Pretend for a moment that the Academy Awards include a category for Best Performance by a St. Paul Restaurateur. I'm fairly certain that Jill Wilson would at least make the short list of nominees.

Wilson first fell in love with the 128 Cafe as a customer and then as a server. When co-owners Brock and Natalie Obee called it quits last June after an admirable 11-year run, Wilson stepped in and bought it lock, stock and recipe. Cafe 128, version 2.0, reopened in November. Under the Obees, the 128 was one of those just-under-the-radar finds that develop small but rabid followings. Wilson not only took over the lease, but she obviously intuits the qualities that still make the 128 that rare neighborhood restaurant.

Starting with the unmatched setting, a pair of intimate, side-by-side rooms on the ground floor of a century-old apartment house across the street from the University of St. Thomas campus. The Obees had accumulated a lot of deferred maintenance, but Wilson has brought the space back where it belongs. The place virtually defines cozy, and there isn't even a roaring fireplace in sight.

Wilson also had the smarts to rehire chef Ian Pierce, who knows the restaurant's clientele inside and out. The 128's signature dish remains intact, and it's a doozy: slowly braised and generously seasoned pork baby back ribs, sold in half and full portions. They're seared on the grill until the abundant meat crackles outside, but a knife and fork will quickly reveal a mouth-wateringly tender interior. Pierce adds a small cup of sauce with just the right sweet-spicy notes and a hefty dollop of skin-on mashed potatoes. The end results are so satisfying -- and so worth the $28 price tag -- that, if you're a frequent diner, you almost have to force yourself to order something different.

For the most part, those anti-rib excursions won't lead to disappointment. Pierce often displays a refreshing minimalism, from fork-tender beef tenderloin in an exceptional red wine demi-glace to pan-roasted chicken served with creamy polenta and a robust bacon-rosemary pan sauce. Earlier this winter he was slow-braising pork and pairing it with a hearty blend of gnocchi and roasted Vidalia onions, and there's always a winning pasta dish.

I love what Pierce isn't doing. No burgers, pizza or other obvious panders to the college crowds across the street. But sometimes his work gets a bit overwrought. One daily fish special, a crispy barramundi, was buried under so many ingredients I could barely find it. Another Obee holdover, a kind of make-your-own crostini, arrives at the table as an ungainly mountain. A lighter hand with a heavy cream sauce would do wonders for a bowl of oversized ravioli filled with savory shards of duck confit.

Other appetizers really shine. I love the way the cod cakes snap with energetic Thai flavors, and zesty harissa-glazed shrimp get just the right finish with fragrant saffron risotto. An earlier menu featured spicy beef skewers, although they've been ably replaced by a small plate of beef short ribs that also have a Thai-style zing. One night I felt fortunate to inhale every drop of a simple butternut squash soup. Even a nicely embellished toss of field greens stands out.

The unassuming desserts don't deserve to be labeled afterthoughts -- they do their hit-the-spot marks well -- but they're nothing fancy. There's ice cream from nearby Izzy's and a rich wedge of a brownie (all drizzled with a decent house-made chocolate sauce), and there's usually some variation on crème brûlée and maybe a nutty, fruity bread pudding.

And I'm sorry to say that Sunday brunch, a favorite of mine at the 128 of old, won't be coming back, at least not in the foreseeable future. But hey, if that's the biggest complaint I can muster about Wilson's new regime, then I say hand her that Oscar statuette.