Counter Intelligence | Westin hotel banking on a new restaurant

Westin hotel banking on a new restaurant

By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune

Last update: April 11, 2007 - 4:37 PM

When the Westin Minneapolis (88 S. 6th St.) opens in mid-May, the 214-room hotel will include a spacious street-level restaurant called Bank. The name reflects the surroundings: The breakfast-lunch-dinner restaurant will be housed in the magnificent wood-paneled lobby of the former Farmers and Mechanics Bank, a 1941 Art Moderne glory and one of the city's great interior spaces (get a sneak preview from a pair of balconies now open on the building's skyway level).

The hotel is promising "modern American cuisine," made using seasonal, locally raised ingredients and dishes that range from chocolate and cheese fondues, grilled walleye and steaks and chops; a small plates-focused lounge will feature design-your-own cocktails. Todd Stein, formerly executive chef of Chicago's highly rated MK, has been hired to run the kitchen.

Devil on the lake

Hell's Kitchen (89 S. 10th St., Minneapolis) is expanding -- to Duluth.

"I never wanted to open a second restaurant," said chef-owner Mitch Omer. "But I have a boat in Duluth, and I've fallen in love with the city. You walk through Canal Park, see all the foot traffic and how beautiful it all is and you think, 'I'm going to give it a shot.' "

The Duluth branch (310 Lake Av.) will follow in its Twin Cities sibling's footsteps with breakfast -- including Omer's amazing lemon-ricotta pancakes -- and lunch, but will also expand into dinner service; unlike the original Hell's Kitchen, it will feature a full bar. Omer is aiming for an early June opening; the hope is it will open before Grandma's Marathon floods the city on June 16. Don't feel too bad for the additional work Omer is taking on. "I know, I know," he said with a laugh. "Poor me, I'm going to have to live up there all summer on my boat."

Rakish dining

The Rake's third annual Twin Cities Restaurant Week runs April 16 through 22 and features special meals and deals at 35 locally owned restaurants. Go to www.rakemag.com for details.

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