David Fhima has returned to downtown Minneapolis.
It has been a few years since his Mpls. Cafe lit up Hennepin Avenue and he announced plans to fill what eventually became r.Norman's and Seven Sushi. Since then, Fhima's (his downtown St. Paul flagship) fizzled, Louis XIII (at Southdale in Edina) came and went and the media-savvy chef made headlines with an expensive California lawsuit and Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He also hooked up with Life Time Fitness, revamping their cafes and launching Zahtar by Fhima at the company's Eden Prairie location.
That venture is restricted to Life Time members, but it's a different story at the Grand Hotel Minneapolis (home to a swank Life Time), where the former Martini Blu has been Fhima-ized. Zahtar by Fhima, downtown edition, is open to the public and features a similar American/Mediterranean menu (zahtar is the name of a popular North African sesame-spice blend), with dinner dishes that range from a chicken-pesto sandwich, steak au poivre and a classic wedge salad to a chicken-and-root-vegetables tagine, a harissa-laced couscous and pan-seared cod. Most prices are $21 or less.
The bar shakes up all manner of color-saturated cocktails, all in the $9 to $11 ballpark. Jeremy LaFond, a Fhima's and Ravello veteran, is running the kitchen. A few minor touch-ups have only slightly altered the clubby dining room, which includes a luxe-looking sushi bar; Sunday evenings feature an all-you-can-eat sushi option for $29.95.
RICK NELSON
