Counter Intelligence: Bring on the sushi

After months of looking as if it were going to start rolling sushi, Musashi Japanese Restaurant (533 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis) finally opened last week. Chefs/co-owners Qiudi Chen, Xinyong Liu and Chengchiang Liu are offering a kind of mega-Japanese dining experience: sushi, noodles, hot pots, tempura, bento boxes and more, along with eight knife-flashing tempanyaki tables and a full bar. The large restaurant, last home to downtown's short-lived flirtation with the Olive Garden, has what sounds like a decent late-night element, which includes an after-hours happy hour (10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday and Friday) that features reduced-priced drinks and sushi.

Muddy Paws Cheesecake has closed its Uptown Minneapolis cafe, but fans can still order its 200-plus flavors (call 763-545-7161) and pick them up at the company's wholesale bakery at 7600 W. 27th St. in St Louis Park.

Supenn Harrison's Sawatdee is once again on the grow. This time the Thai dining empire has expanded to both downtown St. Paul, opening a full-service restaurant in the former Margaux space (486 Robert St.) as well as downtown Minneapolis, where a counter-service cafe is cooking lunch on the skyway level of 733 Marquette Av. S.

One of the coolest aspects of Common Roots Cafe (2558 Lyndale Av. S., Minneapolis, www.commonrootscafe.com) -- besides the first-rate bagels, of course -- is owner Danny Schwartman's continuous schedule of interesting (and usually free) food-and-drink-related events. In the next few weeks, diners can meet a pair of brewers (from Surly and Flat Earth breweries) and sample their work, chat with an organic dairy farmer and sip fair-trade teas from China. Check out the schedule at www.commonrootscafe.com.

Haven't checked out Cue (806 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis, www.cueatguthrie.com), the dramatic restaurant on the ground floor of the new Guthrie Theater? Chef Michael Delcambre is trying to rectify that situation by offering a three-course dinner for $29.95, available through the end of the month. Sweetening the deal is a free self-guided iPod tour of the landmark building (starring the dulcet tones of Guthrie artistic director Joe Dowling) and a complimentary glass of wine.

Here's an offbeat post-Valentine's Day idea: take your beloved to "Evolution, Cuisine and Romance," a discussion about the "co-evolution of diet, sexual strategies and society over the last five million years," presented by University of Minnesota anthropologist Greg Laden. It takes place at Bryant-Lake Bowl (810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis) on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.; tickets are $5 to $10, on a pay-as-you-can basis.

RICK NELSON