Counter intelligence: Japanese pub coming to the riverfront

No, that's not a new condominium building at the corner of Washington and Portland avenues in downtown Minneapolis. The only major residential construction going on in this real estate environment is in the rental business, which explains the upscale Mill District City Apartments.

For the complex's prime first-floor space, Village Green, the building's owner just bagged a new restaurant tenant: Zen Box Izakaya.

If the name sounds vaguely familiar, it's because it is. Owners Lina Goh and John Ng have been operating their tiny Zen Box lunch-only cafe (601 Marquette Av. S., Mpls., www.zen-box.com) in the downtown skyway system for nearly seven years.

For their new venture, the married couple are going in a different direction. Dinner, for starters. And a full bar.

"We want to create a Japanese hangout," Goh said (izakaya is a Japanese-style gastropub). Although the menu is still in the planning stages -- Goh and Ng plan to revive and add to the popular dishes from their skyway location -- here's what they're not doing: sushi.

"There's more to Japanese food than sushi," said Goh. "We're thinking of what we do as Japanese comfort food. This is something that we've always wanted to do. Hopefully, it will be our dream come true."

The couple are planning an August opening.

Among the choices: grilled mahi mahi with a layer of crunchy red cabbage and plenty of fresh cilantro (a definite loss leader at $2.50), chunks of crisp-skinned fried chicken with a terrific slaw and a semi-spicy ranch dressing, a fabulously spicy beef brisket with a crumble of queso fresco, achiote-rubbed slow-cooked pork with chunks of roasted pineapple, and grilled poblano peppers and mushrooms. There are several scrambled-egg breakfast versions (served on flour or corn tortillas), along with beer, chips, salsa and guacamole.

The ingredients are obviously fresh in both looks and taste.

"Nothing's frozen; everything is delivered every day," said operating partner Bruce Ringgenberg.

And there is an actual Rusty. He's Rusty Fenton, a Texas restaurateur who launched the first Rusty Taco in Dallas last year.

Breaking brunch news After a too-long hiatus, Sunday brunch is back at Corner Table (4257 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., www.cornertablerestaurant.com), and it's terrific.

But the real reason to visit: smoked trout cakes over tender potato pancakes and red cabbage, topped with poached eggs. Oh, and Pampuch's nod to his days as chef at the Modern Cafe, in the form of a lean-and-mean deconstructed pot roast hash (both are $9, the menu's price ceiling).