Cow town
The newest Red Cow tips into Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood with its third and largest location on Tuesday. Following in the cloven-hoof prints of the original southwest Minneapolis and Cathedral Hill restaurants, RC3 is beating the gourmet burger drums with 48 taps and 30 wines by the glass. But like the St. Paul location, the new joint is putting thought into its cocktail program. Ex-Solera bartender and Far North Spirits brand ambassador Ian Lowther devised a cocktail menu that next month will replace a list adopted from the St. Paul bar. The rapidly growing restaurant company is the brainchild of former Blue Plate partner Luke Shimp.
208 1st Av. N., Mpls., 612-238-0050, www.redcowmn.com
Grand Marais brewery
The next time you load up your fanny-pack for some good old-fashioned Up North tourism and serenity in Grand Marais, beer fans will have a new brewery to visit. The North Shore's newest beer-maker, Voyageur Brewing Co., owned by canoe outfitter Mike Prom, opens its taproom on Thursday. According to its website, Voyageur makes a Northwest-style IPA and a Belgian wit; 11 a.m. Saturday tours are in play.
233 W. Hwy. 61, Grand Marais, 218-370-1376, www.voyageurbrewing.com
From Marin to Hopkins
Bartender extraordinaire Chad Larson is out after a second tour of duty at Marin in Le Meridien Chambers in downtown Minneapolis. Last year Larson returned, reining in the gin-and-tonic patio menu to a more manageable size and giving the cocktail list in the sexified Library bar a shot in the arm. For the time being, the astute mix master has landed at Pub 819 in Hopkins.
Michael Rietmulder
