eat + drink

This year's annual summer road trip found us in southeastern Minnesota, where we uncovered enough culinary finds -- and spectacular scenery -- to fill a scrapbook. And all are just a short drive from the Twin Cities.

Start with Rochester, where a young chef and an enterprising owner have turned a somnolent downtown corner, just a few blocks from the Mayo Clinic, into a bonafide hotspot. (A nearby boutique specializing in all things Italian -- including simple, well-made pastries -- is also definitely worth a visit).

A Victorian-era bed-and-breakfast in Lanesboro offers more than a good night's sleep, because down in the kitchen, chef-owner Meg Olson turns to local farmers and gardeners for fresh, seasonal inspiration. One town over, in cute Whalan, a retired Minneapolis school librarian has dialed up her knack for baking pies into a second career, to her customers' continual delight.

On the Mississippi River, some details at Nosh Restaurant & Bar have changed -- a newer, roomier and better-situated home on the marina in Lake City -- but chef Greg Jaworski's cooking is as compelling as ever.

Finally, the journey took a quick detour north to the St. Croix River, where we stumbled upon the ultimate waterfront respite, a neighborly burger joint with a million-dollar address.

LAKE CITY STANDOUT

Nosh Restaurant & Bar is the best thing to happen to Lake City since the invention of water skiing in 1922. That might be a slight exaggeration. But only slight.

There should have been a big brass band welcoming chef/owner Greg Jaworski a few months ago when he relocated his three-year-old restaurant upriver from Wabasha. He sure landed a dreamy chunk of real estate. Not only is the new place roomier, but it has the address to beat among Lake Pepin restaurants: right on the town's marina, with gasp-out-loud views.

Another bonus: The new location slices about 20 minutes off the drive for Twin Cities diners. That's a good thing, because Jaworski's cooking is better than ever. He has a knack for hunting down the region's most pristine ingredients, and then treating them with care and respect. An incredible grass-fed tenderloin, ruby red on the inside, nicely charred outside, might have been the best piece of beef I've had this year. An intensely flavorful braised pork shoulder, fork tender, easily earned my top 2007 pork vote, and the richness of quick-seared Minnesota-raised foie gras was nicely balanced against roasted pineapple.

Jaworski is an accomplished sausage maker (they're often spiced with seasonings that his mother sends him from her Michigan home, where she shops a huge array of Middle Eastern markets), and his nose for cheese, all Wisconsin and Minnesota artisanal knockouts, is right on the money, especially when those discoveries are paired with his expertly made mustards and preserves.

The kitchen doesn't shy away from bold flavors: garlic-punched shrimp, a strawberry soup peppered with dried chiles, pungent olives marinated in an intense harissa-preserved lemon marinade. But Jaworski can be subtle, too, with twinges of honey peeking through dates stuffed with salty blue cheese and crusted with pistachios, smoked tomatoes and house-cured pork belly warming up a risotto served with nicely sweet sea scallops or a light saffron scent in a seafood-chorizo paella. This is food that is definitely worth the drive, and service is warm and observant.

Back to those View-Master vistas. Maybe it's a we-just-moved-in-and-haven't-unpacked issue, but my suggestion is to be sure to ask for a window or patio table when making a reservation. Then keep your eyes focused outward, or on Jaworski's pretty plates, because the blandly generic decor -- it's a very suburban McMansion great room -- isn't terribly memorable. But those views? They just might be all the decoration any restaurant needs.

LOOKING GOOD IN ROCHESTER

Söntés, which has been lighting up downtown Rochester since November, is all about good looks, straight out of a Room & Board catalog. But what is clearly one of the state's best new dining establishments has plenty of substance, too.

It's easily Minnesota's top-performing wine bar. Owner Tessa Leung wisely invested in slick new technology that keeps opened wine bottles in peak condition for several weeks, and that equipment stretches the bar's by-the-glass capacity to 40 marvelously drinkable choices. Reading that list -- and the novella-length bottle roster -- made me feel like a kid again, when I would page through the Sears catalog and compile my Christmas wish list.

Chef Justin Schoville steps up to the plate and knocks out a home run. Most of his inventive, attention-to-detail menu resides in the small-plates realm, and it's clearly a comfort zone for this 23-year-old talent. A daily soup "flight" was gazpacho, three ways, with just-farmed flavors popping right out of the tiny cups. Chicken thighs were all crispy skin and succulent meat. Asparagus spears were wrapped in thinly shaved ham, garnished with sweet crab and drizzled with fragrant honey. Chorizo-stuffed dates, zesty and chewy, were finished with a tasty roasted tomato sauce. Crab cakes were all crab -- a sad rarity -- and fall-apart fabulous.

Sharp wasabi and pickled ginger proved just the right accent for meltingly seared tuna. Truffled toast points were an appropriately over-the-top companion to a rich rabbit confit. Even the crostini, usually a toss-off, are made to shine. The cheese list is temptingly well-sourced.

For larger appetites Schoville offers cleverly composed entrees such as pan-seared sea bass, beer-braised short ribs, grilled trout and roasted quail, along with a long line of designer pizzas. For serious eaters, there's an impressive eight-course tasting menu (a bargain at $45) and a fine selection of looky desserts. Finally, Rochester has a reason for a food-lover's day trip that extends beyond the city's exceptional Saturday morning farmers market.