Looking for lunch or evening dinner on the light side. Heard about early evening at L'Oasi della Birra - any word on that? Maybe Da Remo for pizza? What are your thoughts?

Staying in the Monti. Looking for the latest, up-to-date, recommendations walking distance from Cavour subway stop. Be lively, tell me why and what would be good to order.

Side question: so looking forward to real fresh squeezed blood orange juice (spremuta). Do all local bars offer this? Is it a specialty?

Rome in late February!

My vote would go for Salty Tart. Have you tried?

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Salty Tart
920 E Lake St Ste 158, Minneapolis, MN 55407

Yes, go for the Deep Dish.

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Di Noko's Pizzeria
5501 34th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55417

Forget sunny, warm beaches. Have inexpensive tickets to Rome during the first full week of February. But, because this is such short notice, I will not be able to afford better, more expensive places. I am very much a 'slow food' type. I have a little over a week - eight days. My good friends, can you build the ideal food trip rec. for me? I do have a Sunday, so I am looking for a fun Sunday lunch. Also, My location is near Trevi Fountain, but willing to walk (I mean stroll). Any other advice is wonderful - such as your favorite place for pizza bianca. Regards, friends!

Any word on this place?

Great food at Bar La Grassa. The Italian wine list especially shines. It's that simple.

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Bar La Grassa
800 N Washington Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55401

OK, OK, the service was good, but the food at Smalleys was solidly dreadful. Anyone also thinks this place, which should be above average to excellent, strikes out in a BIG WAY.

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Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque
423 Main Street S, Stillwater, MN

I second the disappointment with La Belle Vie. Lazy, bored chef and staff - hard to say. $80 for the lackluster tasting menu with $60.00 wine flight. At that price point, we should expect great things. Here is a challenge: drop the price by half, go seasonal and change the menu rather often - oh wait, there are already several places like that already. Sorry Vie!

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La Belle Vie
510 Groveland Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55405

...and I am waiting for a good New Haven style pizza - like Pepe's - in the Twin Cities. Enough with upscale burger joints and comfort food - bring out a good east coast slice...

Knife Guy in Hopkins: http://www.sharpencenter.com/Services...

Summit is back - with a hot brew. Tried it and really liked it. Did not have it on tap, but in bottle. All local hop-head should give this one a whirl and report back. Yes, it is a strong one, and yes, this specific one is better than the similar Surly. Also, like the Summit Rye.

Any thoughts on this new place? I thought the almond croissant was very good - better than Turtle. Oddly, the regular croissant was only so-so? Do they use real butter? Bread was good - nice crust. Coffee was OK, not great. Where are the usual suspects, such as Napoleons - eclairs, tarts etc... Patrick's has a much better selection. Just my quick thoughts. Please add your detailed comments on the other items they offer. Great staff, store and seating, BTW.

Good, not great.

Late Sunday brunch: Lamb was a bit over-done, with the side spinach over-salted. Scone and beignet spot on. Service decent for Easter, a lot of staff but not attentive enough (for me) service - odd. Dessert was simple and nice. Great location and space. I would go again to try other items.

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Meritage
410 Saint Peter St, Saint Paul, MN 55102

Went again - busy for a Thursday. Two comments - the place filled with smoke from the grill. Scary considering what happened to the restaurants on 50th. I think the city inspector should review the vent system - or lack of. Second, the burger was ordered medium rare and came raw in the middle - fluke?

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Buster's on 28th
4204 28th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406

Sad to say this - had a horrible espresso at Kopplins. Cig water really. What happened here? Thought it was just mine; tried my companions - same. Hope it was a fluke.

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Kopplin's Coffee
490 Hamline Ave S, St Paul, MN 55116

Sunny but cold morning. We were given the second floor. So dark at our seating, we couldn't even read the menus, let alone see each other. Odd, there were two windows, but both were shuttered. We mentioned the darkness to the server - no no avail. Eating by touch, I guess. Ordered a French toast and 'scandahuvian pie' with bacon and sausage. Server was attentive, if a bit robotic. First, let me say the eggs in the 'pie' were excellent - period. I often order something with eggs - scrambled, frittata etc..and the eggs are tasteless. Not here - very flavorful taste! The side salad with the pie was a nice, healthy touch - good flavor. The French toast was equally flavorful. But, two points - the actual toast looked like thin sandwich bread - VERY odd, and it was served on a smaller dish - even though it is listed as a main. Use a thicker brioche or challah bread - I say, and serve on a larger dish. Finally, the bacon was a bit overpriced for two strips for five dollars. Price point at three - just like the large, tasty sausage.

All in all, a nice place.

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The Strip Club
378 Maria Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55106

Snow/slushy night - a burger and a beer. Had the 1/2 pound Buster Burger with pickle aioli and fries, other party had the Bison burger with Widmer Cheddar. Overall excellent burgers - maybe in the top one or two places in the whole Twin Cities in my view. Fries done well, if a bit salty. The beer selection amazing. Was allowed to try a small taste of one of the taps gratis - always a nice touch. Place was loud - party next to us especially. Good staff, would rec. and go again. About $15-20 per son with beers. Would like your thoughts.

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Buster's on 28th
4204 28th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406

Ordered the Ceasar salad at the Bulldog in NE Minneapolis. What I got was the strangest salad I have ever seen - full, uncut chunks (2) of lettuce (as wide as the plate) with the dressing sort-of poured on the leaf and a bit on the side. Very unappealing. Seemed like the chef was both lazy and/or crazy. Is this a fluke? The burgers the party had were great - if a bit overdone. Noise in the place was loud, but expected. The servers were quite good. The salad was soo strange we just went with it and discussed later - we gave it low marks.

I read about the $20.00 four course option on Sundays. Has anyone tried this? I really love this idea. I hope most places will consider this option.

Smoked Sable is coming to a town near you. A friend of mine wrote Stewart Fishman yesterday, and they will now Fishmans will start to carry it. Good news for all.

We need smoked Sable in the Twin Cities. Maybe someone should alert Fishmans of our collective need. Ever been to Barney Greenglass in NYC? We need something like that here!

Kopplin's is amazing - one of the best in the Midwestern U.S. But, I wish the business would stay open later in the evening.

Luce is not great pizza. Honestly, pizza is all about dough and crust, not toppings. Luce crust is lacking; the dough bland.

A Baker's Wife pastry shop in South Minneapolis is quite good, and very inexpensive considering the high quality.

4200 28th Ave. S. Minneapolis 612-729-6898

Any reviews of the newly opened SpillTheWine on Washington Avenue - in Minneapolis? I drove by and saw they were open for business.

I hope the (TofThai) service will be better at this address. Will someone please tell them? Now we need a good Vietnamese Pho/Banh Mi place downtown (hint hint).

Chez l'ami jean has gone downhill since the chef has let the sous chef take over some nights. Call ahead to see who is cooking.

I will be in Paris on a Sunday. Do you have any good bistro recommendations? I know that many places are, indeed, closed on Sundays.

Thank you in advance.

Has anyone been to 'A la Biche au Bois', Paris, recently?