I was of the understanding that Heidi's was owned by the Woodman's; however, I was corrected recently by another restaurant owner that it was the maitre'd who owns the restaurant and the Woodman's are in the kitchen. It's not really a big issue for me whether it is the owner or not, they treat you rudely there.

Funny, I am a huge filet fan, and I can't imagine eating a filet unless it has some sort of flavor, hopefully good.

Thanks for the recommendations, AnneInMpls. The Brasa looks fabulous, but I think I should wait for another time since I believe after eating there my husband and I will be sleeping through the performance. But, mmmm, what comfort food!

Originally, I thought, how nice it would be to walk, but I am fine with having to drive and deal with the parking rush. If the Cue were any good, I would rationalize the price with the convenience. Oh, well, it soon will be after April.

Anyway, Keefer looks very interesting and fun. Our play starts at 7 so we could just go at 5 for dinner. My daughter will be in heaven since she thinks we eat too late anyway. My husband and I get in ruts when dining, and I have been in an experimental mood lately. We went to Quang last weekend, and I was in heaven with the Sea Bass and Shrimp soup - I am still dreaming about it!

By the way Anne, you helped me with my Chicago trip (last year), and we ended up going to Mercat a la Planxa. Divine! I could eat like that full time. I will need to bring a flashlight with me next time; however, to go to the bathroom.

Thanks for your input ffthought. My husband and I have been "lucky" at times to get into Maude and we have always sat at the bar. I am not impressed with their service, and their prices have increased considerably for the same quality of food. The food is good, but not worth the wait nor the arrogant attitude of the staff. One night, my husband and I came in without a reservation, and I asked the woman behind the front table if they had any availability. She said that we would have to wait for the master seater - I am not kidding!. Actually, I should have thanked her because I got just a giggle out of it. Anyway, I don't know if you have been to Heidi's, but my husband and I have had similiar issues there. The maitre'd (I have been told he is the owner) is a snob! The food was okay...maybe, I just let the vibe get to me. What I am not getting is the attitudes of certain Minneapolis restaurants (I will put Fugaise into this category, too!). My husband and I ate at Vincent last weekend, and I had a flavorless filet (my biggest complaint here in the TC is lack of consistency in all restaurants except Heartland). Anyway, I normally love Vincent so it was not a big deal, except the waiter told Vincent and he came out to apologize. Okay, so if Vincent is not above doing that maybe some of the staff at these other restaurants need to take note. HIs doing that, plus giving me free brownies to go, and of course taking the filet off of our bill, totally charmed me, and of course, we will be back.

In the south/southwest neighborhood, we really like the Grand Cafe if you haven't tried it yet. They can be hard to get into at times, but at least they are pleasant there, and the food is good. They are on opentable.com.

Good luck on your new arrival! My husband and I have been consistent on date night since our kids (now teens) were little. It has been a marriage saver!

Any recommendations for family of 4 before a Sunday evening Guthrie performance? My teens (13 and 14) are restaurant savvy, but I am not in the "mood" to spend a bundle right now. Is there anywhere fun to go? We would be eating early on a Sunday evening. We like all types of food.

Thank you all so much! All of your suggestions will be helpful going forward on our future trips. I decided to play it safe, and go with Atwood Cafe for pre-theatre, and Custom House for the birthday dinner. I will decide on my "single" dinner when I get there. I will report back!

AnneInMpls, I am new to this board so I will go over to the Midwest and give my 2 cents. We just went to Cafe Levain last weekend....good service, the food was so so. I really wanted to go to Mercat in Chicago, but my husband is not as big of a fan of the tapas deal, yes, I know it's MY birthdday! I will definitely put it on my list of places still to go in Chicago.

My husband Iand will be heading to Chicago next week. We have dinner reservations at Trattoria No. 10 prior to going to Jersey Boys. One evening, due to my husband being at a business meeting, I will be by myself. I would like a recommendation for a restaurant near E Lake and Michigan where we will be staying. I would prefer to walk, and I would prefer if it were close by, and of course, a place in which I would feel comfortable being alone. Good food, good wine.

My indecision is for our last evening. We are celebrating my birthday, and I just can't decide. Although, I think we will head to the Lounge at the Peninsula for the chocolate bar for dessert. I do have my priorities! I am a rather picky eater. Local chef, fresh ingredients....typical chowhound expectations. I lived in Chicago in my early 20's, and even on my student/young working woman budget, I ate well! I moved to Minneapolis, and until recently "starved" for good food. While Minneapolis has come a long way, we still only have a few restaurants that consistently serve good food. Anyway, I really want to go to Frontera, but since they don't take reservations, and we will be going on a Saturday evening, I don't know if that's worth it. We do not have Mexican food here! (Okay, we do, but......) I have cooked from Rick's cookbooks (for hours and hours), and I would love to eat there!

I like French food, but the simpler French food. Frankly, I think in Minneapolis, at least, so many chefs are trying too hard. Fresh, excellent ingredients, prepared simply is the answer.

I think my indecisiveness is due to the fact that I am making a big deal out of this being my birthday, and that we will be without our children (married 20 years next year, and I think we have been jointly away from them maybe 3 long weekends in all that time!!!) I really kind of want to do the chocolate bar thing since it just sounds fun so then Rick's place may not work with feeling too full! Finally, I have read many, many posts for hours...Blackbird, North Pond, one sixtyblue just don't do it for me when I looked at their menus. What about Custom House.....special enough?

Thank you!