Critics’ choice: Three crowd-pleasing transformations

Heidi’s

Minneapolis

Stewart Woodman is the “most ambitious and driven chef” in Minneapolis, said Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl in Minnesota Monthly. After Heidi’s burned to the ground in the winter of 2010, the nationally renowned Woodman turned to blogging, which resulted in a cookbook, Shefzilla: Conquering Haute Cuisine at Home. Since then, Heidi’s has returned, and it is “easily one of the most interesting restaurants in the Twin Cities.” It has a new “hip-hop-and-contemporary-art-accented space, with Led Zeppelin on the sound system, an excellent wine list, and well-trained service staff.” The menu is ambitious and should get even better over time. For now, the best dishes also tend to be the cheapest. The marshmallowy pork buns are a showpiece, while the eggless “Bennie”—a spin on eggs Benedict—is not to be missed. The Bennie “looks like a poached egg,” but is really an impressive display of molecular gastronomy, with hominy as the white and creamy polenta as the yolk. More impressive still, the taste is phenomenal: “Eating this thing is like watching acrobats flip through fire at the circus.” 2903 Lyndale Ave. S., (612) 354-3512

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Monarch

Maplewood, Mo.

Monarch was a “near classic” among St. Louis–area restaurants even before a recent makeover, said Dave Lowry in St. Louis Magazine. After briefly adding a separate “Southern bistro” menu, which was available in its revamped bar and bistro areas but not in its main dining room, this acclaimed spot “wisely integrated” the Southern fare with the contemporary American cuisine it had been known for. The only problem now is a surfeit of choices, so be ready to “chart an exploratory course.” Among starters, “a lobe of sweetbreads nestles in a thick puddle of black-truffle-flecked grits jazzed with what tastes like a light bacon splatter.” Monarch’s skillet-fried chicken is “near legendary,” but “how any serious eater could pass up the venison osso buco is beyond us.” Well, maybe the butter-poached lobster would be a reason for a detour: “Chunks of tail swim in a carrot-and-ginger nage,” alongside “a potato chip–like sheet of dried country ham” and ravioli stuffed with brie and maitake mushrooms. In the dining room, all this can be enjoyed in one of the city’s finest formal spaces, with eggshell-white table linens, “buttery lighting,” and “clouds of coppery butterflies twinkling overhead.” 7401 Manchester Rd., (314) 644-3995

North Star American Bistro

Shorewood, Wis.

A move across the street has “made miles of difference” in the atmosphere of one of suburban Milwaukee’s more popular dining destinations, said Carol Deptolla in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Now a “see-and-be-seen” space done in warm earth tones, North Star can get loud some nights, but it’s “worth making some noise over.” While not all the appetizers work, the entrées “overwhelmingly hit the mark on flavor and preparation.” Chicken breast is stuffed with Boursin cheese and “heartily browned.” A thick pork chop comes with a delicious hunter’s sauce of mushrooms and capers. The duck confit—$15 for one leg, $20 for two—comes with dried-cherry relish, sautéed spinach, and an “addictive” potato-bacon hash. The space may be new, but North Star can still be counted on to deliver a memorable meal. 4518 N. Oakland Ave., (414) 964-4663