The changing face of Lake Street

Nothing stays the same. Especially on Lake Street.

This Minneapolis artery is in the midst of a renaissance, one fueled partly by a much-needed $31 million remake between Uptown and the Mississippi River, but also by a diverse and ever-expanding stretch of restaurants and food shops.

This veritable United Nations of Eating, a microcosm of America's changing demographics, is the work of immigrant entrepreneurs and established restaurateurs alike.

Their efforts are altering the way Twin Citians view this formerly down-on-its-luck thoroughfare.
Cafe Barbette, owner Kim Bartmann's funky coffeehouse-turned-bistro, really does the basics right, with nicely stuffed crêpes, a fine croque monsieur, a textbook steak au poivre and a great ladies-who-lunch Nicoise salad; regulars know to rely upon chef Sarah Master's imaginative daily specials. The romance factor hits an 8 or 9, on a scale of 10.

1600 W. Lake St., 612-827-5710, cafebarbette.com

Here's the deal with the Blue Sky Creamery: A fast-freeze process, developed by a pair of Iowa State University students and utilizing liquid nitrogen, produces an astonishingly velvety ice cream.

1513 W. Lake St., 612-824-0071, blueskycreamery.com

1221 W. Lake St., 612-821-9451, restaurantindio.com

Caterers Angela Tucker-Dawson, Keith Dawson and Drake Hodges didn't intend to open a restaurant, but when the kitchen they were leasing became available, they took the plunge. Now customers at their Creole-accented Favor Cafe can dig into their home-cooking-style fried chicken, catfish po' boys, hearty red beans and rice, seafood gumbo and peach cobbler. More good news: With each passing week, another remnant of the building's former tenant, Restaurant Miami, seems to disappear. "No more 'Miami Vice,'" said Tucker-Dawson with a laugh. "That's just not who we are."

913 W. Lake St., 612-821-0553, favorcafe.com

Being small doesn't preclude thinking big. Just ask Kim Bartmann. The kitchen at her Bryant-Lake Bowl has less square footage than the demo area of your average Williams-Sonoma store, yet it manages to turn out big-old breakfasts (get the bison hash) and lovingly made noon and nighttime basics with a twist: addictive cornmeal-crusted walleye strips, a standard-setting bacon cheeseburger and a slab of carrot cake so big it could stop a moving Metro Transit bus. Yes, there's bowling, at $3.75 a game.

810 W. Lake St., 612-825-3737, bryantlakebowl.com

626 W. Lake St., 612-825-9922, itsgreektomemn.com

Every spider roll is served with a side of Minneapolis culinary history at Fuji-ya. That's because co-owner Carol Hanson's mother, Reiko Weston, founded the original Fuji-ya in 1959 in downtown Minneapolis. Today Hanson and her spouse, Tom, preside over the lively restaurant and sushi bar that bears the family business' name.

600 W. Lake St., 612-871-4055, fujiyasushi.com

At Los Andes, the password is beef. Well, beef and value, because this modest Ecuadorean-Colombian cafe is also fluent in doggie-bag-size portions. Hearty stews take the chill off a blustery autumn day, and the refreshing tropical fruit coolers conjure up summer in a faraway place.

317 W. Lake St., 612-825-1700,

There are no better burritos on the street than the ones built to order at humble Pineda Tacos (the tortas and tacos aren't too shabby, either). The assembly-line ordering system is very Chipotle, but the choices are greater and the flavors aren't afraid to make a statement. No habla Español? No problem. The point-and-mime routine works. Love the late-night hours, too.

311 E. Lake St., 612-825-7466. Also 2130 E. Lake St., 612-722-3580.

With so many taquerias on the street, it's hard to pick a favorite, but extensive polling might reveal Los Ocampo as the overall winner. The fanciest of its three Lake Street locations is its Chicago-Lake outpost, where lines seem to form without warning as hungry diners patiently queue up for the huge assortment of tacos, sopes, quesadillas, gorditas and huaraches, all done up in such a dizzying number of decent-quality mix-and-match ingredients that Stephen Hawking himself couldn't do the math.

809 E. Lake St., 612-825-4978. Also 417 E. Lake St., 612-823-5398 and 920 E. Lake St. (Midtown Global Market), 612-872-8562.

It's no exaggeration when the Midtown Global Market bills itself as "Many tastes, one place." Part food court and part supermarket, the MGM offers satellite outposts of a number of familiar Twin Cities food names, including Holy Land Grocery & Deli, Jakeeno's, United Noodles, Safari Restaurant, Salsa a la Salsa. Oh, and Panaderia El Mexicano (612-871-6633), where the impressive assortment of gooey, super-sugary cake slices makes every day a birthday. But it's the one-of-a-kind enterprises that make the MGM unique. Luis Manuel Ibarra stocks the coolers and tanks at his Sea Port Market (612-871-1078) with a global fresh fish selection and prepares sushi, ceviche, steamed lobsters and oysters. La Sirena Gorda (612-870-0037), Alfonso Menendez's seafood bar, is the place for exceptional fish tacos, mahi mahi flautas and the hot sauce to end all hot sauces. Fiesta in America (612-871-8411) sports a crazy assortment of Latin American sweets. The Produce Exchange (612-879-0050) emphasizes organic and locally grown fruits and vegetables; right now it boasts eight varieties of Minnesota-grown apples. Baker Michelle Gayer's Salty Tart (612-874-9206) turns out pastries of exceptional quality and imagination, along with $4.50 sandwiches that taste like a million bucks.

On a thoroughfare lined with more taco and burrito shops per capita than anywhere else in Minnesota, upscale Las Mojarras really sticks out. In a good way. The airy setting has a cabana-in-Playa del Carmen vibe, and the seafood-heavy menu impresses for its variety and appeal: a long list of whole fish preparations; tons of ceviches, soups and seafood cocktails; and enormous family-style platters. Of course, upscale is a relative term, since prices rarely approach the mid-teens.

1507 E. Lake St., 612-208-0120

Although a half-dozen quick-service food stalls draw crowds to the Mercado Central (a popular precursor to the much larger Midtown Global Market a few blocks to the west) one is a real standout: La Loma Tamales. Owners Noelia and Enrique Garcia are genuine American success stories. The couple founded their first tamale-centric business in the Mercado in 1999, and since then have expanded to an MGM outpost and a thriving wholesale and catering business. The reason for their success is simple: their handmade tamales (get the sweet corn, the mole or the pork with zesty red sauce) are fantastic.

1515 E. Lake St., 612-728-5430,

laloma tamales.com

1601 E. Lake St., 612-729-9331, ingebretsens. com

I walked out of Qoraxlow Restaurant with one word knocking around my mind: Generous. That lunch made me feel as if I'd been welcomed into a Muslim home, and my gracious hosts and I stumbled our way through the outlines of a conversation. A meal starts with a pitcher of neon-colored guava punch and a banana. Next up was a feisty vegetable-goat soup. The entrees followed, including slow-braised goat served with a citrus-scented, raisin-studded rice. Its roots may be East African, but it's as much comfort food as any church lady's pot roast supper, with one swell exception: a side of pale green sauce far racier than anything inside the Lutheran comfort zone. Dessert was jelled fruit and cookies. The final tab? Just $10 a head.

1821 E. Lake St., 612-822-4480

At their three branches of Manny's Tortas, siblings Manny and Victoria Gonzalez bump the familiar sandwich format way past Jimmy John's, with grilled, chile-laced double-fisters stacked so high that a single chomp invariably turns them into wonderfully sloppy messes. Don't forget the napkins.

2700 E. Lake St., 612-728-1778. Also 920 E. Lake St. (Midtown Global Market), 612-870-3930 and 1515 E. Lake St. (Mercado Central, 612-728-5408). mannystortas.com

2707 1/2 E. Lake St., 612-722-1312,

towntalkdiner.com

T's Place chef/owner Tee Belachew is going where few have probably gone before: Asian-Ethiopian fusion. Sort of. Hearty and well-seasoned foods from his native Ethiopia share the menu with lighter stir fries and rice dishes he mastered during his partnership with Singapore Chinese Cuisine chef/owner Kin Lee. The results? A table loaded with slow-cooked red lentils and injera, coconut curry simmered with chicken and vegetables and shrimp sautéed with Asian and African chiles. Wonderful.

2713 E. Lake St., 612-724-8868

"Midwestern Chinese" best describes the Dragon City Cafe, a cozy throwback to the days when culinary exotica meant a white cardboard container filled with chop suey chow mein, spooned over crunchy fried noodles and served with a side order of chicken fried rice. Joe the Plumber types fill the place at lunch, chowing down on the $4.85 chow mein specials and enjoying the kind hospitality of the Fong family. No credit cards, naturally; this place is old-school.

Locally raised ingredients are given their due at the Craftsman. Whether it's rabbit confit, grilled venison, pancetta-wrapped trout or truly the best turkey burger in the 612, chef Mike Phillips covers all the locavore bases, and then some. Phillips is also an avid canner and pickler, and while the restaurant's name is borrowed from the Craftsman-style bungalows that dot the surrounding neighborhood, it also reflects Phillips' talents as a charcuterie craftsman.