Modern fine dining heads to 50th and France in Edina

After sitting dark since March 2017, the former Mozza Mia — and, before that, Tejas — is coming back to life, in a major way.

"Modern fine dining" is how Ashii Vrohidis, chef/owner of Moderna Kouzina (3910 W. 50th St., Edina, modernakouzina.com) is describing her ambitious new venture.

"We're bringing sophistication and elegance to 50th and France," she said. "Instead of white tablecloths, we have solid, three-inch-thick walnut tabletops."

The menu's format? "Taking French cuisine and making it more approachable, and seasonal," she said. "We'll be working with local farmers and butchers, and integrating flavors from all over — Morocco, Dubai, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong — with French technique."

Expect to see foie gras torchon, beef tartare with quail egg, wood-fired oysters and suckling pig for starters ($10 to $18) and for entrees Vrohidis plans to serve beef tenderloin, slow-braised veal with sweetbreads, scallops with a lemon beurre blanc, lamb tenderloin and a Gruyere-topped burger ($19 to $39). Cocktails, beer and wine, too.

The space has been gutted and rebuilt.

"There's nothing left of the old location," said Vrohidis.

The plan is to open no later than August, starting with dinner and Sunday brunch service.

After serving as a consultant to restaurant projects around the world ("I can't count on my fingers, there have been that many," she said), the well-traveled Vrohidis has devoted the past several years to making Moderna Kouzina a reality.

"All I did was open restaurants for other people," she said. "But then this was the game we decided to play, when asked the question, 'What do you want to do for the rest of your life?' The answer is 'Cook for people and make them happy.' "

There's good news and bad news at the Midtown Global Market (920 E. Lake St., Mpls., midtownglobalmarket.org).

The latter, first. The Rabbit Hole, the Korea-via-L.A. gastropub that is a shining star of the food-and-drink complex, is closing. After five years, owners (and Los Angeles transplants) Thomas and Kat Kim have decided not to renew their lease. The restaurant's last day is June 30.

That message is where the bright spot comes in. The Kims have encouraged fellow MGM tenants Hassan Ziadi and Samlali Raja, the enterprising couple behind the market's Moroccan Flavors, to take over the space and launch Ziadi's Mediterranean.

"This has been my dream for 25 years," said Ziadi. "I'm very, very happy."

The plan is to open somewhere between Sept. 1 and Sept. 15. Until then, the space will undergo a renovation, to give it a traditional Moroccan feel, said Ziadi.

Lunch will be an all-you-can-eat buffet. "An upscale one," said Ziadi. Dinner will include pan-seared scallops with mushrooms, slow-roasted lamb shank with prunes and apricots, seven-vegetable couscous, a scallops-shrimp-swordfish platter, and shrimp with chermoula.

There's even more good news: Counter-service Moroccan Flavors is staying put.