Peter Lilienthal: Where Everybody Knows His Name

Meritage just opened in downtown St. Paul, but is already the essential, romantic venue for pre–Ordway dining. New York transplant and chef-owner Russell Klein and his wife, Desta, have turned the former A Rebours into a welcoming and compelling spot. The monthly menu is slightly longer than its predecessor’s, offering such brasserie fare as French onion soup, mussels, steak frites with béarnaise, and plats du jour that include sole meunière, bouillabaisse, and braised rabbit with mustard sauce. The chicken under a brick and fresh fish are standouts, and I love the wine list.

If anyone needs proof that a lot of Minnesotans will embrace something out of the ordinary, all they need to do is stop by Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine on Eat Street. The place is often packed. Indeed, after a few bites of the authentic, flavorful fare prepared in the open-to-view, glittering stainless steel kitchen, everyone we have taken here has been hooked. Whether it’s a grazing meal built around crisp, hand-tossed roti bread, golden crabmeat balls, and superlative char-grilled beef or main-course portions of wonderful char kaw teow noodles (ask for the thin version), or the stir-fried tofu that even leaves those who don’t love tofu swooning—it’s all but impossible to go away unsated and unsmiling.

Saffron is unquestionably one of the best new restaurants of 2007. The first time I visited this Warehouse District charmer, I wouldn’t have guessed the amazing dishes—foie gras with rose petal jam, cauliflower flan—were conceived by a twenty-three-year-old chef. Sameh Wadi, a Tim McKee protégé, is going to make some big waves. Nothing compares to Wadi’s modern Middle Eastern fare. And given my propensity to graze, I particularly appreciate the sharing-sized choices, including delicious kofta meatballs and a tangy blue crab salad with avocado, curry, and citrus. Monday’s half-priced wine list is a veritable bargain of the decade.

I tend to contemplate Japanese restaurants in broader terms than the success of their ubiquitous and similar menus. An important component of a Japanese meal is hospitality. No place delivers on both fronts as consistently as Sakura, home to excellent and traditional sukiyaki, tempura, shabu shabu, and yosenabe. My friendship with owner Miyoko Omori dates back to the days when she ran Kikugawa in the Pillsbury Center. I always feel welcome here.

We have Northwest Airlines to thank for the presence of talented and charming Vincent Francoual, a former sous chef for Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin and chef de partie at Lespinasse. In 1997, Francoual's wife, Joanne, was transferred here by NWA. After a stint at café un deux trios, he left to open Vincent—A Restaurant, the Twin Cities’ iconic French restaurant. What many don’t know is that there’s a great bar menu that can be ordered in the main dining room and includes bistro classics such as escargots, steak tartare, duck pâté, and croque-monsieur. Equally compelling is the signature Vincent burger—an awesome amalgam of ground beef, beef short ribs, and Gouda cheese. If Vincent isn’t off competing in a triathlon or watching a rugby match in some far corner of the world, you’ll find him circulating with a smile on his face and a joke to share.