Daniel del Prado's highly anticipated takeover of the former Bachelor Farmer space is complete with this week's opening of Porzana and its subterranean bar, Flora Room.

Described as a "modern Argentinean steakhouse," Porzana (200 N. 1st St., Mpls., porzanampls.com) is more than just red meat and a grill. The restaurant menu reads like an evolution of del Prado's career, including his early days at Isaac Becker's Burch and the Argentian love of pasta like his debut restaurant Martina. Steaks are offered in several cuts and varieties, including wagyu and grass-fed.

The former Bachelor Farmer cafe space has rejoined the rest of the dining room, and the front door is now on 1st Street. The bricked side patio, brightened by bistro lights, offers plenty more seating.

Downstairs, Flora Room serves beverages from DDP's beverage director Megan Luedtke overseen by Keith Mrotek, who once worked at Marvel Bar. The room is still accessed from outside, but the cool, dark space is a classy setting for drinks.

Porzana and Flora Room had eventful mock services for friends, family and media over the weekend. Friday night's service was cut short by the arrival of the fire department after alarms went off, and Saturday's service proved a bit toasty with an air conditioner outage in one area of the dining room. All issues have been addressed, and the cool-in-more-ways-than-one restaurant is now open, serving dinner daily. Reservations are available now.

King Coil Distillery doesn't have drinks yet, but it does have pizza

While we're waiting for the spirits to finish up at St. Paul's newest distillery, there is pizza to tide us over. King Coil Distillery, across the plaza from Lake Monster Brewing, softly opened over the weekend with a menu of Roman-style pizza.

The thick-crust pizza was being made in limited quantities for those excited to get a peek into the space inside the historic Vandalia Tower. Keep an eye on their social media for more developments. King Coil is at 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul, kingcoilspirits.com.

A watermelon cocktail at Travail, from new bar director Roger Landes.
Kadi Kaelin
A watermelon cocktail at Travail, from new bar director Roger Landes.

Enjoy fresh beverages from Travail's new bar director

Cocktails and N/A beverages at Robbinsdale's award-winning Travail Kitchen and Amusements (4134 Hubbard Av. N., travailkitchen.com) are now being served by Roger Landes. Travail's new bar director is a Chicago transplant who has previously worked at the Windy City's mfk and the Loyalist. He's now crafting beverage pairings for Travail's ticketed tasting experiences and overseeing drinks on the rooftop Sky Lounge and the Basement Bar, both places where it's now possible to wander in off the street for sips and a few bites without a reservation.

Quebracho empanadas will be at Cub soon

Quebracho, the Argentine empanadas from Belén Rodríguez, is expanding into the freezer sections of 50 local Cub Foods stores starting next month. Rodríguez hails from the country's Pampas region. After relocating to the United States, she began cooking and sharing her stuffed delicacies as a way to manage her homesickness. But the more people she fed them to, the more they clamored for them. Eventually she launched her own empanada business.

Quebracho has since grown from farmers markets to specialty grocers and now the little handheld meals will be more accessible than ever. Look for them at Cub starting Sept. 10. Find more information at quebrachomn.com.

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