Counter Intelligence: Another chef on the outs

Another high-profile chef is out. This time it's not in Minneapolis, but in St. Paul, where Russell Klein has left the building at W.A. Frost & Co. (374 Selby Av.). His replacement is former sous chef Leonard Anderson.

Last update: February 14, 2007 - 4:13 PM

"It's 'As the Restaurant Business Turns,' " Klein said with a laugh. "Let's face it, I'm in pretty good company with unemployed chefs right now. Doug [Flicker, of the former Auriga], Steven [Brown, of the former Levain] and Stewart [Woodman, of the former Five Restaurant & Street Lounge] and I should open a place together. We could all cook one night a week, although we probably couldn't get all of our egos to fit in a single room."

Klein has been working on opening his own restaurant for a while, "and now I'm going to be more aggressive about putting that together," he said. "Until then, I'll do some consulting and some teaching. That's what unemployed chefs do, isn't it? I'm tremendously proud of the work I did at Frost's. I met my fiancée there. I made my reputation there. It was a good five years."

Pedal power

Anyone who has seen the countless members of the Birchwood Cafe (3311 E. 25th St., Minneapolis) biking team pedaling down the road knows there is a strong correlation between the local restaurant and bicycling worlds. Joe Christian, a Minneapolis-based bike tour organizer, is tapping into that connection in May with his first chef-centered outing, a 10-day pedal through southern France featuring Craftsman (4300 E. Lake St., Minneapolis) chef and bicyling enthusiast Mike Phillips. "You can stroll the markets with Mike in the morning, bike in the afternoon and take a long cooking class with Mike in the evening," Christian said. Check out details at www.mellovelotours.com.

Around town

The building at 3024 Hennepin Av. S. in Uptown Minneapolis -- longtime home to Häagen-Dazs and then a short-lived branch of Panera Bread -- will soon be a new restaurant, Amazing Thai.

RICK NELSON