Credit
Russo and Hoehn for sticking to their guns since opening the fifty-seat
restaurant in 2002, offering a daily reflection of the best of the region’s available edibles, most from
family farms and grown or raised sustainably.
The
Marquette Hotel has remade Basil’s, its atrium aerie, with a real plan for
turning this ordinary and glum eatery into a relevant and resonant dining spot.
The lounge at La Belle Vie
offers the same great food, plus a thrilling bar menu that
doesn’t make you feel
like you’re missing anything by snacking instead
of
dining.
In an industry where Asian chain restaurants are
synonymous with
inauthentic dumbed-down fare, Big Bowl offers a safe entry point
into
the fabulous world of Asian cuisine.
Pazzaluna, for years one of the most popular restaurants in St. Paul, may finally be able to join the ranks of the critically acclaimed ones as well, thanks to the recent arrival of Italian master chef Rino Baglio.
Erick Harcey’s food has taken the dining room miles beyond where it was the last decade, but recent meals I sampled revealed a restaurant that’s trying too hard.
Joe’s Garage is still packin’ ’em in, and the reinvented burgers are still on the menu—but Joe Kaplan and his new chef, Karl Lichtfuss, have tilted the scales toward comfort food.