Southern-fried Uptown
Kaskaid Hospitality, parent company of the Crave restaurants, Union and others, will open the Southern-focused BoneYard Kitchen & Bar Friday in the former Old Chicago space in Uptown. At a glance, the dinner menu — with Confederate-state favorites including fried chicken, crab hush puppies and shrimp and grits — seems to pass the Paula Deen test (minus the racism, thank you). Drinks wise, the Cravers' new concept emphasizes beer and bourbon, a formula that helped make Butcher & the Boar a hit two miles up the road. It sounds like fans of the OC's old patio need not worry. The area has been expanded and converted into a three-season space with retractable walls and awnings; we know how those Kaskaid guys love retractability.
2841 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. • 612-455-6688 • www.boneyarduptown.com
A loss at Lyndale & Lake
It's been a rough couple of months for Minneapolis dive-bar fans. In October, fabled lowbrow nudie bar the 22nd Street Station (better known as the Double Deuce) facilitated its last awkward lap dance. The following month West Bank college dive Bullwinkle Saloon was shuttered, too (for the second time). Now Lyn-Lake's Country Bar and Grill has closed indefinitely and a "For rent" sign hangs in the window of the darkened bar. Its owners have been trying to sell the business for months, but clearly there have been no takers on what was a $329,000 asking price back in October.
Taking the 'Castle
One more title and Brit's Pub will officially be the L.A. Lakers of selling Newcastle. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For the second straight year, the downtown Minneapolis English pub has sold more pints of Newcastle Brown Ale than any other bar in the world. Help 'em hoist the banner (or at least toast the designation) and get started on that three-peat Friday with $2 Newcastle imperial pints beginning at 4 p.m. Stick around for trivia at 6 p.m. and Queen tribute band the Crown Jewels at 8 p.m.
4 p.m. Fri. • 1110 Nicollet Mall, Mpls. • 612-332-3908 • www.britspub.com
MICHAEL RIETMULDER
