This week in the Tap: A look at newly opened (and shuttered) restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro and beyond.
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 James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.
NOW OPEN
- Milkjam Creamery at World Street Kitchen, 2743 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis | Featured in the Hot Five.
- The Herbivorous Butcher, 507 1st Ave NE, Minneapolis | Our tasting notes on three of their dishes. We like what Pizza Nea did with their product.
- Barley and Vine, 17516 Dodd Blvd, Lakeville | “Foodie casual” with “eclectic beer and wine selections,” as per their press release.
- The Draft Horse, 117 14th Ave NE, Minneapolis | New restaurant at the Food Building featuring food made from products from The Lone Grazer Creamery and Red Table Meat Co., along with grab & go sandwiches on Patisserie 46 baguettes, salads, and soup. Read our Bite here.
- Coconut Thai, 3948 W 50th St, Edina, MN
- The Bachelor Farmer Cafe, 200 N 1st St, Minneapolis
- Taco Cat, Midtown Global Market | The cult favorite, bike-delivered taco place has become a bricks-and-mortar affair, replacing the former Burrito Mercado spot in Midtown Global Market.
- Nutmeg Brewhouse, 1905 W County Rd 42 W, Burnsville | “A brewpub that explores the former British Empire from a culinary point of view,” as per the Growler. See our tasting notes.
- Upton 43, 4312 Upton Ave S, Minneapolis | This spot, by Victory 44’s Erick Harcey, is a chance for the much lauded chef to bounce back from the bust-up of Stock and Badge and rollup of the ambitious but shaky Parka. Read our review here.
CLOSED / CLOSING:
- Parella | Our review
- Chatterbox Pub (Highland Park location)
- First Course Bistro | Our visit.
- Local D’Lish | To be replaced by a Cooks of Crocus Hill.
- Brasserie Zentral | One of our favorite spots for fine dining (or any dining whatsoever) in the area, and a darling of the Star Tribune’s Rick Nelson as well, among others. Sad proof that mere excellent food and world-class service are not sufficient to guarantee a restaurant’s success.
- Nye’s Polonaise Room (closing April 3) | This trolltastic City Pages column nonetheless does a good job of expressing some of the ambiguity about the passing of the nationally known and locally legendary Nye’s.
COMING UP:
Minneapolis
- Wild Mind Artisan Ales Taproom, 6031 Pillsbury Ave S, Minneapolis | As per the press release: “Wild Mind will predominantly produce wild, sour, farmhouse, saison, and rustic ales in the traditional European method: through barrel aging and blending, which produces beers with rich, deep, complex flavors.”
- Shake Shack | Early 2016 | A local outpost of the cult-favorite better-burger chain will open at the Mall of America.
- Rose Street Patisserie, 2811 W 43rd St, Minneapolis | 2016 | The Linden Hills outpost of Patisserie 46 will be a full-service bakery and restaurant with 54 seats.
- Project TBD at old Walker Library in Uptown, 2901 Hennepin Ave S | Architectural details available here.
- Modist Brewing Company, 505 N 3rd St, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- Polpo | Early 2016 | In the former La Mac Cleaners space, run by David Hahne, the former chef of the excellent Cave Vin. Sufficiently under the radar that we’re beginning to worry. UPDATE, Feb. 16, 2016: Looks like the space is up for lease, which bodes ill for the project.
- Cafe Alma, 530 University Ave SE, Minneapolis | Early 2016 | Hailed by the Star Tribune as this year’s Best Upcoming Project and a “casual breakfast-to-late night cafe, coffee bar, wine bar and bakery.”
- Blue Door Pub, 1514 Como Ave, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- Inbound Brewco, 701 5th St N, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- The Viking Bar, 1829 Riverside Ave, Minneapolis | Early 2016 | After nearly a decade of closure, this Cedar-Riverside saloon is on its way to reopening. A recent (Feb. 7, 2016) Facebook post promises an announcement about an opening date soon.
- Brut, 428 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis | 2016 | With all the culinary firepower of Erik Anderson (above) and Jamie Malone, Brut promises exciting things. It’s going into the old Sapor space on Washington Avenue.
- Lawless Distilling, 2619 28th Ave S, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- Bonicelli Kitchen, 1839 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis | Early Summer 2016 | Opening in the former Razaaq space on Central Avenue.
- Twin Spirits Distillery, 2931 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- Q Fanatic, 6009 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | Early 2016 (second location) | Although the local BBQ scene is mighty weak, we do think Q Fanatic does a good job at serving up serious Q. This new location, along with the recently launched truck Bark and the Bite, suggests that there’s hope for us yet.
- DiNoko’s Pizzeria, 4457 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis | Early 2016 | DiNoko’s is a local place that can do deep dish pizza seriously well. Their move from Nokomis to downtown Minneapolis didn’t work out; here’s hoping that their return foray to South Minneapolis does.
- Utepils (formerly Bryn Mawr) Brewing, 225 Thomas Ave N, Minneapolis | Early 2016
- Hi-Lo Diner, 4020 E Lake St, Minneapolis | Early 2016 | Seward and Longfellow are really jumping onto the breakfast train after years of struggling to get by with nothing more than the overpriced Longfellow Grill and the inedible Denny’s; Mon Petit Chéri seems to be doing well, and the new Co-op Creamery Cafe is a serious breakfast presence as well. Hi-Lo is getting in as the neighborhoods heat up. Here’s the press release and a photo of a crane lifting the diner into place.
St. Paul
- Handsome Hog, 225 E 6th St, St. Paul | Early spring 2016 | Former Brasserie Zentral and Meritage chef Justin Sutherland will be cooking contemporary Southern food with a high-end twist.
- Black Coffee and Waffle Bar, Marshall and Cretin Aves, St. Paul | Second location.
- Mucci’s, 786 Randolph Ave, St. Paul | Early spring 2016 | A new old-school Italian-American place from Tim Niver, owner of Strip Club Meat and Fish and Saint Dinette.
- Parco 400, 400 N Sibley St, St. Paul | Late spring 2016 | A new Italian restaurant opening in the old Trattoria Da Vinci spot in Lowertown, the culinary side to be headed up by Troy Unruh, formerly of New York City’s well-known Del Posto.
- World of Beer, 356 N Sibley St, St. Paul | 2016 | Part of a chain including locations in Wauwatosa and Appleton, Wis., and Naperville, Ill.
- 11 Wells Millwright Cocktail Room, Historic Hamm Building, St. Paul | Early 2016 | A restaurant aspect to the space is rumored to be under consideration.
- The Lexington (new ownership), 1096 Grand Ave, St. Paul | Spring 2016 | It’ll be interesting to see how the ambitious team behind this revamp and relaunch tackles the task. Between its facade, its location, and its glorious but stuffy, old-school feel, we’ll find it tough to sort the baby from the bathwater on this one. Their Facebook page says, “Keep calm. We are opening soon.”
Greater Twin Cities Area and Beyond
- 1.2.3. Pasta, 6508 Cahill Ave, Inver Grove Heights | March 2016
- Oude Oak, Midway Township | Spring 2016 | A new sour beer-only brewery planned for just south of Duluth.
- St. Croix Brewing Company, 114 Chestnut St E, Stillwater | 2016
- Angry Inch Brewing, 20841 Holyoke Ave, Lakeville | 2016
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 the Heavy Table. If you have tips for The Tap, please email James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.