Four new restaurants light up downtown, Uptown and the north of town

The hustle and bustle of new restaurants continues. More bright lights, vivid colors, flashing neon, sparkling signage and Hollywood searchlights signaled another round of openings for new hot spots. During the past month, I attended four new, dazzling night-time openings with colorful, creative lighting treatments that caught my eye.

THE NBA CITY RESTAURANT…at the Target Center is a perfect example of a “Minnesota first.” First of all, they are going to roll out the concept worldwide (from here to Hong Kong) thanks to entrepreneurial Minnesota millionaire extraordinaire, businessman/owner, Ralph Burnet, who is also a partner in the Timberwolves ownership group. Secondly, with a main entrance just off North Sixth Street and First Avenue, the Burnet NBA team popped for a majestic 120-foot-tall neon sign with three gold neon basketballs, which bounce up and down the building into a huge neon basketball hoop high above the street corner.

They have sealed the deal for me on designating this block as our own little Times Square, complete with Target’s huge, red, neon bulls-eye, the Hard Rock’s giant blue neon guitar and the elegant, rosy-colored neon and LED lighting at Bellanotte across the street. While NBA City is billed as an upscale, casual restaurant (steaks, ribs, chops, pasta, pizzas, sandwiches) with lunch and dinner daily, it’s more than food. Guests can test their basketball skills by shooting hoops with interactive games. They also boast a retail shop full of NBA memorabilia. Bar-goers can also watch games on one of their dozens of TV screens.

This new spot is headed up by Director of Operations Joe Bennett. He’s a familiar name to locals diners, especially those in the industry. Bennett is the current president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association, and has more than 20 years in the biz. He was previously director of restaurants for Morrissey Hospitality and vice president of operations with Grandma’s Restaurant Company.

The kitchen is headed by St. Paul native Chef Rick Muelle. His culinary experience began with Radisson Hotels, and continued at Famous Dave’s and Redstone Grill.

BELLA IN BLAINE LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT…on the north side of town, where its colorful, magical LED lighting greets you both inside and out. Located at the Club West Plaza, Bella’s benefit opening saluted the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. It was spectacular from the food and drink inside, to the glitzy Hollywood searchlight outside. And if the slim, sculptural black silhouette over the entrance looks familiar, it’s because this suburban hot spot is the new off-shoot of their bigger downtown sister, the sparkling Bellanotte. Bella was developed by two Bellanotte partners, David Koch and Randy Norman, along with restaurant design guru David Shea of Shea Inc.

“Our colorful ‘Bella’ concept mirrors the blend of strong brand and exciting design elements we created in Bellanotte—with a focus on our new area and audience and introducing a slightly more relaxed venue,” Koch said. They still feature their unique style with hand-painted wall murals by Russian artist Inna Shear and the same elegant, walk-around, honey-onyx bar with their signature under-lighting. Manager Jerry Thom (a Blaine native) will add his wine expertise and his many years of food experience from the Capital Grills and a stint at Napa Valley Grill. St. Paul Chef Adam Randall (previously at Windows on Minnesota, Ivories and the St. Paul Athletic Club) heads up the kitchen that will feature lunch, dinner and late night fare with Italian cuisine similar to Bellanotte, but will also offer casual flatbread pizzas, carvery sandwiches and a tempting Sunday brunch. Watch for their summer garden patio concept promised with water, fire and lush greenery.

MEANWHILE, M&S WOW’S ‘EM…back in downtown Minneapolis. The Portland seafood people who brought the popular McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant to the corner of Ninth Street and Nicollet Mall back in 2000, have now opened their M&S Grill concept just three blocks away at the corner of Sixth Street and Nicollet Mall, (previous home to Nick & Tony’s steakhouse). This new steak and seafood concept looks like a perfect fit for the “Sixth Street Steak Row,” and they also seem to meet the magical, mystical “M” word requirement which has made the 3M steak spots famous. No, not 3M Scotch tape, I mean the “M” as in the name of the big three meat spots: Murray’s, Morton’s and Manny’s.

Since teaming up in the early 1970s, the national M&S operation, founded in Portland by Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick, has established more than 50 restaurants in various concepts across the country, specializing in their famous fresh seafood and steaks. When they first opened here, they found that Minnesotans loved their concept and their prices—especially their famous early and late $1.95 happy hour menu. They also discovered a young talented, spunky blonde, Minnesota Chef Wil Borgtrom, who they hired for the Minneapolis kitchen. Borgtrom would go on to open and supervise over a dozen of their regional operations for the next five years. As a corporate chef for M&S, he’s on and off planes weekly and our paths rarely cross, so it was great to see him again here, working with his new M&S team.

They’ve brought local CIA grad Doug Tigges (formerly at Zelo, La Toscano, Goodfellows and Table of Contents) on board as the new executive chef. He plans to include local favorites on his menu, such as wild rice, walleye, berries, local morels and locally grown veggies. For the friendly face at the front of the house, look for General Manager David Soos, who has had “double-duty” experience from recently heading up Tonic and Rock Bottom Brewery, and previously “chefed” at Mall of America concepts from Planet Hollywood to the defunct Café Odyssey. Now he begins a new odyssey on Steak Row. Cheers to all.

VIEW LETS NATURE SHINE THROUGH…day or night at the historic Calhoun Beach Club. Last but not least, we caught the opening and new shining entrance of View, the hot new spot that brought back the magnificent floor-to-ceiling view of Lake Calhoun through the 50-foot long glass wall at this historic property. The old Cajun-flavored Dixie’s, which was located at the Beach Club for more than a decade, blocked the view with the bar against the glass. Now, thanks to a new ownership group headed by Keyvan Talebi (also a Bellanotte partner), and a sleek new contemporary interior thanks to designer Jim Henke, the bar was rebuilt in the middle of the room and this classy setting has the first-class view it deserves. The new slick look continues with the new slimmed down Executive Chef Joe Gentile. He had a major transformation, losing 100 pounds this year by simply cutting portion size and eating healthy. A chef for more than 30 years from Pastabilities catering to the Decathlon Club to Dixies, he revamped this menu to offer fresh coastal and Pan Asian influences with wine and herb marinades—no cream sauces—and “Joe’s corner” for low fat/high protein entrées. Bravo, and P.S.—charming host Lorenzo Cherubini (from Giorgio’s and Tryg’s) has joined the team to greet and meet.