The Lynn on Bryant, Fitger’s Brewhouse, and more

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The Tap loves restaurant tips from readers, so we’re awarding a Heavy Table pint glass to the best tipster each month. The Tap is the metro area’s comprehensive restaurant buzz roundup, so if you see a new or newly shuttered restaurant, or anything that’s “coming soon,” email Tap editor Jason Walker at jason@heavytable.com.

October’s winner: John Champe of Minneapolis

The Lynn on Bryant (now open)

5003 Bryant Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.767.7797

The Lynn on Bryant, which just opened in Minneapolis’s Lynnhurst neighborhood, is walking an identity tightrope. It’s just around the corner from George & the Dragon, Fred Navarro’s pub that’s packed nightly and delivers a much-lauded family-friendly dining experience. And because of its location, The Lynn, perhaps unfairly, will be compared to Blackbird and Heidi’s, the two critically acclaimed restaurants felled in a 2010 fire on the same corner.

The Lynn has responded with an ambitious all-day service from coffee, pastry, and breakfast right on into fine dining. It offers an elegant — some have groused “expensive” — lunch service and has a unique two-room dining setup that in front offers grab-and-go as well as a casual menu, with the full monty of Chef Peter Ireland’s fine dining in the more glamorous back room.

My take, after lunch during The Lynn’s first week and speaking with owners Ireland and Jay Peterson, is that they see The Lynn as a work in progress — a neighborhood restaurant that will evolve into what its customers eventually demand. The two opened the restaurant for daytime service the first couple of weeks, then added dinner to the mix Oct. 25.

“We’ve had a little more time on breakfast and lunch service, so that’s been good just for growing and learning,” Peterson said. “The two burgers are going quite well; the veggie is neck-and-neck if not a couple points ahead of the regular burger. The duck confit and potato salad are things that I’m always pushing. At breakfast, soft scrambled eggs are an easy go-to. We’re also selling a lot of the basic breakfast sandwich: homemade sausage and eggs on a homemade English muffin.”

When asked about his French-inspired menu, Ireland said he was especially proud of what he called “the classics,” like duck confit and croque-monsieur.

“The duck is something that I’ve worked on for a long time, and with other chefs,” he said. “I’ve been developing it in little pieces from one place to the next — for example, some people use sugar, but I don’t.

“I’m also proud of the dishes my staff gets excited about, like when we took the leaves from celery stalks and made a sorbet. The staff was like, ‘Whoa, that’s a revelation!’ Little moments like that are great.”

So The Lynn is the type of place where you can linger with a laptop over morning coffee, have a birthday dinner of sea bass, wine, and celery-leaf sorbet, or do just about everything in between. Perhaps the key to The Lynn’s survival won’t be carving a niche — it’ll be covering all its bases.

Cool Cups Yogurt (now open)

120 S 6th St, (One Financial Plaza skyway), Minneapolis | 612.338.5044

Throwing down another gauntlet in the local fro-yo universe, Cool Cups Yogurt opened a few weeks ago in the Minneapolis skyway with over 70 toppings, a rotating slate of 40 yogurt flavors, free coffee with purchase and… and… a Greek yogurt parfait bar.

Oh, these yogurt wars.

“We are not the only game in town, but we think the combination of our location, the size of our store, and the vast variety of our topping selections sets us apart from the competition,” said general manager Danny Belkin.

Cool Cups is open 9am-4pm Monday-Friday, so a bobas-and-pineapple-topped cup of salted caramel is now a breakfast option.

Fitgers Brewhouse (opens in 2013)

100 Lake Place Dr (Endion Station building, Canal Park), Duluth

Ever seen that old, red-stone train station by the lakeside walking path in Canal Park? In a cool twist, the owners of Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth just bought the building and plan to turn it into some kind of beer outpost. What that means for the soon-to-open Canal Park Brewing Company, I don’t know, but both places will definitely change Canal Park’s beer scene for the better.

In related news, the Fitger’s crew had announced plans for a North Loop restaurant and bar, but those have been scuttled.

Liquor Boy (opens Nov. 26)

5620 Cedar Lake Rd, St. Louis Park | 952.512.2200

From the owner of Chicago Lake Liquors comes Liquor Boy, a 10,000-foot liquor warehouse near the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. Owner John Wolf says Liquor Boy will not have sales but simply everyday low prices. And likely a different clientele than Chicago Lake.

Fun fact from the Liquor Boy news release: Wolf used to be a sports agent and represented Jim McMahon. No word yet on whether he’ll carry Mike Ditka Wines.

NOW OPEN

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • New Bohemia, 233 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis | 612.275.3972
  • The Belmore, 25 4th St N, Minneapolis
  • Sole Mio, 1750 Weir Dr, Woodbury | 651.789.3220
  • Panini Grill, 15092 Claret Ave W, Rosemount | 651.423.2355
  • Betty’s Cafe and Pies, 1981 Silver Bell Rd, Eagan | 612.227.6999
  • Nightingale, 2551 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.354.7060
  • Butter Bakery Cafe, 3700 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis. Moved from old location. | 612.521.7401
  • Summit Brewing Taproom, 910 Montreal Cir, St. Paul | 651.265.7800
  • Bread, Coffee & Cake, 750 Minnesota 110, Mendota Heights | 651.688.0798
  • Maya Cuisine, 1840 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis | 612.789.0775
  • Cakewalk, 303 Division St S, Northfield | 507.786.9255
  • Cool Cups Yogurt, 120 S 6th St, Minneapolis | 612.338.5044
  • Sports Restaurant and Coffee, 1501 S 6th St, Minneapolis | 612.367.4186
  • Daalo Grill, 2647 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.353.5911
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

CLOSED / CLOSING:

  • The Public House, 700 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis. Closed for remodeling. | 612.455.1213
  • Kikugawa, 43 Main St SE, Minneapolis
  • Tii Cup, 6521 Nicollet Ave, Richfield. Closing end of 2012. | 612.594.6521
  • Southeast Asia Kitchen, 406 Cedar Ave, Minneapolis
  • Axel’s Bonfire, 3000 Harbor Ln N, Plymouth
  • Pierre’s Bistro, 2221 W 50th St, Minneapolis
  • The Public House, 700 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis
  • Thom Pham’s Wondrous Azian Kitchen, 533 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis
  • El Meson, 3450 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis
  • Cowboy Slims, 1320 W Lake St, Minneapolis

COMING UP:
Minneapolis

  • Northgate Brewing, 3134 California St NE, Minneapolis | 612.234.1056
  • World Street Kitchen, 2743 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens late November.
  • Republic, 3001 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. Opens in November.
  • Union, 733 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis | 612.455.6690
  • Malabari, 406 Cedar Ave, Minneapolis | 507.351.6683
  • Well Seasoned, 920 E Lake St, Minneapolis (Midtown Global Market) | 612.886.2489
  • Smack Shack, Washington Ave N and 6th Ave N, Minneapolis.
  • Parka, 4023 E Lake St, Minneapolis.
  • Blue Door Pub, 3448 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens this fall.
  • Dangerous Man Brewing, 1300 2nd St NE, Minneapolis | 612.209.2626
  • One Two Three Sushi, 80 S 8th St (IDS Center Skyway), Minneapolis
  • The Original Just Turkey Restaurant, 3758 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis
  • Yogurt Lab, 5007 France Ave S, Minneapolis; 309 SE Oak St, Minneapolis
  • Rincon 38, 3801 Grand Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.408.7063
  • Burch, 1942 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. Isaac Becker’s planned steakhouse in old Burch Pharmacy; opens in late 2012 / early 2013.
  • 612 Brew taproom, 945 Broadway St NE, Minneapolis. Opens late 2012. | 612.217.0437
  • Origami, 1352 Lagoon Ave, Minneapolis. Moving from Minnetonka location; opens Dec. 1.
  • Seward Cafe, 2129 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis. Opening for dinner service. | 612.332.1011
  • Beacon Public House, 615 Washington Ave SE (in the Commons Hotel), Minneapolis. Opens early 2013. | 612.379.8888
  • Morrissey’s Irish Pub, 913 W Lake St, Minneapolis. Opens early 2013.
  • Rocky and Shem’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 56th and Chicago, Minneapolis. Opens late 2012 / early 2013.
  • Sandcastle, Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis. Doug Flicker’s concessionaire restaurant at the lake. Opens spring 2013.
  • Unnamed Kim Bartmann restaurant, 1014 E 38th St, Minneapolis
  • Town Hall Tap, 5019 34th Ave S, Minneapolis

St. Paul

  • Louis, 211 7th St W, St. Paul. Cossetta’s new rooftop restaurant. Opens Nov. 12. | 651.222.3476
  • Bangkok Thai Deli, 333 University Ave, St. Paul. Moving from old location; opens late November. | 651.224.4300
  • French Hen, 518 Selby Ave, St. Paul. Opens this fall. | 651.208.2708
  • Bullpen Saloon, 395 Robert St N, St. Paul. Opens this fall. | 651.335.7503
  • Sakana Sushi & Asian Bistro, 740 Cleveland Ave S, St. Paul

Greater Twin Cities Area

The Tap is the Heavy Table’s guide to area restaurant openings, closings, and other major events. The Tap is compiled and published biweekly by Heavy Table writer Jason Walker. If you have tips for The Tap, please email Jason at jason@heavytable.com.

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