This basically blows. I live in Kingfield, and used to stop by once a week or so. Sigh.

Code red! My-T-Fine was a go-to favorite of Grace (loved the cranberry wild rice French toast) and I (loved the pancakes) whenever she came to town to visit! I had to call her in Wisc and break the news and it probably hurt her more than the time I got pregnant in high school with Paulie Bleeker's baby. I am bummed beyond words.

This is a truly huge and heartbreaking loss for southwest Minneapolis. My-T-Fine was a treasure. It regularly turned out simple but gourmet-quality dinners (from grilled chicken to penne with shrimp) at, gasp, affordable prices . . . as well as delicious salads and soups, delectable desserts, and some of the best pastries in town. The turkey-and jarlsburg sandwich always sounded simple, but it was hands-down the best sandwich in town. And the fruit-packed scones ...! Again, the best in town. And there's no substitute for the chocolate macaroons. My-T-Fine was a huge part of our lives. And we were always aware of how incredibly hard chef/owner Gretchen Bustin (and her daughter Hannah) worked to keep this gem of a cafe going, its cases stocked with delectables, its kitchen turning out such fresh and satisfying fare. Always on a shoestring . . . It had loyalists, especially for its amazing breakfasts. But it should have been packed, all the time, it was that good. We desperately wanted it to be. Maybe it was simply not snazzy enough for some, maybe people never got past the misleading name (no, it was not a diner serving variations on mashed potatoes!). Maybe it was the lack of beer/wine, maybe in the end just a failure to ever get the word out and do the kind of marketing that small eclectic cafes need to get discovered and stay busy. The sad thing is that suddenly this remarkable cafe is gone. There's nothing else like it--and trust me, I've looked. Thank you, Gretchen and My-T-Fine, for the short but lovely years of service to the E. Harriet/King Field neighborhoods. We'll miss you everyday.

Gretchen is an angel who worked herself silly on this beautiful endeavor, and she deserves far better. I worry about her, and what she will do next-- though if I can do anything, I will. The first thing I will do is invite her to dinner again, and finally catch up-- now that she has a bit of free time. I expect we will see more of her incredible energy again somewhere.