Nightlife notebook: Crooked Pint to open

First the Green Mill owners got twisted, now they're crooked. After opening the Twisted Fork Grille in St. Paul last summer, the Minnesota-based pizza chain's next offshoot is scheduled to open Saturday. The Crooked Pint Ale House has remodeled the old 501 Club in downtown Minneapolis right in time for the Vikings season.

The 501 had problems filling its two-level layout, but Green Mill CEO Paul Dzubnar said his reworking of the space makes it feel cozier. A new central bar anchors the upper level and the place has been warmed up with oak floors and more booths. Like the 501, the Crooked Pint will offer live music, but they've made some tweaks, such as moving the stage. Bands will begin playing within the month.

The tap-beer list looks promising. The 20 lines include selections from Summit, Alaskan, Odell, Brooklyn, Deschutes and other big craft breweries. Twisted Fork chef Keven Kvalsten designed the food menu, which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here's a sprinkling of what to expect: chorizo corn dogs, Washington Avenue Pot Roast and something they're calling the Hangover Ju-Lucy (two burgers wrapped around ham and cheese, topped with a fried egg).

The Green Mill developed the "nouveau urban pub" concept, but has franchised this first location to the Washington Avenue building's owner, Mario Cocchiarella.

Bamford and Black

Two must-see stand-up comedians come to Minneapolis next week. Minnesota-reared Maria Bamford has a weeklong stint at Acme starting Tuesday. Her voice work -- on stage and on TV -- is some of the best around. And her jokes dealing with depression and family drama are as truthful as they are funny.

On Thursday, Michael Ian Black performs for one night at the Varsity Theater. The comedian's résumé includes screenplays ("Run, Fat Boy, Run"), sitcoms ("Ed") and frequent appearances on Comedy Central. But his face is most easily recognized as a talking head on VH1's "I Love the ..." series. His acerbic wit has been perfect for Twitter, where he has more than 1.6 million followers and regularly makes observations like "I have never seen a rug store that was not going out of business."

The lights are bright, the runway is huge and you might actually want to wear the clothes. Envision: Artopia returns with its fall edition Sept. 16. Held at the Graves 601, Envision is one of the year's most popular, so get your tickets in advance. My advice: Blow your paycheck on a VIP ticket, which gets you reserved seating near the runway and early entry. Designers include Amanda Christine, Arwyn Birch, Kathryn V., Kelly Ver Duin and more. Jevne is providing the beats.