The hot five: Zagat's top picks

THE HOT FIVE The Zagat Survey (www.zagat.com) has just released its 2010 "America's Top Restaurants" guidebook, with ratings in 45 U.S. dining markets. Their top five Twin Cities picks (in highest-to-lowest rating order) are:

Don't wait for a special occasion to indulge in the elegant food, drink, service and setting of this benchmark-setting restaurant, which reaches its pinnacle in chef Tim McKee's eight-course ($80) tasting menu. There's a four-course, $40 version in the adjacent lounge.

510 Groveland Av., Mpls., 612-874-6440,

www.labellevie.us

In all those endless "where the chefs eat" stories, Isaac Becker and Nancy St. Pierre's cozy Warehouse District hot spot always rises to the top, with good reason: Unlike most Minneapolis restaurants, the kitchen cooks a creative, affordable, something-for-everyone menu to midnight Monday through Thursday and to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

112 N. 3rd St., Mpls., 612-343-7696, www.112eatery.com

A three-course, design-your-own meal can be had for $45 (vegetarian option is $40 for four courses), with chef Alex Roberts offering a half-dozen seasonally minded, locally sourced and reliably delicious options in three categories: starters/salads, grains/pastas and entrees.

www.restaurantalma.com

Lucia Watson's Uptown bistro, a paragon of Midwestern wholesomeness, has been changing its menu every week for 24 years. That's more than 1,200 menus, but some things never change, including an emphasis on Minnesota-raised ingredients, sane prices and fabulous desserts.

1432 W. 31st St., Mpls., 612-825-1572, www.lucias.com

Business lunch? Pre-Orchestra Hall dinner? The city's best happy hour burger? A $30 three-course dinner (available Monday through Thursday) or a six-course ($72) tasting menu? Yes, Vincent Francoual's soothing, well-run downtown restaurant can handle it, and more.

1100 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-630-1189,