New Cowles Center to debut Cravings lobby bar

Cowles Center

Eating opportunities at downtown's new dance and performance center.

The Hot Dish might not know anything about pirouettes or Baby Freezes, but we do know that the center's lobby bar, Cravings, should keep audiences well fed. It's run by the folks behind Crave, which recently opened its new downtown Minneapolis location just a few blocks down Hennepin Avenue.

Cravings will supplement its beverage offerings with a few small bites, including an Artisan Cheese Plate (Brie, goat cheese, strawberries, candied walnuts, honey, baguette), Boa Mini Sliders (spiced pork or turkey), a Mediterranean Plate (hummus, olives, roasted red peppers, pita bread) and Mini Desserts (French silk and blueberry cheesecake), among other items. The center doesn't have an exclusive contract for event catering, though Crave will likely be used often.

The Cowles also has plans to put a restaurant into the ground floor of the Hennepin Center for the Arts (the Cowles Center complex combines HCA with the renovated Shubert Theater, now called the Goodale, and a glass atrium). We've heard the names of a few interesting potential partners bandied about, though nothing's been solidified, so stay tuned...