![TOM WALLACE • twallace@startribune.com Assignment #20015804A_ January 1, 2011_ SLUG: brunchvita0113 _ Annual Vita.MN breakfast issue, this about about ' brunches'_ IN THIS PHOTO:] brunch at meritage for Vita.MN. It offers brunch on Sat and Sunday. The food: With the opening of the new oyster bar Meritage offers a seafood assortments all day everyday they are open. ORG XMIT: MIN2013021314141303](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/JMXBE35625HT7XIF7TVP3PDGFY.jpg?&w=1080)
Follow the crowds to 102-year-old Cossetta's, which boasts a new-and-improved casual pizza-pasta setup, along with Louis, an ambitious Italian restaurant and bar.
211 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-222-3476, www.cossettas.com
Slip into the lovely bar at Forepaugh's and whirl through chef Donald Gonzalez's imaginative appetizer-focused menu: duck fried rice, chicken samosas with a mango dipping sauce, foie gras- and truffle-fortified poutine, tamarind-glazed chicken wings and more.
276 S. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-224-5606, www.forepaughs.com
Make the stroll across Rice Park to lively Meritage, where chef/co-owner Russell Klein offers an unparalleled oyster selection and caters to varied tastes with cassoulet, sturgeon poached in duck fat, lobster-avocado salad and what might be the Twin Cities' best French fries.
410 St. Peter St., St. Paul, 651-222-5670,
www.meritage-stpaul.com
