Restaurant reviews: New chefs at California Cafe and Barbette

Wolfgang Puck's loss is the Mall of America's gain. After spending nearly a decade inside the celeb chef's empire -- including the top position at a popular Puck outpost in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas -- chef Tuan Nguyen returned to his native Minnesota to take the helm at the California Cafe. Over the past 16 months, he's elevated the restaurant's appeal by leaps and bounds. Forget about Nordie's shoe department or H&M's spring fashions; Nguyen's full-of-surprises menu is the real reason to visit the megamall.

From his perch in the restaurant's showy, wide-open kitchen, Nguyen infuses tender baked walleye with the flavor of Chinese black beans, then pairs it with nori-scented jasmine rice, soy-sautéed vegetables and a tart pineapple-pear salsa. Pork tenderloin is wrapped around zesty chorizo and house-smoked garlic and shares the plate with braised Swiss chard and a sweet corn pudding. A blazing red curry packs a punch over shrimp and scallops with a lemongrass-enriched risotto.

A dozen small plates boast a broad range of tastes. Crisp fried spring rolls are stuffed with duck, shiitake and enoki mushrooms and crunchy cucumber. An eye-catching salad combines citrus fruits, hearts of palm and a refreshing pomegranate vinaigrette. Quesadillas filled with shrimp, pico de gallo and a chipotle cream sauce have a spicy kick. Tender beef satays are tented like a tepee and served with a zippy peanut sauce. At lunch there are gigantic sandwiches (don't miss the awesome crab melt) and well-composed pizzas from a wood-burning oven. On Sundays, Nguyen fills a megamall void with a half-dozen brunch items.

While the 14-year-old room still has a foot in the early '90s, it's a pleasant respite from the mall's nonstop honky-tonk. Another caveat: The kitchen's performance isn't entirely consistent, and pacing (minus the guaranteed 45-minute lunch) can be slow. Although his cooking is leagues ahead of his Bubba Gump-Kokomo's-Ruby Tuesday neighbors, Nguyen keeps his prices competitive; it's tough to find anything over $14 at lunch, and most main-course dinner plates fall in the low $20s. The extensive, all-California wine list features 22 by-the-glass options. Service, starting with a warm greeting at the door, is often attentive and knowledgeable.

NEW AND IMPROVED

Chef Peter Botcher has been running Cafe Barbette for just a few months, but he has already made a measurable impact. The Levain and Vincent alum has continued the five-year-old Uptowner's emphasis on bistro fare and premium, locally sourced ingredients. But Botcher has also wisely reined in Barbette's prone-to-rambling menu, focusing his cramped kitchen's resources on making fewer dishes better. The results are impressive.

Check out the improvements over lunch. A pair of gently poached eggs are served over nicely crisp spinach and smoky bacon. Shards of potato, zucchini and squash are fried into cakes and dressed with a lively lemon- and chive-laced sour cream. I'm all over the beaut of a salad made with large leaves of butter lettuce, candied walnuts, sweet beets and a gutsy Iowa blue cheese. Best are the savory buckwheat crêpes, the neatly pressed ham-and-cheese sandwiches and my favorite lunch repast of the moment, a melt-in-your-mouth panini dripping with basil aioli and filled with juicy chicken, avocado and roasted tomatoes.

Dinner is similarly rewarding. A squash-tomato stew, rounded out with couscous and plenty of fresh cilantro and mint, was a vegan's dream dish. Botcher does marvelous things with an exceptional Minnesota-raised beef, slicing it paper thin with horseradish and green onions, or grilling it in several prime cuts.

A root-vegetable risotto had the kind of creamy richness usually absent in local restaurants. A fine charcuterie platter is bested only by garlic-rubbed crostini topped with salt-cod brandade and olive relish.

Not everything is perfection. A dinner special might be a bit clunky, or the fabulous fries -- usually golden, delicately crisp and piping hot -- can be fried into kindling. The unremarkable desserts, unchanged in the new regime, would benefit from an overhaul, with one exception: a notably addictive banana-Nutella crepe.

Barbette's funky garage-sale decor remains, sweetly beguiling at night but a tad grungy under the unforgiving light of day. The extensive, moderately priced wine list (two dozen by-the-glass choices) is more drinkable than ever, the beer/ale/cider roster ranks among the city's best and the bar is now pouring cocktails. Prices continue to hover in the just-above-moderate level (Botcher's $32 Monday four-course dinners are a major bargain, ditto the $5 late-night noshes). The service staff is friendly and observant.

CALIFORNIA CAFE

Mall of America, Bloomington, 952-854-2233, www.californiacafe.com

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

CAFE BARBETTE

1600 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, 612-827-5710, www.barbette.com

Open 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757