Other
Dara Moskowitz
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Coming Up
Food criticism depends on repeat observation, and Dara Moskowitz built that habit early through training at Stuyvesant High School and Carleton College. Those schools show up less as biography than as method: discipline, range, and an attention to detail that suits reporting as much as review work. In her case, the craft is a steady one—reading a room, reading a plate, and turning both into copy that tracks how restaurants actually function in public life. City Pages in Minneapolis-St. Paul (1995–2008) was the long training ground for that method, with Dara Moskowitz working there as writer, Senior Editor; restaurant reviewer and feature writer. The mix of reporting and editing matters here. It means moving between immediate judgment and structural thinking, between the close-up of the meal and the wider frame of the city around it. For a critic, that combination is not decoration; it is the job. At Minnesota Monthly in Minnesota (2008–2012), Dara Moskowitz continued as restaurant reviewer and feature writer, while also serving as editor-in-chief at Real Food (2008–2012). Those parallel roles show a working writer who did not stay in one lane. The editorial side sharpened the shape of the work; the reviewing side kept it grounded in restaurants, service, and the details that make dining legible to readers. Delta Sky Magazine (2012–2020) then widened the audience, with Dara Moskowitz writing for a national readership without changing the core discipline of observation. Since 2012, Dara Moskowitz has been senior writer of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and host of Off the Menu. In print and on air, the practice stays the same: listen closely, notice precisely, and write in a way that lets readers see the food, the room, and the culture around it without losing the facts in the process. Across those outlets, her work stays anchored in the same trade skill—translating dining into clear, usable criticism.
Where They Are Now
Senior Editor at Minnesota Monthly in the Twin Cities and longtime food critic there: that pairing defines the present tense of Dara Moskowitz’s work. The role depends on continuity, on returning to the same regional dining ecosystem often enough to understand its habits, its shifts, and its standards. A longtime critic is measured less by novelty than by consistency, and by the accumulated trust that comes from showing up with the same attention over time. The arc from Stuyvesant High School and Carleton College to City Pages in Minneapolis-St. Paul (1995–2008), Minnesota Monthly in Minnesota (2008–2012), Real Food (2008–2012), Delta Sky Magazine (2012–2020), and the current posts at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and Off the Menu since 2012, reads as a sustained practice rather than a series of reinventions. The mastheads change, but the craft holds: Dara Moskowitz writes from inside the restaurant world, and keeps translating it for readers who need the scene described plainly.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Dara
What is Dara Moskowitz's current role?
As of 2026, Dara Moskowitz is Senior Editor.
Where did Dara Moskowitz train or study?
Dara Moskowitz trained at Stuyvesant High School and Carleton College.
What recognition has Dara Moskowitz received?
James Beard Award, Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award (2020).
