Photo by Carlos GonzalezThere's a scene in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in which Ferris, Cameron and Sloane try to talk their way into a lunch reservation at the posh fictional Chicago restaurant Chez Quis -- but are memorably stymied by the sniveling, ridiculously moustached maître d'. He is a caricature of old-school fine dining: snooty, stuffy and inaccessible to most.

This is precisely the opposite of Isaac Becker's version of fine dining. If Ferris and friends had come to Bar La Grassa, Nancy St. Pierre -- Becker's wife and partner, who runs the front of the house -- would have greeted them with her expansive smile and promptly ushered them into a warm and casual, food-driven dining experience, full of character and ambience, but minus the snoot.

It is hard to believe how rapidly the Twin Cities restaurant scene has grown and diversified in the past five years. The very multitude of options, along with the rise of social networking, food blogs and food television, have made it easier than ever for us to identify as "foodies."

Becker has been influential in this movement by being one of the first to make brilliant food (great ingredients, excellently executed) more affordable and come-as-you-are casual than ever before -- first with the 112 Eatery in 2004, then Bar La Grassa in 2009. This year, he received the James Beard Award for best chef in the Midwest after being nominated four years in a row.

I had the opportunity to chat with him in the sumptuous environs at Bar La Grassa, at a table overlooking a giant black-and-white rock 'n' roll photo of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, which attests to Becker's hipness (also check out his restaurant's playlists, posted on their websites). More than anything, though, Becker is down-to-earth, sincere and serious about food.

Q: Why did you start cooking?

A: Well, it's just something I got into in high school. I worked at a couple of places while I was in a band; the schedule worked out with being in a band.

A: It was early-'90s punk music.

Q: Do you guys still play?

A: Nope, I still play in the basement by myself, but not in a band.

Q: What was the local restaurant scene like when you decided to open 112 Eatery?

A: It was a different scene. I would never take credit for creating a scene, but I was maybe one of the first to sense what was happening. A lot of chefs opening restaurants at that time were offering a "fine dining experience," and I could have gone in that same direction, but I was tired of it and so were diners. Creating a restaurant with some fine dining sensibilities but in a casual atmosphere and with reasonable prices wasn't happening here.

A: Back in '97 or '98, when I was at the James Beard event in New York, I asked around to find out where chefs eat. And that was the first time I went to the Blue Ribbon in New York, which is open until 4 in the morning. That's where I had beef marrow and oxtail marmalade -- things that cooks like to eat. And I loved it and it stuck with me forever. So that was the idea in opening 112 -- it would be a place where cooks could come and eat.

Q: Why did you open Bar La Grassa?

A: I actually had the concept for BLG before 112. But we got the space first - and the 112 space was too small for the BLG concept, which takes a giant kitchen and an army of cooks. So I had to work with what I had back then. Our space here at Bar La Grassa seemed a little too big, I was terrified at first [of not being able to fill the place].

Q: How would you define your culinary point of view?

A: I think it's just straightforward and honest, I guess. I want it to just taste good. Interesting, but not challenging. I don't want people to have to guess whether they like it or not, or think they should like it, so they say they do. I want them to know right away that it's good and that they want to finish it. Execution is what we really focus on. If you do simple dishes, but not correctly, they are just silly, stupid. But if they are executed correctly, something really simple can be really delicious. That's what we focus on in both of the restaurants.

A: Well, I've worked mostly with Jay Sparks [at D'Amico Cucina] here in Minneapolis, but I haven't worked with other chefs in New York, Chicago or Europe, for example. So my cookbooks are my main sources of inspiration: all of the Chez Panisse books, Rose Gray's and Ruth Rogers' River Cafe books -- especially the ones I got in the '90s -- Suzanne Goin's book ["Sunday Suppers at Lucques"] and "Cooking by Hand" by Paul Bertolli.

Q: After winning the James Beard Award in the spring, have you gotten more calls, more opportunities?

A: I've gotten more recognition. But no movie deals yet. [Smiles.]

Q: Would you ever compete on a reality food television show with other celebrity chefs, like "Top Chef Masters" or "Iron Chef"?

A: No. Looks too dramatic for me. It looks like torture and I wouldn't want to do it.

A: We're always batting around ideas. You need to wait until the right feel, the right lease comes around -- the partners are always talking about what our next deal will be.

Q: How about an "Isaac -- Las Vegas"?

A: No (laughs). We actually considered trying to do a Bar La Grassa in Los Angeles, and worked with some Realtors and property brokers. But Nancy and I have two kids and we couldn't run it from here -- it would have been too disruptive for our family. We got scared and decided not to do it.