At Hennepin and 6th

Coming soon to the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts: Mason's Restaurant and Barre (528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., www.masonsmn.com).

Chef Andrew Ernst (a Bryant-Lake Bowl and Red Stag Supperclub vet) is promising salads, sandwiches, burgers, a half-dozen sausages and a handful of $14-and-under entrees (osso buco, roast chicken, mac-and-cheese), along with a grab-and-go breakfast and lunch component and a full bar.

The name? It's a nod to the building's original title, the Masonic Temple, and the barre is a reference to the Cowles' many dance tenants.

Starry company

Meet star chef Thomas Keller (Per Se in New York City, French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Bouchon in Yountville, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas) along with Sebastien Rouxel, the co-author of his latest epic cookbook, "Bouchon Bakery" (Artisan Books, $50), at a cocktail/small plates reception and presentation at 6:30 p.m. on June 18 at La Belle Vie (510 Groveland Av., Mpls., www.labellevie.us).

The menu will feature Keller-inspired dishes from La Belle Vie chefs Tim McKee, Michael DeCamp and Diane Yang, and attendees will receive an autographed copy of "Bouchon Bakery." Tickets $250, reservations at 612-874-6440.

Five courses, five beers

Get a taste of five Belgian beers, paired with such dishes as rabbit fricassee with Belgian endive and a beer-cheese vinaigrette, and ale-poached mussels with a potato-leek terrine and toasted brioche, at Be'wiched Deli (800 Washington Av. N., Mpls., www.bewicheddeli.com) at 6:30 p.m. on May 22. Tickets $60, reservations 612-767-4330.

All about coffee

Pick up brewing tips, get a peek inside a roasting facility and sample, sample, sample among nine participating shops during the Twin Cities' first-annual Caffeine Crawl on June 1. Tickets $30, reservations at www.caffeinecrawl.com.

North Shore news

Fans of Judi Barsness, take note: The owner of the former Chez Jude in Grand Marais, Minn., has returned to her cooking alma mater, Bluefin Bay Resort (www.bluefinbay.com) in nearby Tofte. Barsness is working as a consultant at the resort's new Waves of Superior Cafe, creating breakfast and lunch menus that emphasize local, seasonal ingredients, along with the afternoon tea service that was such a delight at Chez Jude. The restaurant is making its debut on Memorial Day weekend.

Open-air cooking

That construction crew working outside Butcher & the Boar (1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., www.butcherandtheboar.com)? They're building an outdoor kitchen — with a targeted late-June opening date — where chefs Jack Riebel and Peter Botcher are going to be serving four kinds of sausage, a jalapeño-Cheddar summer sausage, sandwiches, fries and other casual fare ("There won't be a burger, that much I can tell you," said Riebel with a laugh. "We're anti-burger.").

Riebel and Botcher are also working on getting those four sausages into Lunds and Byerly's stores, and soon.