A victory for downtown Robbinsdale Mike Brown and James Winberg, two members of the tightly knit cooking-and-serving team that put Victory 44 (2203 44th Av. N., Mpls., www.victory-44.com) on the foodie map, are hard at work opening their own place, Travail Kitchen Amusements (4154 W. Broadway Av., Robbinsdale).
"James and I were scrounging up a name for this place, something that would represent our cooking style and all the hard work we put into what we do," said Brown. "We thought, 'What is the name of these aprons we wear?' They're called Bragard Travail chef aprons. Travail means 'work' in French, so we're going to go with that."
Expect to see lunch and dinner daily, with an ever-evolving chalkboard menu of roughly 20 items, collaboratively created by Brown and Winberg and their small crew.
After sorting through roughly 30 potential sites, Brown and Winberg, who met while working at Porter & Frye during its starry Steven Brown era, settled on a former diner/steakhouse located roughly 2 miles west of their former employer.
The open kitchen will feature a half-dozen diner seats overlooking the kitchen; there will be a 40-seat dining room and a 20-seat wine-and-beer bar. Brown and Winberg are enlisting their friends and family to pitch in with the construction. "It's definitely an it-takes-a-village situation," said Brown with a laugh.
Look for a post-July 4th opening. Travail is located next door to the former Thistles, which recently reopened as La Cucina di Nonna Rosa's Ristorante Italiano (4168 W. Broadway Av., www.nonna rosaswinebar.com), where co-owners Francesco and Tina Suglia are serving an Italian menu at lunch and dinner daily.
Meanwhile, Victory 44 co-owner Erick Harcey is continuing the restaurant's format under a new team. And to cook in his kitchen at the Kitchen (324 S. Main St., Stillwater, www.thekitchenstill water.com), Harcey has hired chef Don Saunders, formerly of Fugaise.
Weekend getaway Headed to Duluth? Check out JJ Astor Restaurant, Lounge and View (505 W. Superior St., www.radisson.com), a remake of the Top of the Harbor, the kitschy revolving restaurant perched on the uppermost floor of the city's Radisson Hotel. The room still offers breathtaking views as it slowly turns (a full 360 degrees every 72 minutes), but along with a cosmetic makeover it also has a new chef, Ryan Zander (recruited from Trattoria Tosca in Minneapolis), who has created a menu emphasizing local, seasonal ingredients.
