Chino Latino's new bar code

When Chino Latino opened in 2000, it was a cutting-edge powerhouse that smashed the idea of what a Minnesota restaurant could be. A decade later, owner Phil Roberts says it's time to mix things up.

Chino's new vision: bargoers on a digital scavenger hunt in the bathroom, and the restaurant's new chef, Tuan Nguyen, wearing a loincloth while riding a talking chicken.

From the beginning, Chino Latino was a controversy magnet for its racy ad campaigns. The Uptown hot spot is getting edgy again, but this time on the techy side of things. This week it introduced an interactive ad campaign using QR codes, those black-and-white squares that look like digitized Rorschach tests. Once the code is scanned -- using a free app on any smart phone -- the user is instantly taken to a website (QR stands for "quick response"). Chino is putting these codes on billboards and inside the restaurant on bathroom stalls and cocktail flags.

So what happens when you scan one? Chino is using the gimmick to introduce chef Nguyen. Scanning the billboard code, for example, will take you to an interactive video adventure starring a cartoon version of Nguyen. Other codes, like the ones given out as tattoos or attached to cocktail glasses, might give you access to food and drink specials.

"What we really need to do is keep it rather outrageous," he told his team. "I really want people to be offended."

So far, the cartoon adventures they've concocted for chef Nguyen are pretty tame by Chino standards. Still, the video does show the scantily clad chef traversing the hot zones and wigging out on psychedelic habaneros.

QR codes are widely used in Japan, where the smart-phone revolution took hold much earlier. Chino Latino is one of the first Twin Cities restaurants to utilize this technology. Look for more restaurants and bars to use QR codes in a variety of ways. They might appear on menus next to certain dishes -- scan the code with your phone and it'll show you a video of the chef talking about the dish. Saffron and Vincent are among a few places that have put their wine lists on iPads that are handed out for patrons to peruse.

Clayton said he estimates that 70 percent of Chino Latino's clientele has smart phones and only 20 percent of them have a QR code reader. Luckily, there are several free apps available (they suggest NeoReader), and Chino's staff has been instructed to guide customers along the way. "I suppose at the end of the day this whole thing could flop," Roberts said.

Nguyen, 40, comes to Chino after working in Las Vegas as executive chef at Wolfgang Puck Café and stints here as the top chef at California Café and Napa Valley Grille. When Parasole first told Nguyen about the QR campaign, he didn't know what to think. "I said, 'What the hell are you talking about?'" Nguyen remembers. Then he watched the first video -- in which he's half naked, eating hot peppers and riding the chicken. "I couldn't stop laughing," he said.

Roberts said he wants to re-establish Chino Latino as the place where "Mommy in Minnetonka doesn't want Muffy going." But will bargoers take the time to scan a QR code during bathroom breaks? Roberts isn't entirely sure, but that won't stop him from dreaming up more naughty ideas.

"I'm just thinking about what we might be able to do with a goat," he said.

• Tom Horgen

Turf is back

The Turf Club reopened as planned this past week when it kicked off a monthlong free weekly gig Tuesday with bluegrassy pickers Pocahontas County. On Thursday, it will host the debut of the Cloak Ox, featuring Fog man Andrew Broder and his longtime cohorts Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mark Erickson.

New manager Joshua James said that aside from a little change in signage, most patrons won't notice anything different about St. Paul's mainstay rock haven since it shut down a week and a half ago for "repair."

"We're working all night and all day, but it's mostly behind-the-scenes work, like plumbing and electric," he explained.

James already plans to reverse one change soon — the closing of the bar on Sunday nights. Mondays will remain dark, though, and Wednesdays will be refocused on "DJ-type events." The rest of this month's big weekend shows are indeed quite sizable, including Fort Wilson Riot, Me & My Arrow and Phantom Tails on Friday, Lazerbeak and Marijuana Deathsquads on Jan. 22 and Dosh and H.U.N.X. with Maggie Morrison on Jan. 28.

• Chris Riemenschneider

Music Box now Loring Theater

After a welcome reintroduction as an intimate concert venue starting in 2009, the Music Box Theater will remain committed to live music even now that it is ditching "Music" from its name. The 90-year-old former vaudeville and silent-film house has gone back to its original name, the Loring Theater, following a change in management. Marketing director Paul Anderton said the name change — which will soon include the refurbishment of the old Loring Theater sign — follows the final run of the popular "Triple Espresso" shows at the 440-seat theater.

"We wanted to create a fresh, new brand, plus the name ties us to our neighborhood more," Anderton said. "The concept is for it to be more of a variety house. Looking at the season ahead, though, it's dominated by music."

That includes Saturday's show by the Dave King Trucking Company. Other upcoming gigs include Zoo Animal, Red Pens and Gospel Gossip on Feb. 3, jazz pianist Matthew Shipp on Feb. 4 and a three-night run Jan. 27-29 by Speed's the Name behind New York painter Billy the Artist. Anderton said the doors are open to other local acts that may want to play there. Oh, and they have a beer and wine license now, as evidenced by the Mimosa Movies series starting Sunday with "Funny Girl."

• Chris Riemenschneider

From Bulldog to Bullfrog

What, they don't have bulldogs in Louisiana? When Matt Lokowich, owner of the Bulldog Uptown and Bulldog Lowertown, decided he was going to open another bar, he knew he wanted to keep the new place in the family. But with this being a Cajun-style bar, he thought a slight tweak to the Bulldog name was in order. Thus: the Bullfrog.

Last week, Lokowich gave us a sneak peek at his new spot, located in the former space of short-lived gay bar Gladius (1111 Hennepin Av. S.) in downtown Minneapolis. Lokowich's team was preparing the joint for an anticipated March 1 opening. "It's going to be gangbusters in here until we open," Lokowich said.

While the Bulldog specializes in mostly Belgian beers, the Bullfrog's 24 taps will mostly feature pilsners and lagers from around the world. "It's going to have a weird beer twist, but who cares," Lokowich said. He added these beers have a smoother taste, which will go better with the bar's Cajun menu. The chef, Tim Favre (no relation to Brett, and he pronounces it differently), will serve crawdads, po'boys, gumbo, lobster bakes and other New Orleans delicacies, including alligator and frog legs. If that scares you, don't worry: A few of the Bulldog's burgers will be on the menu, too. Price points will be comparable to the Bulldog Lowertown.

Lokowich plans to keep some of Gladius' design elements, including the black granite-top bar and the Roman-style arches that extend over the booths. But for the most part, Lokowich will stamp out Gladius' sleekness and replace it with a rustic, amber-hued ambience. Whatever the case, the place should be hard to miss with a name like Bullfrog.

"A lot of these restaurants have fancy names, but we just want to be a great bar with great food," Lokowich said.

• Tom Horgen

Whisky Park's 'Shanghaied' offer

By now, you've probably heard about the "Shanghaied" New Year's Eve party debacle. The massive soirée was supposed to happen at Om (a day before the Indian restaurant closed), but was moved to the Graves 601 at the last minute. Partygoers were angry, and some demanded refunds. The party's co-promoter, Thrifty Hipster, is still working out plans for possible refunds and is planning a free redo party later this winter. Here's a new twist: The folks at Whisky Park are apparently in a charitable mood (or simply looking to generate buzz for their new bar) because they're offering disgruntled "Shanghaied" partygoers free booze from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday 1/14. All you need to do is show proof that you bought a ticket to "Shanghaied." Whisky Park owner Gene Suh said he'll re-create a NYE countdown and offer a free champagne toast at midnight. (6 p.m. Fri., 15 S. 5th St., Mpls. 612-545-5235.)

• Tom Horgen

Concert promoter exits

Locally based promotions company Mr. Chan Presents is no more. After booking hundreds of shows over the past five years at venues ranging from the Varsity Theater and Fine Line to Station 4 and Myth nightclub, the mysterious company quietly shut down its website and closed up shop around the end of 2010. James DeCoursey, who ran the company, has taken a new job as the talent buyer at the Cabooze — "making it difficult to keep doing Chan," he said via e-mail. His move coincides with what was plainly a hard year in the concert industry.

DeCoursey declined to comment further, so allow us to pontificate on what all this means: Certainly, his move to the Cabooze should increase the volume of noteworthy shows at the old West Bank rock haven in 2011. It also marks an unequivocal end to Clear Channel/Live Nation's once-vigorous push into the local club market, which peaked in the early-'00s when First Avenue struggled under competition from the Quest and other Clear Channel-backed venues. DeCoursey worked for Clear Channel then and maintained ties to Live Nation at Mr. Chan. Now, as First Ave manager Nate Kranz boasted, "We are pretty much a total 'indie' market for concert business at the club level."

• Chris Riemenschneider

A Web series about Augie's!

How did we miss this? Augie's, the downtown strip club at 5th and Hennepin, is apparently filming a reality Web series. The show, "99 Problems," stars Augie's owner Brian Michael and a cast of real-life bouncers and strippers with names like Demonz and Dream. As far as we can tell, the show only has a trailer, which you can watch at www.99problems.tv. It went online last month, promoting a show that would document "life in the hospitality business." With the amount of butt cheeks it packs into a minute and a half, it's definitely NSFW. The clip overflows with stripper fights, chase scenes and an action-movie soundtrack. We're hooked!

• Tom Horgen