Mo Perry

Mosaic Cafe opened its doors about two weeks ago in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis, near the intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue, after undergoing quite a makeover from its former incarnation, Glacier's Cafe. Everything on the menu is made from scratch in-house (except for the pastrami), with a focus on hearty salads, sandwiches, and burgers, robust vegetarian and vegan options, and locally sourced, organic meats.

The Hot Dish stopped by for a first look at the new space and menu.

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Birdhouse on Hennepin is now open

Birdhouse on Hennepin, the new venture from Heidi and Stewart Woodman (owners of acclaimed Heidi's Restaurant) is officially open to the public today for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their liquor license came through yesterday just in time for a small preview dinner in the charming space, which formerly housed Duplex Restaurant. The Hot Dish stopped by to sample a few items from the dinner menu, as well as one of their craft cocktails and some of their bubbly offerings. Read on for pictures of the menu and some of the dishes we tried.

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Courtesy of chef Joe Campbell

The Newsroom's new Cobb Salad with a soft-boiled egg and heirloom tomatoes.

Read all about it: Nicollet Mall mainstay the Newsroom has acquired new cooking talent and designed a new menu. Joe Campbell has joined executive chef Andrew Baebenroth's team as sous chef. Their new menu debuted last week.
The restaurant offers an American-eclectic menu and is centrally located in the Nicollet Mall strip in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Typically the Newsroom attracts the convention, theater, and business customers. The restaurant is known for its ability to handle volume and large parties, as well as for its large patio and its prime location for happy hour.

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Greg Martin works the Synesso

​Waiting on some final inspections at his new Urban Bean location at 24th and Lyndale, Greg Martin is mere days, perhaps hours away from throwing open the doors and seeing faces old and new stream into what was once Muddy Waters. The space looks very different now, with the gleaming Synesso, spare design, and bags of Dogwood Espresso waiting patiently for a chance to give the Wedge neighborhood some highbrow coffee.

Care to take a sneak peek?

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Mo Perry

The hip new downtown Crave opens tomorrow

The ever-expanding Crave empire celebrates the grand opening of its most ambitious location yet tomorrow. All traces of former occupant Palomino are long gone, and the space has been given a fresh makeover. Walls have been torn down to create an open floor plan, the decor and furniture are slathered in tawny golds and reds, and hipness is already billowing from the place like smoke. And wait till you see the rooftop patio...

The Hot Dish chatted with Crave CEO Kam Talebi and got a few pics of the new digs. Here's our sneak peek.

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Masu Sushi & Robata Japanese meets Nordeast

​Take the pop of a Shea-designed restaurant, add the sizzle of a Tim McKee-produced menu, a dash of sustainable seafood, served with a twist, and you'll find yourself with Masu Sushi and Robata, the latest venture of Minneapolis's own menu whisperer. It seems that no matter the concept, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Tim McKee knows what what the citizens of the Cities are looking for. 

This hotly anticipated restaurant doesn't open for business until Monday, but we were invited in for a preview dinner. 

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Debbie Tallen

Bacalao with charmoula and spring greens, paired with Evodia Garnacha

Every month, CRAVE hosts a Wine Academy--a mini class on the basics of appreciating wine, conducted over a 4-6 course pairing dinner. CRAVE Executive Chef Mike Agan creates the menu, and Sommelier Tim Edmunds chooses the wines that will go with each course and teaches the class over the duration of the meal. Each class focuses on the wines of a specific region and is hosted at each of CRAVE's three metro locations throughout the month. April's class focuses on the wines of Spain. The Hot Dish attended Monday's class at the Mall of America CRAVE. Read on for a sneak peek at the Wine Academy.

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Preparing dishes for a VIP Reception at Herb Box in Lifetime Fitness

Earlier this winter, the Herb Box replaced Zahtar by (David) Fhima at Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie. The Hot Dish takes a glimpse inside the new restaurant, which offers its fare to club members and the public alike.

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Heidi and Stewart Woodman are opening Heidi's 2.0 on 1/1/11

​Last February, Heidi's was claimed by fire just hours after chef and owner Stewart Woodman was named one of the Top 20 Chefs in the Midwest by the James Beard Foundation. Luckily for Twin Cities food lovers, the Woodmans weren't about to let a little thing like a restaurant gutted by fire get them down. In August, they announced the location of a new home for the restaurant: the space formerly occupied by Vera's Coffeehouse on Lyndale Avenue. They will fling open the doors on Tuesday January 11, hoping to capitalize on the auspicious symbolism of a 1/11/11 birthday.

The Hot Dish was invited to take a sneak peek at the new restaurant at a press preview dinner on Sunday night. Read on for a look at what to expect from Heidi's redux.

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Snuggle up with your honey, here.

Heartland's former home takes on new life as Blue Plate Group introduces Scusi. Achieving a comfortable atmosphere with checked tablecloths, cozy booths, and twinkly candlelight, Scusi makes a fine neighborhood joint. What's cool: wine on tap, create-your-own charcuterie plates, hearty winter comforts like osso buco, your choice of formal dining room or casual wine bar. It's the kind of place you could go with your grandma, or to snuggle with your honey in a tiny booth, and everything else in between. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, let this Scusi slideshow give you a little peek at all the action you've been missing.

Scusi
1806 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul
651.789.7007