Changing chef rosters
George Snyder III (formerly of McCormick & Schmick's in Minneapolis) is now at the helm of Pazzaluna (360 St. Peter St., St. Paul, www.pazzaluna.com). At Colette Bar & Bistro (5601 W. 78th St., Bloomington, www.sofitel mplsdining.com), Mark Crane has been promoted from sous chef to executive chef. And Andrew Ernst is now running the show at the Bryant-Lake Bowl (810 W. Lake St., Mpls., www.bryantlake bowl.com). Ernst had been sous chef at the BLB's sister northeast Minneapolis operation, the Red Stag Supperclub.
Luci shrinks menu, lowers prices
At age 23, Ristorante Luci (470 S. Cleveland Av., St. Paul, www. ristoranteluci.com) is changing things up. The Smith family's cozy Italian restaurant has a revamped menu that's now featuring small plates, seasonal ingredients and low prices (nothing is over $9). Current dishes include short ribs braised in red wine, grilled asparagus topped with a poached egg, penne with grilled pork sausage and tomatoes and saffron-scented risotto with crawfish and peas.
Wayzata newcomer
What had been Volnay Bistro Bar -- and, before that, Patrick's Bistro -- is now McCormick's Pub & Restaurant (331 Broadway Av. S., Wayzata, www.mccormickswayzata. com), a casual Irish pub and restaurant serving lunch and dinner -- and Guinness, naturally -- daily.
Pizza to go
Mike Sherwood, owner of Pizza Nea (306 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., www.pizzanea.com), just might be on to something: His looks to be the area's first Neapolitan-style pizza -- an ever-growing pizza category -- that's available for home delivery, in a circle that stretches roughly 10 miles from his nine-year-old E. Hennepin pizzeria. "Why not make the restaurant more productive?" he said. Why not, indeed.
