Hotels go haute

494 gets a change of pace As I walked into the lobby of the Country Inn & Suites in Bloomington I was struck by an eerie sense of déjà vu: Am I somewhere outside Indianapolis? Rockford, Ill.? Oconomowoc, Wis.? That's what happens at these chain hotels, as they all look exactly like one another. So it was a pleasant surprise to turn left, walk down an aggressively wallpapered corridor and encounter the entirely unexpected Whitney Bistro & Onyx Bar. It's the south-suburban version of the moment when Judy Garland steps out of the sepia tints of her temporarily relocated Kansas home and discovers that she's landed in the Technicolor-drenched world of Oz.

The bar, which might be the coziest place to nurse a Lemon Drop in the 952 area code, is tricked out in mahogany and golden backlit onyx, materials recycled from the former Whitney Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The adjacent dining room could pass for the greenhouse at the palatial residence of, say, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, former CEO of the Country Inn's corporate parent; it's airy, slightly formal and unexpectedly lovely, although its enormous windows look out on -- what else? -- a parking lot.

Chef Adam Levitt takes his cues from his convention-defying surroundings (yet only serves dinner, odd for a hotel operation). Starters ($6 to $13) begin the meal on a positive note. There are flatbreads topped with smoked salmon and the complementary flavors of caramelized onions and roasted garlic, nicely grilled shrimp paired with guacamole, skewers of tender beef, and crispy wontons stuffed with chicken and sweet green onions.

Entrees (most under $20) include a half-dozen sandwiches, a handful of salads, four pastas and entrees that range from beef tenderloin medallions paired with wilted spinach to a pork loin with sweet potato hash, as well as a few daily specials. Aside from a big, juicy burger and a creamy risotto served with a so-so slab of grilled salmon, nothing really knocked my socks off, but I didn't encounter any huge disappointments, either (OK, desserts were not good). Service is perky and fast, and Levitt is clearly cooking beyond what any Country Inn guest would expect -- in their wildest dreams, I suspect -- to find in their budget-minded hotel.

5120 W. American Blvd., Bloomington, 952-698-4864, www.whitneybistro.com. Dinner served 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Bar open 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Dayton to the rescue A few blocks to the west, Minneapolis architect James Dayton -- the man behind the gorgeous new MacPhail Center for Music in downtown Minneapolis -- has performed a life-saving frumpectomy on a former Holiday Inn. The sleek property now flies the Crowne Plaza flag, and North, the hotel's contemporary restaurant and bar, is way more 8th-and-Nicollet than 494-and-100.

Once again, the kitchen seems to be following the architect's lead. Chef Luke Miller offers the kind of something-for-everyone menu that travelers expect to find in their hotels, but he does it with panache, using obviously fresh ingredients and putting welcome spins on familiar ideas. I especially enjoyed lunch, where he puts out pretty salads and a host of creative, well-dressed sandwiches ($8 to $12), as well as a decent pizza-soup-salad buffet ($9) that's tailored to the office population surrounding the hotel.

Dinner gets more ambitious. I admired the sizzling jerk-rubbed shrimp, ravioli stuffed with earthy mushrooms and crispy, pork-filled egg rolls ($7 to $13). A dozen entrees (average price: $17) range from winners (delicate barramundi with buttery sauteed spinach) to definite losers (dry, gristly pork chops), with some falling somewhere in between (a hearty but drab Bolognese on overcooked spaghetti). Most of the glitches seem imminently fixable; one place to start is with the dreary, made-elsewhere desserts. The bar maintains a decent wine list and service was enthusiastic. If I were staying in the hotel, I'd be thrilled to find this little gem in the lobby.

5401 Green Valley Dr., Bloomington, 952-831-8000, www.cpmsp.com. Breakfast served 6 to 11 a.m., lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Lounge open 4 p.m. to midnight.

Service with a smile Sure, the Bloomington ChopHouse is part of a chain, but it's a small one, owned by a Milwaukee venture that's also in the movie theater, resort and hotel business; the company runs three ChopHouse locations in Wisconsin and one in Kansas City, Mo. Diners benefit from the corporate backup in two ways: One, someone is obviously spending money on training, because service is noticeably head-and-shoulders above the suburb's all-too-frequently-low benchmark. Two, chef Chris Hammer makes his somewhat boilerplate steaks-and-chops menu stand out by spending that corporate budget on well-regarded ingredients.

There's grass-fed beef from Minnesota's Thousand Hills Cattle Co., pork from Mankato's Prairie Pride Farm and smoky Wisconsin-made Nueske bacon wrapped around succulent scallops, all delicious. My favorite appetizers included an earthy grilled portobello over a nutty wild rice cake, nicely lumpy crab cakes, a plate of paper-thin raw beef shavings with lemon and chive accents and an exceptionally pretty chop salad. I was less than impressed with tough, flavorless lamb chops (an overpriced $35, but then this chophouse isn't shy about pushing straight cuts of meat into the upper $30s), and a roast chicken, its skin rubbed with a flat-tasting spice combo, was dry and overcooked.

Lunch includes a bevy of pleasantly prepared sandwiches ($9 to $16) and salads ($10 to $14), joined by two nods to Minnesota's culinary heritage: a thick, savory wild rice soup and an amusing pass on hot dish, a robust beef-mushroom concoction crowned with an oversize, cheese-filled tater tot.

If I worked in the area, I'd certainly become a noon-hour regular. The place has crisply handsome good looks, and the bar knows what it's doing. One nit: Desserts are a weak point; not bad, just not particularly memorable. Can someone please send a pastry chef to the 494 strip?

3900 W. American Blvd., Bloomington, 952-830-5200, www. bloomingtonchophouse.com. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, brunch 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.