-chain restaurant that serves great food. No wonder no one outside of Ham Lake has heard of it; the locals probably want

to keep this gem their own little secret. The menu has hearty portions of American classics - popcorn shrimp, Swedish meatballs, pizza, burgers, pork chops and flat-iron steak. The Swiss roll with chocolate, cherries and ice cream is the only way to end your meal. Keep in mind, though, the restaurant gets noisy and food can be slow coming out of the kitchen.

8. UNIDELI AT UNITED NOODLES

2015 E. 24th St., Minneapolis; 612-721-6677; unitednoodles.com

The deli at this Asian market recently got a much-needed makeover along with a new menu, featuring dishes for grazers - tea-smoked eggs, agedashi tofu, roast pork, noodle bowls and sticky rice dumplings. The prices are easy on the wallet, and the open atmosphere makes it convenient to strike up conversations with people at neighboring tables about the wonderful dishes.

9. ZEN BOX IZAKAYA

602 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-332-3936; zenboxizakaya.com

Remember this hip-looking little spot if you've got tickets to the Guthrie. Zen Box serves Japanese bar food - dumplings, sashimi, bento boxes, rice and noodle bowls - and it's all made from scratch, even the noodle broths. There's great ramen, terrific tuna poke and the best McNuggets in town (listed on the menu as chicken kara-age).

Do you have a favorite hideaway? Tell us about it at Facebook.com/PioneerPress.

Pioneer Press restaurant critic Kathie Jenkins can be reached at 651-228-5585 or kjenkins@pioneerpress.com. Follow her at twitter.com/JenkinsCritic.